New Secure Web Site

Back to the Homestead is better than ever with a NEW and SECURE website. If you've found this blog on Blogger.com, you're almost to the right place. Use the link below and see what we've been up to on the homestead:

https://www.backtothehomestead.com

"We homestead now not because we have to; we homestead now so we're ready when we need to." - Sulae

The New Homeatead

We Found a New Homestead

November 23, 2013

The New Homestead – An Introduction

We found a new homestead and are pleased to be showing it off.
We searched high and low for a new homestead and settled on a nice home sitting on about 5 ½ acres. They are long acres which actually make the property “feel” like it’s sitting on much more.

It’s a semi-fixer-upper

We wanted a turn-key home in order to focus on the property itself instead of trying to fix up the home and work on the property as time allows. It’s amazing how little time a working couple has left when trying to balance work, a child, a mother-in-law (yes, you heard that right) and daily chores. What time we have left we spend working on the home and the property.

The Mother-in-Law

When we were in Idaho, our mother-in-law lived in her own, small, independent-living apartment. When we arrived here in an area with 6x the volume of people, there were NO apartments similar to what she had been living in. We looked for “regular” apartments and were turned off by all the “interesting” neighbors (a teenage boy sitting on a child’s swing with head phones bigger than his too-small head who actually took time to stand and pull his pants DOWN lower than they already were to expose more of his tighty-white-ies may not be the best neighbor-type for a 60-something single lady). Needless to say, she ended up with us “until we find her a place to live.” When you add that all up, it equals – FOREVER. It’s not that we don’t like her, we just…well…you know. Let’s move on.

Where to Start?

Where do we start? This property is a blank slate. There is nothing that even resembles “permaculture” on the 5 ½ acres. Every system has a need for laborious and outside intervention in order to maintain the system. Sure, there are trees that are more-or-less a wind-up-and-go system yet there are roots exposed to the top of the ground. We have to start somewhere and the two places (yes, I said two starting places) will be the main garden and the kitchen garden. We also need to map out the property better and prepare for each system, the zones (more on that later) and plan for the planting date in the spring.

What’s Next for Back to the Homestead?

The gardens! Yes, we have to get started on the gardens. However, we have to start setting up systems for the day-to-day. I’d have to say that we need to set up a way to manage the kitchen scraps that we four (myself, my wife, my son and my mother-in-law) produce on a week-to-week basis. The solution: A worm bin! Next time on Back to the Homestead we’ll talk about making a BATHTUB WORM BIN!

See you soon.

Harvesting Potatoes

Harvesting Potatoes

and cooking potatoes too.

This week's video reflects back to the day we planted the potatoes (notice my son is planting them), we show the harvesting of the potatoes, demonstrate a recipe using our potatoes and enter some potatoes at the fair. See how things turned out. 

Recipe:
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

5 pounds potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
5-6 springs rosemary
garlic powder or granulated garlic
Kosher salt
black pepper

Preheat oven to 425º.
Pour oil into a 10"x 13" pan.
Wash potatoes and slice them into bite-sized pieces. Add them to the pan.
Pull the leaves off the rosemary stems and sprinkle them over the potatoes.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, pepper, and garlic.
Stir potatoes, making sure to coat all of them with oil.
Put the pan in the hot oven and cook for about 1 hour, or until potatoes are soft. Stir potatoes again before serving.

Potatoes are a high starch, cheap food. But, as far as I am concerned, they are essential on the homestead. A five pound bag of potatoes could cost as little as $1.69 (August 8-15, 2012; Albertson's Flyer; Price with Preferred Savings Card). The question is: Why would anyone in their right mind grow their own potatoes if you can buy 5 pounds for a buck-seventy? Heck, I may have only gotten 100-150 pounds of potatoes and will likely only eat 50 pounds during the season and from what I can preserve (some will suffer spoilage and some will be given away). That works out to about $85.00 for all that hard work in preparing the soil, planting, watering, weeding, harvesting and storage.

Rumors have it that potato farmers will not even eat their own potatoes (rumors; not validated (http://veggierevolution.blogspot.com/2010/10/experts-avoid-nonorganic-potatoes.html)). I wondered why. Here's a web site that may demonstrate some of the farming practices in growing and harvesting potatoes:

http://oregonstate.edu/potatoes/vine.htm 

I am not being critical only to the farmer; consumer responsibility comes into play here as well. Think about it: 5 pounds of potatoes for a dollar and sixty-nine cents. In the same ad where I discovered this deal on potatoes, Albertson's was offering 3-two liter bottles of soda for 4 bucks. Consumers are not willing to pay for good food. We want food that looks good and "seems" good and is CHEAP. After all, Endothall is an organic solid of white odorless crystals. If we don't know it's in there, then it can't hurt us, right? 

http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/endothall.cfm
http://www.lclabs.com/MSDS/E-4505MSDS.php4

The problem for me is: In order to create a potato that is marketable to the general consumer, it must look a certain way, it must be a certain size, it can't have blemishes, it can't have protrusions and be grown together with other potatoes and the like. Farmers want to harvest potatoes on their schedule and beat the fall moisture that will cause all kinds of problems. So, they soak the potatoes in herbicides to kill off that which is above the ground.  

