The Big Lie of Modern Homesteading

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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0:00 Intro
0:19 The claims
2:11 Fear only gets you so far
2:33 a quick history lesson
5:34 a word from our sponsor
6:52 Cheddar is driven by fear
7:27 What changed my motivations
12:42 Break for the squaredance
13:59 So what's the point of all this?

MORE ABOUT ME

I'm Anne of All Trades. In NASHVILLE, I have a woodworking, blacksmithing and fabrication shop, a selection of furry friends, and an organic farm. Whether you've got the knowledge, tools, time or space to do the things you've always wanted to do, everything is "figureoutable."

I became "Anne of All Trades" out of necessity. With no background in farming or making things, I wanted to learn to raise my own food, fix things when they break and build the things I need.

12 years ago I got my first pet, planted my first seed and picked up my first tool.

My goal is to learn and share traditional techniques and skills while showing my peers how to get from where they are to where they want to go, how to do the things they are passionate about, and what can be done TODAY to engage their own community and grow deep roots.

Whether it's carving spoons, making my own hand tools, restoring my antique truck or growing heirloom tomatoes, the farm and workshop definitely keep me busy and support - whether financially through Patreon, through shopping my affiliate links, through buying merchandise, plans or project videos, or even just liking, commenting, and sharing my content with others helps me GREATLY to keep producing quality content to share.

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Other places you can find me:

[nickmatney]

Living through the recent (and ongoing) devastation of Helene in western NC, I have seen first-hand the futility of trying to be a silo and go it alone. Community is not only the spice of life, but a necessity of it.

[sharaguzzetta]

It’s not just animals. I don’t know where it comes from, but I recently heard, “No one should be alone with a crying baby.” We have atomized our community to the point that we do hard things alone and we just aren’t meant to do that. We started as communities with specializations, and we specialized ourselves into complete isolation.

[loriann]

FINALLY, someone said it. I have left so many homestead "channels" because of the Doom and Gloom! The only way to survive a catastrophe is to band together and create a community. A group of people with different skills, with the same goals. I am 54, I can no longer do what I used to do in my 20's. Arthritis, exhaustion, lack of assistance, makes for a very tough life. And knowing I consciously chose this way of life at one time, ... I just shake my head. With age comes wisdom. And now I am semi self reliant, I have friends who are semi self reliant, and we all know we can depend on each other for what ever is needed. Weather that be emotional, mental or physical assistance.

[shelli]

I grew up farming and ranching. It is a lifestyle, it is a community. It is not to be taken lightly and done on a whim. I appreciate your words today, the honesty of doing it because it is a purpose in your life. We do not garden, raise livestock, preserve food etc because a doom scenario - we do it because we can, and we love it. Thank you again.

[seaperson]

"You don't get purpose from fear." is so succinct and perfect.

[kimbervaccher]

My mom used to tell me that the best cure for loneliness is service. You expounded on that so well. We need people in our lives, we need community to thrive and to shine. Blessings on you and yours Anne of All Trades!

[bradleyharvey]

Anne, my respect for you just increased exponentially. More than twenty years ago, I made the conscious decision to avoid "news" outlets that seemed geared to keeping us frightened, angry and ignorant - probably the smartest thing I ever did. I'm now mostly surrounded by otherwise decent people who have self-radicalised to the point where they seem to want to burn it all down. Knowing there are folks like you in the world keeps me from despair. Keep doing what you're doing, and God bless you.

[DerekDeJong-kpll]

My grandfather was a peach farmer in the Niagara region, a mason and the grand son on a Presbyterian minister. He was my male mentor growing up and taught me to “never let a man suffer alone”. Today we have a 6 acre farm in the Annapolis valley as well as our home, for winter, near Halifax. We made no attempt to isolate, instead I found a farmer to mentor me and we help him with everything when he needs. Moving animals, haying, millling lumber, butchering goats and chickens…digging potatoes. Next year we will be planting 3 acres of land and giving away all the food. The prophet Isaiah told us that we must clothe, house and feed people…two of those are really hard to do personally. But I think we can feed some of them…so let’s go be a community.

[stephenfairweather]

I'm an introvert, but I'm an introvert in a community. Nowhere through history was one person supposed to do everything on their own. "It takes a village" is about more than just raising children, it's about mutual support.

[annabeahm]

"Long term motivation requires something far more powerful than fear, that's a sense of purpose. You don't get purpose from fear."

Whewww I needed to hear that today!!

