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Off-Grid * Regenerative Farm * Community * Homestead * Simple

@rootsranchportugal

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How 2 homestead🌱
Regenerating our piece of earth🌿
Living simply, seasonally & free🍃
Chicken, Sheep & Microbe Geekiness🌾
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Welcome to Roots Ranch

As there have been a few new faces appearing here, so I thought it was time for a reintroduction

I’m Faith Canter, I’m 47 and I’ve been living off-grid in rural central Portugal for 9 years now.

As well as a regenerative farming nut I am a health coach, nutritional therapist, herbalist, trauma informed therapist, forager, fermenter, and I’m a little obsessed about working together as a community, food and skill swap and things like that. I may also bang on a little too much about chickens, sheep, and other farming friends.

I make an sell fermented foods and drinks at local markets and run workshops and skill swap teaching this too others too.

I was plant-based for over 30 years until I was diagnosed with a shopping list of pretty serious health conditions like autoimmunity, heart conditions, and thyroid issues. I moved over to animal based and they’ve all gone away!

I’ve realised through my regenerative farming training that animals don’t destroy the planet, but industrial farming of any kind does! So, my aim is to do what I can where I am to change this.

I live on this farm (which is our 4th farm now) with one other (non-social media using) human, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 7 sheep, 50 ish chickens, 6 geese, 2 ducks and 12 quails. We hope to have pigs soon to run through the monocultural pine forest we’ve just taken on, to help regenerate it.

I’m dyslexic; despite having written many books, you’ll notice this pretty quickly (if not already) if you stick around!

And, lastly, I am really passionate about living simply, seasonally, and locally. I believe this and of course our soil microbes are the key to health and happiness of us, the animals, insects, and earth as a whole.

Feel free to ask any questions and I hope you enjoy the content here. I try to share useful as well as pretty stuff, but also the not so pretty, rustic, and real too!

Thanks for being here

#backtotheland #offgrid #farm #homestead #quinta

Off grid * homestead * farm * quinta * farm life * Homesteading * escaping the system * free * living free * learning * growing * harvesting * croft * small holding * regenerative by @rootsranchportugal

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6

2 months ago

How to move off-grid

Visit others already living off grid and volunteer &/or house sit. See if it’s really for you as it’s a wonderful but intense life!
Figure out where you want to live. What are you absolute yes’s and absolute no’s. Ie: You want somewhere hot, but maybe you are scared of wildfires, so somewhere like Portugal, Spain or California might not be for you.
What is your aim? To grow all your own vegetables, &/or raise your own animals. Live outside the system? Be part of the solution (regenerating soil and earth)? Somewhere safe to raise children? What is driving this decision/goal and remember this so you don’t get too distracted by all the positions out there.
Look for land with the option of multiple water and power sources (as you never know when one will go down).
Don’t believe anymore until you see the official paperwork that you can legally live on your land all year around.
Consider access? Will your track still be passable even in winter floods etc. Don’t believe anyone that tells you the council comes and fixes tracks (they might but it might take a year).
Don’t get seduced by tons of cheap land! That means usually tons of very intense (and possibly costly) work. Figure out what you need for your needs and stick around that.
View your area and property in various difference seasons. What looks lush and fertile in autumn, and spring may not in summer (or even winter).
Where will you live whilst you renovate? Spring and autumn in a camper van, caravan, tent or yurt are beautiful, but summers and winters in the same space can be really brutal!
Is your relationship strong enough? Sooo many people that come as a couple split up in the first couple of years as moving off-grid and building a farm from scratch can be very intense.
Try not to do it all! It’s easy to get caught up in wanting all the animals, a full garden, renovate a house, build a business and make your own cosmetics all at the same time, but that’s easily how overwhelm happens. Pick one thing at a time to get good at and trade/swap or let go of the rest.
Continued in comments below... by @rootsranchportugal

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5 months ago

My Off-Grid Journey....

I’ve always dreamed of having an off-grid farm, I can’t remember when this dream started but it was at least from my early 20’s. I thought though the farm would be in somewhere in Scotland and it would be open to the public.

Although I lived back in Scotland for almost 8 years before coming to Portugal that dream was not realised there. When my ex-husband and I split up I knew I did not want to work an insane amount of hours a week to keep hold of a huge and pretty impractical house we had in Edinburgh, so I sold the house, and then most of my belongings, bought a camper van and planned to drive myself and my dalmatian Piper over the next couple of years over to Asia and setup life there.

