The Quaker Homestead at Freesong Farm

Never, EVER, invest in a large solar power system! NEVER! Oh, feel free to spend a couple thousand dollars if playing with these gadgets turns you on. But I repeat, NEVER, EVER get caught up in the solar-social-justice-save-the-planet thing. A homestead needs lots and lots of tools and equipment, almost all of those can be bought for the price of a whopping solar system capable of truly powering an American family home as currently constructed. (Single men living in RV’s not included.) Now, before the solarphiles jump down my throat: We visited a number of “solar powered, off-grid homesteads.” The dirty secret of these homesteads is propane/natural gas. They cooked with propane, they dried their clothes with propane, they heated the home with propane—and to be fair, with wood, but whenever I see a propane/natural gas furnace I get the sense that wood is used when convenient—and more importantly, they heated their domestic hot water with propane/natural gas. All of the big elec...

Someone recently asked me, "what is the difference between 'Homesteading' and 'Off-Griding.'" I have to tell you... that question really stumped me. So rather than just provide a flippant answer off of the top of my head, I spent a little time and did some research (as best I could online and using my own voluminous experiences and contacts), and I think I have an answer. A terrible, unpleasant, and brutal answer: "Homesteaders" are families who have enjoyed some success within the system and have been able to figure out how to acquire productive property, equipment, implements, and tools and have put all of this to profitable use. They also appear to be almost exclusively married couples with children. My sense is that these people put their family and children ahead of the nonsensical drama of politics, activism, and protest. They make the world a better place by caring for their family and living in Community with their neighbors. Self-descr...