Homesteaders tend to live a more independent life, and may only venture into town once a week or less for supplies or to see friends. Whereas a commune usually has a group of people living together who share responsibilities and possessions but are only loosely connected. A homestead typically only houses a single family, or at most, their extended family. Homesteading is differentiated from living in a commune or village because of its isolation, both geographically and socially.

Either to use within their own home or to sell to generate a little bit of extra income.

They may even produce their own clothing, textiles and other crafts. So skills like canning and pickling are essential for homesteaders to have. Homesteaders practice subsistence agriculture and often preserve their own food that they harvest to last them through the winter. But in its most basic sense, homesteading is about living off the land. We’ll touch on exactly how to start a homestead step-by-step later in this article. In the UK, what’s called homesteading is often referred to as smallholding. Some people believe that homesteading is more defined by the lifestyle choices that you make, rather than whether you live in the country or the city. But in a broad sense, homesteading is about living a self-sufficient lifestyle.įor most people, the main aspects of a homestead are owning their land and the buildings on it, and doing small-scale farming with the goal of being self-sufficient, or at least limiting their reliance on outside sources.Īlthough homesteading typically applies to farms, it’s also possible to be an urban homesteader by practicing sustainable living techniques, urban agriculture and a frugal lifestyle.

A homestead can mean different things to different people.

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