13 Years Living Off the Land - Man Shares REAL Homestead Experience

Peter moved to a piece of land in British Columbia's Gulf Islands as an idealistic 22-year old who wanted to save the world and reduce his environmental footprint by growing his own food, building his own shelter, and producing his own fibres for clothes. Magdalene joined him a few years later.

To make this homesteading project financially viable, the couple has had to experiment with different revenue streams, including community supported agriculture (CSA) vegetable box programs, hand forged tools, meat animals, dairy cows, and selling fruit and nut trees, as well as plenty of off-farm work as well.

After a steep and labour-intensive learning curve, Peter has realized that living off the land can be very expensive, that it can be difficult to earn an income from agricultural products — especially if your land isn't situated in an area with a market for your product nearby, and that living off the land requires a lot of infrastructure & maintenance — all of which costs time and money. And they aren't even trying to be off grid.

It was refreshing to get such an honest look behind the scenes of what appears to be a utopian lifestyle: living in a hand built timber frame home with a cozy wood stove, and eating fruit and nuts from your own island orchard's trees, and to know there's quite a big financial and physical struggle to make it all happen.

To learn more about Peter and Magdalene's Farm & Tree Nursery, you can check out their website and follow them on Facebook:

Thanks for watching!

Mat & Danielle

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VIDEO CREDITS
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Music & Song Credits:
All music in this video was composed, performed, and recorded by Mat of Exploring Alternatives.

Editing Credits:
Mat and Danielle of Exploring Alternatives

Filming Credits:
Mat of Exploring Alternatives

Photo Credits:
Photos of Peter & Magdalene provided by Tree Eater Nursery

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[fatcatpeople]

now this seems real. unlike some stories that make it seem like you buy land and boom you can live off the earth with no problems. good luck to him.

[timrooney]

I love how real and honest he is. You can tell he is a hard worker

[reddog]

I stumbled across this video and really glad I did . I am a homesteader in NW Arkansas. I started when I was 50 and now am chasing down 67. I like that you talk about the realities of homesteading . So many seem to sugar coat it . it's alot of work, but much happiness comes with it too.

[soshspotgames]

So, you know, I've actually been looking for a video like this for quite awhile...and it was unbelievably hard to find. I was interested in finding this "realistic perspective" because I also tried homesteading. For 7 years. It was only last year that I recouped just enough of the money I invested to get the heck out while I still could.
I don't want to make this a long ranty post, but to just give some detail, here's what happened for me.
I went to college for business and worked in the corporate world 10 years. I was smart with my money and saved. 8 years ago I decided the crazy hustle and bustle of corporate city life was wearing me down. I was tired of all the consumerism and mass-mill farms, etc. I decided to take my savings and start homesteading. I had 200k saved. Initially I thought I could just invest half and I would be fine. Boy was I wrong! I purchased 10 acres of land in Arizona for 20k. It was raw land with no structures. I had no power, no water, no sewage, etc. I had to build and contract out for all that. I found a small mobile home on CL for $8k and thought that sounded like a good deal but had to get it to my location which was yet more cost. Then the initial purchase of plants, trees, crops. A few chickens at least for eggs. The costs were really mounting. Now I needed yet more infrastructure built. I needed coops for the chickens, planting beds and irrigation for the crops. I needed to build another small building for extra storage, etc. All said and done, the total investment for just a basic farm-like set-up and semi-livable land was $150k. But that was just initially. My land was quite far from a city. So gas started adding up. Grocery trips still needed to be made for even basic things like toilet paper, etc. Then the basic life expenses. An animal gets sick or the car has trouble or a crop fails and now you're facing near disaster. It was incredibly hard to make any kind of sustainable income. In the end I had to invest yet more money in different kinds of fruit trees and other livestock, just to make money. Like I said, after 7 long years of a pretty hard, exhausting life, I only just managed to save up enough moeny, sell my land and move back to Phoenix. It's been a harsh lesson. I had to find work again after being out of the employment scene for 7 years. I managed to net enough income from the sale of my land and savings that I was able to scrape together to buy a rough, small 2 bedroom house in a not super part of town. The house is now my fixer-upper. I transported some of my fruit and veggie trees with me and still grow them. Now, I just live my life conscientiously. I research companies and brands and corporations. I don't buy from big business. I buy from small, local business owners every chance I get. I try to live with as small a footprint as I can. I bike to work everyday. I compost. Things like that. But...I'll never go back to 100% raw homesteading again.
This was all just my own personal experience though. I made some bad decisions along the way and I was incredibly idealistic and naive. I hope any of this can help someone else.

[Tsiri]

I like this guy. He got started because of the romanticism, then reality hit. Good for him- he dealt with it and didn't give up.

[EagleSlightlyBetter]

This is so god damned refreshing. I'm so tired of all the back to eden crap posted by ex bankers and real estate millionaires. Thanks for this!

[leelacarroll]

Your honesty about the pros and cons about your choice of lifestyle are admirable. But what is really admirable is that you had an idea-or a dream-and you went with it!!

[caribbeanpot]

much thanks for being truthful about the cost+capital+footprint

[neptronix]

Thanks for presenting the reality. I've watched a lot of videos in your category and people seem bent on selling a lifestyle as a means for more views.. you guys keep it real.. i really appreciate it.

[joelm]

that guy was awesome...he didny have the often associated 'rainbows and unicorn' message. He appeared honest and humble...TY

[KimmyCharise]

This was great, it's so important to understand fully the realities of living off the land. Thank you so much!

[growinglife]

At 22 years old and with very similar goals and no capital myself, Peter vocalized many of the hurdles I anticipate facing. Thank you for sharing his story and what I can only imagine is a tiny fraction of his wisdom. Your channel never fails to inspire me, and I aspire to someday put out videos of this value and quality! Thanks Mat and Danielle!

[mauricioortizbuitrago]

I bet they will make a better income by giving workshops teaching all they know on sustainable living!!!

[supernova]

I'm a very idealistic 18 year old, kinda like he described. And this was probably a wakeup call because I also underestimated what all this would cost

[bosse]

Lovely life. ....maybe not rich moneywise, but rich in so many other ways.

[sailingvesselsouthernlady]

I very much enjoyed this interview. Very honest and frank depiction of trying to live a "homestead" type of life.

[insightcatalyst]

This was awesome, hearing from someone whose own ideals align with some of my own. Eating healthy and being a bit more naturalistic are very important to me. I'm so happy you were able to cover this.

[rachelgrinnell]

Its almost refreshing to hear someone talk abour the hardships you endure when trying to go off grid even thought he referred to it as "negative". I feel like it is so important to prioritize wheat mens most to you and realize all the things you might have to give up that are a close second to your peimary wants. Small decisions are hard but decisiding to live off the land is one thats overwhelming I'm sure.

[AmedeeBoulette]

Fantastic... Realistic. Great story, honest guy, this is it, no ideology but harsh reality. Beautiful place, he built... reflects him inside out.

[benjinyc]

I love how honest he is in this video. Nowadays, it's hard enough to be able to bare one self openly to the world, but for the filmaker to capture these moments & still make it an educational tool for those who would want to try this way of living is quite an achievement. Great job!