Sustainable Homesteading: The Growing Conversation

03/23/2026

We’re being told the future of food is high-tech warehouses growing lettuce under LED lights.

But many of these vertical farms are already collapsing after billions in investment.

At the same time, industrial livestock systems are being criticised for disconnecting animals from the land.

What if both systems are built on the same flawed idea… that nature itself is the problem we need to engineer around?

In my latest article on The Human Habit, I explore why replacing one food factory with another may not be the solution we think it is.

And why rebuilding local, soil-based food systems might matter more than the latest agricultural technology.

Read the full piece here 👇

https://open.substack.com/pub/thehumanhabit/p/the-food-system-were-building-is?r=6lbwmk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

03/17/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/thehumanhabit/p/the-push-to-cut-meat-and-plant-more?r=6lbwmk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Is This Really About Climate, or Something Else?

11/05/2025

It's not the cow. It's the how.

A Scottish farmer, Johnnie Balfour, is proving that livestock doesn't have to be the enemy of the environment. His 300-strong herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle? Carbon negative. That means his farm removes MORE carbon from the atmosphere than it emits.

How? Through regenerative practices:
🌾 Mob grazing (moving cattle to fresh grass daily, year-round)
🌳 Hedgerows and trees that sequester carbon
🌱 Healthy soil building instead of chemical inputs
🚜 No intensive feed production with sprays and machinery

The narrative that "we must cut meat consumption" misses the point entirely. The problem isn't livestock—it's how we've industrialised farming. When we manage land properly, cattle become part of the solution, not the problem.

This is what regenerative farming looks like. Just better stewardship.

What's your experience with this? Are you seeing regenerative practices in your area?

11/03/2025

1.4 million people in the UK are receiving PIP payments for mental health issues.

407,000 for mixed anxiety and depression. 83,000 for ADHD. 62,000 for anxiety disorders.

These aren't just numbers. They're people like you and me, caught in a system that's slowly draining the life out of them.

I know that feeling. The endless cycle: wake up, work, pay bills, sleep, repeat. Day after day, year after year. You're moving through life but not really *living* it. You've lost control of your own time. You've lost your purpose. And somewhere along the way, the emptiness sets in.

That's not a personal failure. That's a systemic one.

We weren't designed to live this way. We were designed to work with our hands, to tend what we've planted, to see the direct result of our labour. To rest when the sun sets. To know the seasons. To be part of a community that knows us.

That's why we're rebuilding Oak & Acre. Not just as a farm, but as a way of living that restores what modern life has taken from us.

When you're connected to the land—when you're growing your own food, working with your hands, building community, living by natural rhythms—something shifts. Purpose returns. Control over your time returns. The emptiness starts to fill.

You don't need a diagnosis to know something's wrong. You just need to listen to that quiet voice saying, "There has to be more than this."

There is. And it starts with reconnecting.

What would it feel like to have your time back? To know your purpose again? Drop a comment—I'd love to hear what you're longing for. 🌱

10/31/2025

52% of Brits feel ashamed of how much fruit and veg they throw in the bin.

Nearly 500 items of food wasted per household. Up to £520 a year, gone.

I see that guilt. I've felt it too—standing in front of the fridge, watching good food turn to compost, knowing it cost money and took someone's labour to grow.

But here's what I've learned: that shame isn't a character flaw. It's a signal. It's your soul saying, "This doesn't feel right. I want to do better."

And you can.

The problem isn't you. It's the system. We've been taught to buy in bulk from supermarkets, to stock up "just in case," to separate ourselves from what we eat and when it's actually ready.

What if instead, you grew what you'd actually eat? What if you knew exactly when your carrots were ready, when your lettuce was at its peak, what you could preserve for winter?

What if your food came from your village, not a warehouse 200 miles away?

That's what we're building with Oak & Acre. A Village CSA model where you pre-order what you need each week—small or large boxes of seasonal, made-to-order produce. No waste. No guilt. Just real food, real connection, real stewardship.

It starts with knowing your grower. It continues with intention. And it ends with abundance without the shame.

Ready to grow differently? Drop a comment—I'd love to hear what's been weighing on you about food waste. 🌱

10/22/2025

What if every village grew its own?

Imagine stepping outside and picking dinner from your street’s shared garden. Not a fantasy—just a memory from a not-so-distant past.

Our ancestors didn’t talk about ‘food miles’ or ‘ultra-processed’—they simply grew what they needed, together. The land provided, and so did the community.

We don’t need acres to start. A single basket of homegrown veg, shared with a neighbor, can spark something bigger—a ripple of hope, a taste of belonging, a reminder that we’re meant to be rooted.

🍃 Ever wondered what might change if we brought this back, even in small ways?

Share your thoughts below, or tell us: what’s one thing you’d grow first if your village started again?

