An advertising agency in Chicago used to pay Lisa Kivirist one big paycheck. Now, hundreds of people pay her lots of very small ones. All these little paychecks – over a thousand last year – allow Lisa, her husband John and their son to live the life they want: rural, sustainable and meaningful.
People write Lisa little checks for a few farmstand vegetables, or for a copy of one of the books she’s co-authored with her husband, or for a weekend away at the rural, award-winning “carbon negative” Wisconsin inn her family operates.
At the end of the year, her utility company writes her a check for all the solar and wind energy she’s generated on-site and fed back to the grid.
It’s a frugal life – Lisa says her family income is below federal poverty level – but it’s a rich life. It’s rich in time with those closest to her, and in community. Much of the food she eats and serves to her Inn Serendipity guests is grown on her own five acre organic farm – and it’s the kind of food you only get to eat when you grow it and preserve it yourself.
Lisa combines the proud heritage of practical Midwestern frugality with a deep passion for environmental and entrepreneurial stewardship. She is active in promoting female farmers and what she calls “ecopreneurialism” – finding creative ways to make a living while honoring her “triple bottom line” of people, planet and profit.
I was so inspired by the two workshops Lisa led at the Mother Earth News Fair I recently attended that I stalked her at the handwashing sinks of the ladies restroom (true story-and yeah, maybe a little weird but I had to meet this woman!) to ask her how she became an Ecopreneur, and how other people looking to build a more sustainable life for themselves on their own terms could make it happen.
Lisa presenting at the Mother Earth News Fair discusses ways to reduce food costs.
Here’s what I learned.
Rethink Your Life Equation: Where Do You Really Want To Be?
In her early 20s, Lisa and John found themselves living in the city, paying city-rent prices, putting in hours at the office to pay for long-weekend “get-aways” in rural Wisconsin. These weekends in the country became so frequent that they asked themselves if they could swap their definition of “away.”
Could they live in the rural communities that spoke to them and think of a periodic weekend in the city, eating ethnic food and taking in fast-paced urban amenities, as the vacation instead of the daily life?
Lisa and John rolled the dice, and decided to build their life in the country. They were willing to give up short term comforts to make that happen, and continue to be willing to prioritize the essentials daily.
To make their dream of rural acreage a reality, Lisa and her husband focused on reducing expenses, paying off debt and saving to buy the land that would become their 5 acre farm.
1,000 Little Paychecks: Stitching Together An Income Quilt
Lisa’s long-term goal was to generate income on farm but not necessarily solely from farming. This concept, of making your living in your place without becoming a full-time, full-scale farmer, is something that appeals deeply to me, and to many other people I suspect. To do this, they built multiple income streams, selling goods and services and education in small bites to hundreds of people.
Slowly they built a sustaining, diversified income of what Lisa calls her “thousand little paychecks.” Now, sixteen years later, the dozens of ventures and projects – bed and breakfast, speaking, books, farmstand produce and more – have patching into a financial quilt that provides Lisa and her family with as much as they need while allowing them to live a life they feel proud of.
Lisa and her husband John build a sustainable income and lifestyle, together.
Recapturing Money, Recapturing Energy
In order to ensure their income quilt cover their expenses, Lisa continues to focus on getting the details right when it comes to expenses.
She is thoughtful about the details of frugality. In one of Lisa’s Mother Earth News Fair presentations, she laid out two scenarios for cooking a meal with some frozen, blanched spinach taken from the freezer.
In both scenarios, money and energy have been expended to grow or buy the spinach, package it, freeze it and keep it frozen.
In the first scenario, the meal (say, Spinach and Feta Spanakopita) is planned in advance and the spinach is pulled from the freezer and thawed slowly in the refrigerator, over several days. In this way, the cold contained within the frozen item is released into the refrigerator, helping to cool other things in the fridge. The spinach thaws, and everything else stays cool with less work from the refrigerator. The money and energy used to freeze the spinach is partially recaptured with only a small amount of planning.
In the second scenario, the spinach is pulled from the freezer 15 minutes or so before dinner. Because it is frozen solid, the dinner-maker pops it in the microwave to defrost it. Now, not only has the potential cooling savings of the frozen spinach been lost, but yet more energy and money have to be poured into thawing it.
It’s The Little Things…
As simple and obvious as the spinach-thawing example is, it was a total light-bulb moment for me. No big changes are required to pull this off: no switching to an all-plant diet or only buying packaged food on double coupon days. All that’s required is paying a giving a bit more attention and a bit more care to the ways you do what you already do. I love that. That’s how we all make changes that last anyway.
Heeding to the details of conservation and frugality (frugality is nothing more than conservation of money, after all) allow Lisa and her family to live the life they want. Thawing spinach slowly in the fridge is just one small way she recaptures money and energy. Investing in on-site, grid-tied solar and wind energy solutions that pay her back is another, slightly larger example of the same concept.
By not scorning those little slips of income, and by paying attention to little details of frugality, Lisa and her family have pieced together a sustainable economic quilt that makes a lower-impact, lower-income lifestyle possible, pleasant and inspirational.
Yes But How Do I Do It? The Build The Life You Really Want Three Book Giveaway
Lisa and John have written several books dedicated to helping people make the same transition they made in moving to a more thoughtful, sustainable lifestyle. I am thrilled to offer a giveaway here of their three most recent, sponsored by New Society Publishers, the publishing house for all three.
The winner of this giveaway will receive one copy of each of the following:
Farmstead Chef - This is a homegrown, handmade cookbook for people who eat and cook like they mean it. The food isn’t flashy, but it is impressive. Seasonal and solution-oriented (zucchini glut anyone?), these recipes are made for those with a garden or a farmers market addiction. Interwoven amongst the food is the philosophy of thoughtful eating and mindful consumption, but without a lick of preachiness.
Rural Renaissance - The more detailed story of how Lisa and John traded cubical jockying for farm freedom, Rural Renaissance is part philosophical blueprint for a lighter lifestyle and part how to manual to lower your impact and your bills.
Ecopreneuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet Before Profits - Details the how’s and why’s of running a sustainable business. Lisa and John talk about honoring the three “Ps”- people, planet and profit, and make the case that you can live your values while still making a living.
To enter to win all three books leave a comment below telling me what your dream “on farm” job would be. If just generating income weren’t an issue, what work would you find fulfilling that would allow you to work from a low-impact home base?
Contest closes 8 pm Friday August 10 (You have two weeks guys, spread the word!) and is open to residents in the U.S. and Canada. Winner will be contacted by email by Monday August 13th. Only one entry per person will be counted. Good luck!
Update: Contest now closed. Winner will be notified by email. Thank you for entering.
First, you should move to the island…just sayin’.
My on farm job would be to create an online magazine for women. Ha! It is a great creative outlet, can be done at any hour (our ALL some days), connects you to some of THE most amazing women (ahem!) and at any moment, I can drop work to be there for my kids. Now to make it a money maker.
I would really love to get this set of books. Each one offers something for me!
Btw, Bang Bang….Zucchini. Another reason to eat THE SAUCE.
I would can during the day and write books by night. :)
My ideal on-farm job would be homesteading, and teaching self-sufficiency to kids! I can envision a very small B&B also.
I have a small lot in a “green” development, on which I’d like to build a tiny cob house to live in, or straw-bale–something with a very small carbon footprint, solar power and perhaps wind power–I’m on a hill–created mostly from local, free, cheap and used materials. I’d like to be an example of how to live well in a tiny house that cost very little to build and uses little power to heat, cool, etc. I want a garden that can supply most of my food, fruit trees, chickens and possibly goats for milk and cheese. My neighborhood is surrounded by little developments of middle and low income housing, and I would love to provide a place for children to learn how to raise their own food, whether it is a formal after-school program or just letting the neighbor kids come over when they want to help and learn. Everything will be organically raised on my little homestead.
I think it’s crucial for young people to learn how to grow real food from their own yards, save money, and create a local, sustainable, non-GMO food economy. If some of the kids are really interested, they could turn mini-farming into an income. I’d love to also start a community garden somewhere in the nearby town, or help others to do so. The local economy is depressed, and community gardens could be very helpful.
I can imagine building a tiny cob guest house where guests could participate in the daily activities of a small homestead. The development has walking trails, a small pond, and a community garden space, and is near a large recreation area/park and university towns, so there would be much to do for my guests. They may be interested in learning about cob construction, solar power, etc.
My big challenge is how to get from here to there!
I suspect it’d be making jam and/or writing, just like at least one other previous commenter (and I’m sure many others to follow.)
Great share!
My dream “on farm” job would be to combine a farm and/or urban homesteading operation with a summer camp, creating a place where children and families can come to live, laugh, learn, and have fun for the week. I like the idea of offering people a chance to live in community and get a feel for the sun-up to sun-down lifestyle of living in closer relation to the Earth, the cycles of food production, the rhythms of the day, and shared dreams of people from all different lifestyles. The creative work and effort of sowing, growing, cultivating, and composting would be balanced by traditional camp-like camaraderie and goofiness.
I love this post and the books sound amazing. Gardening and canning are two things I do already, but on a very small scale on my postage stamp lot. I would love to have a bit more room along with chickens and bees. Someday!
Oh man…. My dream life would include so much! We have a smallish plot of land, about 20 acres, and I just cannot wait to build a house on it. I would love to own some kind of bakery or coffee shop, or something between the 2, making homemade goods and yummy food for the community. I would love to provide my business with great local food, grown on our land, eggs from our chickens, etc. I would love to provide for my family a quiet and simple way of life, one that is not complicated by all of the things in the city, such as making enough money just to live in the city….
And if all of this didn’t work out, I would still love to be able to provide my family with enough food from our land to be able to eat throughout the year. Sounds simple, but its what I want…
My dream is to move from my little two room studio apartment in the heart of the city to a small farm where I can design a garden for food that I love to eat and I can work in the soil until I am exhausted.
That’s a good question!
I have very simple dreams at this point. I just enjoy the idea of providing fresh organic food food for my family from our garden or ‘farm.’ I think it would be fun to sell the surplus somehow to make a little extra money someday. I enjoy canning and would like to incorporate that more. And I also enjoy sharing my experiences on my blog – it gives me an outlet to share and I also hope it encourages others to know how easy it can be to explore the idea of being more self-sufficient.
The idea of living a sustainable rural life hearkens back to my ’60′s yearnings for communal living. However at my age, 65, that bus has left the station. I am now working toward a frugal sustainable dotage. This will mean giving up my “urban homesteading” life……we have chickens, bees and a sizable garden on a 50×185 city lot, however life does happen and adjustments need to be made.