According to Dr. Holly Menninger, NY Invasive Species Research Institute (http://ccetompkins.org/environment/invasive-species/hydrilla-endothal-treatment-faq), "The use of any aquatic herbicide poses risks to non-target plants and aquatic organisms." She does throw a "but" in there, but (there's mine), that just does not sit well with me. I chose to grow my own. 

Links:



Hope you enjoyed the video.

Processing and Cooking Beet Greens

Processing and Cooking Beet Greens
as well as battling squash bugs and a short garden update.





After the dust storm, we got busy catching and squishing squash bugs as well as harvesting from the garden. This week, we'll show you all how to process and cook beet greens.

Beet Greens are very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol (we make up for that in the bacon we add). It is also a good source of Protein, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A (220% in only one cup of beet greens), Vitamin C (eat two cups and you'll get 120% of your daily minimum), Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

There's only about 40 calories in a cup of greens. If we throw in one ounce of bacon, we only add about 130 calories and a TON of flavor. If you add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, you'll add 120 calories. You'll save in saturated fat if you go the olive oil route.

There is no specific recipe:

Hand full of Chopped Beet Greens
Chopped Onions
Chopped Bell Peppers
Bacon (for the fat) Could use Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

ENJOY!

Links:

Squash Bug Trap

Squash Bug Trap & Frost in June - Back to the Homestead

We are moving along. The bean and pea seeds that I replanted in the bare spots of the rows are starting to come back. I took your advice and held off on watering them for a while but nature keeps interfering with my plans (not complaining at all). It's strange how some plants need more water than others. They are greening up a bit but I am still keeping an eye on them.

This video has a kaleidoscope of topics: Frost, Green Beans, Rain, Wind, Squash Bugs, Duckweed and...well...there's got to be a topic or two that I could squeeze in there. We had a big storm come through the area and blew...well...like it blows in Idaho. There sure is no shortage of wind here in the potato state.

You'll see in this video:

1. Wind on the Homestead
2. Duckweed Update
3. Building a Squash Bug Trap
4. Frost in June

I have another experiment that I am going to try. Stink bugs and squash bugs look so much alike to me. I know they share some similarities. According to http://bugguide.net/node/view/182:

The stink bug's classification is as follows:

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)

Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)

Superfamily Pentatomoidea

Family Pentatomidae (Stink Bugs)

The squash bug's classification is as follows:

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)

Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)

Superfamily Coreoidea

Family Coreidae (Leaf-footed Bugs)

Subfamily Coreinae

Tribe Coreini

Genus Anasa (Squash Bugs)

They follow the same classification all the way down to the Suborder. They are "True Bugs." Nope, and I don't know if there is a "fake bug" out there. Anyway, it makes sense that they will follow some sort of pattern that are similar. Hopefully they both like a bright light at night.

In this week's video, I demonstrate setting up the squash bug trap. I will check it every day until I start getting some bugs in the trap (or not) and let you know how it turns out on subsequent videos.

Here's a link to the video where I got the idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKc5acECuQk

Lastly, I have a video I uploaded called, "Video Response to Strong Points during SHTF or DHTO - Back to the Homestead." I was tagged in a video and posted my response...



Enjoy!

Growing Duckweed and Harvesting the Lawn

Growing Duckweed and Harvesting the Lawn

Harvesting the Grass

Many homesteaders, preppers and folks like me keep a lawn. Yes, we get out with our gas-guzzling, noise-making, lawn mower and cut our grass as we attempt to "emulated aristocratic society with our own small, rural and semi-rural homesteads." Well, I think that's a bunch of hooey! I don't mow my lawn; I harvest my grass. There are many, many uses for the grass we harvest from our non-agricultural areas of our homesteads. Here's what I use my harvested grass for:

1. Thatch for weed control
2. Chicken Food
3. Composting
4. Worm bedding
5. Seedling padding
6. Moisture Control
7. Chicken bedding

Our lawns also keep much of our homesteads in reserve. What I mean is: if we did not have grass growing on the areas we did not grow our vegetables on, weeds would gladly take over. Additionally, the growing grass keeps the soil's ego system in check. It maintains moisture and is home for worms, good bacteria and fungi. Don't let these die-hard preppers and homesteaders tell you that a lawn is a worthless bunch of grass that we waste time and money in growing. Just tell them that you are growing grass just like you'd grow duckweed, bamboo, roses or any other plant. Tell them, "I don't mow my lawn; I harvest my grass."

