Gutbusticator

When my girl and I first broke ground on what would later be the foundation of our new house, we were in pretty good shape.

Fast forward a few weeks later; shovelling, tamping, lifting heavy bags of gravel in the dry summer heat left our bodies in absolute agony. We relied only on a neighbour’s small Kubota to dig a perimeter trench for us, the rest of the work would be accomplished by manual labour.

The physicality of homesteading was not something that caught me unaware.

I had read accounts from those who had taken the dive into natural building and the like. Tales of caution about the labour intensive undertaking of house-building and general off-gridedness could not go unnoticed.

Despite these cautionary tales and warnings, nothing could have prepared me for the investment of physicality required of the backwoods way of life.

It’s clear to me now that to homestead—to rusticate and go off-grid on the journey to self-reliance—is to give all you’ve got.

The physicality required of this lifestyle cannot be understated, especially if the cost of outsourcing the work isn’t feasible. Still, there always seems to be a shortage of rural service-providers and contractors available to ease the weight of the labour involved in such a mission. Having these voids in the local market make homesteading a perpetual campaign of DIY and FML experiences.

All things considered this is not an inclusive lifestyle.

Far from the dominant paradigm of sedentary industrial life, the rusticator’s modus vivendi is a physically demanding one.

It requires a notable degree of fitness suited for (but not limited to) hauling firewood, digging, climbing, balancing, lifting, manoeuvring, finesse, meticulousness, and so forth. Strength and endurance, patience and risk.

Know that the maladies of western industrial society renders a big chunk of the population incapable of overcoming the challenges inherent in the act of rustication.

If you’re not willing to get your hands dirty and suffer the pain of putting your body through the ringer then don’t waste your time trying to rusticate. It’s not for you.

If you have the moxie and physical fortitude to endure the constant but hugely rewarding physical discomfort of homesteading, then you’re going to be in your element (albeit outside your comfort zone, but in your element nonetheless).

Strong legs. Strong arms and shoulders. Strong hands! The body is the temple that leads to the splendour of another world, a world beyond the reach of a culture that seeks to profit off our physical atrophy.

Conditioning the body is the key to harnessing a world that offers us its bounty so long as we saddle up and put in the work, gruelling though it may be. No gym needed when the gym is your way of life!