Homesteading Couple Hasn’t Bought Groceries in a Year of Self-Sufficient Living

Chris and Stef jumped into self-sufficiency last year when they decided not to buy groceries for an entire year, including staples like salt, sugar, coffee, and flour! Instead, they've been growing, catching, raising, and harvesting 100% of their food supply on a small 1/2 acre homestead. They're only a few weeks away from completing their year-long homestead challenge and they attribute their success to hard work and to the fact that they live in the Southern Gulf Islands where they have a great growing climate and access to the ocean.

The couple's four main sources of food have been:
CATCH - they catch fish, prawns, and other seafood from the ocean
GROW - they grow loads of vegetables, fruit, herbs, and spices on their land
HARVEST - they forage for things like mushrooms, berries, nuts, and seaweed
RAISE - they raise laying hens, chickens, and turkeys for eggs and meat

Eating only what they produce has drastically reduced the amount of money that Chris and Stef spend on groceries (they still buy hygiene products and other items that are not food and beverages) but a lot of the savings went directly towards building infrastructures like fencing and the chicken coop.

Another advantage of living off the land and sea like this is that they have noticed a huge reduction in the amount of household waste they're throwing out. Food from the garden doesn't come in a package!

It was inspiring to meet these two and see all the work they've put into learning and working towards their goal of becoming more self-sufficient with their food production. They taught us a ton and we're looking forward to following along with them. Be sure to check out their YouTube channel which is called Lovin Off The Land:

Thanks for watching!

Mat & Danielle

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COMMENTS
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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

Additional Photos from the start of the challenge provided by:
Chris and Stef from Lovin Off The Land

#homestead #selfsufficient #livingofftheland

[ExploringAlternatives]

Thanks for watching! You can follow Chris and Stef's homesteading adventures here:

[BarbaraAnnB-yiew]

I like how honest this couple is. "No, we didn't save money the first year". "Yea, those seaweed crisps KINDA taste like chips". "No, we jumped right in without thinking of nutrition". They are refreshing as opposed to people who seem to flex this lifestyle for IG points only.

[mskkiikkiii]

kinda cool to see a lot more young folks thinking this way and going to this way of life

[chrismiller]

You need to can your veggies and meats. This way you have what you need in the winter. You need a ball canning book and your canners then some jars, just make sure you buy extra lids for the next year. It's not hard to do and you'll have a huge variety in the winter time. Good Luck to you.

[stanleyzgierski]

My grandmother did this her whole life, and my mom for most of her childhood. It’s crazy what happened to self sufficient families in basically one generation.

[thequazify]

First step: have an awesome private beach property with its own personal forest

[aevisia]

This is how humanity was meant to live. ♥ Away from the toxic system.

[cracksoda.]

Honestly this is my dream, I'm 14 and I already know this is what I want. I would hope to go to college or university in Botany, then buy land and just homestead and live off the land. Not only because I dislike being around people and the quiet peace sounds like heaven on earth; but also due to trying to inspire people to do the same.

[michellemarie]

Imagine being able to freelance with blogging or working in tech working from home not having to commute, but saving your money to do this, this is so cool. You guys are goals. I wanna live off grid in a pretty area too.

[plantsrockmyworld]

I cannot wait for more people to experience this type of eye-opening change. Indeed we should all be aware of our waste production and our impact on the planet, as well as where our food comes from, especially animal products, and the environmental and ethical costs of it. Thank you for spreading such an important message. Your home and property are beautiful works of love. Best of luck on your journey to total self-efficiency.

[charleyjr.iriarte]

I can hear how happy they are in their voices! That is how it should be! I am happy and joyful for them! Bless them!

[algernopkrieger]

This is great! Not your usual hippy virtue signalling, just two great people doing it for real. Inspirational!

[krystingrant]

I'm going to manifest this a partner who wants to live off the grid. ❤️

[WhiteWolfeHU]

Remember bees need food too! They live off of flowers! Would be really nice to see lots more native flowers blooming around there.

[ozfresh]

Learning that Hosta's are edible blows my mind. Thanks. Google says, the Japanese have been eating them through history and they taste somewhere between lettuce and asparagus? Awesome.

[AfricaBAB]

Love how they’ve managed to play Stardew Valley IRL.

[gettingpolitical]

when keeping bee's make sure to have a near by water source, they should be in an area thats sunny (unless your in a hot climate area then you will need an area with afternoon shade), make sure the area you have them in the hive is protected from high winds, and at most only check on the bees (peep into the hive) rarely they need their privacy. I have 120 hives, I don't keep bee's for the honey production, they are a dying breed and need protection. If the bee's die out, the planet dies out. Never allow your bee's to go hungry, make sure all their needs are met. you need to check the hives once a week for other pest who might build an infestation and look for disease in the hive. If your a novice at bee-keeping, pls do your research, these lil guys are the life blood of pollination.

I love the video, love the content, keep on keeping on and god bless.

[samchiang]

This is amazing! I recommend planting some fruit trees and in a couple of years you'll have never-ending fruit!

[hopscotchtheglobe]

This is so inspiring. We bought land in an eco community in Costa Rica, and we are currently in the design part of planning our house. Our goal is to live at least, almost completely off our land as well. Thank you for this video! I'm getting extra excited to see more people are doing this.

[traceyhanley]

You guys are soooo lucky to live in a climate where winter isn’t 6-7 months of the year! Good luck to you both!