Purpose
“The purpose of this Homestead is to provide a rural environment that fosters a resilient, sustainable producer lifestyle by providing food production, learning opportunities, skill development, wellbeing, economic stability, and security in meeting the challenges of a changing future.”
Vision
The vision of this Homestead is one that provides for the short term, everyday needs as well as long term sustainability and resiliency in unknown and changing conditions.
The Homestead provides a majority of foods through sustainable and productive food gardens, orchards, and animal husbandry. These systems encompass best practices, minimal dependent inputs, and reliable independent production in providing for food, nutrition, and wellbeing.
During the development and maintenance of the Homestead every opportunity should provide for new learning, reinforcement of current knowledge, the development of new skills and the best practices of current skills and knowledge. These opportunities rely on access to reading materials, mentoring, Internet and digital media, as well as a supportive environment for experimentation.
The maintenance of the Homestead provides for both physical, mental, and emotional well being through good nutrition, physical activity, and social interactions that work together to provide a balanced lifestyle. Physical effort is taxing, but balanced between purely physical and mechanized activity when appropriate. Social interactions include but is not limited to community involvement and community building, local economic interaction, and invigorating debate and discourse.
The Homestead does not represent an economic hardship but It provides a modest income that supplements and supports its lifestyle. It primarily meets lifestyle needs but is also designed to produce a surplus that can be utilized for materials and needs not produced on the Homestead itself. The net balance is such that it will produce more than it requires allowing for barter as well as sales to generate some income to support the Homestead and it’s dependent inputs. In the bigger picture, the Homestead provides economic stability.
The Homestead requires and produces a true sense of security. Crops and livestock are protected from nature’s predators. It is secure and provides economic stability and security as the future changes society. Natural and manmade disasters are anticipated and readiness plans and preparations are an integrated part of the Homestead.
The changing possibilities of the future do not present stress as the Homestead is a dynamic system capable and anticipating growth, development, resiliency and changing conditions. Overall the Homestead represents the best alternative for daily living today and into the future.