It can be easy when designing our homesteads to just focus on getting the job done and being able to get a harvest and provide for our families.
But our homesteads are also the place where we spend time with family and friends and it is important to make it a welcoming place.
Daron here from @wildhomesteading with my weekly post on @homesteaderscoop all about homesteading and running an online business.
Creating Sanctuaries
There are a lot of different ways to make a homestead a welcoming and inviting place. One way that I try to make my homestead a great place for my family is by creating little nooks and sanctuaries for my family and friends to hangout.
This can be big areas like the gathering area in the middle of my kitchen garden or small little spots like a single log under a mulberry tree that my son loves to hangout on.
Every food forest I build or growing area always has some spots to sit. These are the places where my family stops on our walks around our homestead to just sit and enjoy being present with our land and the wildlife we share it with.
Creating Play Areas
While the whole homestead is basically just one big play area it is also nice to have some specific play areas setup for little homesteaders.
On my homestead this includes a sandbox and an eco-lawn that are next to the kitchen garden and gathering area. This play area also has some logs for climbing and I'm adding more to it next year including a swing set and some other fun nature play features.
This provides my kids with a place of their own to dig and have fun in. As they get older they will get to do more and more in the rest of the homestead but they will always have a place close to the house to play and look for buggies!
Growing Berries and Other Easy to Harvest Food All Over
Another thing you can do is grow food that is easy to pick while you are walking (or running!) around and grow it everywhere. I have multiple types of berries growing right out my backdoor.
It is so much fun to walk out our backdoor and grab a berry to munch. All the nooks and sanctuaries I mentioned earlier will have berries nearby in the future.
I grew up with berries and other foods I could just pick whenever I wanted. This is a cherished memory and I'm very happy to give this opportunity to my kids.
It can be easy to put the food crops out in defined rows but scattering it about makes it fun to run around and forage. You can still have the defined growing areas but don't forget to mix in berries, fruits, and other food plants where you and your family hangout.
What About Your Homestead?
There are many more things that can be done to make a homestead a fantastic place for family and friends to hangout. I'm just getting started at my place and all the examples I shared are just works in progress.
So what have you done on your homestead to make it a place you and your family and friends love to just hangout and be present?
Please share in the comments--I would love to hear from you!
Thank you!
Follow @wildhomesteading for more posts all about homesteading, working with nature, and growing your own food.
And check out my blog - www.wildhomesteading.com for weekly in-depth posts on working with nature to grow your own food and start/build your homestead.
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How do you stop a dozen cats using that huge sand pit as a toilet? Thanks!
I'm lucky and there are no cats running around in my area. I think the coyotes make sure that cats don't stray too far. I think otherwise you would need some sort of cover for it if cats were an issue.
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STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Aaah - you won my heart with the play area and the easy-pick berries outside the back door. LOVELY to be thinking of our family and our tribe right from the very beginning of the design phase.
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