The heart of homesteading is gleaning from the land, creating community and meeting life on your own terms

Natalie Bogwalker's daughter steals a bite before preparing
a wild salad. (Photo by Travis Dove, The Washington Post)

Since the 1960s, farmsteading has been an option for people who want to meet life on their own terms through farming, animal husbandry and lifestyle choices that lean on nature and community bonds for support, reports Chris Moody of The Washington Post. "It’s a common misconception that the goal of homesteading is total self-sufficiency, says Natalie Bogwalker, 44, owner of Wild Abundance, a hands-on education center that teaches homesteading skills near Asheville, N.C. She defines homesteading simply as 'living in a way that meets a lot of your needs from the land.' That can include gardening, permaculture, carpentry, building infrastructure. . . . A veteran homesteader who has been living largely off the land for more than 20 years, Bogwalker says community is a crucial part of making the lifestyle sustainable."

Jess McClelland and Alex O'Neill didn't pursue the homesteading life; it's more like they discovered it. McClelland told Moody, "We had never even thought about homesteading seriously until Covid. . . . It made traveling around and moving seem not like an option anymore. We were finally stopped somewhere long enough where we realized we could do this and have a garden. And once we started, it was like, 'Oh my God, this is the best thing in the world.' In January 2022, McClelland and O'Neill bought a two-bedroom, one-bath white country house tucked in the Appalachian high country." Moody adds, "They are modern-day homesteaders who have traded contemporary conveniences such as Uber Eats deliveries and a reliable internet connection to grow much of their own food and — as much as possible — live off the land in rural Appalachia."

Each homesteader individual has their own story. "Homesteaders are motivated by a range of forces, from a longing to take more control over life to wanting to seek a better diet, says Jessica Shelton, editor of Homestead.org. Most of all, it provides an opportunity to pursue a home life on your own terms," Moody reports. Shelton, who grew up on a 300-acre cattle farm in the Ozark mountains, told him, "Some are sick of the hustle and bustle of modern life. Others want to move away from commercialism and all the plastic packaging that comes with it."

"Bogwalker says she initially had a purist attitude. . . . Focusing on developing wild survival skills while foraging food and growing what she couldn't find. When she moved to North Carolina, she lived in a bark hut she constructed herself. . . . In 2011, she bought a seven-acre piece of mountain land. . . . She built a 12-by-16-foot log cabin from white pine trees on the land. . . .Hundreds of people visit the property each year. They learn carpentry, permaculture gardening, foraging and natural building in open-air pavilions while camping on the property or staying in rental homes nearby."

Beginning life as a homesteader can be expensive and daunting. "For newcomers to homesteading, Bogwalker offers sound advice: Go slow. Instead of immediately investing thousands of dollars in building projects and agricultural tools, observe the land carefully for a full year before diving in," Moody reports. She told him, "Burnout happens when you don't do things like take a Sabbath or associate your self-worth with your productivity and purism. The idea that you're a failure if you don't grow 90 percent of your own food? That's when people quit."