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I recently watched the entire Frontier House series on DVD. They play it on PBS occasionally, if you watch that channel. The premise of this "reality show" is to make three families live like homesteaders in 1883 Montana. They are given 160 acres of semi-productive land, some supplies, and a source for getting more.
For anyone who thinks they're going to "go it alone" in the wake of a disaster, collapse of society, etc., I think there are probably some lessons in this series. Various take-aways for me:
1) Living off the land is hard work - I don't know what you all do for a living, but I'm not working in a field from sun-up to sun-down.
2) There's a lot of basic homesteader skills you better have to go live out on your own - farming, animal husbandry, building things from wood, using tools, cooking, basic medicine, etc. I know how to cook, but most of my recipes are based on things I get from the grocery store. I'm not making a lot of things completely from scratch.
3) Living the homesteader life may be pretty hard on your family - especially if they aren't used to that kind of work. If there are fractures in your household, they can be exacerbated by that type of lifestyle change. Good to start thinking about what that looks like, what your values are, how you work together, etc.
3) You better also have a lot of supplies to support your efforts. Is there a way to re-supply yourself when you run out? It's hard to be an island.
4) You better have a good piece of land established. I know that when I've looked at property, most of it is nice for getting away from it all (up in the mountains), but terrible for growing crops, tending animals, supplying water, etc. If you look at the homesteaders, many failed because the property they selected wouldn't sustain them for the five-year prove-up period. There's lots of land out there; only some of it is suitable for homesteading. When people talk about "bug-out" property, they might want to look at a piece of old farmland somewhere.
Anyway, those were some of my take-aways. You could certainly find fault with this show - for example, some of the the people they selected were probably chosen for their drama/interest potential. But, I still think there are some valuable lessons and things to consider from watching it.
For anyone who thinks they're going to "go it alone" in the wake of a disaster, collapse of society, etc., I think there are probably some lessons in this series. Various take-aways for me:
1) Living off the land is hard work - I don't know what you all do for a living, but I'm not working in a field from sun-up to sun-down.
2) There's a lot of basic homesteader skills you better have to go live out on your own - farming, animal husbandry, building things from wood, using tools, cooking, basic medicine, etc. I know how to cook, but most of my recipes are based on things I get from the grocery store. I'm not making a lot of things completely from scratch.
3) Living the homesteader life may be pretty hard on your family - especially if they aren't used to that kind of work. If there are fractures in your household, they can be exacerbated by that type of lifestyle change. Good to start thinking about what that looks like, what your values are, how you work together, etc.
3) You better also have a lot of supplies to support your efforts. Is there a way to re-supply yourself when you run out? It's hard to be an island.
4) You better have a good piece of land established. I know that when I've looked at property, most of it is nice for getting away from it all (up in the mountains), but terrible for growing crops, tending animals, supplying water, etc. If you look at the homesteaders, many failed because the property they selected wouldn't sustain them for the five-year prove-up period. There's lots of land out there; only some of it is suitable for homesteading. When people talk about "bug-out" property, they might want to look at a piece of old farmland somewhere.
Anyway, those were some of my take-aways. You could certainly find fault with this show - for example, some of the the people they selected were probably chosen for their drama/interest potential. But, I still think there are some valuable lessons and things to consider from watching it.
