Over the last few days (thanks to a USA Today article) I have taken the time to notice that there seems to be a lot of movement of urbanites like ourselves back to the land. While most seem to have been forced as a result of the economic collapse that now seems to be happening pretty much right across the globe, this surely is a good thing. All of the blogs, articles and even Facebook pages that I have been going through are filled with people that despite some rude shocks and a general unpreparedness for their new lifestyle are actually happier, and more balanced people for having made the change.
As I have mentioned before I have urbanite friends in Canada who want nothing more than to be able to buy a couple of hundred acres, build themselves a green home, and raise livestock. They are like a lot of others I am reading about - those who at present are unable to move and so are turning their once dormant back yards into vegetable producing gardens. Even in the UK it seems this revolution is happening with companies reporting enormous increases in seed sales.
Will it last? That's certainly an interesting question. Once economic stability arrives, will these people return to their urban roots and take up where they left off? I don't think so personally. I think that over time the growing trend will be to ruralization rather than urbanization. With the availability of mass communication and the internet these days there is no general need for the average person to be forced into the concrete jungles. All of the people I am reading about have everything they need and are living a more satisfying existence on sustainable plots of land. I know it's not for all of you, you're more than happy in the urban sprawl, and that's just fine as well.
I'd like to show my support for those people who have shown the courage (whether through economic necessity or not) to return to the land and a more satisfying way of life and for anyone out there interested in looking into it, take a look at some of these links:
Self-Sufficiency and Homesteading
Homestead.org
Mother Earth News
The Simple Living Network
When the Catesby Farms website is eventually launched (and yes I know that's been coming for months now), I'd like to include a small section on sustainable living, based of course on our own experiences. Maybe it will give you a better insight into how we are doing this, and maybe, just maybe it might tempt you to look further into it yourself.
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