When it comes to the “old ways,” you can’t get much closer to traditional practices than with the DIY preparation and preservation techniques of homesteading. The homesteading movement is centered on self-sufficiency, which can be traced back to the beginning of any cultural diet. Learn more about the history of homesteading, and read our seven easy ways to try out homesteading on your own.
In the United States, the homesteading movement has evolved throughout history. It derives its name from the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted federal land to citizens in an effort to encourage expansion westward. Applicants paid a small fee and then agreed to live on and work the land for five years, after which they received an ownership title for it. A century later, homesteading was synonymous with the “back-to-the-land” counterculture of the 1960s. Today, it is a smaller-scale social movement that encourages self-subsistence and DIY food and agricultural practices as a response to large-scale production methods, and to reduce waste and increase sustainability.
Making and preserving your own food is a return to the “old ways” that we are very fond of. However, you don’t need to go west or buy your own farm to be a homesteader. It can be as simple as growing heirloom vegetables or fermenting your own sauerkraut. No matter what you choose to make, homesteading is a way to enjoy local, seasonal flavors and preserve them traditionally while avoiding the high levels of salt and sugar in processed foods common in the standard American diet.
Links
[1] https://oldwayspt.org/system/files/atoms/files/FoodMed_Fermented_0.pdf
[2] https://oldwayspt.org/blog/thats-pretty-pickle
[3] http://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes/whole-grain-watch-learn-videos#BreadsandCrackers
[4] https://oldwayspt.org/blog/we-are-nuts-diy-nut-butter
[5] https://oldwayspt.org/traditional-diets/why-traditional-diets
[6] https://oldwayspt.org/programs/african-heritage-health/atoah-community-cooking-classes
[7] http://www.oldwayswebstore.org/the-oldways-table-book/
[8] https://oldwayspt.org/shop/books/search?keys=diy&items_per_page=12