My financial affairs are in order, I am currently “downsizing” to the bare minimum of material possessions, the house and car will be sold and my plan is to move to a city dwelling, light filled and with a roof garden. I will spend my days, gardening, cooking, reading, needlework, the occasional political protest and entertaining my grandchildren. It does sound like a little bit of heaven, doesn’t it.
i would knit and write
I’d love to be able to be a stay at home momma, full-time blogger, and home farmer/gardener extraordinaire.
We actually already plan to do something like this. I currently work remotely (a fancy word for working from home), and our goal is to keep that going when we finally are able to get a house, and then *crosses fingers* farm :)
Brennan and I had the same idea. A summer camp that would have a farm and livestock to feed the kids and help them learn about where food comes from but in a traditional summer camp setting with all the fun and activities that come with that. The farming and food aspect would be just part of the experience along with arts and crafts, swimming, boating, campfires and all sorts of fun! Oh man, my mind is reeling with ideas now!!!
I’d love to be home with my kid (and maybe have another), have a few animals, a big garden, and blog about it all to generate revenue!
I would love to stay at home and play in the dirt all day. Garden time is my time to reflect and pay my respects to the world around me.
My onsite job would be multi-fold.
I am getting a home with acreage but have little gadening knowledge. I have a few friends who are having trouble making ends meet, yet are wonderful gardeners without land(paying for the priviledge). I would open up my land to them and grow a communal garden where we work together and share the bounty. Also as therapy for elder relatives who need the activity/stimulation to stay out of a nursing home…
My other passion is to learn to heal thru herbs and natural foods. I would love to be able to make teas, salves and tinctures from herbs and plants I grow or forage.
I want to see school gardens, even it places where that would mean a greenhouse (solar powered, maybe?). My totally unrealistic dream is to have something like Living with the Land at Epcot. I don’t think that greenhouse is very green, but I wonder how hard it would be to make it sustainable. It would be awesome to raise a new generation of gardeners, and I feel like it could even be profitable. If there’s one thing yuppies love, it’s buying organic vegetables from inner city kids.
Ahh…the same dream as always. Tending things. Tending to the needs of loved ones and the plants and animals that sustain us. Creating a haven in our home. Working side by side with my husband rather than each of us going off to our separate jobs.
How to do this and make a living has been question of the year for us.
permacultural educational-retreat-farm-b&b for people to come, learn, heal. leading by example and making full use of the quilt :)
Hosting groups of families for weekly meetings about greif – not as a therapist, but providing a safe place for children and their parents who are mourning the loss of loved ones to meet others in the same situation and to share their feelings – to actually honestly discuss what they are going through. I have volunteered at places that do this and I loved it more than I can tell. Being part of the process of grief and healing in someone’s life is powerful. I would love, LOVE to be more of an integral part of this sort of thing and actually host it. Provide that safe place for people to connect, share and heal.
My dream “on farm” job would actually be a combination of jobs. I dream of raising pastured livestock and selling just enough to cover the costs to provide us with free pastured meats. I dream of having a large enough vegetable garden to permit us to store excess for winter use. I dream of raising sheep and earning an income by selling the fleece, finished felted products, hand dyed roving, and homespun yarns.
In my dream I wouldn’t need much in the way of income because my dream would also having me living on a 40 acre parcel that’s completely paid off and we’d be self-reliant producing our own energy on site.
Like Ann-Marie, my ideal farm job would definitely involve canning the food I grew myself. Ideally I would like to teach others the skills my grandma taught me … unfortunately those lessons didn’t stick and I’m now teaching them to myself now!
My dream “on farm” job isn’t really a job, in my mind. I want a big enough garden that almost all of our vegetables and a good portion of our fruits are grown on the property we’re saving up for. I want enough time to forage for wild berries, which my state has plenty of! I want chickens, and possibly a couple of goats. More cats, more dogs. Tending all of this seems like the perfect job to me! Not only would it be low impact, it would be low-income and that would be just fine by me.
As for income, I already have my “dream” second job–I perform in the pit orchestra for local musicals and operas. Getting paid (a very, very tiny amount) to make music is the best thing ever!
My first step, chickens. Second, increase ‘garden’ space and grow & can more veggies. (I used to pressure can salsa on a campstove.) Third, grow my own grains for breadmaking.
My dream job on the farm would be making sure everything was running smoothly–seeds were planted when it was time, produced was picked and processed when ripe, animals were fed when it was time. Yes, it’s vital that someone actually DO these things, but like anything else, someone needs to ensure that things are occuring when needed. (And as a mom, I have LOTS of experience with that!)
I’d run a dairy and make cheese and ice cream!
Although I love living in the city, if I did have a farm, it would ideally be located reasonably close to a low-income community and my ideal job would be to start a non-profit venture of some sort that teaches adults and kids how to grow their own orgranic food by giving them space on my farm. (So I guess that means my night job would be grant-writing LOL.)
Erica, we are working towards being self-sustainable with the garden, chickens, turkeys, pigs, and soon a cow and calf. Any info or inspiration towards that goal would be awesome! We still have to work outside jobs but have been able to cut back some. Love your blogs!!
As a Master Food Preserver, my ideal situation on the farm wouldn’t be so much canning the goods as teaching people how to do it. As a writer, that teaching would include written materials, poetry and prose about making the rural life part of the urban mentality. As a classically trained chef and lover of people and service, I would want to share my food (mostly baked goods) with guests, so a B&B model would be ideal. And as a photographer, I would create beautiful images of my natural environment, going big with expansivelandscapes and zeroing in on the small details of beauty that are everywhere when we stop to look.
But mostly, I would teach people, share with people, feed people and then document it as beautifully as I could.
Rather than beat my head against the wall wishing I had a bigger lot somewhere more rural, I’m turning my generously-sized city lot into my own farming paradise … chickens, compost, sidewalk farmstand … one piece at a time to make our home in the city become off the grid. I’m thinking about the 10-year plan … solar, water catchment, self-watering chickens, no-mow lawn (i.e. 50s front yard lawn becomes cut-flower farm with a meadow). Rather than try to squeeze a Tiny Tumbleweed cottage in the backyard, I’ll convert the Tuff-Shed into my personal paradise, and become the crazy-lady-living-in-her-backyard. So, living large with what we have …
By the way … I just ordered the books from the library, so if I ‘win’, spin the number generator again and let someone else take them home. Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts, though!
I would live as close to the river or ocean as I could, and create beautiful furniture out of driftwood. I started doing that on Etsy, but it doesn’t bring in too much income. I would love to spend the days doing it, it’s so much fun and relaxing..
I would also start a used book swap. Bring a used book and swap it out for another one that interests you.
Sounds idyllic…
My dream involves a fruit-producing farm with chickens (and bees). The eggs will be used with the fruit for organic baked goods, mostly pies…the smell of freshly baked pie on a daily basis, bliss!
my big dream is to have a dairy goat farm and make my calendula goats milk soap. maybe some cheeses :) one day, i tell ya, one day…
I’d be in charge of the sheep, but only so that I could work with herding dogs. I’d probably work (extremely) part-time as an attorney on the side to generate some cash for the things we couldn’t grow/make/trade.
If I could do farm work, I’d love it. My ideal would be to do a little bit of everything. I doubt this would happen like it does with my office job but I don’t mind working really hard (physically or mentally) as long as I can switch it up and do something different each day. No more monotonous paper pushing :) The best job I’ve ever had was working in a science lab where I was actually standing up and DOING something!
Perfect timing on this post! I needed the pick-me-up today! I’d create a series of teaching programs for teens focused on healthy lifestyles, financial responsibility, and alternative ways of defining success. Organizing neighbor exchanges of goods would be another cool way to expand the satisfaction from our suburban farming experiments.
This is exactly what we’re looking at. Right now we’re working on getting out of debt and then hoping that at least one of us can quit our jobs and start a farm and also look into agritourism. To me it’s all about getting in the soil to grow food. I love growing food and I want to share what I grow with others. I also want more time for art. I used to be a sculptor and potter but no longer have the means or the time to do it and I miss it terribly. And of course, more time to write. :)
I would spin wool to knit socks.
I like to do a little of everything, and I’ve noticed that I get way more done when other people are around, so I dream of creating my own little community where my and several other like-minded families help each other with the big chores and everybody participates in child care, and meals would often be communal. We’d each contribute what we’re good at and learn from each other. I have a feeling that what I envision used to be quite common, even if current society sees it as odd or suspicious, lol.
My dream farm job would be a small farm with vegetables, fruits & animals to supply my family with food for the year and have enough excess to sell at farmers’ markets. Of donate the excess to local food pantries and teach preservation classes. This isn’t really my dream though, it will happen on of these years :)
I would love to run an experiential and educational after school program and summer camp based around our eventual farm tying in science, health (mind, body and spirit), nutrition and a general appreciation and respect for nature. Ideally, these programs would serve children 4(ish) to 18.
I also have ideas for a B&B :-)
Yes, the quilt idea is wonderful :-)
I would love to garden, make soaps and blog about all of it. All the while teaching my children to depend on themsselves.
My dream is to one day leave the city, where I grow food, compost, etc. on a small scale. And have some land to grow. I want chickens, goats and rabbits. Go to sleep every night tired but Exhilerated from working my little piece of heaven!
My dream “on the farm” job would be writing fiction full time and owning a book store.
I would love to just be able to stay at home and do more of what I already do-gardening, cooking, canning, and then I would throw in some chickens, rabbits and goats.
“You don’t have to move to change the place you live.”
I know because I’m living on my dream farm in Oakland California. My little urban homestead provides so much for me, and yet it’s small enough for me to maintain without getting to overwhelmed. In the future? Yes, I would love to own a nice big plot of property and expand my operation.
I’d teach freestyle weaving and other fiber arts to adults and kids, sell crafts at the market, work a variety of service jobs, and spend more time in the garden and kitchen growing and making what I’d otherwise have to buy (and earn money to pay for).
Homesteading would mean getting out of the office and enjoying the physical and mental benefits of managing a home farm.
My dream is to do what I do, on a larger piece of land. I grow organic veg and preserve food. My family started farming in 1830 in Canada. The area of Kilworthy Ontario is still farmed by members of my family. I would love to learn more. Farming is in my blood and in my own little way, I’m already doing it.
My dream on farm job would be to teach teens and young adults how to cook simple meals using real foods – basically, I’d be doing what I wish someone had done for me! I’d also teach them the basics of how to find local sources of fresh foods, whether it be local meat, csa’s, or foraging groups.
Thank you for hosting this opportunity! My absolute dream is “on site” subsistence – both in terms of sustainable habits (growing food, etc) and income! Ideally I will have an “income quilt” generated from handcrafts (embroidered art, boro-style quilts, etc), homemade/homegrown edibles (jams, pestos, baked goods), and personal vacation rental (a la airbnb.com). I’m in the midst of moving to the mountains to make my dream come true, and these books would be incredible resources!
