Quite often I see people trying to define what homesteading really is all about. We've also tried in the past to define what really is a homestead. After more reflection and of course life experience, I'm going to suggest that homesteading is about removing the child proofing from our adult lives.
All around us in today's modern world we have protections to keep us and our loved ones safe. And anytime a new danger is identified, a call for additional protection is made and demanded. I think finally we can say that real homesteading is more about self reliance and sustainability. In short,
IT'S REMOVING THE CHILD PROOFING FROM YOUR LIFE
A recent example made this obviously clear to us in a most extreme way. This past week, two houses burned down within our county and one of those was near our very small town. The town we live in is very small. You sometimes hear about towns so small that if you blink driving by, you will miss it. Well, our town is so small that if you drive by with your eyes completely peeled and paying attention, you still might miss it! It's a tiny town called Witter and there is not even a stop sign to my knowledge.
After the news of the recent home fires, our local county paper and county officials made a desperate plea for more volunteer firefighters for our tiny town.
You see, when we moved here, there was a very small volunteer fire department. I got to know some of them and talk with them. Most of the calls they answered were not fire related at all. Usually they would get a call when an obese woman fell out of bed and needed help again or that someone got their tractor or truck stuck in a field. When they did get a call about a fire. They had to stop what they were doing, get to the fire station truck in our little town and then drive the distance over all dirt roads, many times single lane and get to the fire to put it out. 99% of the time, the house or whatever was burning was already gone when they got there and they had to just maybe help keep the fire from spreading to any larger areas.
The point is that they wanted to help but they kinda got burned out (pun intended) because their hard efforts never really mattered. Nothing is more disheartening then showing up at a fire to "save the day" and seeing that you got there not just late, but REALLY LATE. And it wasn't the fault of the fire fighters, it's because that we live in a very very low populated area separated by great distances and bad roads. Even a 24 hour manned fire station with the latest equipment wouldn't have gotten to a house in time to save it.
Now the whining and complaining comes. "...without a fire department, we can't get housing insurance!" That is the child proofing you have been conditioned with. As if people couldn't or can't exist without an insurance company or a fire department to save them.
The older locals around here tell me that this area was much more populated 100-150 years ago than it is today. "So, there were more people?" "Yup".
How on earth did they ever live without home owners insurance and a modern fire department? 100 years ago, many people in these poor parts of the Ozarks were still using horses and wagons to do much of the traveling
So this brings us back to the paper and county officials who this week made a call for more volunteers stepping up to be trained. Sure the job pays nothing and takes you away from your regular job that pays the bills and feeds your family, but hey, It's for the common good! Yes, these people are liberals.
Again, we used to have a volunteer fire department and they were used and abused. That's why most of the volunteers...well, they stopped volunteering. But no mention was given about potential reasons why most of these volunteers gave up the job.
And MORE GLARINGLY, there was no list of what homesteaders in our area could do to lessen the chance of the fire department needing to be called in the first place. Self sustainability. Self Reliance. Phrases long forgotten in a world so quick to just call on a government agency bureaucrat or journalist to solve their problems for them.
How about:
- Making sure smoke detectors are operational and new batteries installed.
- Keeping wood stove pipes cleaned at least once a year.
- Having on hand at least one large serviceable fire extinguisher.
- Installing a couple 275 gallon water totes on a downspout on your home.
- Investing in one or even two large self priming 200 gpm water pumps at Tractor Supply.
When we first moved out here, the insurance company basically laughed at us when asking about insurance. First off, we have wood stoves and second, the homestead is just too far off the paved road system. Any insurance would be astronomical in price!
So instead of complaining or whining to the local politicians or "journalist", we decided we would do the things needed to safeguard our own homes. Of course we had our smoke detectors and we keep our wood stoves clean, but we also have set aside a 250 gallon water tote that fits into the back of an old Toyota Hilux pickup. We have hoses that will attach to a 200 gallon per minute pump that fits into the back of that pickup. And then, we practiced using it to move water and are VERY familiar with what is required to get water to fire if ever it is needed.
There is no way in the world that any fire department would ever get to us in time. So we became our own fire department. Self sustainability. Self Reliance.
The last time we timed ourselves, we had water on scene in just over 6 minutes with this easy setup.
100 years ago, homesteads knew of the danger of fires. They had kerosene lanterns in their homes and wood stoves and fire places. They burned candles to be used for reading after the sun went down. Fire was an ever present danger. So, they had rain barrels outside on their down spouts or they kept a bucket of water inside near the stove. Self sustainability. Self Reliance.
My heart and sympathy, thoughts and prayers go out to the two families who lost their home recently in our county. It's one of the most devastating things that can happen at any point in your life. It ruins you economically and it takes away memories of your past that can never be replaced. And we as neighbors should reach out as a community and help them rebuild if we are able. However, I think we should caution ourselves to always letting the first response to an incident be more government or government intervention.
