Homestead mentors are more important than you can ever imagine. As a modern homesteader there are so many tools at our disposal and ways we can learn so many skills (like homestead bloggers). So you may feel like that online community and a few books are all you need to start your homestead journey. And you might do just fine. But the reality is that a homestead mentor could be the difference between “just fine” and “kicking some homesteading butt”.
I found my mentor by pure accident but she has been an absolute blessing to me along the way and has become a dear friend in the process. She became a partner in my success – and a good mentor will do that for you. And you may find that you need more than one homestead mentor. You may need a garden guru, a goat expert and someone that understands the finer points of cheese making to round out your mentor needs.
The great part about being mentored is that someday you’ll be able to pay that off by mentoring someone else. These mentoring relationships will help to sustain the homestead life far into the future.
There was a time when just about everyone did some sort of “homesteading” where ever they lived. There was even a time when our governments supported and encouraged us to produce food in our backyards. I love the old wartime posters because I love vintage. But if you really take the time to read them you may be surprised to see the common sense that our government actually had. We were encouraged to be producers: plant a garden, raise animals for eggs, milk and meat and to even feed scraps our animals. We were told to can and preserve. That is still a good practice! But you wouldn’t know it from the laws in most cities and towns that forbid the sort of practicality that was supported less than 100 years ago.
