Radical Homemaker ... That's Me !

A home cooked meal made of a roasted local pasture raised chicken, baked potatoes and steamed broccoli cost less than four meals at Burger King, even when two of the meals came from the kiddie menu. The Burger King meal has negligible nutritional value. The home cooked meal cost less, helped the local economy, was a source of bountiful nutrients for a family of four and would leave ample leftovers for both a chicken salad and a nice chicken stock, which could then be used for soup. But when push comes to shove, usually Burger King will win out. Why? Because many people don't even know how to roast a chicken, let alone make chicken salad from the left overs. It seems that Americans have lost the simple domestic skills that would enable them to ecologically sensible life.

Eating local, organic, sustainably raised, nutrient dense food is possible for every American, not just for wealthy gourmets or self-reliant organic farmers. But to do it, we need to bring back the homemaker.

As I have been working locally to establish a more locally grown food source community, I am discovering that the skill of the homemaker is something that many adults today just don't do. Maybe because they were never taught or maybe because they think they don't have the time. I find this really sad considering my job as a homemaker is one of the best jobs I have ever had.

Traditionally, "he who holds the gold makes the rules." But Homemakers use life skills and relationships as a replacement for gold, on the premise that he or she who doesn't NEED the gold can change the rules. The greater our domestic skills - be they to plant a garden, grow tomatoes on an apartment balcony, mend a shirt, repair an appliance, cook and preserve a local harvest or care for our children and loved ones - the less dependent we are on the gold.

Domestic skills can be so varied. You can keep a garden any where, city rooftops, country acres, suburban yards. You can sew, keep livestock (my personal favorite), repair appliances, make things, cook. None of us can do ALL things. As much as I love the idea of growing a beautiful abundant garden on our country acre, my green thumb is not so green. But I do raise chickens and Dairy goats and I do love to cook and sew. But I do feel that in order to make it as a homemaker we need to be wizards at nurturing relationships and working with family and community.

We need an intimate understanding of the life-serving economy, where the paycheck is not always exchanged for all services rendered. We need to be our own teachers - to pursue our educations throughout life, forever learning new ways to do more, create more, give more. We need to realize that pleasure in not something that should be bought, but is something that can be created, no matter how much or how little money we have in our pockets. Don't see your home as a refuge from the world. Rather see it as a place for social change, a starting point from which a better life can ripple out for everyone. A place to teach our daughters and sons how to make that home cooked meal and how to keep a home for their future families. A place where your spouse comes home to at the end of the day and can put their feet up and relax from a long hard day of working to provide for their families and enjoy the comforts of the "home" that we have created for them.

In working with others as of late to organize our local grown community here where I live, I have been surprised by the lack of knowledge and lack of desire even to hold on to the old fashioned Homemaker. I find this to be really sad. I am hoping that in this project to grow a locally sustainable and locally grown community that I can also instill a desire to turn some hearts toward the skill of Homemaking. It brings me joy and comfort. It brings my children safety and memories they will have forever and it gives my entire family a safe place to fall at the end of hard days. It's our sanctuary and our quiet place from all the troubles of the world. Everyone should have such a place of their own.