The Homestead All about our modest homestead. Temporary Shelter While we plan and build our homestead we've taken up residence in a travel trailer - it may be small, but its off the grid. The Land We looked around at land here in Apache County Arizona for several months. The Plan The evolving and unfolding plan of our homestead. The House We are planning to build an off grid solar powered house that is affordable and can be built in phases. Greenhouse Before beginning the construction of our house we decided to get some hands on experience by designing and building a passive solar greenhouse. Barn We've built our first barn. Gardens Producing our own food is one of our primary goals. Livestock We'd been living on our land for less than a year when we decided it was time to get our farm rolling with our first flock of chickens. Communications We literally live "way out in the middle of nowhere". Energy Food Storage Methods and principals of food storage and preservation. Waste Management
Modern Pioneer The Backyard Farming Connection The Firepiston Copyright ©1996 by W.R. Knapp I was but a young lad when my father, who'd always taken a keen interest in primitive technology, first told me of the firepiston. He had seen it in a documentary about stone-age natives from jungle islands somewhere in the Pacific. I tried for many years to find out more about this device. In this article I will attempt to bring all of the information from these sources together with the hope that it will be a convenient reference for those who wish to pursue this subject further. How does it work? Air gets very hot when it is compressed under high pressure. Ancient examples of the tube itself are of hardwood, bamboo, or even horn. An article by Richard Jamison in a 1994 issue of Woodsmoke contains a nice description of how to operate a firepiston: As you can probably see, this ancient firemaking machine is utilizing the Diesel principle. History In the 1970's, Mr. Europe What killed the firepiston in England and Europe? Primitive re-enactors and firepistons
How I brought my electricity bill down to $5 Before I moved, the utilities in my apartment were included in my rent. That meant all my energy-saving efforts — from cleaning my fridge coils to installing Practecol switches to simply turning out lights when I wasn’t using them — didn’t reap any financial benefits. So when I moved to West Hollywood, I was kind of excited — to be paying for electricity. Why? I’m a curious person. I'm proud to say that my most recent Southern California Edison bill came to just $5.03. Of course, I had to see how my energy usage compared to the average American. This despite that I work from home — which means my wireless router and laptop are sipping energy all day long, along with my mini-fridge. And at night, everything is turned off and totally disconnected from sucking vampire energy with the help of Practecol switches — the computer, the wireless gateway, and — believe it or not — the mini-fridge, because in my tiny studio apartment, the thing makes too much noise when I’m trying to sleep.
Soap Making for the Beginner, Part I If you have never made your own soap before, this the first of a two-part lesson.It is soap making for the total beginner. I have been making soap for years and recently decided to try to develop a recipe for a reliable batch of soap using ingredients I can easily obtain, instead of ordering exotic oils by mail.I am guessing this would make it easier for other people who are curious about making soap but don’t know how to begin. Traditionally, people used a combination of wood ash and lard to make soap. The Soap Factory has an interesting account of the history and chemistry of soap making and the traditional methods of rendering fat and obtaining potash from wood ash. I applaud the homesteader who chooses to make soap using materials at hand and traditional methods. Those of us who want to make things easier need to purchase their materials. For Part 1 of this soap making tutorial you will gather all of your materials. Equipment Materials 23 ounces (by weight) of olive oil.
Little House Living Contributors - Little House on the Prairie Living Over the years Little House Living has gained so many new fans and followers I've had a hard time keeping up with posting all the information that's been asked for, that's where our contributors come in! Contributors are passionate about the core values that the Little House Living website was built on and they will help us stay informed with the best recipe, simple living ideas, frugal tips, and more! Of course, you can learn more about me, Merissa, here on the About Me page. Current Contributors Julie Hello...my name is Julie. Miranda Hey! Andrea Hello! As I try out new homemade beauty products, real-food recipes, and natural health remedies, I share them on my blog, Homemade for Elle. Previous Contributors Amanda G. I am a homemaker living in Maine with my husband and daughter, and our little family is on a journey to becoming as self-sufficient as possible. I am an introverted chocoholic with a great love for the WWII/Post-war era. Dominique B. I'm Dominique Burleson. Erin T.
Home - Common Sense Homesteading Starting a Farm | Sunshine Sisters Farms Starting a farm. One just doesn’t start a farm in my experience. It sort of just turns from a hobby/obsession to a real venture – which translates into farming will just take over your life. And when say I say farming, what I really mean is doing as much work as possible to try and make a little money to scrape by. After watching documentaries, reading books, reading other blogs and researching relentlessly online we decided to start a chicken coop. Shall I introduce you to the cast of characters? There is the first sister: who is the bull headed, task master. Then there is the milder, Accountant sister. Then there is me. So what started as just a measly chicken coop has transformed into 15 people and over fifty animals that are part of this operation.