The Experience, what happens on our courses.

Homsteading, is the art of using your home, - farm, small-holding, house or flat - as a resource, to make and save you money.
It is a self sufficient, self reliant, organic, green and sustainable lifestyle that allows you to decide what your future will be.
The basic principles can be applied in any home, anywhere.
The goal is to achieve a measure of freedom from dependence on others, and can be as simple as growing a few organic vegetables and being more frugal, to complete freedom from bills, credit, and a regular 9-5 job.

Our 3 day residential courses prepare you for starting out on the Homesteading trail.
We don't just cover the practical skills, we also deal with the much more difficult planning process, and budgeting elements.
While you can find most of the skills information you need on the web, or in books, experiencing the reality and learning about the design concepts in a working situation, before you commit, is vital if you are to avoid making costly and time consuming mistakes. That's where we come in.

Our courses cost less than a holiday and give you a new future!

Our homestead and how we live!

We live on a steeply sloping, South West facing plot. Its a little more than 41/2 acres and is in the province of Malaga, Southern Spain.
The land is planted mainly with Almond trees, a few Olive trees and a couple of Cork Oaks. We are at about 1,000 feet above sea level, and overlook a verdant river valley and the Sierra las Nieves mountain range.
Our Home is a 900 square foot, single storey, post and beam. It is timber clad and has a 270 square foot shaded terrace.
We have hot and cold running water, electric light, satellite TV, a fridge freezer, heating, a kitchen, a living/dinning room, 2 bedrooms, and a bathroom with a walk-in shower, toilet, and washing machine.
Lori likes the heat, (a lot!) so our night-time temperature in winter is kept at 28 degrees C or above, while the outside can be as low as -4C.
In summer, our daytime temperatures outside are in the mid to high 40’s C, while inside is 4-6 degrees cooler.

We run a car, a TDI, which we use for Loris’ business and for shopping.
At the moment, we have 5 free-range hens and 2 dogs. (We have had eating chickens and rabbits)
From late winter through to mid summer, we keep a kitchen garden providing us with; lettuce, leeks, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, garlic, radish, peas, beans, tomatoes, bell peppers and potatoes.

We have no postman, no letterbox, no town water, no connection to the electricity grid, no septic tank, no phone line, no gas connection, no rubbish collection, and no salesmen call to our door!
We deal only in cash or through paypal, and have no local Bank account or direct debits. In fact, we have no bills. We live a, “pay as we go” lifestyle.
We have heat, light, water, TV, DVD, video, mobile phone, music centre, 280 days of sunshine per year, fresh air, peace, fantastic views, a limitless supply of free range eggs, organic veg, a comfortable home, some good friends, a social life, and most importantly, lots of time together.
Last year this lifestyle cost us less than €8,500, which is less than €25 per day, less than €12.50 each per day!

Our land was bought at the height of the Spanish Property Boom and cost us €38K. We built our house for less than €9,000, plus fees.

We have lived on this land for the last 6 years. The first 4 in a geodesic dome and the last 2 in the current house. Each year that we have lived here has added to our fund of knowledge and has helped us to refine our lifestyle.
We are not self sufficient - in that all of our needs are not met by the homestead. However, we have achieved a level of control over our cash overhead, that gives us our ideal balance of maximum comfort for the minimum amount of actual cash outlay. We are largely self-reliant and very rarely need any professional help.
We know exactly how much it costs to get us through each year, and we budget so that we are able to enjoy our heaven of tranquility, with as little real world work as possible.
Our income is seasonal, and we need to put away enough during the work cycle to cover us for the lean months.
We also constantly look for opportunities to further cut our overhead and maximise our income streams, without compromising our comfort or impacting on our time together. Sometimes this works well and sometimes we make mistakes. However, as each year goes by, we tend to make fewer of those.

We did not set out to be hippies or eco-warriors. We were just looking to live a less stressful, less expensive life, with more time for each other. In essence we were, "downshifting" (before that became the word for it. )
Over time, our lives have changed, and in turn, the way we live has developed to compliment our changing environment and needs. We practice the principles of permaculture as much as possible. Tending to our needs through harmonising with nature in sustainable ways, and building systems that have multiple benefits and use eco-friendly components. We do live a green life, and are carbon negative.

Our particular lifestyle would not suit everyone. Some would want more social activity or comfort or, less physicality. Others would want to be more self sufficient, or removed from society.
We live the way we want to, and have adapted our lifestyle to suit our specific aspirations and personalities, and as these aspirations change and our personalities develop, we adapt our choices accordingly. Our knowledge base, practical experience and abilities, allow us to make these changes with the minimum of effort and the maximum value for money. We can become more self sufficient or more involved in the outside world, as and when we want.
We feel that this flexibility of lifestyle is very important. Without it, you can easily feel trapped by your past choices, and the dream can turn into a nightmare.
Our sole aim on our “Homestead experiences”, is to give each individual who is considering a homestead type life change, as many options as possible. We do this through imparting enough knowledge and experience to each participant, to allow them to make their choices as cost effectively as possible, while maintaining the freedom to change those choices according to their changing needs.
Homesteading is an organic process, which can work for anyone, anywhere, as long as you have the knowledge to make sound choices based on your specific needs, and the option to change what does not work for you.
The basic principles of homesteading can be successfully applied in all situations; from living more sustainably in a flat in the centre of town, to being fully self sufficient in a cabin in the woods. From continuing to go to work every day and making choices that cut your overhead and environmental impact, to living the good life: never leaving your property except to go to market.

Over the last 6 years, we have found ourselves repeating the same lament over and over; “If we knew then what we know now, we could have saved ourselves a lot of heartache, time and money.”
If we had had the opportunity to spend some time with others who had made the change, and lived the reality successfully, it would have made all the difference.

What we are offering is the opportunity to share our life, knowledge and hard won experience for three full days, and the freedom to discuss your plans among like-minded people, with a real interest in your success.
We will open our homestead to you, and show you what it takes to live off the grid. We will share our vast knowledge of all aspects of homesteading and help you to plan your own transition, according to your specific needs and abilities.

We are both fully qualified educators with years of teaching experience.
By the time you leave us, you will know if downsizing is for you. You will take home with you, a plan, a timetable, and a budget for your new life. You will also have a sound understanding of the principles that will make your transition as sustainable and flexible as possible.

Mark & Lori