Urban Homesteader could help you turn your urban space into a modern homestead

This ambitious project aims to teach city folks how to produce their own fresh food, and to work toward sustainable living in an urban setting.

Urban homesteading might seem like something more suited to hipsters living in Portlandia than to the rest of us living normal lives in average neighborhoods, but it could be one tactic for learning to live more sustainably, no matter where you are.

The classic 'back to the land' hippie dream of moving to the country, going off the grid, and growing your own food isn't always practical, appropriate, or achievable for most people (but still admirable for those hardy souls who can do it). A much more attainable goal is turning your urban home into a modern homestead, and the folks at Urban Homesteader want to show you how.

So you want to learn how to grow some of your own food, and keep bees and chickens, but you live in the city and you have no desire to move to the country to start a farm? You're not alone. There's a huge amount of interest in urban farming and home food production, but for many of us, the world of urban homesteading is something that other people do - people with a lot more experience and space than we have.

The good news is that learning how to grow your own food and raise your own chickens and bees and goats isn't nearly as complicated as you might think, and is within reach of many people living in cities and urban areas. The not-so-good news is that there's a world of difference between reading about successful urban homesteaders and actually doing it yourself, and far more of us will dream of building a sustainable homestead in the city than will ever convert their backyards into mini-farms, in part because learning the skills necessary to do so might seem daunting.

However, there's a new project in the works, currently seeking crowdfunding on Indiegogo, which could help close the gap between just wanting to live more sustainably and actually doing something about it in your home and yard. The Urban Homesteader project, led by a couple of seasoned media professionals who are involved with the popular PBS shows Bill Nye The Science Guy and Biz Kid$, aims to help more people learn to homestead in the city through a series of web videos featuring experts who know their urban homesteading skills and practice them to positive effect on their own little piece of the city.

"Help launch a project that teaches people how to turn their small, urban space into a modern homestead. It's about growing food, raising livestock, preserving, DIY projects, and conserving energy... all in the city! Get inspired with great stories, use how-to materials from our website, and connect to homestead experts in your community."

The Urban Homesteader campaign seeks to raise the funding to produce the first couple of episodes of the show (which could eventually be turned into a national PBS series), and then to develop an interactive skill-sharing hub which could help broaden the reach and impact of the project in a practical and scalable way.

Here's a quick demo reel of the proposed series:

The campaign's goal of raising $20,000 has almost been reached, and there are still a few days left to pledge your support (and get access to some great backer perks), so if you're in support of practical sustainable living initiatives, you might consider chipping in to the project.

Tags: Gardening | Urban Life


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