What a great article! The frozen spinach story was a real thought provoker. My dream on farm job would involve chickens and show rabbits. We have a small garden area that is slowly expanding. My dream would be to grow as much food on our 1/3 acre as possible, and preserve it in such a way that we can eat all year on our harvests. The chickens would be for eggs, but the rabbits would provide some fertilizer ;-)
I keep thinking about starting up a native plants/edible landscaping business, and working to bring beautiful landscapes to my home city. I imagine hiring summer help from the area high schools to give kids job experience and skills that will last them a lifetime, teach water and soil conservation through workshops on native plants and grasses, and incorporate fruit and vegetable plants into municipal green spaces. And maybe raise chickens and goats for myself, for eggs, meat, and milk and to make cheese.
If money weren’t a factor, I would like to stay home to propagate plants and grow fruits & vegetables for sale.
Oh, man. If money weren’t part of it, I would so become a full time organic farmer (veggies, fruits, trees, livestock, poultry, grains, honey). Hubby would be a full time novelist, part time help-with-grunt-work farmhand. I would LOVE to get out of the city and do it! Curse you, indentured servitude (er, student loans)!
I hear ya’, dude. I hear ya’.
It was as if you wrote this post for me!!! (ok, so many people that read your blog probably feel that way) The hubs and I have a 5 year plan to do exactly what you and Lisa are talking about. We have already implemented many of the items….and we slowly add more each year. I plan to continue working mostly from home for the company I work for now that’s focus is on people, planet and profits as well. We plan to buy property within 5 years and grow an extensive garden that we can sell the excess either from the farm or local farmstand/market. What I especially want are some goats to add to my chickens. I really want milking goats so I can start making/selling cheese! (Hubs would be the full time farmer.)
Oh, my GAWD. You have to pick me!
Now that I got that out – I have always had a quiet little dream of running a destination farm for weddings, events or parties that are wanting a rural, sustainable feel. I dream of a big red barn on the property that serves as wedding place and meeting place. Animals around, teaching stations in the garden and by the paddocks about what things are good for what, what we use the animals for, etc, etc. Garden paths for walking, small secluded places to sit and talk. A working farm with alpacas, sheep, subsistence gardens, wind/solar power – but all with a rustic, comfortable air.
I would love to have a small farm shop on the property that features my soap, local crafts, alpaca and sheep fiber for knitting, local photography, etc for guests to shop and learn more about local artisans.
Okay. Back to paperwork now. I gotta pay off those student loans so I can eventually get there one day!!!!
Oh, if money were not the issue, I would love to have some acres to plant native plants on, with trails and spots to sit. Then I could give tours and show people first, how well natives grow where they are supposed to, and second, how edible so called weeds really are- and the natives are prime examples. Then I could also explain how important organic is to all of this, and how people can grow native plants, organically; how people can have their ‘landscaping’ and eat it too!; and how much more nutritious native/organic plants are!
Chickens and ducks and bees. I’d love to tend to my garden and animals and bake delicious things. That’s all! Is that so much to ask? :)
Dreaming, but….if we could convince my father in law to sell his walnut orchard on the Sacramento River and buy one instead on Putah Creek, closer to where we already live and that already has a farmhouse on it, that would be amazing. We could live on site and oversee the orchard for him. I’d make room for a huge veggie garden, chickens, and maybe some other animals. Husband could continue teaching, while spending summers helping with the food growing and preservation and preparing for the walnut harvest. Dreaming!!
What I’d love to do for income would be to make cheeses in the summer time. Have a small cheese shop where people could come to my farm, and order some raw, homemade cheese with a glass of wine and some fruit, grown on the farm of course. Then in the winter time I could spin yarn from my own sheep to sell.
I will start by saying, that the name of there Inn is perfect! It’s the name we gave our amazing Border collie :)
What would I do, if I could do what I wanted? Interesting timing for this question, because I am facing that very question as of late. A life changing injury, I got at work has pushed this very question to the forefront of my Daily life. ” Tiff, what do you WANT to do, now that you CAN’T do what you used too”? Of course I know that the L&I system isn’t set up to help me get to this end point, but here is the ‘dream life’ my partner and I talk about creating out of this chapter.
I would own enough land where I could have solar, and wind power,. We live in a county that has a great assistance program to get more people to use green power, and I would take every advantage I could of that. We life a life where ‘ giving what you got’ is a given, kinda like breathing. I have wanted to dedicate some of the land as a way to help feed the community. Whether it be a pea patch for low income or have the food banks farm it, we haven’t picked which one we would do, in a perfect life we could do both. Now as you you know I’m learning a ton, but in this dream I would be perserving more than I do know. We live a life around the concept of healing ” and I don’t mean the frou frou type!” Healing the earth, community, our selves is the foundation we step from. My partner is right on the verge of becoming a therapist and wants to do work with the tribes, with addiction, and recovery. She isn’t going to charge for this. That is a way to become a part of the solution, helping people with what we have, helps the earth. I have alway’s wanted to have a sensory garden, and will make that happen, also I would have an ” INN’ of sorts where it would be for troubled youth. Help them find the gifts of the earth, I have never found a better example of ” you reap what you sow” that in farming. It’s a healing venture if down while holding natures hand, it has helped to heal me. That’s what I want, to help ‘heal’ through farming. For income, well I would hope that we would be able to live off the food we grow, but you asked me for my ‘dream life if $ weren’t an issue. Oh and I haven’t owed a microwave in 20 years, Who knew I was ahead of the times! :)
Like a few others, I’d love to run children’s programs and summer camps on my farm! Some days, I also dream of running a B&B that hosts knitting retreats.
Oh gosh I have always had a dream of a lovely garden with little hideouts where Moms and daughters, and lovers, and best friends could stop for a while and have a cuppa and a plate of something good to eat. Of course it would be attached to a little market stall containing all my own home grown produce. This has been my dream for so long has never come to fruition – maybe these books would help! I love that spinach idea! wow! it just shows what we do so mindlessly.
A garden that grows enough to be canned/frozen and dried so that we can eat from it year round, writing gardeing articles, raising sheep for yarn and knitting.
My on farm dream job is calf raising. We farmed for years. This was my job. I only lost 1 calf in 10 years. I really miss it. We now have goats, chickens and pigs. And a large garden.
It would be hard to pick just one job. Having a small farm that sustains all our food and household needs is my ultimate fantasy (no small order there). The three things that really stand out when I dream about such things are puttering in a lush garden a buzz with my own bees, growing, pressing and fermenting my own cider, and keeping a heritage sow (probably and “old spot”) that I could breed each year and sell most of the piglets to locals for market hogs, saving one or two to be raised, butchered, processed, and eaten as ham, bacon and prosciutto all without leaving our farm.
My dream is quieter. Writing, gospel spreading in the morning. Produce and animal husbandry by afternoon. All to be sold and bartered, modestly.
I love the idea of lots of little paychecks. That’s a lovely way to think of it.
I’d love to design edible landscapes. It’s so fun to see people amazed that edible cabbage can be ornamental!
While I thought this speaker at the fair had some good ideas, I was so disappointed with her enthusiasm for baking with canola oil and milk powder, especially since she stressed eating the way her parents did. I doubt her Eastern European parents would even have had heard of either. Why not cook with whey (often *thrown out* by cheesemakers – think of all that could be fermented) or butter . . . they’re in the middle of cheese country!! Or why not freeze small amounts of milk if she had trouble using a carton before it went bad? It has to require less energy than mail ordering powedered milk processed from afar with milk that probably originally came from cows anear. Not to mention neither qualifies as real food for most people who eat close to the land – you can’t make either in your kitchen. I left the talking thinking they have a ways to go themselves before teaching others. Now the fermenting guy, he was awesome, so were the hugely mixed expressions of disgust and delight from the audience.
Dream “farm” job, helping to create food security in urban environments, where a connection to food production and nutritious obtainable food wasn’t a trendy choice, but a simple reality.
I guess I’m one of the lucky ones .. I’m already living the dream and just want to expand on it and get a lot better at it! Having worked for 20 years it seemed like an easy concept to stay at home after marriage then a baby came along. How wrong! I needed more so when we moved onto 2 acres I started a small farm .. some established orchard got me started but 5 years later our family consists of 10 and 3 year old boys, a dog, 36 chickens and 3 hives of bees. We’ve added 42 fruit trees to the originial 16, a small vineyard (this year), blue berries, marion berries, raspberries, strawberries and I’m hoping to design something to train native blackberries which I discovered growing prolifically this year. I had a CSA a couple years back but realized the little one needs to get into school before I will have the spare time and devote enough of that time to the CSA to make it truly profitable. We’re living on a little slice of heaven and I’m still learning how to garden it 12 months of the year instead of simply the summer months. I’ve designed the property using the principles of NatureScaping, landscaping for wildlife. The concept of our farm is that everything is either edible for humans or wildlife (or both ideally), provides nectar for pollenators and provides shelter or nesting sites/material for wildlife. I have a rich diversity of plant material and I am always adding more when I find it especially at low or no cost. We hope to eventually lease a parcel next to ours so that we can raise a couple beef and possibly some pork but that will have to wait for right now we are busy enough living our dream and constantly adding to it. This year I am still hoping we will get my greenhouse built and next year a root cellar. I would love to eventually teach classes from the farm showing how to be sustainable, even from a small lot, harvesting rain water, starting your own veggies, growing from raised beds, preserving your home grown produce and even the best ways to use it (I love to cook and bake). Yes, I’m living my dream and just keep expanding upon it. : )
My dream on farm job would be to have an urban garden with free tours for groups wanting to learn more about urban homesteading, have a small market store to generate modest income to support the operation. Blog what I know to share the information as I have received and showing others that you can survive while giving back at the same time. I am currently in a professional position and I get chronic migraines from the ongoing stress. I seek refuge in my my small garden and crochet prayer shawls for our church. At 41, I am ready for a change!
Deborah – me too … migraines from work stress have sent me screaming from the professional world … dunno how I am going to make an income now … city-life expenses are high, but there’s a bigger pool of purchasers than in a rural setting.
