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Homesteading itself has been a growing trend for many years now. Just recently, Joel Salatin has written a book titled “Homestead Tsunami,” which points out and explains the current exodus taking place from the “normal city life” to a “rural homestead lifestyle.” However, within the trend of homesteading lives other trends that I have noticed, and in my opinion some are good and some not so much.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Oscar Wilde made this saying popular and it’s often said to mean that when someone is trying to imitate what one does, owns, or thinks, it’s a compliment to that person. In homesteading we see imitation taking place in many areas and in a large scale which leads to trends. This isn’t necessarily good or bad as some trends become trends because it’s simply a better way that has been discovered that others want to duplicate and experience the same successes.

The problem exists in trends that develop not because it’s a better way but rather because of greed. When the success of others moves people to imitate them, not because it will help them move forward in reaching their goals in homesteading, but instead because they want recognition and popularity within the homesteading space, in my opinion, promotes a negative and unhealthy trend.

That said, let me point out some trends I’m noticing in homesteading. There are three trends I love and do believe the imitation of is warranted and worthy of sharing in, and three trends I believe to be negative for the homesteading movement.

Trends I’m In Support Of

Building and Supporting Community

One trend I’m really happy to see is the growing emphasis on community within homesteading. Homesteading is often associated with self-sufficiency, and while becoming more self-reliant is certainly one of the reasons many of us choose this lifestyle, none of us can truly do everything ourselves.

I think there is a big difference between self-reliance and isolation.

Maybe I grow vegetables while someone else raises beef. Another person keeps bees, another has a sawmill, and somebody else knows how to repair equipment. Instead of every person trying to become completely self-sufficient, we can become more resilient by developing relationships with people around us.

For much of human history, this was normal. People depended on family, neighbors, and their local community. Somewhere along the way, I think we’ve lost some of that.

Thankfully, I see homesteaders rediscovering it.

Conferences, Meetups, and Workshops

I’ve noticed more homesteading conferences, festivals, meetups, and workshops popping up around the country. I think this is a great trend.

Yes, these events are opportunities to learn new skills and hear from experienced homesteaders, but I think their greatest value may be the relationships that develop through them.

You might attend a workshop to learn about raising chickens and end up meeting another homesteader who lives twenty minutes away. You might sit through a presentation about gardening and afterward have a conversation with someone who has been growing food in your climate for thirty years.

Those connections can continue long after the event is over.

We need more opportunities to get homesteaders together, exchange ideas, share skills, and simply encourage one another.

Online Groups and Forums

The same thing can happen online.

I know social media has plenty of problems, but one thing it has done very well is connect people who otherwise probably never would have met.

Online homesteading groups, forums, and communities give people a place to ask questions, share experiences, troubleshoot problems, and learn from one another.

Someone can post a picture of a struggling plant and within a few hours have several experienced gardeners helping identify the problem. Someone considering rabbits can talk with people who have raised them for years before spending money on cages and breeding stock.

Online community shouldn’t completely replace local community, but it can certainly add to it.

When these groups are focused on helping rather than arguing, they can be incredibly valuable.

Inspiring Others Through Example

Another trend I love is simply seeing people inspire others by sharing what they’re doing.

One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that people don’t always need someone telling them what they should do. Sometimes they just need to see someone else doing it.

Seeing another person growing food, preserving a harvest, raising livestock, collecting rainwater, planting fruit trees, or learning a new skill can make something that once seemed impossible suddenly seem possible.

Social Media Posts

For all the negative things we can say about social media, this is one area where I think it can be used for good.

You might post a picture of a basket of vegetables you harvested from your backyard without thinking much about it. Someone else sees that picture and starts wondering what they could grow in their own yard.

Maybe you share a picture of your first few backyard chickens. Someone living in town sees it, checks their local ordinances, and discovers they can have chickens too.

You weren’t necessarily trying to teach anybody anything. You were just sharing what was happening on your homestead.

But you inspired someone.

I think we sometimes underestimate the influence of simply living out what we believe and allowing other people to see it.

Accidental Inspiration

Some of the best inspiration happens accidentally.

Over the years I’ve had people tell me that something I shared encouraged them to start gardening, raise rabbits, plant fruit trees, compost, or try some other aspect of homesteading.

Often it wasn’t something I created specifically to convince anyone to do those things.

I was simply sharing what I was doing.

That’s one of my favorite things about the homesteading movement. People see someone doing something and think, “I could probably do that.”

Then they try it.

Maybe they do it exactly the same way. Maybe they change it to fit their circumstances. Eventually, somebody sees what they’re doing and becomes inspired themselves.

That’s a trend worth continuing.

Being Authentic: Sharing Success and Failure

Another trend I’ve been happy to see is more homesteaders being willing to share both their successes and their failures.

It’s easy to show the successful harvest, the beautiful garden, the new barn, or the freshly stocked pantry.

It’s harder to show the garden that failed.

Or the fruit tree that died.

Or the project that cost twice as much as expected and still didn’t work.

But that’s real homesteading.

I’ve been doing this long enough to know that things don’t always go according to plan. I’ve had successful gardens and unsuccessful ones. I’ve had systems that worked great for years and others that failed when I needed them most.

Sharing those failures doesn’t make someone a bad homesteader. In many cases, it makes them a better teacher.

If I make a mistake and tell you about it, maybe you won’t have to make the same mistake.

