Once Upon A Time, on a bitter cold day in December, I purchased a tiny house on a tiny plot of land in a tiny town in Pennsylvania. The very first thing I did when Spring arrived was to plant a medicinal herb garden. I grew many herbs and used them in natural remedies, in homemade beauty products and in kitchen recipes. The next year I planted a vegetable garden. I started a compost pile, and then planted fruit trees and raspberries. Each year the tiny plot of land grew more and more into a tiny homestead. I learned which flowers attracted beneficial insects and planted them all around. I planted trees, vines and shrubs that would feed the wildlife and provide a safe place for them too. I dug a tiny pond so there would always be a water source for the animals. I taught myself all kinds of skills besides gardening, like how to make homemade yogurt, how to make a braided throw rug out of scraps, and how to preserve food through canning and dehydration. I made my own almond milk, learned how to bake several kinds of homemade bread, and I learned how to make lip balm too, and many other money saving skills.
As every homesteader and vegetable gardener knows, there is such a tremendous feeling of satisfaction that comes from eating a meal made from ingredients that you grew yourself. It is a healthier lifestyle, not only due to being more connected to nature, but you can avoid unwanted chemicals when you make your own food products and health care supplies. I was NOT a full time homesteader. In fact I worked several jobs including being a choir director, singing teacher, yoga instructor, administrative assistant and singer-songwriter. Therefore, the skills I learned had to fit into my lifestyle. I didn’t have endless hours to do painstaking tasks. So, if something wasn’t easy, I didn’t do it. Hooray for all the folks who are living off of the land in a self sustaining, off-grid lifestyle. I’ve learned a lot from those folks. But that is not the only type of homesteader. Anyone can embrace a more simple lifestyle.
So there I was, on my tiny plot of land doing my homesteading things in-between various other jobs and demands of life. This went on for almost 20 years. The trees I planted grew big and tall during those years. But one day I had to leave. My story had several unexpected plot twists in a short span of time and just a few years after leaving my tiny house in the tiny Pennsylvania town I found myself in a city in Maharashtra, India. And that is where I am now, living in an apartment 4 floors above the street in the middle of this endless urban sprawl. After only a few months here, I am already growing spinach, mint, basil and cilantro on the front balcony and I have two composting bins on the back balcony. I also have several flowers, palms, and even small trees growing in pots on the balconies too. I am still making my own bread, but now it is flatbread because that is what folks eat here. I am still making my own yogurt and I learned how to make homemade cheese recently too.
I've never lived in a city before, so I am learning how to take all these acquired skills and to adjust and adapt them towards Urban Homesteading. This is my adventure, and one I want to share with you. I created an online course on The Beautiful Soul's Academy called "Easy Urban Homesteading" so that I can share all of these skills with you. People are often drawn towards homesteading skills for a combination of reasons including needing to save money, wanting a healthier diet, desiring a simpler existence, wishing to reduce consumerism, protecting the planet and wanting to feel more connected to nature. But saving money is a BIG reason. I remember well those days of pinching every penny by making homemade gifts, and sewing my own bedroom curtains out of old pajamas. And it is the memory of being flat broke that motivated me to make this course totally free. That is right. You can enroll for free and learn all of the skills that I have acquired over my years of part-time homesteading, from my garden days to my city dwelling present. Right now the first tutorial is already available. You can learn how to make your own delicious cafe-style pizza on your stove top - no oven required. There are lots of reasons why you might want to make a pizza without using an oven, but the biggest perk of stove-top pizza is that it saves time and energy compared to using an oven. And once you have pre-made the pizza bases, you can literally have a delicious homemade pizza in just 10 minutes!! And as a special bonus I included two different pesto recipes in the Stove-Top Pizza tutorial.
Click Here to enroll in Easy Urban Homesteading and you will receive an email every time that new tutorials are added to the course. Upcoming skills will include; Growing Basil from Seed, Making your own Yogurt, Homemade Flatbread, Propagating House Plants, Making Holiday Cards, Making your Own Almond Milk, Homemade Cheese and much more! And remember, this is EASY Urban Homesteading. I will NOT be teaching you how to weave your own skirt from the hair your dog sheds or how to build a Yurt out of your now useless VHS tapes. Haha... no, I am sure someone on the internet can teach you those skills if you REALLY are interested, but Easy Urban Homesteading is for folks who want to live a simple life, simply! Whether you live in the woods, in a town or in a city, a simple life is possible no matter where you are in the world.
I hope you will consider joining me on this journey of Easy Urban Homesteading.
Lots of love,
Jennifer