On-”farm” dream – grow our own food, have a roadside produce/egg stand, have some kind of a quilt workshop/store in the basement. Maybe my hubby would do woodworking and computer-working (there’s an interesting pairing!) All this while living in a “commune” of sorts – several families living together, sharing food, fellowship, faith, laughs, tears, and the rest of life. I’m in my early 50s and need to get this show on the road! We are currently at a crossroads in our life – my husband’s company is outsourcing more and more, we have a big mortgage on the rural “dream house” we bought 3 years ago, our youngest is nearing the end of high school, and we’re tired of the work-debt-spend-etc. cycle. The books look very interesting – I’m hoping Lisa will be at the Seven Springs MEN Fair as we have our tickets to go! Thanks for your blog – I really enjoy reading your thoughts and activities, even though we’re on the other side of the continent! –Kim in PA
My dream farm job would have to include things we are already doing like growing our own vegetables and herbs, having bees and our newest venture of raising pastured broilers and turkeys. To this I would add hogs, grass-fed beef and aquaponics to our little homestead. My 17 yr. old is a chef in the making and I would love to be in the background helping her have the best ingredients to use in her small, organic restaurant!
My idea on the farm job would be to run a little B&B in which instead of individual rooms, the guests would stay in small cabins built using various alternative construction methods, such as cob, cordwood, straw bale, earth ship, earth bags, etc. Electricity would be generated using renewable energy methods, water would be collected rainwater, and composting toilets and urine collection systems would be used so the human waste could be later used to fertilize the gardens, which would provide the food fed to the guests.
I would love to have a large garden, with bees and an orchard, and can and make our household sustainable. Then, as an on-farm job, teach kids where their food comes from. Education like that can make such a huge difference and leave lasting impression on kids. A day-camp type setup would be perfect and they eat everything from the garden/farm.
I’ve had a organic vegetable & herb garden for 35 plus years, so definitely gardening. A friend and I are currently trying to purchase a greenhouse and surrounding acres to expand a thriving business by offering weekend classes on “the lost arts” of organic gardening, canning, spinning, herbal healing, etc. We also want to “rent” some of the ground to folks who don’t/can’t have their own gardens (plots as small as 10′ x 10′ and up) especially to young families with children, so that the next generation can carry on the ideas and love for fresh homegrown produce. We would also like to have a shop there that would sell the produce, both fresh and canned, as well as some other homemade items. Hopefully we can make this happen, it’s been a dream of mine for so long.
My dream would be to create a completely self-sufficient life in the most economic method, and then receive visitors in my home to teach workshops in each category. It would accomplish the chores that I was going to do anyway, while spreading around the knowledge that I think is most valuable in our entire society.
I would love a small homestead so I could have chickens, rabbits and goats. I currently have a very small yard and do intensive organic gardening but we are not allowed animals here. I want to also get into raising worms and mushrooms. I have an eBay business and social security, so the money part is mostly covered, also I am a seamstress, quilter and I crochet (relearning knitting too). I have learned or relearned so much from ‘Mother Earth News’ and bloggers. It’s been an amazing year of learning.
This has been a lifelong dream for my husband and I, but we’ve never figured out how to “make the leap.”
We would open a bed ‘n breakfast in the beautiful northwest, where we have lived for more than 20 years. Huckleberry Harrises is the name we chose years ago and we’ve never forgotten our dream… Being able to work together, as a team, is still something we continually hope for and seek after.
My dream job would be the “farmer” ~ raising the organic foods to sustain ourselves and bless our guests. And, to share how we grow food with others who are interested.
My husband’s dream job would be the “chef” ~ creating delicious meals with the food grown on our farm. And, for our guests with food sensitivities or allergies ~ no problem. Everything would be gluten-free, dairy-free (with some goat or sheep cheese options available) and soy-free! Our bed ‘n breakfast would be a place that everyone could come and feel “normal” and live life to the fullest!
And, we would have to make our home/business as sustainable as possible. It’s important to us that we are good stewards of this earth and teach others, if they so desire to learn, what they can do to make a difference, as well. So together, my husband and I dream of being “teachers”.
If we can achieve this, it would better than “winning the lottery”… All things are possible!
I guess I would spend my time tending my gardens and learning to be a better steward of them (planting new things, doing succession planting, etc.). I would also just love to have time to read and write and travel :)
I am following your blog from Liberty Lake, Wa on the Idaho state line… so my perspective is a bit different. Farming is dirty and hard and never goes the way you planned. There is no sleeping in and you can’t skip chores just because the weather is bad. It’s kind of like having kids… you just manage the chaos! The joy is found in the sum of all the little accomplishments. Cruel joke, many farmers and/or their spouses work off farm to pay the bills. My on-farm dream job would be to actually BE ON-FARM. No more working as a server at night and no more daycare for my little guy…. A sustainably managed small family farm that could also serve as a venue for community education- for other farmers and for local families about the concept of sustainable agriculure and the idea that farmlands and farmers are a remarkably important natural resource. ( ok, so I would really like to get my masters while I’m farming…the food system in this country is sadly broken and somebody has to fix it… one organic egg at a time!)
We’ve started casually looking around for some acreage in Wisconsin (where my husband is from) because he’s only a few years away from retirement. The ultimate plan (to be accomplished in a series of tiny steps) is to grow all of our own produce and grains. I’ve been researching livestock breeds and am thinking about a couple of Irish Dexter cows for dairy and to provide an annual calf for beef. We’ve had chickens for a few years now (Barred Plymouth Rocks), and hope to expand into a couple of other breeds (Rhode Island Reds, Brahmas and Jersey Giants for meat birds). I’m also really interested in heritage turkeys, specifically the Bourbon Red, Narragansett and Midget Whites. And then of course, there are the Berkshire hogs and some trout for an experiment in aquaponics. In addition to selling excess produce, baked goods, honey and cheese, I want to get some small income from fiber animals: Jacob, Icelandic and Finn sheep as well as Angora goats. Ultimately, I guess, I want to “do it all,” one time piece at a time–just like making a quilt!
My on-farm dream job is actually my plan for when I “retire”. I love doing things at home – making candles, soap, jams, baking, knitting, etc. My boyfriend once suggested I should open a little farm-type store to sell all the stuff I make rather than just give it as gifts to family and friends. So one day, when we’re able to buy a suitable piece of property, that’s the plan :) I want a small orchard, a huge garden, and the time & flexibility to make what I want!
I would use the farm to teach classes on home butchering and canning and sustainable living, local foods, etc. That would be the life! Love the books, see you again at the Fair!
Hi there – all these books look great! My dream on- farm job and what I day-dream about all day as I sit in the office (had to return to work due to my hubby’s job loss – darn economy!) is to be at home with my 4 kiddo’s and have a small farm store. I want to grow and sell fresh / dry/ and tinctured herbs as well as teas, salves, soaps, and lotions that I already make. Also to sell fresh veggies and fruits grown on the farm. Also – I want to sell books and have a small library system for my customers. And I would love to start a program in my community public school where kids learn about where their food comes from and how to save energy by doing small things. I love the frozen spinach thawing example. I am planning away and hope to make this dream a reality soon! Thank you for your inspiration – I really enjoy your blog and sense of humor!
We already have five acres. We’re growing our own vegetables, and have chickens and eggs, and bees. We’re hoping to have cows and pigs soon, and a small herd of meat goats. I’m looking forward to the day when I can use the products we are/will be producing ( wax, honey, goats milk, etc.) to create and sell my own brand of products like soaps, candles, lotions, and creams. I’d also like to be selling our produce and eggs, and home canned goods eventually from our own farmstand or farmer’s market. I’m going to have to hire some help to do all this!
I would have a VERY small home and build another small building to hold classes to teach others how to live like I do. I am retired, living on a very small income, and the older, retired people who never learned how to fend for themselves, need to learn–and soon!–how to manage on little money. With chickens, a garden, simpler lifestyle, “old” age can be a wonderful time.
We’ve got a half acre in the city, next to a greenbelt. We’re just beginning our vegetable garden and we’ve already got chickens. I dream of buying the 1/3-acre vacant lot behind us and building a guest-house and putting in some fruit trees. But every time I go outside, I envision an outdoor portrait photography business integrated into the whole thing – with so much natural beauty and incredible light every single night just before sunset, it couldn’t be more perfect!
Raising enough food to be able to bring people to my land to show them how easy it is and how it can be done by almost anyone. I would love to have a ‘teaching” farm where people come and learn skills they can use and pass on.
I’d love to earn money by writing, and possibly some textile design.
First working from home via the web for some income but also small scale farming. I could totally see us very happy doing this. Living this way.
I would love a farm of sheep and goats!
I would love to have an apothecary type business based on the herbs I grow. I would have jars and jars of herbs in my shop (on my property, so customers could visit the growing herbs), to make tinctures, teas, salves, skin care, etc. I would also sell herb plants and have workshops on how to grow and use herbs. I’d include some of my craftiness in making things to hold the herbs or herb inspired items.
My dream “on farm” job (disregarding the need for income) would be to write, photograph my farm and nature, and sell bouquets of flowers.
My dream farm would be in SW VA or W NC. I would want about 5-10 private acres with some woods for walking, room for a large garden, chickens and a Jersey mama and calf. It will have an old farmhouse painted white, a barn, outbuildings and a stream with swimming holes.
As an educator and spiritual guide I will offer weekend and week-long retreats for women seeking to deepen their personal spiritual practice with prayer, meditation, communion with nature and each other, art, writing, good nutrition and play.
thanks,
Ann
My Farm Dream would consist of creating something to offer that would allow me to never have to drive off farm to an office in a blasted ice and snow storm again. I think I would like baking bread and artisian pizzas in a brick oven. I once stumbled across a home in the Upper Pennisula of MI who sold the best apricot bread made in a fire brick oven 20 feet from their home. They sold out every day they baked.
Wow. Judging from all the comments, there are a lot of would-be homesteaders wanting to do this very thing. Your post, and the books, sound very interesting indeed.
I have always earned a living as a writer, and although I am underemployed right now, I’d like to continue writing, but from home. I’ve always also wanted to keep chickens. Heck, if money were no object, I’d have 2 donkeys too, simply becus I’ve always liked them. I’d have guinea hens to eat the ticks around here. I’d continue with my vegetable gardening and give away more of my produce to my neighbors. I would continue preserving garden-grown produce by freezing for winter soups and stews. I guess this is not really a job, but a lifestyle. Well, I have been experimenting making hypertufa pots. Perhaps that could turn into some sort of Craig’s List entrepreneurial gig?
My dream on farm job is pretty similar to my current situation :) We currently live in a small city where I teach yoga part-time at various studios, but someday I’d love to have a bit more land with a huge garden, fruit orchard, chickens, goats and bees, and an old farmhouse with space for my own studio where I can teach yoga classes in a more pastoral, restorative setting.
I love the message of determining to live wholly and truthfully–not buying in to the consumerism that traps most adults in dreary 9-to-5′s. I’m looking forward to perusing some of the books you linked to. Thanks!
