Wanted: Homesteaders of the Year Nominations

The word “homesteader” often brings to mind images of a sod house and a team of horses pulling a plow through dusty soil while Ma bakes bread in the woodstove. Modern homesteaders, however, can be anyone from a Portland urbanite canning tomatoes in her apartment kitchen to an off-the-grid, self-sufficient family milking cows and market farming. The concept of homesteading now encompasses a broad, diverse group of folks bound together by their love of self-reliant living, satisfying labor and a continuous drive to learn — and master — an ever-growing list of skills. 

Many families, friends and individuals have already been homesteading, striving for more and more self-sufficiency with each passing year. The ones who stretch their own mozzarella as part of their cheesemaking skills, spread compost as part of their organic gardening practices, collect eggs from their pastured poultry flock (or even their backyard chickens), always seem to be building something new or working on a hands-on craft, or have fresh laundry on the line whenever you visit. Chances are, you can think of someone — or you can count yourself — as one of a growing number of modern homesteaders. 

Nominate Homesteaders of the Year

We’re seeking information about today’s homesteaders: We plan to choose several outstanding folks to honor as Homesteaders of the Year in a feature story in MOTHER EARTH NEWS! To nominate your family, a neighbor, someone else you know or even yourself, send us a 500-word summary of the homesteader’s activities with at least three photos. Applications are due by Feb. 15, 2012, so don’t delay!