[trbrig]

Tears in my eyes watching the last few minutes!!! In today’s world everything is so fear based, especially with things heating up in an election year. Anne continues to be a beacon of light & hope for us all. What a beautiful reminder that fear will never win but love & purpose always will. 🤍

[T_Barb]

YES!!! You go girl. I’m a grandma. My grandparents were original authentic homesteaders. They were in the hills of Tennessee. We would, as kids, spend our summers with grandma and grandpa and I was always so amazed with how they lived. They milked the cows, slopped the hogs, and us kids would collect the eggs every day. The chickens just ran around and roosted in the 3 sided garage like structure grandpa built. They were fed vegetable scraps from preparing meals, 3 a day. (Huge spreads each meal) Grandpa drew water from a well beside the house which was just a pipe in the ground and a well pipe bucket. We went to the outhouse. The slop for the hogs was meal leftovers and dried corn I believe. I helped grandma churn butter and rub sage. I’ve strung tobacco. Us kids would stomp down the hay in the wagon, horse or mule drawn, while grandpa pitchforked it up. (After we got home from there, store bought milk tasted like water.) Country hams hanging in the shed. It’s a beautiful way of life. A physical way of life for sure, much hard work involved, but boy did you always sleep so well. Neighbors ALWAYS helped neighbors. They all depended on each other.

It molded the way I live. I’ve always had food put back. I’m always ready for any emergency that could happen. Thank you!

[kated]

Things started falling apart soon after the industrial revolution because that is when the unit of production was extracted from the home and sent far away in factories/mines/etc.
That is when money started becoming the most important thing, and any action or activity not doing that became devalued... hence why house work (and traditional women work) started to be seen as "not real work" and became entirely taken for granted. Time spent with family? Time spent on hobbies? Time spent in nature? Everything not producing profit for a corporate overlord was increasingly seen as less important.

It's not truly government that is the enemy. Large societies do need governments of sorts. The problem is the big corporations and billionaires who bribe governments and push for them to work for their best (financial) interests at the cost of society's best interest. The more corrupt a government becomes by those wealthy elites? The more money they can siphon from the working class, and the bigger and stronger they grow... and the cycle continues in that direction. Ultimately they become leeches on society, socializing their personal corporate projects AND the consequences of the destruction they cause, while privatizing any profit made! A few handful of monopolies, for example, control much of the global food trade!
They get to squeeze both farmers and consumers to death, while oftentimes also leaving paths of destruction in poorer countries where they exploit both land and locals.

[SocksnGreys]

I have stopped watching several YouTubers because they focus so closely on self, on fear, and on proselytizing their own particular faith. (I think faith is a marvelous and wonderful thing, but I also don't want to be beaten over the head with someone's take on it, especially when it's in service of bolstering that fear-and-scarcity mindset.) Thank you so much for this compassionate and generous video.

[JB-egtb]

Appreciate how you call out the reality and practicality of self-sufficiency in being part of a community. Fear creates silos. Learning how to be a part of a community in a purposeful manner is something we all need to become better at.

[GregoryMandara]

Farmers are severely under-appreciated. Just want to say thank you for all that you do.

[PrairieRoseHomestead-ribn]

I have found that going back to my original reasons. The fact that I LOVE this life, that I love old fashioned living, that I love nature and being in sync with it. That is what has kept me going past the burn out. Burn out is real, but if you’re doing this because you love it, because it’s your calling, you can keep going. Fear is a horrible motivator… I’ve been through all that as well, feeling the need to be self sufficient. Now I’ve just come back to doing what I love because I love it. If the world falls apart, it does. But I’m not living like it’s going to anymore.

[marykappesser]

I love this video. I am so glad you came into my world. I am now approaching my 7th decade. I struggle with on one hand wanting to be left alone, and on the other, the reality that I can't live in isolation. I have stopped watching so many channels because of the fear mongering. But I have found a few, like you, that speak to need for community and living with purpose not fear. Knowing your background story gives me more to admire about you. Keep speaking your truth.

[mudotter]

Wisest video yet. You had me in tears. My parents raised me, ready for a socioeconomic collapse, and they worked at doing it alone. I was burnt out by the time I grew up and left home with no social skills. So I've always known the self sufficiency model, as presented from the 70's until now was a lie. Being called a hippie, when people didn't, wouldn't want to hear or understand, my parents were not hippies, but back-to-the-landers and there is no glamour in that lifestyle. Thank you for your genuine reflection 💕

[HyaenaHierarchy]

Deeply appreciate this video, and your take on the homesteading movement. Having grown up in a Farming family and Community, moved to town, and now back into regenerative agriculture, it is refreshing to see some truth telling that isn’t so common on these channels. I find it fascinating that a lot of homesteaders and preppers rail against the government, but almost no one talks about the corporations that have co-opted all of our systems, including our trust, our creativity, and our Institutions. We throw stones at the government, but give these huge multinational, corporations, many of whom are much larger than governments, a free pass. It doesn’t make any sense, especially since corporations are beholden to private shareholders and the government, at least ostensibly, is us. We are it. So if our government has been co-opted by avarice and greed, that’s on us. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.