My dream is to have a place where people can come to heal their souls. I want to have enough room to have a meadow where people can plant something in honor of a broken dream or heartache to help it mend and heal. Good food, kindness, gentleness, breathing, being cared for, rest. A place where you can feel the wind move through your lungs. A place where you can dig in dirt and clean the rough places inside that threaten your dreams. A place where you can be silent or scream to your heart’s content. A place where you can set stone on stone in honor of all you have been through. A place where second, third, fourth and so on chances are born in the soul and in the body. A place you leave renewed but also longing to stay. A place of healing and hope.
I am close to licensure as a social worker in Florida and live on 12 acress of old florida style woods with a large garden space. I would like to share my insights of healthy living that includes making peace with self, our generational path and Giai.
My dream “on farm” job would be to provide a complete year round diet for my family and teach others how to do the same. I live in town right now and the dream of a farm of my own seems far reaching. However, I know it is the life for me and I am doing what I can now, where I am, with what I have. It’s all anyone can do.
Wrote way too much for a comment section so turned it into a blog post instead but here’s the summary:
When my hubby and I were engaged, we’d spend hours sitting in his pickup in the grocery store parking lot with a carton of milk and a chocolate bar to eat and a clipboard of paper to write out our dreams. We used to dream of someday moving to a rural area of the state, living in a big old Victorian farmhouse, and living as self-sufficiently as possible. We drew up complicated diagrams with arrows all over them showing how everything worked together. Think Joel Salatin supporting just his own family with everything they needed. We’d never heard of him, but his methods embody our old ideal. We planned on me working very part time and being the farm wife, preserving the harvest, managing the home. We planned on him managing the garden, crops, livestock, and building and maintaining the grounds (our plans also included flower gardens, a children’s play area and an outdoor brick oven among other things). The ultimate goal, besides sustainable living, would be to have our whole family work together and spend time together, to have time to raise our children mindfully, and to be able to see each other a larger percentage of the time than we see co-workers or neighbors…after all, we were getting married because we wanted to be together!
Due to some recent discussion, hubby made a proposal: why not go back to our original dream, but with a twist. Sure we’re living in the city on a seventh of an acre, but isn’t it still our goal to live as sustainably as possible. Isn’t that why we do what we do already. Isn’t our yard already resembling a tiny urban homestead? Why not take that and run with it? Why not try being a farm wife and a farmer?
So that’s what we’re in the midst of trying to figure out now. He stays home with the kids so his goal is to supplement my income with enough produce to provide for as much of our needs as possible and sell the excess (a little money wouldn’t hurt!) so that I can cut down on my hours. Books with more information on how others have done this would be so helpful. At this point our go-to for this is Mini Farming: Self Sufficiency on a Quarter Acre but more perspectives would be great!
That’s really beautiful, Robin! I think, reading all of the posts, that we all have this dream that is something other than what we have … and rather than be continually upset by what we don’t have, turn what we have into something beautiful. Make it work where you are with what you have. And your son wearing fairy wings is just awesome! Keep up the good work
I would expand on what I am doing now in my little back yard in a little town. I have had my own business for a while now, making home decor and gifty things but my focus over the years has changed to upcycled or eco-solutions to otherwise wasteful items (like throw-away party decorations or plastic produce bags). I want to have a property that is as self-sufficient as possible. Any extra produce, canning, flowers etc I would use to barter for services for things I cannot accomplish myself.
I would develop recipes and write cookbooks and do crafts and grow veg in between.
My dream on farm job is slowly (true emphasis on slowly) becoming a reality. My husband and I just bought 40 acres in North West PA. Here we hope to build a mostly self-sustaining homestead, while home-schooling our three children. We also hope to develop the land enough to accommodate ten or so like minded families who seek to create more than they consume. Together we want a sustainable community complete with organic produce and small live-stock. We hope to serve our local communities and raise our children with an awareness of what they can receive from the earth and contribute to society. We have taken the first step. My dream is coming true. We’ll just have to keep putting one foot in front if the other until my dream is no longer a dream, but my reality.
My dream job would be to make cheese. Goat’s, sheep’s and cow’s milk, all make yummy cheese. I would also hope to share homesteading skills with others (online or at the farm)!
Rick and I have talked very much about tapping into the agro-tourisim biz. I’d love it. Before kids we were already scouting B&B potentials, but I’d love to make it a farm vacation instead. <3
2 acres max in the Denver metro area. Half an acre of that used for an orchard. A quarter acre for grape trellising. Another quarter acre for grains. An acre for veggies. A small house with basement that has been converted to a storage cellar. A side office used to give my mom employment by selling chicken supplies and other clean air organic items to the urban homesteader (oops, did I just infringe on the Dervrais copyrights for “original” idea? Sorry). Everything running on solar and wind power.
Sell stuffed grape leaves from my vines and veggie garden. Set up a stand at area markets to sell quinoa, veggies and fruit, ciders.
My dream would be to have a space where I could grow herbs and other plants that could be used for natural dyeing of fibers and fabrics – and to raise the sheep to provide the wool for such – so that I could start a sort of artisans retreat/colony/rustic school. I have an interest in almost all of the things that others have noted, and all these pursuits are creative, so they feed something in me that the city just does not.
Thank you for this opportunity.
I currently live on a few acres, try to have a somewhat productive garden and raise chickens. Attempted to sell at a farmers market but that only paid for my gas to get there and back and my tables and canopy. I would love to expand on what I have to become self sustaining growing and canning 90% of my own food to last throughout the year. I would love to incorporate vermi composting perhaps on a community level with the possibility of selling the “tea” and/or compost. I find it very difficult to attain these things when a full time outside the home job is where I spend a good part of my time. Maybe in my retirement years????!!
This is my dream: To live on several acres and have a huge kitchen garden and fruit trees. The house would have a big kitchen and dining room as well as a deep cool basement for winter storage. The power would be all generated by wind, solar and water. I would like a guest house with a couple of suites and a couple tent houses or yurts for my guests. I would be able to open my home to people that want to learn about a sustainable way to live and also get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. I would also like to sponsor inner-city kids and their parents for weekends in the county that include a dose of good old-fashioned farm work and farm to table home cooking. Cooking and preserving food classes would be offered. I would inspire others in my community to be involved and ask them to teach things like beekeeping and backyard chicken tending, knitting, even candle and soap making. With my skills and the skills of others there would be so much we could offer to others to help them live their dream life as well.
My dream on farm job would be teacher. I want to learn and then pass it on. Or pay it forward if you prefer. I would write ebooks, hold workshops, maybe do a farm experience weekend. I will also be selling my produce and making value added products but I hope to make the balance of my living from teaching others to follow their dreams. It’s my passion. :D
OH MAN, this lifestyle totally rocks. Amazing and beautiful food, frugality, sustainability, education, and minimalism…some of my favorite things! I would absolutely love to live on a small plot of land, not *too* far from the city (gotta have some modern conveniences!), but far enough to still feel secluded. I’d have beautiful flower gardens as well as veggie/herb gardens, blended to create the perfect combination of form and function. I’d spend my time preparing food and gardening, tending to my egg-laying chickens, blogging/educating via the internet, and hosting classes on my property about living closer to the land. THIS (and including many of the similar ideas posted by the other commenters!) would spell happiness to me.
Well, in short, this is my dream. Live on the land, make ends meet somehow, work hard, love on my family, learn the land deeper and deeper with each season. It’s nice to hear others feel that same way too.
Yes, I think there is hope for humanity after all. :)
I would spend my days tending a gorgeous garden and cooking/canning the wonderful foods I was able to harvest.
It would be great if I coud make a living crafting.
I would teach urban and suburban teenagers to grow and cook their own food.
I would love (keeps-me-up-at-night love) to be a sheep-to-skein yarn producer. I love canning, growing my own food makes me very happy, but raising sheep and turning fleece into yarn is my ultimate dream job.
Ok, so obviously I’m ineligible to win. But the idea of putting my dream-farm-job out there seems lucky, so here goes.
If I had my druthers, I’d really like to follow the “thousand paychecks” model…perhaps not a THOUSAND (sounds like a lot of work) but a few dozen. I’d like to spin up some of my writing efforts into something income generating, get a few novels published and freelance for magazines. Perhaps figure out a way to turn my work in business intelligence into some sort of part-time consulting or speaking gig.
Spend half my days working on the farm, offsetting costs and producing our own, and half my days writing.
Of course, since this whole vision is predicated on a career as a novelist, I’m not putting the day job out to pasture anytime soon…
My dream on farm job would be homesteading/raising pastured pork and beef/horse training! All of my passions in one! This giveaway sounds wonderful, thanks for doing it!
I would open a self-sustaining restaurant and live above it. :)
My dream job, would be doing kind of what we are doing now…but a little “more” I’d like to get goats,more chickens and be able to grow some of our own feed
I would invent a website that would unite all these dreamers so we could network and support each other :) Anyone from Minnesota reading this?
Aside from growing enough fruit & veg for myself, I’d mainly raise sheep & rabbits in a sustainable way so I could harvest their fur & spin it into yarn. Alpacas are also a consideration.
I’d become a Master Canner and Master Gardener and use my plot of land as a teaching lab. Ooh, and start an aquaponic system. Then I’d write books on gardening and storing food in the climate zones of Greater LA.
I am slowing learning all the skills one needs to have to be self-sufficient. My biggest eye-opening experience has been doing a work-share at a local farm. Some days, especially those 99 degree days after planting 100′s of squash plants, I wonder if if would just be easier to buy the dang vegetables. But, deep down, I am so motivated to learn about farming, gardening, raising chickens, and generally knowing how to make most of the food I feed to my family.
I would grow fruits and vegetables and make a living cooking for people. Id also like to teach kids about food and cooking.
Take this cubicle and shove it! (Or shovel it full of manure!) I’d spend my day with my animals. The chickens could actually be on pasture, not urban back yard. Being a mentor to young people who don’t yet know they are destined to be farmers. Canning, sewing, planting. Hubby does the heavy work. Grow my own turkey dinner. Thanks for the moment to day dream.
I think it would be fun to spend time working with kids and trying to teach them about real foods and spending time in the great outdoors!
I would like to build several houses out of shipping containers (with solar!)….2 to rent out and one to live in, allowing me to have a steady income while I garden, raise chickens (and now I really want rabbits too), sell my produce at the farmers market, and work on my graphic design company that I haven’t had time to really get up and running-becuase I work M-F…my company would make Eco-friendly invitations for weddings and parties – there is so much waste in all the fancy envelopes, rsvp’s, programs etc…etc…etc… There has to be a better way of getting the information in a stylish and still beautiful, tactile way without all the paper waste. This would also allow me to get my child out of daycare where I don’t like the food menu – it’s all processed and unhealthy (seriously – poptarts and frito pie for a 3 year old – it’s disgusting).
