Back On Track

This morning I was thinking about what to post next on this blog. I could keep going on about the NAIS and make this blog into a political soap box but, I think most of us just want to keep on pursuing the sharing of our lives of faith and the agrarian way. Not that I’m setting aside my convictions that this totalitarian NAIS system isn’t something that needs to be fought against, by any means. In fact I just put together a packet of information to send to my relatives in Tennessee with the hope that they will get fired up enough to form their own networks of resistance.

Between our family and friends this has all been a topic of hot discussion. There has been talk of civil disobedience and forming under ground communities in order to get around the system if we can’t get it stopped or changed. We have friends of like mind around here and the topic of community has often come up in the past anyway. Usually though, we light heartedly entertain the notion that we could all start our own intentional type community. It would be a place on some large parcel of land, say a thousand acres, that we would all go in on together. We would share responsibilities, talents and so forth. But, it is all been just light hearted talk, with no serious commitment on anyone's part I don’t think.

Lately I have been putting a lot of thought into how to get around this NAIS problem and it would seem to me that tight knit communities are going to be the only way to minimize the effects of this terrible system. Then I read a comment regarding one of my more recent posts submitted by Balestacker where he gives a suggestion of how to live a sustainable agrarian life. He said,
“I really don't see any way around the money dilemma as long as Christian agrarians insist on going it alone. This is not a criticism, just an observation. There's just no way that one family can produce everything they need AND want from one piece of ground, not even a large family.”
“We would have a better chance at sustainability and more freedom from the money culture if we would establish neighborhoods, villages or whatever you want to call them, and divide up the labor. Isolated farm families just can't do everything. There's not enough hours in the day; not to mention the necessary tools, skills and knowledge.”
Thank you Balestacker for leaving that comment.

Community

I would call it community. Not to be confused with that dreadful system of communism. Community is something that we have lost in the modern way of life. Where I grew up, there were people you lived next to your whole life and if you saw them in a store you wouldn’t even say hello. When you look at the first century church in the book of Acts and compare it to modern American Christianity you see that our version of the Way is found terribly lacking. Those Christians by means of necessity, love and commitment formed interdependent close knit communities that we would find very foreign in this day and age. But, we look at them back then and long for something like that. To belong to a community where you feel like you actually belong. A place of miracles and faith, where every member is truly like family.

One thing I liked about moving to this area was that it was a rather small community, where many of it’s residence are on a first name basis. Especially the ones who’s families have been here for generations. This was all new to us and to some folks I suppose it is something they dislike. I have heard people complain that everyone knows everyone's business. Granted gossip can be a problem, but I’d rather live like this than to live less than 50 feet from someone for years and barely know them at all.

I think Balestacker is right. Joining together and not isolating yourself, is a key to making a truly agrarian life work. Especially now with all this government intrusion that is gathering like storm clouds on the horizon. Actually for us here the storm clouds are over head. When times are tough decent people come together to help each other out. What we need to do is get in the mindset of joining together before a crisis erupts. And not just with a crisis in mind but, just in general, as practical advice about how to start living life more in tune with the way God meant it to be in the first place.

One thing I do want to add, is that we can’t over look the necessity of personal responsibility. It starts with us as individuals, then as families, then as communities. Then ultimately a nation is the sum total of those things. Personal responsibility is disappearing in this country. Everyone thinks they are entitled to a free ride. So the moral fabric of our nation is crumbling down around us. They say that America is the greatest nation on earth. At this point I would beg to differ. We are on a downward slide because the most fundamental elements of strength are being forsaken. Agrarian living is actually a stepping out of that downward spiral. It’s like we are seeing the direction that the modern world is heading and we are stepping off before the big crash.

Our Personal Vision

The Lord has blessed our family with a perfect homesteading location. We have a good mix of open land and woods. Roughly 40 acres is open with 80 acres of woods. Much of the middle and back 40’s are swamp with lots of cedar and tamarack. Good tree’s for making fence posts. Unfortunately we let a logger come in about ten years ago who took all the mature aspen and birch. If I had it to do over again I would not have sold it all off. For what we got out of it, the tree’s would have been far more valuable left for our own use, for fire wood and building projects. Plus the loggers made a mess rutting up the terrain and leaving the place like a tornado ripped through. The Aspen are growing back but they are still way too young to be of any use. Our children will appreciate them someday.

The soil is a rich sandy loam. There is a spring for watering livestock.
I really don’t know what kind of grasses and weeds are growing in the pasture but, whatever it is it has kept horses and livestock we’ve had well fed in the summer months. It is all growing wild and we have not done anything to it, but the animals actually grow fat on it.

I believe, this place, if managed properly could feed not only us but the majority of our small community. The space we use for our own personal needs is only about the size of a city lot. Last season we finally did some intensive gardening. Before last year we gardened the traditional way tilling and planting in rows. It takes more space and labor to garden that way. Last spring I finally built 4 raised beds. Three of which are 6’ wide by 24’ long. We installed hoops about every 4 feet so that we can cover each bed when frost is a threat. In this area frost can happen even in summer. The fourth bed is a 7’ by 3,1/2’ cold frame that I made from a discarded sliding glass door.

I have read much of Eliot Coleman's writings and really like his book called 4 Season Harvest. His is the gardening model I hope to achieve one day. Coleman’s website link is located at the right hand side bar on this blog. Last year was the first time we have actually put into practice some of his methods. My cousins in Tennessee have been using intensive organic gardening methods for years and it has worked very well for them.

One of our dreams is to eventually start a C.S.A. type community farm. C.S.A.’s ( Stands for Community Supported Agriculture ) encourage community participation. It wouldn’t have to be a C.S.A. specifically but, it could operate like one. For us the main objective would be to put together a team of like minded folks who would come together with contributing knowledge, skill and resources to make it all happen. The thought of farming on that scale, on our own, would be too daunting of a task for us. It’s one thing to provide for your own family but, providing for the entire community is quite another matter indeed. We really would be in over our heads in regards to skills and the physical ability to carry it out. But, I get excited about the idea of working with people of like minds for a common purpose. I really don’t know why that is. I guess it’s just how I’m wired. Perhaps it goes deeper than that and there is some destiny that God is leading us towards.

I don’t believe that God wants us to keep all our blessings to ourselves. We have a responsibility to share what we have for the edifying and building up of others. One way I look at what we see happening here is that if something ever happens to this country in way of Gods judgments, then a Christian community farm would become a bastion of hope and beacon of truth in troubling and uncertain times.

Until Next Time