After having lived in the North Ga mountains for many years, in 2017 we made the bold decision  to  sell and move  to Missouri. In Ga, we lived  simpler than we do here in Mo, so when   we lost everything to fire in Nov 2014 building back what we had was made  near impossible by codes ,money and regulations.  We existed for a couple years and when land behind us was being subdivided  we started searching for land,  Missouri found us and  we put an offer in on this piece of property.  When it was accepted  we called a realtor friend to list our Ga property, took a whirlwind trip to Timber, Mo for an  inspection, and a month later  we  were  headed west.    

 

 We like doing things a bit differently than most by mixing a  primitive lifestyle with modern technology.   It allows us to live comfortably and  with  most of the  modern amenities while also walking closely with the earth and doing  what we believe is right. To do this we reuse and recycle whenever possible. We believe in conserving water, energy, and resources in order to sustain ourselves, and we purchase the bulk of our building materials from small,  local, businesses rather than big stores. We are perpetually changing and growing as we work toward self sufficiency on a tight budget..

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When we purchased the property five years ago,  we  envisioned being able to purchase the property, renovate the main house, building 2 rental cabins,  and building basic infrastructure for a homestead for 100k.  Although we are a bit behind on our five year plan and life has thrown in a few curve balls,  we are not too far off schedule or budget.

 

• All facilities use composting toilets  and gray water systems. We  use humanure and we peecycle in our gardens and orchards.

• Water catchment is in place to make use of rainwater when and where possible and we use on demand hot water systems. 

• Lighting  is  solar or 12 volt when possible and led.

• The majority of our from scratch cooking is done over wood whether it is on the wood stove in the winter or the fully equipped outdoor wood fired kitchen. 

• Gardens, orchards, and animals are grown for food and product but we also fish,hunt, and forage when in season.

• Wood for cooking and bonfires are   either end pieces from stave logs or  the tops  of trees from timber harvests.

• Charcoal is made a mile away using off cuts of local cut timber.

• The majority of our building wood is grown, harvested and milled within a 35 mile radius.

• The Dogwood cabin is built using recycled  wood (from main house). The doors are also from 1908 and came off the main house

• The greenhouse/garden shed is built from windows we took out of the  main house