My dream is to have a mini farm that we can grown enough for our family and sell the left overs at a stand or market. Additional income would come from the “petting zoo” aka bringing the kids in to love on the animals we already depend on for food. I want a dairy cow and layer chickens. I want a horse for riding lessons and a mini pony to be bossy and the farm prankster. I want to grow pumpkins to sell in October and do autum farm activities like corn maze and hay rides. I want to grow Christmas trees too and take folks out in our horse drawn sleigh to chop their family Christmas tree. We could invite whole class field trips to learn about sustainable living and the circle of life. I want to have a garden and preserve our foods with love. And to raise eating cattle, some to keep and some to sell. I want to supplement our income by selling crafts and quilts at the market. And follow it all in my blog!
Being able to write and commit time to that would be a dream. To be financially free so I could leave a hyper-stressful middle school teaching job. I would love to have my own laying hens and sell eggs. Many little dreams.
Long read – getting through all these folks dreams – so interesting. I’d like to have some acres in the boonies near the deer woods with a small somewhat rustic lodge where hunters could stay in their season, and maybe host quilter’s retreats at other times. It wouldn’t be a full-time affair – there would be lots of quiet time too. Time to walk, play in the dirt, sew, do energy saving experiments, cooking experiments, etc.
oooh, permission to dream it up? I would make delicious sauces and jellies and my favorite chai, have a market every week, with creations by myself and my friends. We would hang out and exchange passions and ideas for sustainable and simple living, and my amazing man would play piano. Oh, and his friends would come too and play other instruments. We have had the idea of a weekly breakfast – made from our garden veggies and eggs from the chickens. Music, community, creativity, delicious food….. People would come to my home for healing energy work and sit in the garden with tea that I have made from my impressive herb garden…. I can almost taste it… It’s not far away!
Growing a big garden and making candles.
I would spread the word and help educate others to live self sustained lives.
A B&B featuring as much farm to table food as possible. With a little shop for excess produce/jams/pickles. A small on farm bakery/cafe featuring wood-fired breads and pizza and sandwiches. That’s all I ask for. ;)
What wouldn’t I do want to do is a better question? I would love to grow all manner of fruits and veg, create fresh meals, can and preserve and share our bounty with those in need of good food (food banks, etc.). I would raise chickens, for fresh eggs, and cows, for raw milk and cheese. I would like to create accessible gardens and use our farm to teach others who live with differing abilities how to enjoy gardening and growing their own food. Bring local schools into the mix, by supporting local school gardens… I would love to barter with others to create a local economy based in bounty, rather than in want and money.
Oh my goodness, my “grand plan” is so, well, grand – that I have scaled it back a bit to be more reasonable to begin with: I would like to start by simply growing (organically) a significant percentage of my family’s food and herbs for cooking and medicine. I want my children to have an appreciation for “real” food and where it comes from and I would love them to feel a connection to the earth and to nature. Part of the plan would also be to grow enough to share with others in our community, as I also want my children to grow up to be compassionate, giving individuals.
It would be to learn absolutely everything about farming and spread the same knowledge with our future generations. Children and adults working on the farm together, it will foster amazing things!! We MUST teach the children how to do this. Their life and the lives of their offspring depend on it. And teaching those kids to look 7 generations past and 7 generations forward instead of just right now so our legacy can live on…….and then……………..those kids can take those skills into their communities and change the world..
I have been working to build the infrastructure needed so that I can ‘retire’ from the day job and work from home. (I’m hoping not more than one more year) I am an artist and would love to do an artists retreat/workshop/B&B. I’m already expanding my poultry operation and expect that next year in addition to selling eggs, I’ll also be selling Muscovy ducks, Buff Orpington and Welsummer chicks. (no certified processor locally so I won’t go in for meat sales, tho I would sell birds live to customers, then teach them how to butcher them). I may expand my rabbit herd to include one of the Angora breeds for wool and yarn sales. I have 20 acres of desert scrub; I’m in the slow process of doing erosion control and fencing so I can buy some Karakul sheep, they give meat, milk, hides and wool. I’m looking into breeding Guinea Hogs, half or less the size of regular hogs they are an endangered breed, with fewer than 200 in the US. Sales of feeder pigs and breeding stock would be good. I’d love to have Nubian dairy goats again and am looking at the mini-nubians, since I think smaller size farm stock is going to be the wave of the future. I”m already selling small amounts of produce at our local farmer’s market and plan to bump up the garden and have a large booth next year. I’m also thinking of starting a lot of extra veggie & herb plants in the spring and having a spring plant sale; that might lead to an actual organic nursery enterprise….. I already write a lot of gardening articles online (http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/hysongdesigns) and would love to write more as well as paint more.
I recently rather accidentally discovered a passion for soil biology, something that I think could be easily-studied on a real, working farm! I have always been passionate about sharing what I’ve learned about nutrition, food allergies, gardening, wild foods, microflora, and the way all of our choices have rippling effects. I would love to write articles and host classes teaching these things. Ideally, I want to not charge for the classes… money can be a barrier to so many. Maybe I could even travel to different local schools and bring a bit of green to the kids stuck in classrooms all day.
As cliche as it sounds, I would love to run a B&B (limited times available, I don’t think I would like the constant grind.) Mine would even be allergen-friendly. :-)
My dream farm job would be to just live off my land(if I had it) I want to raise my children on our farm. To be able to feed them off it. Teach them from it. Learn to live like my grandparents did. I think we would all be happier and healthier if we did.
My dream “on farm” job would be holding workshops and summer camps meant for families, to pass on the gift of nature and rural skills. I was horrified when I read an urban gardening article that stated some kids were confused about why the vegetables had dirt on them. The idea is having a place where kids and parents can learn together to garden, feed animals, enjoy nature, identify trees and plants, learn crafts or to swim. Teaching is a passion of mine and being able to pass on the skills to be self sufficient is a skill that we need now and will need even more in the future.
Since we were little, my sister and I have always wanted to have land for an animal rescue. we could not only save and rehabilitate these animals, but also offer children therapy and education programs. We love food, hard work, and the quiet beauty of a great open sky.
I’d just like to be able to get as far off the beaten path as possible-grow what I can, heat what I can, etc. I’m greedy- I want to swim in cucumbers, I want to hoard energy-I want the space and time to do that. baby steps. :)
My dream “on the farm job” would be learning to raise free range chickens for their eggs. I just love seeing chickens roaming free. Also promoting drying clothes outside. Nothing smells fresher than sheets dried on a clotheline outside.
My partner and I kick around ideas for farm living all the time. The two we keep coming back to are raising honey bees to make and sell mead (and honey and beeswax) and farming worms to sell vermicompost (and compost much of our waste). In addition, we would raise animals and maintain a garden to provide for ourselves. Ideally we would add some sort of guesthouse/b&b aspect to share our farm with others (and provide some additional income).
My ideal on-farm job would depend upon the season. In the winter, I would make handmade soap, which I would sell primarily through Etsy. I’d also do some local wholesale selling and sell at farmer’s markets and craft fairs. In spring and summer, I would concentrate on gardening and growing pursuits. A lot of the growing would be for mine and my family’s use, but a good deal of it would be herb, such as lavender and rosemary, that would be used in my soaps. Fall would be spent doing a lot of canning and preserving, and gearing up for the winter. Of course there’d be a lot of overlap in all of this. There’d be other little odd things I’d like to do as well, like beekeeping, making my own body and cleaning products, etc., but I’m only one person. But, I’d love to be able to walk away from my cubicle and attempt to make a lifestyle like this work…
I would love to give informal, fun classes in my garden and my kitchen, about canning and preserving, to lots of people, but especially youth. I would love to see them get excited about the possibilities of food security/ sovereignty.
My dream job / life would to have a semi self sufficient homestead. I would offer a home to developmentally adults interested in living and learning to work on the land. It would be a family / co operative situation in which everyone life would be valued for the uniqueness and skills they bring to the endeavor.
I like to do many different things, so, like the authors, I’d like my job to be a “quilt” of sorts – doing a little of many different things. I already do that, to a degree – I garden, I can, I keep bees, I have an orchard, a hayfield and keep some egg-laying hens, I trim horse feet, I do home and farm repair and construction, etc., but would love to expand, and think their books sound like must-reads for me!
My ideal farm job would to figure out how to set up and maintain a 2000 sq ft year round green house that would maintain an average temp of 65-70 degrees so I could grow all the same veggies I would grow in the summer time. It would be quite a task, I would need a little wind, a little solar, and a fair amount of geothermal, and of coarse water. Once the basic were down and working then figure out how to build it for a whole lot less, then show and tell everyone how to do it… I picked doing it all in a green house because of the threat to the food system by cross contamination of GM poplin.. You can control many thing in a green house..
I’d use my farm for tours (and to feed my family), and I’d plan other people’s growing spaces for them. Yay, permaculture!
I too would have a B&B style homestead, garden, chickens, goats, milk cow, horses. Cook and teach gourmet home grown food ways of ole.
My Dream farm also doubles as a day program for adults with disabilities, the elderly and anyone who needs social interaction. There is a large community building for coffee, receptions and anyone who want to play some music. There is a large kitchen for processing of fruits and veggies into marketable items. The garden area is out the back and is handicapped accessable. Beside
the garden area there are grass fed cattle from which milk, butter and meat is sold. And a bonus is a stand of maple trees to make syrup from. The focus is on inclusion, communty, self sustainablility, and permaculture. I also know who I’m hiring for what jobs!
My dream is to run a fully self sustaining aquaponics system in my tiny back yard and eventually be able to use our knowledge of growing food to help our two year old son gain knowledge that will help him secure a better future for himself and his children. We would also like for this to become what provides our income. We would also like to install solar and wind to our home so that we can live with the pride of knowing we are doing our very best to contribute to the betterment of everyone. Thank you for sharing freely your knowledge and experience on these subjects as well as many others.
A year after my husband and I started full scale gardening, we started a blog and wrote about how much we didn’t know and what we learned. We only blogged for one summer and then gave a presentation at church — mainly about what we now know doesn’t work, and what we learned did work. My dream would include lecturing to people about how to start a foodstyle change. You don’t have to know everything, or anything, and can jump right in. Sure, you’ll make mistakes, but it’s all a learning process and you have to start somewhere, right? Oh yeah, and I’d like to blog again about what we’ve learned along the way.
My dream on-farm job would be to have a tiny little shop on my property where I would sell all things I’ve made myself or that came from my property: canned items, soap, yarn, wool, cheeses, knit/crocheted items, seedlings, eggs, pottery, baked goods….I would also love to teach classes on how to do those things and teach others about self-reliance. I would love to write as well. I’m flittering off into sweet daydreams now. Oh the possibilities. One day…..
