What is urban homesteading?

Another “green” group for Iowa City; you may be asking yourself “so what is urban homesteading anyway?” So glad you asked! Urban homesteaders are a pretty diverse group, but there are some common themes. These are people who are making a conscious choice to make our world healthier by relying less on fossil fuel use in its many manifestations, from industrial farming to electric clothes washers. Urban homesteaders seek self-sufficiency and reducing their reliance on business and infrastructure for things such as food, electricity, and many other things that can be created at home. We are seeking to reclaim knowledge that we have willingly given up in favor of industrialized, cheap, and easy products: including food.

Homesteading has it roots in the “back to land” movement of the 60s and the 70s: the urban exodus to the countryside to seek a stronger connection with the Earth and foodways, living off the grid and by the sweat of one's brow. Urban homesteaders are trying to seek balance of the benefit of urban life with the same longing for a simpler, less consumptive lifestyle. Many of us start simply as gardeners with a small plot of organically cultivated vegetables, and our interests expand to include alternative energy, reusing and re-purposing things instead of carting them off to the dump, and trying to preserve our harvest to nourish throughout the year.

Whatever stage of urban homesteading you are at, from interest onward, your presence is welcomed in the group. We seek to build community, to learn from and to encourage each other.