A Summerville, Oregon, couple has taken a years-long journey to successful homesteading and is now offering workshops to help others do the same, the Observer reports.
Madeline and Chas Koenig started small 16 years ago. Back then, they were living in La Grande, renting a converted garage.
With the permission of their landlord, the couple turned the small yard into a garden.
"We kind of joke that since the beginning of our relationship we've been doing some form of homesteading — either on a very small scale in our rental or to more of our large scale now that we have a much larger space," said Madeline Koenig. "We've had homesteading in our relationship and the way we approach life since the beginning."
Later, the couple moved to what would become their Little Dry Creek Ranch, a 118-acre property. They weren't experienced or knowledgeable farmers, but they decided to start learning a little at a time.
Eventually, the project grew. The Koenigs began growing fruits and vegetables and even started raising animals — chickens, pigs, and goats — in addition to their full-time jobs.
A big issue for Koenig is food. She wants to know where her food comes from and what conditions it's been raised in, and that's difficult in a modern world where most people pick their produce off the grocery store shelf.
"My parents didn't garden until they retired, so I didn't grow up with it. I just love the process of watching things grow, but we also really like eating clean food, so growing our own food just makes sense," Koenig said.
Growing her own food at home allows Koenig the ability to make decisions about what she puts in her body, allowing her to be healthy and avoid unnecessary chemicals. It also improves her mental health.
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Saving money 💰 Not only do the Koenigs grow their own food, but they also share it with the community. They offer a crop-sharing subscription service in the summer, providing fresh, wholesome fruits and veggies to their neighbors.
They also offer a homesteading academy to teach local community members all the skills they need to start their own — right down to baking their own sourdough bread.
"Now it's grown into a really fun project out here," said Koenig.
Even now, the Koenigs are learning more and expanding their farm. In the future, when the soil quality is good enough, they hope to own cows.
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