But, my friend persuaded me to give central rural Portugal a go first and thats were I ended up and still am!

After spending time travelling around in the campervan and doing some house sitting and volunteering, we ended up near Fundao. Here I purchased land with a ruin on it. The land was very overgrown and full of eucalyptus trees and massive brambles and broom. This was all cleared, a garden created (with massive deep-dug Hügelkultur beds), lots of trees were planted and a large wooden cabin built as a home. But, this was not the place for me, or even this area. So, I moved to near Oliveira do Hospital and purchased another ruin (this time with a habitation licence) and 2 hectares of very overgrown land, with tons of water and lots of established trees. This ruin became a beautiful home, the land was cleared and deep-dug Hügelkultur beds and other garden areas were created, a chicken coop was built and we had chickens and quails, we also planted lots more trees and herbs, and the small stream and wells were cleared out. Again though, this was not meant to be and a year ago I sold this land and since then we have been guardians of a stunning (finished) farm, were we now have lots of chickens, geese, cats, dogs and cows some mountains cows are coming soon too (watch this space for more on that). The garden had become a bit wild, nature was taking it back, but....

Continued in comments below... by @rootsranchportugal

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17

2 years ago

Your chickens should not be behaving like they are dying whilst molting!

As summer comes to an end and we move into autumn any chickens over a year old will start to molt. They lose older feathers for a fresh, thicker and healthier set for the winter.

During this time, it may look like a bird or ten has died, but that’s just because of the number of feathers you’ll find around.

However, I’ve been seeing a lot of images and videos of birds who can barely stand, barely move, and are really struggling with their yearly molt. They should not look and feel like this!

Some birds will struggle more than others as a lot of energy goes into growing new feathers, however they should still be able to function and generally seem happy and healthy apart from the lack of feathers and a reduction in eggs.

Birds that are really struggling are likely deficient in their protein requirements. This can be especially the case for birds that are not on pasture, so can’t find additional protein (insects etc). It’s worth increasing protein they have access to at the end of summer.

Their immune system could also be struggling with mites or parasites. So, it’s worth homoeopathically dosing everyone for that if you see a few birds struggling.

And they may be stressed, maybe the rooster it still chasing them around or a well-meaning human is picking them up like normal (they are in some pain whilst the feather first push through). Reduce any stressors and stop handling birds during this time (a hug is the last thing they need right now).

So, to sum up: There should be a lot of feathers around, but your birds should still be themselves in most ways, unless there is a protein deficiency, immune system issues or some sort of stress going on.

PS: When chickens are struggling any time of the year there are only a few things it could be and they can almost always be helped easily. Chickens are either stressed, to hot or too cold/windy, aren’t having enough protein or calcium, have parasites, have mites or have an infection. And most of this you can treat with homeopathic remedies or fix the coop &/or water/food situation. It’s super easy to help! by @rootsranchportugal

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1

2 hours ago

A little reminder: Every day on Gods green earth is a privledge, don't waste a second of it thinking it needs to be different.

#simple #offgrid #homestead #simplelife #seasonal

Off grid * homestead * farm * quinta * farm life * Homesteading * escaping the system * free * living free * learning * growing * harvesting * croft * small holding * regenerative * regenerative farming * sustainable * homegrown * homemade by @rootsranchportugal

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2

2 days ago

Why some people ‘fail’ at living off-grid..

I’ve talked a lot about how to live off-grid, how to grow a garden and how to look after animals. However not much about why some ‘fail’ at this life.

I estimate that at least 50% of people who come to this life in a relationship end up splitting up (and quite quickly too). People get ill, hurt themselves, move back home or just move into a village and here’s my thoughts on why…

People take on too much too soon. They want the life, the animals, garden and ‘free’ power/water/sewage etc all ASAP and they get overwhelmed very quickly.
They don’t move with their own seasons and cycles and that of the earth we live on and instead push against the flow.
They believe they have to do it all and be ‘self-sufficient’, which is not possible and neither necessary. We are community of beings, we need this for a mental and physical health and also strength.
They take on too many projects at once instead of finishing one and moving on to the other.
Running out of money! Usually from starting too many projects at once, but also realising even in ‘cheaper’ countries (like here in Portugal), certain things are crazy expensive!
Not prioritising community, for their knowledge, friendship, support, and skills.
Not prioritising listening to elders who’ve been working and living the lands where they live longer.
Not fuelling themselves in a healthy and sustaining way. Thinking that because there are HUGE amounts of fruits growing on their land, they should eat them breakfast, lunch and dinner and wonder why they have no energy to do anything.
Not going to be early! I no this sounds nonsense, but the farm, the animals and the neighbours all wake up early here (when it’s colder) to get stuff done and if you miss that time of day you’ll be working in intense heats and/or woken up anyway from all the ‘noise’ around you… making you a grumpy farmer!
Not understanding living this way can be brutal, it’s rough, crazy hot sometimes and freezing temps other times. And if you live somewhere where it’s crazy hot
Continued in comments... by @rootsranchportugal

