Open invitation

we would be happy to invite any students willing to learn rammed earth tire building, as well as other skills that may be involved on our homestead. We have had requests for interview through magazines, etc and please feel free to email me at pamelaconklin@bellsouth.net and I will get back to you quickly. Thank you!!

Earthship Updates for August

We haven't made a huge change this month in progress. It's hot and has been a really rainy summer. But I have faith in God that we will be able to enclose this before winter to prevent any frost damage. I have to. We don't have anyone but us to build. But I know we can do it.

 Here you can see that he's filling in the backside some. We are adding some mud to the back in order to add the vapor barrier so we can backfill it. This will give us solid footing to continue to build upwards.

 
This was a little bit of a trial and error area. We wanted to make the area flat enough to add some insulation and then some of the backfilled dirt. However, we are going to just use vapor barrier here and insulate the inside a little more.

 Here's me. I lost 40 lbs and don't mind my hubby taking pictures of me now, LOL! See that little space above my shorts? Now I know why I burn there all the time!

 We are 6 rows high now. Not too too bad. We will be building to 10 rows for a 8'4" ceiling.

 So we continue on and on. More to come folks!

What Does It Mean to Be a Homesteader?

We have been contacted by a local magazine and will be interviewed this week about homesteading. I guess I never really thought of us as true homesteaders- but then again, I don't see how we couldn't be. It is a little strange to hear though. We started as suburban homesteaders just trying to learn how to do anything we could for ourselves just to save some money. It became a sort of addiction from there.

 It started with a few berry bushes, a few chickens, and a dream of being able to do everything ourselves. We wouldn't have to depend on anyone. We could grow our own food, make our own cleaners, soaps, and buy the very few things that wouldn't make sense for us to make/grow. We started on 2/10 of an acre. We transformed our lawn to edibles, planted some fruit trees, and looked for any ways we could do more. It hasn't stopped since.

Now we are upgrading to 10 acres. Not much, but definitely enough for us. We have 17 wooded acres about an hour south of here, so we can travel to the site for wood and for some berries and other foraged foods. It didn't make sense to build there because it is very secluded and the town we are renting in is where the kids and I have come to love. So the neighbor across the street offered to sell 10 acres of his land. He has become like a 2nd father to hubby and I, offering advise regardless of whether we really want it. But we love it. And I think I could pretty much set up shop anywhere. The people of this town make it our home though.

We have since learned allot more skills and made even more mistakes. As I contemplated what someone would think when they pulled up, I thought about cleaning up a bit because our yard is a bit messy. I think that's part of who we are now though. To me, being a homesteader is using what you have. Maybe that wood is used for one project this year and next year we may disassemble it and make something else. We save feed bags, pallets, and boxes "just in case." Never know when you're going to want to build something like a chicken tractor. We built one last year with a lot (and I mean A LOT) of flaws, but we have managed to fix and replace some of the parts that weren't designed well. But that's ok. Being a homesteader means making a lot of mistakes. And learning from them. And then making some more. We have become accustomed to them and know that we wouldn't get better unless we did.

Homesteading has become our new normal. I used to have a clean house and a manicured lawn. Now we are borderline hoarders and have a cluttered, kinda dirty house. I think "The Clampits" when I walk through our garage and back yard. I homeschool. I have 5 or more bushels of apples in my kitchen that need to be canned. I have fruit flies everywhere and they are making me crazy. I have canning jars all over the place. I know now that this is my home. When we move into our new home it will hold the same cluttery mess. I will have school books all over. Blankets thrown across the couch. A few dog hairballs floating across the floor. I can only do SO much while keeping a full time job. Id love to stay home with my husband and farm for the rest of our lives. It is very possible that that day may come too. I dream about selling my garden extras, eggs, soaps, lotions and whatever other crafts we may learn, and making just enough to quit my job or even just go part time. Even if that day never comes, I know that we are doing all we can for ourselves and will continue to learn new things on a daily basis.

What are some things you have learned for yourself? How do you homestead? I think homesteading can happen in a small apartment or a small urban homestead. There is a family in California that have 0.10 of an acre and make all their own food and even sell some to the local restaurants. How awesome is that!  If they can do it, so can we. So think about all the wonderful things you have learned to do for yourself and brag about it! Tell me 1, 2 or 10 skills you have learned and maybe we can trade some secrets! Thanks for reading and blessings to you all!