10/15/2025

Making your own laundry soap from conkers (horse chestnuts) is surprisingly simple – and I'm showing you exactly how in this quick tutorial.

The Process:
* Collect and blend conkers
* Add boiling water
* Steep for 30 minutes (or longer)
* Strain and add to your washing machine

One thing that surprises people: conker soap doesn't bubble like commercial detergent, but it cleans just as effectively. The saponins in conkers are natural surfactants that lift dirt and grime without the foam.

This is ancestral wisdom at its simplest – free, natural, and effective. No chemicals, no plastic waste, just nature providing what we need.

If you're ready to reclaim traditional skills and live more intentionally, this is a beautiful place to start.

Discover the ancient art of making laundry soap from conkers (horse chestnuts) – completely free, natural, and effective. In this step-by-step tutorial, I'll...

09/14/2025

🐑🌱 Wales is at a crossroads.

I just published a new article responding to “The Future of Farming in Wales Is Vegan.”

The piece makes some powerful points — but also oversimplifies a complex issue. Our family went from vegan to regenerative, and what we’ve learned is this: animals aren’t the problem, industrial systems are.

In the blog I unpack:
• Why greenwashed labels mislead us
• How regenerative farming can restore nature & communities
• Why local, seasonal food (plants and animals) is the real path forward
• And why Wales’ One Planet programme could be the model for the future

🌿 If you’ve ever wondered whether vegan is the only ethical way or if there’s a better option for Wales, this article is for you.

📖 Read the full article here: https://oakandacre.co.uk/blogs/news/veganwales

👇 I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments — what kind of food system do you want for Wales and the UK?

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08/13/2025

Almost nine million Britons were on antidepressants in 2024 — and the number keeps rising.
(Source: The Times)

This isn’t a post about whether medication is right or wrong — for many, it’s life-saving. As a family we ourselves have had struggles of depression.

But we do need to ask:
What’s making so many of us unwell in the first place?

We’ve traded…
🌿 Nature for screens
🥩 Nourishing food for ultra-processed quick fixes
🤝 Community for isolation
⏳ Daily rhythms for constant rush

At Oak & Acre, we believe some of the answers lie in reclaiming the basics:

~ Moving our bodies in the fresh air every day.

~ Eating real, seasonal food that fuels the mind as much as the body.

~ Spending time with people we truly know — and who truly know us.

~ Living at a pace that matches the seasons, slows us down.

For us, one of the biggest shifts came when we changed our diet.
We moved from a whole-food, plant-based vegan diet to adding back in meat — focusing on seasonal, nose-to-tail eating as part of a more ancestral way of living.

The difference in mental health was undeniable. Depression became less of a daily weight and more of a distant memory. Energy, clarity, and resilience came back in ways we didn’t expect — simply by eating the way humans have for thousands of years.

We know it’s not the whole answer. Mental health is complex. But so is the human need for connection, purpose, and food that truly nourishes.

Maybe it’s time we looked beyond prescriptions and asked how our everyday lives — how we eat, move, rest, and connect — could become part of the medicine.

08/12/2025

We talk a lot at Oak & Acre about connection to the land, the seasons, and our food. But this connection also applies to what we discard.

When we throw food away, it doesn’t vanish. It rots in landfill, releasing methane.
When we throw packaging away, it’s buried, burned, or shipped overseas for someone else to deal with.
When we throw resources away, we’re throwing away the time, energy, and raw materials it took to make them.

Nature doesn’t do “away.” In a healthy system, every output becomes an input — a cycle without waste.
We’ve broken that cycle, but we can restore it:

Eat nose-to-tail and reduce food waste.

Compost scraps to feed the soil.

Choose reusable, refillable, and repairable over disposable.

Buy less — and buy what lasts.

When we stop believing in “away,” we start living in return — returning value to the land, to our community, and to the generations that follow.

08/11/2025

We’re Back — and We’ve Grown

It’s been a while since this page was active — life, seasons, and new projects took us in many directions. But our mission has never changed: helping people live closer to the land, eat with the seasons, and build a life rooted in purpose.

Over time, we’ve realised that sustainability isn’t just about what we grow or make — it’s about how we live every single day.
It’s in the food we choose, the way we care for animals, the skills we pass down, and the rhythms we follow.

So we’re back — but you’ll notice the conversation here getting deeper:

🥩 Nose-to-tail eating and why it matters
🌱 Growing and sourcing truly local food
🔥 Skills and traditions our grandparents took for granted
🌍 Why feeding ourselves/community first is the most sustainable choice we can make

If you’ve been with us since the early days — thank you.
If you’re new — welcome to the journey.

We’ll be posting regularly again, sharing insights, stories, and ideas to inspire a simpler, stronger, more connected way of living.

💬 Tell us — how long have you been following this page, and what drew you here in the first place?