What the term Urban Homestead means to us

Not just two words put together, Urban Homestead is quite clearly a way of life that describes people in their respective cities who may grow their own food, generate their own electricity, raise animals and more. These people have turned their homes into a symbol of taking responsibility for their lives. With each step closer towards self-sufficiency Urban Homesteaders have pulled the veil away from the source of all they require in their lives.

When we bit into our first homegrown tomato came an awakening, no longer did we have to imagine our food came from a sunny green farm on the hill, now we could know it for sure. Homegrown lettuce, strawberries, peppers, eggplant and potatoes followed. Why stop there? We tasted eggs from our own chickens and realized how they were meant to feel, how they were meant to look and the taste we had never realized we were missing. Then came composting our organics thereby limiting what we sent to landfills, making our own dairy products, collecting our first honey along with our own rainwater, as well as raising our own fish. Once we tasted and felt the difference we couldn't be stopped. We were a force, a growing, raising, eating force that took all of our neighbors and family members by storm with our new inspiration. We couldn't tell enough people about what they were missing. We spread the word by phone, email, text, tweet and post. This was a call not for a new and exciting movement, but for a return to our self-sufficient past.

The words Urban Homestead don't define us, no word or words could ever hope to express what we are and what we have gained through our return to a simpler life. Taking away the ability for all of us to pigeon hole ourselves with the term Urban Homestead doesn't change who we are or what we have accomplished. I'm thankful we have come to another realization through this tribulation, one where we realize that we are not alone in this passion for what we have achieved. Our worldwide community is ever expanding in this movement to take back what we hadn't even realized we were missing.

My one hope is that you too can come to the understanding that there is little meaning in controlling a word, in losing the ability to use these words we don't lose our abilities to continue our wonderful work. We are only further inspired to become undefinable.