by Bema Self

Created on: July 18, 2010

From the outsiders' perspective, urban homesteading is simply growing groceries in your home garden. From the angle of an Urban Homesteader, it is so much more than that.

When the Great Depression last overtook our country, using your personal land, or even the inside of your home to grow your food, was simply a way to try and survive. It wasn't so much about the actual purpose of being self sustaining, it was more or less the only option that people had if they didn't want to starve.

Now, in the still waking recession, many are considering going in the same direction. Many are already pursuing that path, simply in hope of saving money. Growing their little gardens is their way of making sure they survive. Yet, it's not quite  "homesteading", because it's birthed out of fear. It came into their consciousness as an alternative option to help stave off their fear. They don't grow for the future or for any really great purpose, they simply grow for now, in the hope that when winter comes they won't be left to starve.

As a homesteader, the aim is so much more than just right now. It's about long term sustainability. It's about saving Gaia. It's about providing future generations with simple traditional methods to help keep them going for the long term. It's about taking back the power of this land that we gained when we took on the responsibility of being stewards of the earth.

Being an urban homesteader is the chance to change the future to a brighter option by going back to the methods we know will work. It's a long term solution for a long term problem that has been plaguing us for centuries. Urban homesteading is the way to self sustainability. It's the way away from foreign or governmental dependence. For a true urban homesteader, it's a lifestyle, not just a quick fix.

Many who are now beginning their adventure in urban homesteading are learning these things as they go. Even those who simply felt it would do until the economy levels back out are finding their health and their lives in much better shape since their started their stead. Urban homesteading is the beginning of the way and if the movement can take hold properly as it should have long ago, and not be seduced down the road by convenience and fancy gadgets, then it will be the only solution we'll ever need.

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