Our dream is to build an off-grid yurt on a some secluded property that has been in family for 60 years. My grandparents raised me there , on their farm, and instilled so many skills that I lean on today. They were truly self-sufficient people who knew how to live happily on very little aside from a great deal of hard work. I truly enjoy teaching people who are passionate about gardening, canning, raising animals, and other self-sufficient things. Ideally I would make my living holding onsite educational opportunities teaching these skills at my homestead.
I’ve given this one some thought over the years and thought it would be fun to combine my small-farming goals with a home day care center. Promote the day care as an in-touch-with-nature center where children can garden, work with animals, and learn to respect the land. Foods would be local and sustainable. All this in addition to the regular things like free time, reading, art, and so forth.
I would have loved such a thing as a kid.
I’ve come up with several idea’s over the years, but lately I’ve been thinking more and more of farming medicinal herbs, as well as making and selling my own herbal medicines.
We would love to do this. Since we have 2 small businesses, we can’t readily leave the area, as our client base is here. Always looking for ideas to help us get onto a bigger property and still have time to enjoy it.
I live in the county on 3 acres, and would like to have my own chickens for fresh eggs, bee hives for honey, finish putting in raised garden beds for vegetables, and have my own compost.
If money were not an issue, I would probably still be working with youth development organizations. I would build furninture, raise chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats (and children too). I would have a small orchard and bees, and room for growing enough food for my little family.
I can picture myself on the farm planning, planting, growing and cooking. Then starting all over again.
I would work on a documentary series, a bit like The Perennial Plate, where I go around to different farms and establishments in the food industry, to learn about the different processes and stories of the people behind it. It would be incredible to learn about such a wide array of possibilities within the food industry and then to broadcast that to the public in an accessible way.
To have a peaceful refuge for abused women, children, and animals. A garden, farm animals with a barn, lots of land to run and play and explore and learn; a place to heal while creating and connecting through the fruits of the earth. There is so much violence in our world and no where to escape.
Oh, perchance to even dream momentarily about me on a “real” farm! Stuck in suburbia for now, with an underwater mortgage and the typical lion’s share of credit-card debt looming over us, I spend every waking moment (and most of my unconscious dreaming as well) wistfully imagining that little acreage with the modest house, back in the valley closer to the rest of the family. While I bide my time here in suburgatory, with my 7 raised garden beds, chicken coop with 4 laying hens, and my most recent purchase of a water-bath canning set, I look forward each spring to the dawning of the latest escape from winter doldrums here in the mountains and the onset of the gardening season; nice for now, but some day… some day, I will have the acreage–just a little one; I don’t need that much–and I will grow a larger garden. I will have both laying hens and raise and process meat birds each year. I will plant a small orchard, and I will keep honey bees, just as my grandfather did many decades ago. Everything will be organic, sustainable, permaculture… and my home will be as “off-grid” as I can reasonably make it. I’ll be a happy member of the local farmers market, taking my own wares to market each week and proudly displaying them to all who visit; selling eggs and vegetables and seeds… perhaps my own baked goods, and even some of my craft items. And I will visit with happy market-goers, who will be relaxed and pleasant as they shop with local folks supplying “real” food instead of the nasty industrial stuff the chain stores sell.
Our little farm will be closer to our family. And perhaps I’ll have a grandbaby or three. And perhaps I will inspire them to live a similar lifestyle; a lifestyle I have only just recently discovered is truly what I want to live “when I grow up” now, in my early 50s. I’m off to a good start in that both our sons (now in their 20s) have indicated their passion for a similar lifestyle. Odd that while it’s also how my own parents grew up, we did not. We suffered the early-60s hype of all the “new modern conveniences,” and my own mother clamored for the wonder of the fancy home appliances that did so much of her work for her, and the delightful convenience of visiting a supermarket and buying all of those already-processed foods, approved by our oh, so trustworthy government, that were offered instead of “having to” cook our meals herself. But what goes around comes around. Although we never even had a vegetable garden when I was a kid, now (finally!) my mother is filled with advice whenever I speak to her on the phone about my latest work with growing raspberries, mucking out the chicken coop, or canning pickles. Hopefully, one day soon, mother will sit nearby, offering her advice and the joys of her own memories in person while I and my own offspring pull weeds, gather eggs, harvest cucumbers and squash, and attend to the beehives. It’s the dream I live with these days– pretty much every night and every day.
I would loooove to grow my own produce, but ultimately… make my own cheese!! Would love to do that on a farm. :)
I NEEEEED this set of books!!!
I would open a small mostly outdoor daycare modeled on the Swedish ones that are totallyin nature. I would immerse children in the work of the farm making it play and life rather than work. The rest of the time I would can can and can some more!
My dream “on farm” job would be raising small animals and running a (grant funded) program where city kids could come have access to what being around farm type animals is really like. Perhaps giving them the chance to “raise their own” animals, etc.
My dream on farm job would be that of the farm wife. I’d cook , bake, can, sew, knit and homeschool our son. I’d take care of the house and the chickens, maybe a small herb garden if I could get one to grow. These books would be amazing to have.
I would love to be able to raise vegetables, fruits, chickens and I would even go so far as to say a cow, even though that will never happen. I love the idea of living off the land and making my bit of yard into a more ecological habitat for birds, butterflies and beneficial bugs.
If I could do any farm job, I’d probably make farmstead cheese. Raise the animals (sheep, goats and/or cows), then turn their lovely (raw organic grass-fed) milk into cheese (aging it the legally required period). I’d, of course, have a vegetable garden on the side, along with some fruit trees and berries. And a few chickens/ducks/geese for meat and eggs. Then if I had any time left (perhaps in the winter?), I might learn to spin and knit to use the sheep’s wool.
Just discovered your blog–your Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater is just toooo cute!
My dream dream would be to raise pastured broiler chickens and to grow a market garden. Throw in a calf and maybe a couple goats to make a complete paradise :)
Hmmm, I would raise chickens and sell the eggs, goats and make soap with the milk. Teach fermenting. Offer up retreats full of art & craft supplies, gardening, silence. Learn more and share more about wild edibles. Grow a healing garden. Write.
My dream farm job is to cut back to part-time so I can be at home more to have a garden for our family’s food, homeschool our children and help my husband realize his dream of home brewing. I just want to be the best wife and mom I can, I dream and aspire to that daily.
Rescue a 20 acre family farm in Ypsi that no one in the family wants. Experiment with year round growing techniques and aquaponics. Design and build off-the-grid residence, barn, stable, hen houses, hoop houses & garage…with tornado shelter, natch. Eggs, flowers, & veggies to Eastern Market weekly. Make farm available for filming of movies. Set up llama trek. Arrange installation of solar, wind, & geothermal energy demonstration projects. Informal animal rescue. Film time-lapse farm videos, and weekly exercise outdoors videos. Build a music studio and dance/theatre rehearsal hall. Try Agri-Tourism options. Set up outdoor kiln, hummingbird garden and a rain garden. Long-range design of land and spaces representing all the continents of the Earth; starting with plants, trees, and animals native to Michigan.
I would like to have a small farm near a big city – so I could offer land for a MASSIVE community garden for city-dwellers that want to grow their own food, but don’t have the room. Anyone who would want to trade a garden plot for art, music/cooking lessons would be encouraged!
Having grown up with a huge family garden, a block long and half a block wide, I was able to sell some of my “leftover” (we froze or canned most) vegetables and flowers. It was a peaceful time and a state of mind I am forever dreaming of revisiting/reliving. Given the chance, I would raise my garden and join the local farmers market. Sustaining local communities is important to me. These books might help me realize my future.
I would be on a small farm that doubles as an event space. Large long tables for farm to table dinners, small stage for music or spoken word, a few outlying buildings for guests, dream dream dream!!!!
I do enjoy doing a little bit of everything, I could happily split my farm job time between cooking and baking with whole fresh ingredients and sewing. I would love to quilt for a living, to make and teach. I really enjoy getting together with a group of women (and men!) sewing together learning from each other. I have been lucky enough to have learned from some pretty amazing women, women from all different backgrounds. It would be wonderful to pass some of that on to others.
I’d make jam and sell it over the internet.
I love the idea of making a living ‘on farm’ and not necessarily ‘from the farm’. Such a neat way to think of things!
I’ve tried it before, and never been successful, but I’d love to craft at home. Well, I do love to craft at home, but I’d also like to contribute to our finances with it too! I just love to make beautiful things from scratch, and it’s all so varied, but it’s so difficult to make a profit sometimes! People want handmade, but a lot of them aren’t willing to pay a proper price for it. I’d love a chance to win the books so I can learn how to realize this dream of mine once and for all. And then it could branch off into growing my own food and slowly preparing our home for little ones (eventually!). I’d love to pretty much be who you are: a stay-at-home mom who provides for her family in non-financial ways but still contributes a lot!
I would pickle…a lot.
So happy to have found this blog/post. The comments from aeverybody on their “dream farm” are so inspiring!
My husband and I moved to the country and built our home on 1.3 acres, given to us by his parents. We are trained musicians, and we planned to create, teach and play music on our property, inviting friends, fa,mily and the community to take part. But we are constantly changing and now I envision so much more. Gardens, sacred spaces for meditation, yoga. Offering wellness services to the community in the form of life and nutrition counselling, mediation and yoga classes…..the possibilities are endless.
So grateful to you and your commenters for getting me thinking!
Jane
A couple of acres of land intended to support a McMansion with a paved circular driveway instead becomes home to a half dozen small houses. At the bottom of the road there is a big iron gate made from scraps and a shared parking lot where the residents leave their vehicles. We built a mini rail system next to the path for heavy loads that need to go from the gardens to the road. It works both ways but we consume light and not much has to come up the path these days. It’s possible to drive to the houses, in an emergency, but none of us want to look at our old cars the battered old truck we use share so we leave them at the bottom. It’s an easy walk up the path, even in the rain. Walking through the berry bushes and fruit trees is near-meditation. The chicken coop greats us at the end of the main path. We made the little greenhouse out of old windows in a weekend. The “barn” took most of the summer and though small, makes a fine safe home for our goats and tools. The common house next to the barn is a working commerical kitchen shared by all the residents. It is by far the largest structure on the property. Fresh flowers, fruits, berries and vegetables grown on the farm are sold at the farmers markets and to a few local restaurants. Our canned goods, candles, honey and specialty jar foods do well online. All created and made ready for sale in the common house. We open the farm twice a year. Once in October for Halloween and once in March for those interested in the small home, homesteading movement. Our homes are as diverse as we are. We have a straw bail house, a traditional wood framed house, a house built from old shipping containers, a hobbit house built into the hillside, an a-frame cabin and recycled house saved from destruction and moved here. The largest home on the property is just over 500 square feet. Next year we plan to build three rental homes and a koi pond on the farm. The houses will be small. Renters will need to compost and be willing to walk up the garden path.