I also think authenticity helps beginners develop realistic expectations. If everything they see online is perfect, it’s easy for them to believe they’re doing something wrong when they experience problems.

The truth is that everybody experiences problems.

Homesteading is a continual process of observing, learning, adjusting, and trying again.

I want to hear about your successes because they inspire me.

But I also want to hear about your failures because they teach me.

Trends I Dislike

The Content Mill

This one might sound a little strange coming from someone who has spent years creating homesteading content through articles, podcasts, videos, and other forms of media.

I’m obviously not against homesteading content.

I’m against creating content simply for the sake of creating content.

There is a difference.

I’ve noticed what I would call the “content mill” developing within homesteading. The goal becomes producing as many articles, videos, social media posts, podcasts, and short-form videos as possible because the algorithms demand something new all the time.

Eventually, the pressure to keep producing can become more important than actually having something worthwhile to say.

Even worse, people sometimes begin creating content about things they have very little experience doing.

Someone researches a subject for an afternoon and writes an article telling others how to do it.

Someone tries something once and suddenly becomes an expert.

Or someone sees a topic performing well for another creator and immediately produces their own version because they want some of that traffic.

That’s where I think we’ve gotten things backwards.

I believe homesteading content should come out of homesteading.

Do the thing first, or at least be honest that you are approaching as a beginner.

Learn from it.

Make some mistakes.

Figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Then share what you’ve learned.

I’d rather read one article written by someone with years of real-world experience than ten articles written simply because somebody needed something new to publish that week.

Chasing Popularity Through Controversy

Another trend I dislike is the increasing use of controversy to gain attention.

Unfortunately, controversy works.

Tell people they’re gardening wrong and they’ll click.

Tell them their favorite method of raising chickens is terrible and they’ll comment.

Attack another homesteader, criticize a popular idea, or make an extreme statement and people will share it just so they can argue about it.

Before long, controversy itself becomes a marketing strategy.

I’m not saying we should avoid disagreement.

There are plenty of things within homesteading worth discussing and debating. I may disagree with the way someone gardens, raises livestock, manages their property, or approaches self-reliance.

There’s nothing wrong with explaining why.

But there’s a difference between disagreement and intentionally creating division because division gets attention.

I don’t think we need to turn every difference of opinion into a battle.

Homesteading should be about building things.

Building soil.

Building skills.

Building stronger families.

Building community.

Building resilience.

Constant outrage and controversy don’t build much of anything.

If your success requires constantly making somebody else the enemy, I’m not sure that’s the kind of success worth chasing.

Intolerance Of Different Methods

This final trend probably bothers me the most because it goes against one of the things I’ve learned after years of homesteading:

There is rarely only one way to do something.

I’ve practiced and written about permaculture for years. I believe strongly in many of its principles and use them on my own property.

That doesn’t mean everybody has to practice permaculture.

Someone may till their garden while someone else practices no-till.

Someone grows in raised beds while somebody else grows directly in the ground.

One person uses tractors and machinery while another prefers hand tools.

Someone raises cattle on a hundred acres while somebody else raises rabbits and quail on a small lot in town.

One person may be trying to produce nearly everything their family eats while another is simply trying to grow enough tomatoes to make salsa.

All of those people can be homesteaders.

Methods are tools.

The important question isn’t whether someone is doing everything the way I would do it.

The question is whether what they’re doing makes sense for their property, resources, climate, family, and goals.

I think we hurt the homesteading movement when we start creating purity tests.

“Real homesteaders don’t do that.”

“You’re not a homesteader unless you own land.”

“That’s not real permaculture.”

“You shouldn’t buy that when you could make it yourself.”

“You’re doing it wrong.”

Those attitudes discourage people who are just getting started.

I’d much rather see someone growing tomatoes in five-gallon buckets on an apartment balcony than doing nothing because someone convinced them they don’t have enough land to be a “real” homesteader.

Homesteading should meet people where they are.

Start with what you have.

Learn what works.

Change what doesn’t.

And don’t worry too much if your homestead doesn’t look like somebody else’s.

Follow Trends, But Know Why

I don’t believe trends themselves are necessarily good or bad.

Sometimes a trend develops because people have discovered a genuinely better way of doing something.

There’s nothing wrong with seeing someone else’s success and saying, “I’d like to try that.”

That’s one of the ways we learn.

The question I think we should ask ourselves is why we’re following the trend.

Am I doing this because it will make my homestead better?

Will it help my family?

Will it make us more resilient?

Will it save time or money?

Will it help me grow more food or become a better steward of what I’ve been given?

Or am I doing it because everyone else is doing it?

Worse yet, am I doing it because I’m chasing the same attention, popularity, or success someone else has received?

There’s a big difference.

I love seeing the homesteading movement grow. I love seeing people leave behind some of the dependency of modern life and rediscover food production, traditional skills, community, and a closer connection to the land.

But as the movement grows, I hope we don’t lose what makes homesteading valuable in the first place.

Let’s build community.

Let’s inspire one another.

Let’s be honest about our successes and our failures.

And at the same time, let’s worry a little less about producing endless content, creating controversy, or insisting that everyone has to homestead exactly like we do.

Your homestead doesn’t need to look like mine.

Mine doesn’t need to look like yours.

If we’re both learning, growing, producing, becoming more resilient, and helping others along the way, I’d say we’re headed in the right direction.