Some homesteaders are privileged to have many acres of woods and fields, like we do (although it feels more like a curse when it’s a hundred degrees and time to mow). However, I also know a family with a whole herd of goats and geese on only 1.5 acres. I know several suburbanites with gardens and hens squeezed between the shed and the kids’ swing set. I know single moms making elderberry syrup, and retirees planting blueberry bushes. I even know a family whose tiny downtown lot boasts container vegetables and ten hives of bees.

The joy of community

Some of us are homeschool families while some are public school. Some are city water folks and others have compost toilets. Some are all-organic gardeners while some are hydroponic. Some raise homegrown meat and others are vegetarian. What we have in common is that we all value learning together, and gradually doing more for ourselves over time.

Even though we have different restrictions and requirements, we all share information, celebrate each others’ successes and commiserate when things go wrong. In a world of questionable internet advice it’s invaluable to have a real live person with whom you can hash out your difficulties. Even the most experienced homesteader needs a friend or mentor who can come over, take a look at the situation and maybe even point to the problem.

Sharing the surplus

When there is too much, as there so often is on a homestead, we share our products as well. I’ve had bad luck getting my goat herd going. Happily, I have a goat friend who produced more milk than she needed this year, and she has given me gallons and gallons. My new set of hens have just started laying more eggs than we can eat, so I’m giving eggs by the dozen to my bee friends. Last year their hives made extra honey, and they gave some to us. I’ve given away bales of basil, bags of tomatoes and one really spectacular sack of dill seed heads.

This isn’t really barter. Sometimes I get nothing in return for what I give, and sometimes I receive far more than I gave. In that case I might grumble to my husband that so-and-so is potlatching us again, but I’ll do it while gratefully changing my dinner plans to accommodate unexpected zucchini or cantaloupe. Our trades and gifts never really even out, which is okay because the point is the sheer joy of building reciprocal relationships. Humans are deeply wired to love the feeling of giving away our extra, and getting someone else’s extra in return.

We also trade work, tools and time together. I’ve been wanting a solar dehydrator for years, but I just couldn’t get up the steam to build one until I learned that two other homesteading/homeschooling families were also interested. Some homesteading friends of ours helped us build our house, and now we’re helping them prepare for a new baby. When my chickens failed to set last year, a friend with an incubator raised a clutch of my eggs for me. The feed store will never text you late night pics of your own chicks hatching, but a homesteading friend definitely will.

A strong support system

This may be the best thing about homesteading: the community that can grow up when people with passion and drive get together to pool their ideas, ask questions and try things out for themselves. It’s a bulwark against the rising tide of loneliness that might otherwise swallow our lives.

So if you’re interested in homesteading, just grow a little something, build a little something, reach out to a neighbor or friend who might be interested, and you’ll be on your way to a more resilient, more sustainable life. It won’t always be entirely successful and it may never look Instagram-worthy, but the satisfactions are well worth the time and effort.