The Dark Side Of Homesteading

This week’s video comes from Guildbrook Farm, a Youtube channel all about a small homestead in North Carolina. In the video, Jamie talks about death on the homestead.

I really like this video because it’s more real and down to Earth than most homesteading videos. Most people like to show the best versions of themselves online. They brag about the good things in their lives and are often silent about the bad things. Homesteaders are no exception. There’s a tendency among homesteaders to show off all their successes–huge gardens, beautiful animals, off grid power and water solutions–while not talking about the frustrations and sadness that come with homesteading.

As someone in the comments section said: “More life = more death.” If you have a lot of animals, you’re going to have to deal with unexpected deaths. Whether it’s a wild animal that kills one of your chickens (which happened to Jamie), a lightning strike that kills a cow (which happened to my parents), a disease that kills one of your pets (which happened to me), or something else, death is going to happen.

Jamie’s discussion of the inevitability of death and how to prepare for it is really beautiful. This is a must watch for homesteaders and homesteaders-to-be.