How To Have A Better Conversation

If you have a spare 10 minutes this clip is really worth watching.  In fact even if you think you don't have 10 spare minutes find the time, you won't regret it.

Choosing our Homestead and 5 Years of Preparation

At the start of 2012 when we decided that we would move back to New Zealand from Australia we started scouring the internet for land.  As I mentioned in my last couple of posts the geographic region that we chose to homestead in was one where we were within a 30 minute drive from family, but also major centres of employment as we are not close to retirement age or in a financial situation where we could retire early.  We wanted enough land to be fairly self sufficient without it being a full time job straight away so we looked for land between 5 and 15 acres in size.

We were definitely working with a budget in mind, as at the time we also had a mortgage on our homestead in Australia, and we knew we wanted to build a new house so we looked at bare land.  We spent a number of months just looking online at the properties that came up for sale, the ones that remained for sale and the ones that sold quickly.  The region we were looking in was fortunately one of the cheapest areas of the North Island.  Once we had seen a few that meet our requirements we travelled from Australia to look in person.

When visiting potential sites we took a number of things with us: 

A spade to check soil type, water logging, topsoil depth and visual biology.  We want to be able to grow a lot of fruit and vegetable and raise animals for meat so knowing if you a looking at a property with good soil or poor soil gives you an idea of how much work might be required before you achieve this goal.  Soil can be improved but it takes time and effort, so knowing what you are dealing with from the beginning might help you make a decision.

A camera to take photos in all directions from the centre of the property and you will never remember what can be seen in every direction and when you look back at photos you might see things you hadn't noticed.

A 50 m tape measure to measure distance from power and water supply to potential house sites.  We did not need to worry about water as it was always planned that we would have water tanks installed.

A note book to record findings and note things like access to adjoining properties, quality of boundary fencing and physical sensations like smell,wind and noise.  

Some properties you will rule out quickly but in others you might see potential.  It is quite important to spend some time standing quietly on potential properties each time you visit (which should be at different times of the day) and listen to the noises around you.  How much traffic noise is there?  Is there manufacturing going on nearby? Are the neighbours dogs barking continuously?  Can you see and hear the neighbours?  These are things easily over looked that might infringe on your imagined lifestyle.

Looking south from our North West corner

Looking East from our North West corner

Hubby with measuring tape in hand

We finally found a property that suited many of our needs and was within our budget.  The location was good, the size (5.5 acres) was good, the houses around us were newish (built in the last 10 years) which can help improve the value of the area, it was down a country road, mostly flat with a very slight slope and tree-less (which can can be both positive - blank canvas to work with, and negative - the cost of trees).
The soil was way better than what we had in Australia and pretty good on New Zealand standards with at least 30cm of topsoil.  The property had been used for growing maize then re grassed so we knew this meant chemical fertilisers had been used and likely herbicides (although soil tests would give us more information), however we also knew we would not be relocating for a few years and the land would therefore be able to heal itself.  It has now bee more than 5 years which means we could start the process of applying for organic certification but we are not sure if we will go down this path yet.

Once we owned the property we started preparing for our eventual move by planting a windbreak on our western boundary.  We get very Strong winds from this direction and sometimes salt spray blows in from the ocean even though it is more than 10 km away but as you can see in the photos below trees in the area can attest to the power of the wind.

 We mowed a 4m wide strip and fenced it off.  Then the planting began.

We planted about 100 trees the first trip back to New Zealand, all self seeded natives that my mum propagated for us.  And after planting all the trees out we went on to fill those same pots with more seedlings.

Every time we visited New Zealand which was about every 6 months we would plant more trees, replace any that didn't survive and propagate new ones.  Slowly but surely we planted out our entire 200m boundary.

Getting the windbreak established was a priority and 5 years on the trees are mostly growing well and about 1.5 metres tall.

As you can see from the above photo we did more than just plant trees in 5 years we also built a shed and undertook a range of other activities but more about that later.  
The way we are designing our property is based on my permaculture knowledge.  I don't claim to be an expert and it is something I continue to learn about and practise, but I try to make decisions based on what I have learnt about permaculture.
The main thing that the 5 years allowed us to do was to get to know our property through observation (number 1 of the permaculture principles) and in a way it forced to take thing slowly making small changes over time which is permaculture principle number 9.
During this time there were many times we wanted to push forward and do things. But living in another country meant we couldn't, which at the time was frustrating as we are both doers and like to be busy.  
As we move forward now the time we have had to observe and think things through I am sure will be a blessing because we are now at the point of making big decisions and putting permanent things like our new house in place which obviously cannot be undone.

I am trying to move past the fear that there are things I haven't considered that will create problems down the line. I am not going to become paralysed by it because I think there is a risk of doing nothing for the fear of getting it wrong, and I keep reminding myself that nothing is a problem just an opportunity to be creative with a solution. 

Have you ever had that feeling when undertaking a project?
Have you ever built a new house or started from scratch somewhere new?
What are your tips for keeping up the forward momentum?

Choosing Land For Homesteading

Everyone will have a different set of criteria for the land they buy to homestead on.  Some people will be like us and want to start from scratch, others will want something that has some bones to build on or maybe even a more complete picture that they can make minor adjustments too.

The one thing that almost everyone will have in common is that they will have a budget to work with.  This provides a starting point.  Additionally you may also have a geographic area that would like to live in to maintain connections to family and friends, however sometimes your budget or current location will mean you need to move away from your desired location to homestead how you would like.  