Growing Duckweed

This week I started growing duckweed. I don't have any idea if it will work. You see, I am not using fish in my duckweed tank; I am using cow poop! Yes, you read that right...COW Poo Poo! (excuse the boldness). Here's what I am trying to do: I want to see if I can create a sustainable method of growing duckweed as to be able to have greens to feed my chickens well into the winter and to supplement their summer diet. Here's a little bit of information about duckweed:

1. Contains 15-25% protein in a natural environment and 15-45% when cultured under ideal conditions.
2. Duckweed is a feed for fish, poultry, livestock.
3. Duckweed grows on 10% the area needed for soyabeans, and 20% that of corn. Because it has such low fibre, the whole plant can be used, unlike other crops where only a small part of the plant can be eaten.
4. By absorbing nutrients, Duckweed also has potential as a natural water purifier, converting waste water and sewage into pure water and edible Duckweed with little resulting sludge.
5. Spread on our gardens as a natural fertilizer.

6. Duckweed contains more protein than soybeans.

Now, let's consider two things when we are growing duckweed on our homestead:

1. Stink from the water it is being grown in.

2. Mosquitoes

Here's my solution for the smell that may be generated:

Use a small fish aquarium pump with an air stone to oxygenate the water your duckweed is growing in. This will kill off the anaerobic bacteria (the smelly stuff) and build up the aerobic bacteria (the earthy-smelling stuff). The drawback is the bubbles may create a current and duckweed likes a water surface that is still.

Here's my solution to the mosquitoes:

BT or Bacillus thuringiensis. This is cool gift that the Good Lord has given us homesteaders. Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacteria...a natural bacteria...that will kill bugs that we don't want but will not harm us, animals, fish, or the good bugs that eat the bad bugs. I am even thinking about growing BT in my compost tea (a show for next week...maybe).

About the Garden

This is the time of year where I anxiously wait for the seeds to break ground. I am having trouble with these 2 and 3 year old soaker hoses and am wanting to CHANGE EVERYTHING!

Here's some links to more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemnoideae

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/duckweed.htm

http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/practical_duckweed.htm

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5300474_uses-duckweed.html

Dutch Oven Cooking

Back to the Homestead

Happy Mother's Day and Cooking in a Dutch Oven

It's finally getting warm enough to get the plants and seeds in the ground. I know many of you already are seeing tomatoes on your plants and here we are just now putting them in the ground. Here in southwestern Idaho, we're right on time (well, maybe a little early with our fingers crossed).

We did more Mother's Day celebrating than gardening this weekend on the homestead. We decided we'd take a trip up to Idaho City, Idaho and drive a short ways up the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_State_Highway_21) and find a spot to cook a picnic in a Dutch Oven. It's good to take a moment for the mammas in our lives (we should do it way more than just the one day a year in May).

If you are wondering about the recipe for the Dutch Oven Pizza we cooked:

Campfire Dutch Oven Pizza

1 1/2	lbs. lean ground beef	1/2	medium red onion; diced
2	tsp. italian seasoning	3	Tbs. diced greeen bell pepper
1	tsp. garlic powder	3	Tbs. diced red bell pepper
	salt and black pepper to taste	1	(8 oz.) can mushroom stems & pieces; drained
2	Tbs. olive oil	12	black olives; sliced
1	can crescent rolls	8	oz. shredded Cheddar cheese
1	jar pizza sauce	8	oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese

Heat a 12" Dutch oven using 18-20 briquettes bottom until hot. In a medium bowl add ground beef, italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper; mix together with your hands. Drop ground beef by small pieces into the hot Dutch oven and fry until brown. Remove browned beef from Dutch oven and wipe oven down with a paper towel. Pour olive oil into Dutch oven and spread evenly over bottom of oven. Unroll the can of crescent rolls and line the bottom of the oven with a layer of flattened rolls. Spoon pizza sauce evenly over crescent rolls. Sprinkle evenly with seasoned ground beef, red onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, and top with Cheddar and Mozarella cheeses. Cover and bake using 8-10 briquettes bottom and 16-18 briquettes top for 20-30 minutes until crust is browned on edges and cheese is bubbly. Serves: 6-8 This recipe was taken from one of my favorite web sites: http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/dutch-oven-recipes.htm

The Homestead Declaration

The Homestead Declaration

...is different from the Homestead Exemption

Note: I am not a lawyer and the information I am presenting is to offer what I know as I understand it. I make no guarantees as to the legal validity of the information. Take what I am about to offer and do your own research or seek counsel for a better understanding of the legalities of the Homestead Declaration.

