A Family History of Urban Homesteaders
Here at Rural Living Today, our main focus is encouraging people in their transition from urban or suburban life to the rural lifestyle. That transition begins when a person makes a decision to live that lifestyle, and they may be living in a downtown skyscraper, an inner city neighborhood, or a suburban community at the time.
We always encourage people to start wherever they are to learn what they’d like to know and practice what they’d like to be doing in the future. Suburban and urban homesteading are a part of that! No matter where you want to end up, you can practice homesteading to some degree, either in your backyard, on a balcony, or just in your kitchen.
Is urban homesteading a new concept that anyone alive today could claim as their own?
Not if you look at our family.
My maternal grandparents were urban homesteaders. And I am a grandparent myself, so I’m talking about the middle of the last century. Grandpa and Grannie lived in a neighborhood on the outer edges of a large city. Homes were close enough to talk to a neighbor in the next yard. Most of the yards on the street were just that—yards with lawns and ornamental landscaping.
But not Grandpa and Grannie’s. Their backyard was no larger than the others in the neighborhood. It had a small patio and a patch of lawn for grandkids to play on. A brick planter edged the patio…and a big ceramic frog lived there.
But most of the backyard space was taken up by tomatoes, rhubarb, and a myriad of other veggies and fruits carefully fitted into terraced beds. I probably got some of my first lessons in composting from my grandparents. Living through the great depression had taught them the value of using resources to the fullest and making everything count. Many a family meal was prepared with ingredients we kids went out and harvested from the garden for Grannie. I can still smell ripe peaches from the trees Grandpa nurtured, and the peach pies Grannie made.
Similarly, my parents and Jim’s were urban homesteaders. Jim and I have been urban homesteaders. And would you believe it, some of our kids are now…urban homesteaders. Our family heritage includes rural, suburban, and urban homesteaders. Is it any surprise that we enjoy growing food, raising animals, preserving our harvest, and being more self-sufficient and less reliant on commercial products?
Most of our family members grew up thousands of miles from Pasadena, California. Our parents and grandparents never looked at a website about urban homesteading. Some of us have backgrounds in the publishing industry and are well versed in the definition of the word “urban” and the historic evolution of the term “homesteading.” We have a very good idea of what urban homesteading is…and how long it has been in practice.
The fact is, some of you readers of RLT may have no intention of ever actually living in a rural area, but you are creating a “rural lifestyle” right in your city neighborhood. You are urban homesteaders, and we’re glad to have you here!
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[...] at the audacity that they would have to lay claim to a term that has been around for DECADES. My great grandparents practiced urban homesteading! What arrogance in the world could make this man and his family think they could lay claim to a [...]