Michael & Chandra Vigil
@Shepherdacreshomestead

We are Shepherd Acres Homestead - Michael, my wife, Chandra, and our three children, Leila, Penelope, and Abraham. We've been learning how to homestead together on .25 acres of land for over 1 year now, and just bought our own 5 acre land in the summer of 2021.

We are just starting to homestead. This means we will work hard to produce our own food, naturally, the way God intended.

Growing nutritious and delicious, high quality food is our goal. We believe the way to raise livestock is outdoors, plenty of space, eating organic pasture and grains, clean water, and sun. What is good for the animals, is good for our homestead. Our soil will be fertilized with manure, and protected from erosion with permanent pasture.

During the late 1700s and early 1800s, European immigrants migrated across the west. Many of them were homesteaders. Although the idea of homesteading has existed for centuries, it became less popular through the 20th century due to the rise of western consumerism. This was compounded by a shift from rural based communities, to the densely packed urban ones we're used to seeing today.

WHAT IS HOMESTEADING TODAY? Today, this phrase often refers to the act of growing your own food and raising meat for your family's survival.

As more people become interested in self-reliance and sustainable living, urban homesteading has become more popular. More and more families in cities and the suburbs grow gardens, and dabble in small animal husbandry. So whether you live in rural or urban areas, you could start right where you are. Help us become self sufficient, to teach our children the ways of our ancestors, and return to nature.