Knowing what you want or might want from your homestead will help you make good choices when it comes to finding a property to rent or buy.  It really helps to write this all down and have the rest of the family write down their thoughts as well so you can see what everyone is thinking.  
Don't limit yourself to what you think is possible in 5 years but instead list all the things you think you might want to have a go at in the next 20.  
While listing the physical aspects of the homestead such as soil type, land contours, existing vegetation, room to keep animals etc is important, make sure you also list how you want your life to feel, the connections you hope to create and the benefits you hope to gain.  Things such as having good relationships with neighbours, being able to enjoy the work you do on your homestead, having time to pursue you interests, harvesting your own rain water, growing nutrient dense food or linking up with like minded people are also what helps to create balance.  Once you include all of these things you will be able to develop a better picture of what you are looking for.  

After developing your list each person can then divide the list further into three different categories, deal breakers, important aspects or nice to have items.  It can be helpful to do this individually so that everyone feels that they are not being persuaded to another's point of view, then re group to discuss and see where compromises can be made and what items were agreed.

Some of the factors that influenced our decision:

Having previously lived in the middle of the suburbs, and then on a small parcel of land in the country in a old house where a lot of work was required on both the land and house to deal with problems created by previous owners, we knew that this time we wanted to start from scratch.  
That move also involved relocating to a community where we knew nobody and we experienced first hand how long it takes to make friends and build up a support network, so this time we also wanted to live within 30 minutes of my parents and a cousin who I am very close to.  This would mean no other family or school friends lived nearby therefore we knew we would be building new friendships and connections which we were happy to do.  
Being in our thirties when we purchased we also wanted to have access to work opportunities, schooling in case a child came along, opportunities for involvement in community activities.  We also intended on this being a long term set up which makes sense if you are going to start from scratch. 
We did not intend for our land to be our sole source of income however we know that we have sufficient land to pursue a range of activities should we decide to earn a living from our land.

What we started with in New Zealand - A big vacant paddock nothing but grass

Below are a range of factors that you might want to consider when buying/choosing land to Homestead on.

Access

If you are only renting the property haw long can you have it for?  If you are not guaranteed a long term agreement this will shape the improvements you make and the financial investment involved and relocatable infrastructure may be the way to go.  
If you are buying what access to you have to the property itself?  Is the access seasonal? What access do you have to utilities?  Do you want to be connected to the grid or go off grid?  Can you get cell phone coverage?  If you move from suburbia to the country you may be unaware that there are still many places that do not have cell phone coverage and fast internet access even when they don't seem to be in a remote location.  We lived 100 km from a city of 2.2 million people with many smaller cities and towns much closer and we had no cell phone coverage.  We did have fast internet but not all of our neighbours did as there were only a limited number of fast connections available in our area.

Income

Do you need to earn a living from the land or will you work off farm?  How will you finance the setting up of your homestead?

Size

The amount of land you need to achieve your homesteading goals will be determined by those goals and you may need to do some research to help you make a decision.  
If you only want to grow fruit and vegetables and perhaps have some chickens or rabbits then a large plot of land in a town or city may be all you need.  But if you want to have a sheep, goat or cow for milk or meat then you will need consider the needs of these animals as none of them are solitary creatures so will need at least one other for company.  
The size of the land required to support these activities will then be determined by the quality of the land itself or the carrying capacity (how many adult animals can the land support without bringing in supplementary feed).  If you plan on having livestock do not underestimate the importance of this.  Buying in feed can be expensive and could derail your homesteading dreams unless you have very deep pockets, in which case it would be better to spend that money on better land that you have control over in the first place.

Age, Physical Strength and Stamina

At the time we purchased we were both in our thirties so we knew we had the physical strength, stamina and the time ahead of us to set up a homestead from scratch.  If you are older or have any physical limitations then you should factor this in to your decision making.

Location and Personal Connections

What is the climate like?  What sort of soil is it and what do you see growing in the area?  What has the land been used for in the past?  Our land had been farmland that had primarily been used for cropping and had therefore had synthetic fertiliser use.  We got soil tests done before buying and had this written into our contract so that if we were unhappy with the results we could pull out of the sale without penalty. How far from other people do you want to live?  It might seem romantic to live in the wilderness but be honest about the type of person you are and how much social interaction you like to have.

Aspect

If you plan on producing food on your land you need to consider the aspect, potential shading from trees on both your potential property and the neighbouring ones.

Community

Do you like to belong to sports clubs or community groups?  Where do you prefer to shop?  Do you need regular access to medical facilities or specialist services?  Are you likely to find like minded people living nearby?  Visit the towns nearby and talk to the locals.  Find out what community groups already exist and the facilities you will have access to.

Restrictions

Land is subject to council by-laws and some developments and subdivisions will have covenants dictating the types of activities that can be undertaken or what is restricted, the type of house that can be built and in some cases even the colours you can use.  Speak to the local council about the land zoning and future plans for the surrounding area.  What may currently be farmland on the outskirts of town my be destined for subdivision into housing estates, commercial or industrial use, or be ear marked as a rail or power corridor.  The time spent investigating these things could prevent your dream from being squashed or severely altered.

Finally identify anything that you know you do not want.  Sometimes this will help you go back through your list of things you do want and see if there are any clashes.  For example, if you think want to keep livestock but don't want to give up your annual month long holiday at the beach each summer you will need to come up with a plan to manage your absence or reconsider your want to keep animals.  Not doing enough research can be costly in time, money and emotional well being so a bit of time spent before committing will always be well spent.

What other suggestions do you have for someone looking to start out homesteading?