Anybody here interested in homesteading?

[PaleoConCatlick]

I think the best bet traditional Catholics have at surviving postmodernism is to invest in the sustainable homesteading movement.

This means raising large families on a farm and growing your own food, raising livestock, but also being self-sufficient in terms of clothing, money, and energy. People have to invest in animals that make clothing (llamas, sheep) and also use renewable energy to power their houses.

A traditionalist Catholic community like this should rise up. It would not necessarily be like an Amish community, in the sense of old fashioned equipment, but the community would have to be self-sufficient and independent.

 

[Em_in_FL]

To each their own!
Good luck with your endeavor!

 

[Allegra]

I’ll pass.

But I was wondering what you mean by “surviving”. Do you believe we are all going to be starved to death or something? Why are Catholics more susceptable to this, and if they are, what is to prevent one’s land being taken away by non-Catholics?

Or do you mean for Catholic tradition and culture to survive? To me, reclusively withdrawing from society doesn’t seem condusive to the mission Christ has commissioned us with. How would you go about this?

 

[Fairwinds]

I think the best bet traditional Catholics have at surviving postmodernism is to invest in the sustainable homesteading movement.

This means raising large families on a farm and growing your own food, raising livestock, but also being self-sufficient in terms of clothing, money, and energy. People have to invest in animals that make clothing (llamas, sheep) and also use renewable energy to power their houses.

A traditionalist Catholic community like this should rise up. It would not necessarily be like an Amish community, in the sense of old fashioned equipment, but the community would have to be self-sufficient and independent.

spent much time on a farm have you?

 

[PaleoConCatlick]

I’ll pass.

But I was wondering what you mean by “surviving”. Do you believe we are all going to be starved to death or something? Why are Catholics more susceptable to this, and if they are, what is to prevent one’s land being taken away by non-Catholics?

Or do you mean for Catholic tradition and culture to survive? To me, reclusively withdrawing from society doesn’t seem condusive to the mission Christ has commissioned us with. How would you go about this?

I dunno, have you heard about what KGB Officer Lazar Kaganovich did to the Ukrainian Catholics in 1932?

I actually don’t believe in evangelization. Why does the Catholic Church position on having so many children stand. It is to create lots and lots of followers.

I believe that the government, in lockstep with the popular media, will make things gradually more and more obnoxious for Catholics. They will try to defame us and brainwash our children. They will stop at nothing. Catholics have a strong rock of a church, whereas Protestants splinter up all the time and some tend to be secular as hell.

 

[EasterJoy]

spent much time on a farm have you?

This.

The world is “post-modern” in more ways than one. This is not 1880. You have to make money in order to pay for modern health care, and providing it for your children is not optional. The entire economy of running a family farm has also changed. The federal government, for instance, is not giving away acreage to anyone who makes a successful farm on it. Water rights on not there for the taking. More to the point, rural areas with available farmland get the priest they get, and with increasing frequency they are not getting a priest at all. They have to drive to the parish with a priest that is nearest and take what they get. Do not assume that these rural Catholics don’t like the music put out by Oregon Catholic Press, either. Country music people tend to be rather tolerant of guitars. I would wager that the closer you get to a major city, the more likely that you are in driving distance of a TLM and a church with daily Mass of any kind, let alone one with more than one confession time a week. Do not move to a rural area and think you’re going to find a pipe organ. (Mt. Angel is rural and has a lovely traditional parish church with a splendid organ and locals who teach their kids Latin, but those traditional Catholics aren’t in a big hurry to sell the family farm, alas!)

There are planned Catholic communities in the world, although the only one I can name off-hand is Ave Maria, Florida, which I do not know much about.

 

[Fairwinds]

This.

The world is “post-modern” in more ways than one. This is not 1880. You have to make money in order to pay for modern health care, and providing it for your children is not optional. The entire economy of running a family farm has also changed. The federal government, for instance, is not giving away acreage to anyone who makes a successful farm on it. Water rights on not there for the taking.

There are planned Catholic communities in the world, although the only one I can name off-hand is Ave Maria, Florida, which I do not know much about.

the OP is really going to be disappointed upon learning the* Homesteading Acts* were repealed in 1976. ('86 in Alaska).

 

[Allegra]

I dunno, have you heard about what KGB Officer Lazar Kaganovich did to the Ukrainian Catholics in 1932?

I actually don’t believe in evangelization. Why does the Catholic Church position on having so many children stand. It is to create lots and lots of followers.

I believe that the government, in lockstep with the popular media, will make things gradually more and more obnoxious for Catholics. They will try to defame us and brainwash our children. They will stop at nothing. Catholics have a strong rock of a church, whereas Protestants splinter up all the time and some tend to be secular as hell.

I think you need to put a lot more planning into this idea. Also, if you are going to attract faithful Catholics, you’re going to need to make sure your principles are in line with her teachings. You may not believe in evangelization, but the Church does as well as helping the poor and suffering. If you want to start a Cathoic community, you need to consider this. Otherwise, instead of faithful Catholics, all you’ll attrack is a bunch of nuts.

Remember that the Catholic Church has Christ’s promise that He will be with us until the end of the age. Regardless of how obnoxious the government gets, we already know how this story ends.

PS- I still have no interest in living on a farm. I also have no applicable skills to that life.

 

[EasterJoy]

the OP is really going to be disappointed upon learning the* Homesteading Acts* were repealed in 1976. ('86 in Alaska).

