Meet the Radical Homemakers

[Cornelia]

Chime in with your questions and comments here!

[Cornelia]

We asked people to leave a comment on the book review at the HOMEGROWN.org blog and there are some terrific testimonials. We asked: "What activities bring you closer to the land, to your food, to the farmer, to your community?"

Here's what Cindy Putman says:
"When I was growing up both of my sets of grandparents were farmers. We ate everything from the garden , cured our own hams, canned anything that we grew and had no processed foods. I felt poor because all my friends ate out, bought everything at the store and never had canned foods for meals. I now realize how rich we were because our lives were so close to the earth and how thankful I am for grandparets who lived green before it was the “hip” thing to do. A reformed live greener,

Thanks Granny , Pa , Grandma and Grandpa…. we are still planting your greatgrandmother’s brown bunch beans!!!!!"
I'll continue to post some of those comments over the next few days while people receive their book. In the mean time, how would YOU answer that question?

[Andrew Odom]

My lineage is an agrarian one. However, two generations have been removed from the farm and I grew up in a very gentrified, suburban sprawl setting. As an adult I have come back to my roots of 50 years ago only to realize that the world is different. The support for small farmers and a sustainable lifestyle is not really evident. In fact, my wife are met with a mixture of disbelief and dissatisfaction when we tell people our goal is to create a life and not a living. Why is this? In your estimation (your meaning whoever is reading this) why have we moved so far away from the homemaking, homegrown, pride in the home, mentality? Are those of us who want this life....are we homesteaders or some sort of neo-homesteading amalgam?