The benefits of starting a homestead
While these great benefits of homesteading may or may not be true for everyone, we've found them to be very true for us, the community and more. It's not a perfect life and it's not for everyone. Yet after all the hard work, it definitely pay off.
Homesteading is a humbling experience:
As a beginner homesteader, You begin to appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to be self reliant. Unavoidably mistakes will be made. Animals will die. Crops will be ruined. Structures fall down or get damaged. Plans fall through. It's going to be a rough time, but as time passes you will definitely get used to it and get better at it. It helps with character building, you will never go bored and it's a great experience for kids too.
It's a very healthy lifestyle:
The taste is indistinguishable. If you have never had home grown vs store bought conventional food you are truly missing out! Most of the store bought conventional foods have a ton of preservatives, unknown chemicals, and you don't even know where it come's from exactly.
Yet growing your own food, it gives you piece of mind to know exactly where it comes from, that their are no additives, and that it taste fresh and delicious. It teaches responsibility and make's for a better work ethic. when you have to supply food for the family and when you realize you have animals and pets that depend on YOU for survival.
Your value's of eating and raising meat will change:
If you have ever owned your own meat, You learn three things. 1: raising animals are hard and takes a lot of energy. 2: It's hard to not get attached. 3: When it comes down to having to take a life there may be plenty of setbacks.
The amount of setbacks when it comes to raising and taking the animals life, and feeding is crazy. Whether this be in the form of grass or grain, the amount it takes to raise the mean is quite surprising, Because of this, we've found that the amount of meat that we eat has been greatly affected. Limited resources of energy in the form of feed means limited amount of meat. I can guarantee vegetables and eggs will be a main staple for family meals, trust me i'am not kidding.
They are easier, cheaper, and require less energy to produce. When having rabbits, cows, and chickens and raising them it make's you question your values on meat eating, it was with great sadness and a profound appreciation that we slaughtered and butchered them for our consumption.
It's not something to be taken lightly and with a grain of salt. I was raised learning "only to take what you need and not what you don't, and to use all of it even if I didn't need to". So that the animal's deaths would not go to waste. Even though I was raised eating meat, I myself am trying to stop consuming it for multiple reasons. Here are a few.
Animal cruelty, It sadly is a huge problem in our world.every year 10 million animals die from abuse. We also know that 100 million animals are used for lab experiments. However, not all abuse cases are reported, so we can safely say that more than 100 million animals suffer abuse every year.
I want to reduce the the harsh impact on the environment. Vast swathes of land are required to support and feed livestock, making it a significant contributor to deforestation. Enormous crops of corn or grain also require pesticides and fertilizers, leading to pollution of our waterways. and lastly the farmed animals themselves generate waste and pollution (with cows belching out enormous amounts of methane every day) and animal agriculture is responsible for around 14 to 18% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. We also have to deal with the endangerment of lots of species even though their are laws in place you still have plenty of people and poachers who simply don't care. when is a major problem.
Healthy living. vegans typically have lower levels of cholesterol and blood pressure, a lower body mass index, and reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer. Although veganism requires supplements and careful planning. I personally believe in using organic and natural herbs instead of taking supplements made by companies.
lastly killing the animals you raise, you more than likely have gotten attached or your kids and it's most definitely harder for kids to let go in a survival situation than an adult, because they may not know any better and kids imaginations are something serious.
Homesteading is a great teaching lesson:
Naturally, knowledge is gained on the subject matter. Running a homestead has been no different. There are so many topics and subject that can be learned. Such as learning about the land, it's animals and insects native to it, the patterns and cycles of the honey bee, raising animals, learning what they can be used for, learn wood working, fencing, soil assessments, composting, recycling, first aid and medical, hunting, survival skills, pollution, energy sourcing, and more...
Most people don't even know the basic's of surviving and are so dependent that they believe that if the grid was to fall they can just call the mayor, government, or police, and that they will be there or answer on the first ring, and even if that was the case do you really believe that they will have enough to supply everyone and their family happily without a doubt or "but". I sure don't which is why I do what it is I do. Including sharing the knowledge to those who listen.
It improves you mentally:
I’ve been pushed to deal with fear – my fear of bees, my fear of heights, my fear of death, Insects and my fear of failure. When homesteading you have to remember that you will probably end up in situations you never thought you would, and doing things you never thought you could. But I can Guarantee once you face all your fears and doing what's uncommon for you, you will definitely grow as a person and be wiser little by little.
