Urban Homesteaders: The New Normal? Popular Mechanics

There are all sorts of levels of urban homesteading. We'd argue that if you grow your own tomatoes and can the extras for winter, you're a bit of a homesteader. But then there are the more dedicated/extreme homesteaders—take Novella Carpenter for instance ...

Novella Carpenter—who is profiled in this month's edition of Popular Mechanics—lives in Oakland, Ca, in a neighborhood called Ghost Town.

There she "grows broccoli and lettuce right next to fig trees and passion fruit vines. Included in her annual crop: 1095 eggs, 200 pounds of tomatoes, 16 quarts of honey, 40 rabbits and 210 quarts of goat's milk."

We were totally fascinated by Carpenter's story (she delivered a baby goat during the interview) and the fact that she's chosen Oakland, Ca as the home for her farm.

Read about Carpenter and other homesteaders here.

Image: Popular Mechanics

Comments (4)

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it's the new "normal", but it's certainly a heck of a lot more normal now than it was 5-10 years ago, I think. Back then, it really seemed like a novelty, and I got a lot of flack/puzzlement/astonishment because of my small scale urban homesteading (and my larger scale future goals). Now, although it's not something that most people seem to DO, it's at least something they've heard of, and something that seems a little hip instead of just weird and totally out-there.

I am so jealous of anyone who can have livestock in a city.

This is my dream! I'd love to be an urban homesteader but I know it's going to take years and the ability to buy property for it to happen. Sigh.

I don't think we're close to making homesteading normal. There are probably more people doing it but if you talk to the average person, they'll wonder why you can't just go to the grocery store. I saw David Cross recently and he had a bit about how his mother makes her own yogurt now. People laughed. A lot. It's still kinda kooky.

All farm animals are banned in our town.. not like we care :-) we sneek them in anyway. I have 12 or 13 chickens in my backyard and a border collie to round them up.