I'm often reminded of what Ronald Reagan called the Nine Most Terrifying Words In The English Language:
"I'm From The Government And I'm Here To Help"
398 years ago the Pilgrims landed on this continent. Their new world was not child proofed for them ahead of time. Self sustainability. Self Reliance.
Two phrases they didn't need reminding of.
Below is a video we did when testing our the homestead Fire Truck! ENJOY!
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Great story and information. My home burned down Feb. 1st 2017 and I lost over 90% of my stuff. However 3 and 1/2 weeks later I inherited a completely furnished place and the 10% was like a bag of various seeds to re-grow and re-create my life. I have bee a very fortunate disaster victim and I encourage everyone to help those less fortunate. I will and I thing teaching people about homesteading is one of the most important answers for providing a new life to those who need it. Homesteading communities are solutions to so many in need and/or those who want a sustainable future.
Great post and something we often overlook. Too many people rely on society to "take care" of them these days. Even if you're not a Boy Scout, their motto is the best insurance for everyone. Be Prepared!
Even a little preparedness can help tremendously. For the big things like fire, having multiple countermeasures would be stupid not to have.
I’d like to drop our home insurance after we get our mortgage paid off. I guess it did pay for a new roof already, but really, how often are we going to use it?
Reminds me of the whole gun control too. Why should Americans have guns to protect themselves when we can wait for the police to save us...
Exceptional comparison.
Agreed! It's like we have been trained to wait for the services to come in and save us. We cannot get insurance because of our wood burning stove, and yet we wouldn't have heat without it.
What do you do in the winter with that 250 gallon tote to put out a fire? And have you had issues with your smoke detectors at all? We have had an extremely sensitive detector that I think is detecting the particulate in the air.
Thanks for the thoughtful post. One should always know what to do in an emergency situation, no matter whether they are at home or elsewhere!
In the winter time, having a black tote will help tremendously with keeping the water from freezing. But for those on the grid, having a submersible water heater would work GREAT at keeping that water usable in an emergency. As for us, we have an in ground well near the house that never freezes that we can pull water out of in case of emergency.
Awesome post, Zac. Every point is spot on. When we moved out here, everyone was asking, "Well what are you going to do about insurance? What about this? What about that?!?" So much STINKING FEAR in so many people. Keeps them bound to lives they hate and prevents them from ever taking a leap of faith. Thanks for sharing, @mericanhomestead.
Yeah, some people actually seem to LOVE to live in FEAR.
Very good
https://steemit.com/homesteading/@scoutting/coffee-snakck-donuts
Good for you! FYI, those pumps and hoses are also used in mining exploration. That's where I first saw them.
Do you know of folks who built a cistern or artificial pond for that reason (fire stopper) or partially for that reason?
Interesting perspective on self sufficiency thanks for all the great information!
Love the fire drill guys. Great forward thinking there. What you've written resonates with me. So much of what should be the responsibility of self (homestead or otherwise) is now delegated to the state. People expect everything from finances to the temperature of their coffee to come with a safety net so that one is not "burned". How tragic. That breeds inability. It's a credit to you that you take these responsibilities by the horns and it's really interesting to define homesteading in this way. Top read 😊
Haha oh man I LOVE your beard! And also I nearly spilled tea all over my self reading the they kinda got burned out 😂
Big ups on your writing skills, like the narrative a lot 🤟🏼
Otherwise, if you happen to be into travelling, vlogs, fitness, self-development etc feel free to check out my channel, in any case keep up the good work and I'll see you around!
That was something to think about. I am in an unincorporated town and the vol. fire department here is so slow to respond that one house burnt to the ground and they did not respond at all. Finally, after much discussion, the County seat fire dept. (which is 7 miles away) finally responded just it put it out and keep everyone else nearby from catching fire. Heard all this on my Baofeng handheld radio.
Related to the title, one of those "WTH??" stories.
"Cops Called on Parents Whose Autistic 5-Year-Old Son's Hair Was Too Messy."
Seriously: the parents of an autistic child had to take to the cops because some nosy called them because the poor kid's hair was too messy.
'Child proofing' that's off the scale....
I love when people insist that you have to call the police anytime you encounter a dangerous situation. Sorry, but in the face of extreme danger the last thing I'm reaching for is a phone.
Saw the whole three seasons... Best info in the world!
I wish you would do season4... :-)
You and your family are an inspiration!
Our volunteer FD also shut down but unlike many of my neighbors I took the time to get a real and one on one talk with those people to learn what and what not to do and how to minimize the potential destruction. How can you be self reliant if that is not included in your education...
Well done @mericanhomestead, sharing to twitter!
A little common sense goes a long way! A little preparedness goes a lot further!
Could agree more! I don't need all kinds of rules and regulations to tell me how to live my life!
Loved the video! I am doing a lot of thee things too. I am prepared for ire with tanks and pumps and lots of hoses. It would take far too long for a pumper truck to get here. More than a half hour! We have spares of as many things that would require replacement in emergancies. Sometimes I think Iam over prepared, but thee have been times when we have been able to help out neighbours...