It’s been three and a half years of building. It’s been three and a half years of spending all of our time, money, and energy trying to fulfill our dream, but it’s been a while since I have discussed what exactly this dream is, and I think it’s time to revisit this.
When we decided to start this journey we were tired, poor, and beyond frustrated. We live in a system that is designed to keep you poor, and most people at one tragic event from being poor. For those people there is nobody there to help. Divorce, a car accident, a medical issue that leaves someone disabled are a few of the many reasons that people go from being comfortable to struggling, and most in this situation either don’t quite qualify for services to help or don’t want to seek that help because of the years of being brainwashed to believe that if you seek this help you are less than a person. These things are wrong.
We are activists. We aren’t necessarily the people that you will see out on the streets protesting (although we fully and vocally support the protests we agree with), but we are the underground activists. The ones that see the plight of the people and try and catch them before they fall through the cracks.
Once our house is done our real journey will begin. We plan to grow food on most of our 11 acres, food that will go towards feeding those who wouldn’t normally be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious food. We want to teach people to cook farm food on a budget (and I mean a BUDGET, we spend $120 a week to feed a family of 5/6), we want to help people decrease their dependency on utility companies by helping to install grid tie systems and energy and water efficiency products. We want to help people learn how to budget and use their credit to their advantage instead of being afraid of them like we were for so long. We don’t expect people to be like us but even implementing a few of our strategies could go a long way to helping people feel less stressed, which I honestly feel is the leading cause of death in this country. Change your environment and circumstances and you change your mindset, and most of the time you can’t do that without help.
Until we start voting for people who want what’s best for the people and not corporations we need people like us who can help pick up that slack.
I’m really glad you revisited your “why” here (haha, remember that back from Mary Kay training?), because not only is it really important and admirable, but it’s inspiring to know that you can make a difference just by doing what you love where you are. I’ve been so excited and privileged to see your journey as you’ve shared it online, and I appreciate that (and wish I could have helped out more!). Thanks for caring and for working hard to do SOMETHING. People are watching, learning, and being inspired, even if they don’t speak up. *hugs* to the family 🙂
YES! All of this! I fully agree with you and dream a similar dream. We’re moving from a city out into a lake community kind of out in the country. They rely on tourists a lot and the average income is only about 19k so my dreams of having a (honor system possibly) farm stand and giving the locals knowledge about raising/growing your own food is what I want to do! Thank you for continuing to share your journey with us!