That my farm dream.
Jane’s dream is wonderful. Perhaps the same as mine or almost. Have dreamed this for years. Finding the right combination of people is the tough part. All have to be willing to share the workload. It’s the way life should be though, all helping for the good of all.
Every time I see a ripe piece of fruit or vegetable from the garden or the market my mind immediately goes to: what can I bake with this?? So making baked sweets and breads would be my dream :) Amazing site btw, I’m so happy I found it!
My dream on-farm job is actually farming itself….I love gardening, I love being outdoors and I work for an environmental non profit in a huge city. I have fantasies about m0ving to the country and waking up at 5am every day to work all day with the small satisfaction of “producing” something.
Or even just sustaining myself!
so interesting and inspiring. i’ve often thought about how i could generate “real” income from the various things i like to do at home and in the garden. could i have a cut flower farm on our tiny tenth of an acre? in how many years will our fruit trees be productive enough to preserve their goods for a small market? how can i utilize the stash of fabric and yarn patiently waiting in the closet and create something from them that others will find real value in? how many gardening lectures will i have to “give” from the kindness of my heart before the audience realizes the inherent value in my knowledge and experience? i will definitely refer to lisa and john’s books for further insight!
increase the the productivity of my small veggie and herb garden so that all i need is in my backyard and that mothers can come learn how to do the same…
My dream set up is really a pretty basic one – the standard homesteading fare complete with growing and preserving my food, tackling home crafts one by one, etc. I think the thing that sets it apart in my mind is the integrity that lifestyle commands. A hand-made life demands a slower pace, and that slower pace, in turn, breeds community. Then that lends itself to skill sharing and suddenly things start to feel right and whole again.
Until I can swing that (you know, because of the exact money situation we’re talking about here), I’m trying to start a self-reliance and sustainability skills education center while living in the city. It’s true, someday I want out of the urban environment, but I hope to leave in my stead a place people can go learn some of the skills they’ll need to become less dependent on broken systems and more interdependent with one another. (Plus, it’s kind of like Homesteading University, so that’s pretty badass to get to enjoy.)
Woooweee – got kinda heavy there. Sorry, just super inspired by people who manage to make this dream a reality without their home looking like a Rainbow Gathering just blew through (no offense, Rainbow-ers).
My dream ‘on farm’ job would allow me to focus on the thing I hold dearest: education. I would provide tutoring to kids of all ages, especially in reading, writing, and foreign languages. I’m a big advocate of public schools but feel like they too have been swept up in the fast pace of our brave new world. Providing a quiet, safe place for kids to supplement their learning, watching the joy of discovery–that’s so incredibly rewarding!
I spent summers on my grandparents’ farm and learned so much about making do with what you have, and creating what you want. I love to make things myself whenever I can–sewing, knitting, cooking.
If money were not an issue I would work from home, turning my backyard into an urban, neighborhood farm, complete with chickens, milking goats, honey bees, fruit and veggie gardens, compost bins (and worm bins). I would sell my goods at a local market but I would also offer up my space as a learning yard for nearby schools and neighbors. In my time outside of the backyard I would work or volunteer for the community food bank helping to address food security issues and school lunch reform.
Wow… what a set of books! If there was no worry regarding income, I would be working the land on a large garden scale, and turn a barn into a studio to paint. Would likely have a small menagerie of animals… chickens for eggs, a goat for milk, cats and dogs for hugging. Spend my days tending to all that, plus kids if everything turns out the way we hope. Would love to carve the time out to open my home to others looking to learn. This post was a true inspiration!
My dream “on farm” job? Poet and witch, my dear. Scribbling, spellwork, and building my relationship with the land. No question. :-)
I’ve always wanted to have a petting zoo kind of homestead. We’d invite kids to teach them about agriculture and where their food comes from. I would want to provide a chance to work with the animals, especially horses. And I would LOVE to host daycamps for those with disabilities or who are going through hard times. Kind of like the Crystal Springs Youth Ranch (http://www.crystalpeaksyouthranch.org/) but especially for those with autism, Downs, etc. Maybe one day…
My dream job would be preparing daily meals from garden harvesting for everyone who lives and visits the farm. I would reintroduce the cultural practice of breaking bread with all guests. Because feeding people is love.
I create all natural bath and body products including soap, lotion bars, scrubs, crocheted washcloths and unique soy candles. I have sold my products at a local farmer’s market and small local festivals. I meet the nicest, most helpful and genuine people who are also selling a product they have put their heart and soul into. My dream is to own a few acres with an old house that can be transformed into a restaurant and gift shop. The gift shop would feature items created by the local artisans and crafters. Every month one person would present a workshop on his/her craft or art to educate the public on the details of how it is created. There would be a small fee to attend the workshop and the money would go to the artist. We would publish a website, newsletter and facebook page to keep the public informed. I would love to grow organic flowers, fruits and vegetables on the property with the help of local farmers and gardeners to be used in the restaurant. What we couldn’t grow I would buy locally if possible. I would love to have a courtyard with a beautiful garden and pond for people to visit and eat their meal. An outdoor stage would give local musicians a place to entertain and gain exposure. I would serve beer and wine produced by local craft breweries and wineries. The menu would include simple yet healthy food to educate people to the fact that healthy food can be tasty too. The courtyard could also be rented to people for weddings or other events. I would really like to keep the focus on educating the public about the wealth of talent that exists in the local community.
I’d like to breed fancy riding mules. Take visitors on catered camping trips.
Also grow/raise/preserve the food.
I would build an outdoor brick oven and bake bread and pizzas from my amazing garden.
this is the most wonderful collaboration of dreams and plans i think i’ve ever seen.
i ‘entered’ the contest thinking it would be suh-weet to win the books but not pinning my hopes to it, and moreso that it’d be cool to read everyone else’s tales, but feel i’ve won already now: in subscribing to comments i’ve been emailed inspiration and hopes from people across the world for the last 2 weeks. what an uplifting outpouring!
thank you lisa, thank you erica, and mostly thank you all!!
Oh, my list is so long. I’d love to have sheep and spin yarn, knit, and weave. I’d love to build garden and home structures that help other people live a more sustainable life. I’d love to grow huge amounts of herbs to sell. I’d love to grow heirlooom grains and bake bread. I’d love to have permaculture/natural building/gardening/foraging/crafting educational opportunities for all ages.
I don’t know how many posts you have received but I know it has been many. It is amazing that there are so many of us out there that long for this type of lifestyle. It has been a joy reading everyone’s inspirations. This was a great idea so “thank you Erica!” and here’s wishing that everyone’s dreams can come true.
I would want to teach food preserving classes (canning, dehydrating, root cellar, etc). In my life before kids, I taught high school math. I miss teaching, and it’s always best to teach what you love.
My ideal job if money was no concern would be to train horses rescued from slaughter and to provide children who cannot afford to ride horses the opportunity, even set up a day or sleep over camp if I have enough land.
How did I miss this when it was new?? I’m just gonna go on and buy those books. I don’t think that I could make my living as traditional farmer on the Central Coast of California, without inheriting land. But, farming kids (aka-Farm Camp) pays for us to live this egg eating, no cable having, thrift shopping life that makes us all happy (even when my teen girls complain, they’re happy). As always, thanks for turning me on to something that I NEED! <3
I would recreate my childhood. My Auntie Martha had 21 acres and it was marvelous. A huge home garden for fresh veggies, chicken coops for eggs, fruit trees all over. Fireplace for heat in the winter using wood from downed trees, well water to drink and a creek to play in. The neighbors paid her to graze their cows and sheep on the property. Since I don’t do massage, which was her other income, I would probably grow plants to sell at a local market, like veggies and medicinal plants. And maybe I would let my husband use the barn for fixing cars if he wanted, after he helped set up the solar collectors to sell energy back to the utility company.
I would invite all the family over whenever they wanted and everyone interested would teach each other crafts and cooking and gardening. I would have lots of space to start growing the medicinals that I am learning about and we would be the healthiest family around.
What a life it will be! Eventually…
Ah… to have 5 acres…
I have a dream, but am currently in research mode to find a location to make it reality. I’m very interested in the small cottage size houses designed by Tumbleweed Small Houses. My goal is a home that could conceivably be 100% off the grid, but with municipal services hookups for those times when it’s just more practical. It’s no fun to haul firewood and maintain a wood stove when you’re sick. I’ve lived in a passive solar house with a wood stove as sole source of backup heat, so I know I can be a pioneer woman, but this time I want to add solar panels for power and solar water heating for space heating via radiant heat tubing in the floor. The house will be a basic passive solar design for maximum heat gain in winter and cooling for summer. I’m proficient at the vegetable garden part, but am currently working on a test project of creating an edible front yard garden that LOOKS like a traditional ornamental landscape and not row crops. I would love to have workshops to show folks how to work with the weather and soil they have to create a paradise, rather than trying to fight Mother Nature. A small out building would be perfect for a studio to offer classes in all manor of food preservation, gardening, plant propagation, crafting, sewing, livestock care, and my current passion: easy low tech DIY aquaponic food growing systems. My dream is to take the WWII Victory Garden concept (and a little Ruth Stout gardening philosophy too) and bring it into the 21st century by reducing utility usage, using recycled materials whenever possible, and creating a community where folks reach out to one another to help get things done (think of the old barn raising parties in rural America).
That’s the dream isn’t it? Not to have to worry about money and be able to pursue a passion, or at least something that is fulfilling. I keep saying, at 51, I only vaguely know what that might be….. Family, home, pets, garden, chickens, hopefully bees and maybe goats or cow someday (not if my husband has anything to say about that. It took 4 yrs. to get the chickens!) I have a copy of the family history. My father’s family were farmers who immigrated here from Scotland. My great great grandfather wanted everyone to stay on the farm. My great great grandmother wanted her sons to have the opportunity to leave the farm and continue their education. I wish I had the. opportunity to learn from them. To learn the skills to be sustainable, to take care of myself and my family, old skills that hopefully, will not be lost.
I would love to have a sustainable education center with offerings for many ages. I would especially love to have nature connection programs and gardening with kids. Thanks for this opportunity. It has been fun to read everyone’s responses.
I would try to grow as many vegetables and fruit that I could on my suburban property. I love to grow things and then harvest them and eventually eat them. Canning would be a cool job too.
Plants plants plants. Propogating edibles. Seed saving, cuttings. Breeding chickens for eggs and meat. Heritage breeds. Hell my problem is always wanting to be involved in EVERYTHING! Canning. Craft. gah. Soapmaking… I could keep going. I would simply love to spend my life pottering around learing everything I could. Oh and keeping the kiddos entertained too.