Well, and in places where the farmland is cheap, there is very often a reason for that. The people in the 1880s did not generally concern themselves with whether or not their aquifer was being fed by an abandoned mine somewhere nearby. Of course, a lot of them didn’t last as farmers, either. Homesteading has never been a high-odds proposition. As for the situation with those who have the means to throw a substantial amount of money into farms, there are farmers who will tell you that farming is a very good way to get rid of money when you have too much to get rid of for a lil’ ol’ bonfire. (“If I won the lottery, I reckon I’d just keep on farming until it was all gone…” )

 

[Ophelia23]

I would love to live on a farm, personally!

But not quite on the farm you are describing. If you were to found a Catholic community of people, you would need to ensure it is in line with Catholic teaching… excluding evangelization would be a major problem, for instance.

But I do like the idea of moving away from unreasonable materialism, and I also like the idea of moderate self-sufficiency. That is why we are experiencing such a large movement toward even urban farming, roof-top gardens, things of the like. I don’t think we should reject the world entirely, though; we are called to be in the world. We are a part of it. Our voices need to be heard, and our hands need to be working to help the rest of this body of Christ.

 

[GEddie]

the OP is really going to be disappointed upon learning the* Homesteading Acts* were repealed in 1976. ('86 in Alaska).

He may need to relocate to Canada or Australia if he is serious about his plan.

The USA is a big place, but since pioneering days, it has become the world’s third most populous nation.

ICXC NIKA

 

[PaleoConCatlick]

I’m just telling you guys, if things keep going in this direction, things are going to be a cesspool.

As for whoever said something about the Federal government and healthcare, and land rights, I personally believe that the country is too unstable to continue maintaining this huge Federal government that the Bush and Obama administration created, and all that will render obsolete. I also believe that the US will make some deal with Chinese corporate elites, and our markets will be completely controlled by them.

Imagine that kind of society. People’s Republic of China meets American postmodern secularism.

Basically there should be a small Catholic self-governing sovereign state in America, within the next 15 to 20 years.

 

[PaleoConCatlick]

He may need to relocate to Canada or Australia if he is serious about his plan.

The USA is a big place, but since pioneering days, it has become the world’s third most populous nation.

ICXC NIKA

Hahahahahaha. That’s funny. Relocate to a British Commonwealth country for self-sustainability.

It’s the influence that the UK, EU, NATO, CFR, and UN have over the US that has negatively affected our sovereignty in the past 50 years.

 

[Fairwinds]

I’m just telling you guys, if things keep going in this direction, things are going to be a cesspool.

As for whoever said something about the Federal government and healthcare, and land rights, I personally believe that the country is too unstable to continue maintaining this huge Federal government that the Bush and Obama administration created, and all that will render obsolete. I also believe that the US will make some deal with Chinese corporate elites, and our markets will be completely controlled by them.

Imagine that kind of society. People’s Republic of China meets American postmodern secularism.

Basically there should be a small Catholic self-governing sovereign state in America, within the next 15 to 20 years.

I think you’re talking about a Catholic Bunker.

 

[GEddie]

I dunno, have you heard about what KGB Officer Lazar Kaganovich did to the Ukrainian Catholics in 1932?

I actually don’t believe in evangelization. Why does the Catholic Church position on having so many children stand. It is to create lots and lots of followers.

I believe that the government, in lockstep with the popular media, will make things gradually more and more obnoxious for Catholics. They will try to defame us and brainwash our children. They will stop at nothing. Catholics have a strong rock of a church, whereas Protestants splinter up all the time and some tend to be secular as hell.

What happened in a Communist revolution isn’t particularly applicable to America.

You may not believe in evangelization, but in that respect, you are at odds with our LORD. His actions, and those of his followers, were geared to evangelization, not really to “survival” at all.

HE taught to evangelize, and when persecution came, to get moving but continue to evangelize. HE never said, “when it gets too hot, lower your head and shut your mouth until you find a secure place to have lots of children.” Having children is important, but salt does not do its job by crystallizing in the canister, but by being sprinkled around.

ICXC NIKA

 

[KellyPalmer]

I’m with you OP! And yes, I have spent much time on farms. I already grow my own fruits and veggies and am in a community group with two other families, one of whom lives on a farm with livestock. Their goats just gave birth and she just gave me a lesson on making goat milk feta . My sister quit her amazing job in finance to apprentice for 2 years on a local organic farm so she has been teaching me things along the way as well. I love to ferment and culture foods and beverages. I would like to make this dream a reality where we can all live in closer proximity, homesteading together. Our hold-up right now is that my husband has a few more years left on his military contract. We would like to move somewhere with more Catholics.

 

[PaleoConCatlick]

I’m with you OP! And yes, I have spent much time on farms. I already grow my own fruits and veggies and am in a community group with two other families, one of whom lives on a farm with livestock. Their goats just gave birth and she just gave me a lesson on making goat milk feta . My sister quit her amazing job in finance to apprentice for 2 years on a local organic farm so she has been teaching me things along the way as well. I love to ferment and culture foods and beverages. I would like to make this dream a reality where we can all live in closer proximity, homesteading together. Our hold-up right now is that my husband has a few more years left on his military contract. We would like to move somewhere with more Catholics.

Excellent. Yup. I just got started on all of my stuff. It is the future.

 

[Fairwinds]

Excellent. Yup. I just got started on all of my stuff. It is the future.

not only that, you’ll be ready for meteor strikes, zombie apocalypses, UN invasions, Chinese tax collectors, et al.

 

[PaleoConCatlick]

not only that, you’ll be ready for meteor strikes, zombie apocalypses, UN invasions, Chinese tax collectors, et al.

You bet I will.

 

[KellyPalmer]

How is it going? Just came in from my garden…had to spray another round of water/milk in my cucumbers and squash before the tropical storm hits as I’m trying to battle some powdery mildew. Then I turned around to check on my berries and noticed a large snake is tangled up in the bird netting covering them. Poor guy! I love being able to go to my backyard for food!