The Weiseman Family Suburban Homestead

Is it doable? I ask myself this question each time I endeavor to place a new element into the landscape, the homestead. How much work, time, study, will it demand of my family? Will it contribute to our sustenance, our basic necessities, our health? Could others do this readily? How local are the materials, the seeds, the tree stock we are procuring? What will we do with the excess yields, should we have an abundant year? Am I merging my efforts with the natural cycles that interpenetrate our existence and give us life? Do I follow the ethics, methodologies, living principles that I believe in? Do I follow my intention?

There are many questions to ask in order to maintain integrity with life choices. Knowing that by following wholeheartedly the dictates of the heart, and what I have come to understand as the zenith of sustainable systems, Permaculture in all its simplicity and comprehensiveness, I may proceed with the building of a suburban homestead in good conscience.

We cannot separate any move we might make from the whole of our existence. As the central principle of Permaculture states, design your property with functional relationship at the forefront. The ecological context that Permaculture grows out of speaks of food webs, circulation of materials and energy within a community of beings, the intersection of biotic and abiotic elements, all creatures subsumed under one great idea: relationship. In spite of ourselves we are always in relationship, regardless of our feelings of isolation. We are surrounded and penetrated by air, water, earth, heat, cold. Where can we go?

The suburban homestead is no different than any other homestead, large or small. Scale makes little difference. With perseverance and good management any size homestead can be a successful endeavor. But one thing I am sure of after years of working in micro and macro levels, that small scale, intensive systems are all the more doable. Millions of acres of dormant suburban and urban lots buried in lawn and battles with the nutritious dandelion are our greatest single opportunity to produce our needs close to home.

We eliminate so many destructive, cause and affect issues by producing crops at the backdoor. And it is doable with little time and effort expended. This is quality effort, quality time. It puts our hands back in the earth, our senses absorbing all the natural nuances of this fine planet. It makes us want more: more trees, more healthy foods, more contact with our neighbors, more deep satisfaction knowing that we won’t have to strip the earth of all its treasures anymore. We can and will make do with what we see, touch, and feel in our immediate environment.

The suburban homestead is a concept and a reality. What is presented here is a pictorial and written diary of just how this homestead may be put together. It is an honest, hands-on depiction of what is possible. It is cookie-cutter, by no means. Think of it as a template for further exploration, for every landscape is different and unique, yet the same basic principles apply.

This journey into the landscape cannot be dissociated from the larger journey of life, love and family. May we travel together and create the relationships that will sustain us today and for the many generations that will follow.

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