So You Want to Go Green!

I recently visited a forum that was discussing how to go green, and I immediately thought about not just reducing pollution and carbon footprints, but how to live a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. How to start organic gardening, raising small farm animals like chicken, growing and preserving your own food, possibly getting into solar and wind power... the very things that prompted my husband and I to leave the city, unknowing urban dwellers that  we were, plop ourselves down on 20 acres in the middle of rural Michigan, and try our hand at eeking a living out of the land. Although it seems like it just happened, there definitely were some things that helped along the way, and so I thought I might write this entry for anyone who wants to go green, and is thinking about starting a farm, moving out of the city, building a homestead, or is just curious about organic farming in general.

Where to start? My husband and I were were born and raised in the city, could barely keep a houseplant alive, much less grow a garden, and had never lived in a small town or out in the country. We bought 20 acres and a few small machines (tiller, riding lawn mower, chainsaws, etc.).

We are now going into our 3rd summer. We've learned enough to call ourselves a small farm and are going to be selling organic vegetables at farmers' markets. We're adding a chicken coop and goats this spring. We've made a lot of mistakes (trial and error, my friends!) but we had some great help along the way.

A great book that helped us immensely is Rural Renaissance by John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist. They are city people-turned-farmers, and have a lot more wisdom than I imagine I'll ever have! You can buy it at www.newsociety.com. Also, buy as many books on organic gardening as you can get your hands on! Although we did a ton of reading, you learn the most about diseases, bugs, and soil requirements when they are staring you in the face. So start planting, even if it's just in 5-gallon buckets, until you can get your hands on a small piece of land. If you don't have a yard, talk to some of your neighbors. You may be able to find someone who would love to have a beautiful and productive organic garden in their yard, but doesn't have the time (which is where you come in!).

Check out www.newfarm.org and www.spinfarming.com. The second one, the SPIN farming website, teaches you how to make a living on organic farming on less than an acre and is great for city dwellers who want to dabble in farming. The founders of SPIN make a living on farming city plots, backyards, and small spaces.

Also consider an internship/volunteering at an organic farm. Here in southwest Michigan there are at least half a dozen. I no longer have the time to do one, but would have saved myself a lot of mistakes if I had. Plus, you can get a feel for what the life will be like without actually committing 100% to it, and learn so much at the same time. A great place to start is http://www.wwoof.org/, which is an organization of organic farm volunteers around the world.

I think the very first thing we did was buy our land... the rest fell into place. When you are following the right path for you, I think things somehow work out. Life in the country is a great adventure!

So why move out to the country?  We bought 20 acres and are soooo much more green now than before, especially in terms of quality of life. We have become so much more connected to the earth in ways that have made this such a wonderful journey. I think being out "in the green" makes us appreciate the wonder of it all so much more! And a big part of being green is living "the simple life"- eating fresh and organic food, consuming less, and appreciating more.

Some specific examples of ways we've become more green include:

We grow almost all of our produce for the whole year now (by canning and freezing), organically, so we don't have to purchase produce that has been shipped thousands of miles.

We have room to put up a wind generator that hopefully, once we fine-tune the design, will provide some of our energy.

We compost everything, a huge pile out in the back, that would never have been possible in the city. Additionally, we do worm composting.

By leaving the city, we stopped going to bars, restaurants, malls, etc., and now spend our time hiking in the woods, swimming in the lakes, talking around campfires, snowshoeing the trails, fishing, mushroom hunting, BBQing, gardening, and staring at the stars. In addition to being "greener" activities, they improve our quality of life. Part of being green is not just the pollution/resources factor, but connecting yourself back to our planet.

We are adding chickens and goats this spring, hopefully providing most of our eggs and meat.

Because we no longer have a garbage truck that will haul away our garbage each week (we have to take it to the dump ourselves and pay per bag), we are much more aware of what we are disposing of and have cut down our garbage to less than 1/3 of what it used to be in the city.

Country life tends to lead to less consumption. We have to drive further to get to the stores, so we tend to make do with what we have. I go to the grocery store every two weeks or so. If you are fortunate enough to make a living off your land, you don't need to drive much at all. Also, because we have more space, I am better able to save items that can be reused at a later date. In our apartment in the city, those type of things just had to be tossed.

These are just some examples off the top of my head. Living a self-sufficient lifestyle in the country can be an extremely green way of living. I know some people out here who are totally off the grid, grow everything they consume, and make just about everything they need. When you have enough land, fresh air, and nature, the possibilities are endless! 

Comments

[Maggie]

My fiance and I have been thinking about moving out to the country but despite all the advantages you listed I see two major drawbacks and would love to hear how you deal with them.

1. work - he can work from home mostly but I would end up commuting. What do you do for a living?

2. social isolation - I love the idea of living out on a farm but I also want friends and family around for support and socializing, which seems hard to do when you're out in the country. I enjoy living in the (small) city where I can volunteer for different groups and attend workshops that sound interesting and just feel like I have more access to people. Where do you get your social support?

Thanks!

[Joanna]

Hi Maggie! Thanks for inquiring about our lifestyle. You pretty much hit the nail on the head with the two most difficult aspects of changing from a city life to one out in the country: social isolation and earning a living.

Let me first address the social isolation concern. Coming from the city, I certainly see a lot fewer people out here than I did in the city. The thing is, I interact with them much more intimately. I stop and chat with my neighbors, sharing lemonade and cookies or an afternoon walk (in the city I was always too busy to spend more than a minute or two with our neighbors). I chat with the post lady, the UPS guy, and the FedEx guy nearly every time they come by. They know me by name in the local post office and grocery store. There aren't a lot of younger people our age around, but we have visitors from the city nearly every weekend, which is really important. See, our new homestead is like a weekend "getwaway" for some friends and family members who are looking to get away from the city for a few days. The key to this happening is being close enough to your original place of residence to make it realistic to come up for a day or weekend trip (we are 2 1/2 hours away from Chicago).

Finding employment is a bit trickier, as it will be different for every person out there, depending on what you do. I was a teacher and was fortunate to find a local job. My husband is self-employed and was able to contract himself out locally, though he sometimes travels as far as Chicago when necessary (a headache of a commute). But we are now working towards earning a living off of our land. It is possible to make a living running an organic farm, especially if you don't have a lot of bills/debt/expenses to pay off, and if you have enough land. Another option is to move to the country, but still be close enough to a city or town where you can more easily find work. In our case, we took the plunge without lining up work first, and thankfully it all worked out. We are now learning all sorts of ways to earn money from our land, but its a slow process. I guess sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and go after your dreams.

But I can wholeheartedly say that for us, moving to the country was the best thing we ever did. Our quality of life has literally tripled, and we feel like we have finally found where we belong. We are learning to live a slow, simple, harmonious way of life that just wasn't possible in the city. I wish you much luck with your endeavors, and if there is anything else I can tell you that would be of help, please feel free to contact me! May your journey be a happy one!