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18

4 days ago

Coming for a cuppa??

How on earth did this become my life?

#simple #offgrid #homestead #cuppa #seasonal

Off grid * homestead * farm * quinta * farm life * Homesteading * escaping the system * free * living free * learning * growing * harvesting * croft * small holding * regenerative * regenerative farming * sustainable * homegrown * homemade by @rootsranchportugal

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2

7 days ago

I'm not running away from the system!
I'm running towards this....

#simple #offgrid #homestead #realandrustic #seasonal

Off grid * homestead * farm * quinta * farm life * Homesteading * escaping the system * free * living free * learning * growing * harvesting * croft * small holding * regenerative * regenerative farming * sustainable * homegrown * homemade by @rootsranchportugal

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10 days ago

You know you are a farmer when you say/think things like this...

Yes, I'll rehome your geese/chickens/goats for you.. what's one or two more!?

Wow that a nice wheelbarrow or bucket

You have a pocket full of string, knives and ‘useful’ things

You don't actually know how many chickens you have anymore

You buy new plants and trees on the bases of how much water you think you'll have in the summer

You say things like ‘we really needed this rain’!

You prefer rain over intense summer heats

Your work routine changes based on the weather &/or your animals

You find yourself saying things like 'you'll go in the freezer if you don't behave (mostly to the ram)

You realise how strong you've become as you've spent half your day moving bales and big bags of animal feed around without any effort at all

On the odd occasion you socialise you know it’s been a good night when you found someone else you can talk to about chickens or sheep for half the night

You have to remind yourself to slow down and appreciate what you have as you've been busy-bee-ing since 6.00am and it's now dark!

You love this simple, seasonal and traditional life sooo very much

Did i miss anything?

#farmer #offgrid #homestead #simplelife #farm

Off grid * homestead * farm * quinta * farm life * Homesteading * escaping the system * free * living free * learning * growing * harvesting * croft * small holding * regenerative * regenerative farming * sustainable * homegrown * homemade by @rootsranchportugal

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12 days ago

When people ask me why i live off-grid...

#simplelife #offgrid #farm #homestead #seasonal

Off grid * homestead * farm * quinta * farm life * Homesteading * escaping the system * free * living free * learning * growing * harvesting * croft * small holding * regenerative * regenerative farming * sustainable * homegrown * homemade by @rootsranchportugal

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0

14 days ago

My life is more abudant than it's ever been,even though i have less by societies standards than i evrr have.

#sheep #offgrid #homestead #simple #seasonal

Off grid * homestead * farm * quinta * farm life * Homesteading * escaping the system * free * living free * learning * growing * harvesting * croft * small holding * regenerative * regenerative farming * sustainable * homegrown * homemade by @rootsranchportugal

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7

17 days ago

Tips For Seed Saving

I just love to save / collect seeds at the end of their growing season.

Not only does it make next years growing cheaper and way more abundant, but…

There is something very primal, purpose filled and grounding about the process, that cannot be rushed and takes time just to be with the plants

Some things are worth considering when saving seeds though

Collect seeds later in the day, never first thing in the morning when they may have dew on them or be damp in any way

Only collect the dried seeds and not the green or flowery parts of the plant, that might cause dampness when storing them

Let them dry out a little anyway before storage, just in case

Store in paper of some kind and not plastic

But then put the paper into sealed plastic boxes or glass to prevent insects and rodents getting in

Enjoy the process and the abundance of plants next year!

#seedsaving #offgrid #homestead #simple #seasonal

Off grid * homestead * farm * quinta * farm life * Homesteading * escaping the system * free * living free * learning * growing * harvesting * croft * small holding * regenerative * regenerative farming * sustainable * homegrown * homemade by @rootsranchportugal

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4

19 days ago