What is a Homestead Declaration?

A Homestead Declaration is a legal document which can help to protect your homestead in times of economic hardship. Did I get your attention? I want to make sure you understand that the homestead declaration and the homestead exemption are different in every way.

The Homestead Exemption

Homestead Exemption is a property tax exemption to put it simply. The homestead exemption allows a homesteader to exclude part of the property tax that is calculated on the value of the homestead.

Different jurisdictions provide different degrees of protection under homestead exemption laws. Some only protect property up to a certain value, while others are assessed by acreage limitations. If your homestead exceeds these limits, creditors may still force a sell.

A homestead exemption is most often only on a fixed monetary amount, such as the first 50,000 dollars of the assessed value. The remainder is taxed at the normal rate. In this case, a homestead valued at 150,000 would then only be taxed on 100,000; a home valued at 75,000 would only be taxed on 25,000.

The Homestead Declaration

Don’t confuse homestead exemption with the Declaration of Homestead process. There are separate and distinct laws involved in each of these processes. A Homestead Declaration, when properly filed, is an asset protection exemption which can protect your homestead and property in times of economic hardship from liens, judgments and creditors. The homestead declaration is a notarized, recorded claim that declares your homestead and cannot be subject to attachments, judgments or creditors.

A legal judgment resulting from business losses, auto accidents, or an array of other possibilities could result in a plaintiff legally taking a homesteader’s assets. However, the safeguards provided by homestead declaration may just save your homestead. May it be valued from a five thousand dollar spot with a camp trailer to a million dollar, multi acre homestead. The catch is: you must file your Homestead Declaration to protect your home before anything happens.

Some debts must be honored, with or without a Homestead Declaration. If you have put your property up as collateral on a loan or mortgage and default, the homestead declaration does not apply and the homestead can be foreclosed upon. Unpaid property taxes and debts on improvements you made on your homestead are not exempt from the homestead declaration.

To file a homestead declaration: 

You can download the form you need (couples or single) from one of many websites. Next, you’ll fill the form out and sign it in front of a Notary Public. Then, the notarized Homestead Declaration must be filed with the Court Recorder in the county / parish / borough in which the property is located. You don’t need a lawyer to do this either.

P.S. I am not a lawyer and can not guarantee all my info is correct. There is nothing to loose however, so do some research and learn more.



FREE STUFF

I post these Amazon.com links above to show you all a bit of what I think would make for some good reading. If you want some free stuff, here are some links below. NOTE: They are the Kindle version but can be read on a phone using the Kindle app. I think they can be read on the computer too.



If you live in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, you may be able to file for the homestead declaration. I am not sure about the other states. However, we can always but the living day lights out of some of these law makers to draw up a bill that may become a law to protect our homesteads.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_exemption
http://www.homesteadus.com/faq.htm
http://www.networthjourney.com/declaration-of-homestead/
http://findforms.com/search.php?q=homestead
http://findforms.com/single_form.php/form/f10253/Idaho_Homestead_Declaration_Couple_Homestead_Idaho
http://www.canyonco.org/assessor.aspx?id=8343
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1982-07-01/Stop-Financial-Downfall.aspx

Back to the Homestead - History of Homesteading

April 29, 2012

Back to the Homestead - History of Homesteading

This week was pretty productive. We cleared out much of the clutter that has been hanging around the homestead such as old timbers, wheelbarrows and a garden cart with four flat tires.

We also decided to get rid of the ICB totes - the containers in which we were going to do the aquaponics in. I am sad about that. This is something I really want to do and think would be a fantastic way to produce food for the family. I'll talk about the "whys" on a latter post.

Potatoes, spinach, cabbage, carrots and beets are all planted. We'll soon be planting the rest of the garden. However, with temperatures in the 30's and 40's as a low, the risk of frost is still here. We'll wait just a bit longer and then get the rest of the seeds in the ground.

Homesteading - A Short History

Concerned that free land would lower property values and reduce the cheap labor supply; Northern businessmen opposed the nearly free distribution of federal lands. Pre Civil War Southerners feared settlers of federal lands would add their voices to the call for abolition of slavery. With Southerners having their hands full in 1862, the legislation finally passed.

On May 20, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act. This act gave adults 21 years or older farmland called a "homestead.” This was typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River.. The homesteader was required to build a 12x14 dwelling and farm the land or plant trees. Some folks took advantage of a legislative loophole caused when those drafting the law's language failed to specify whether the 12-by-14 dwelling was to be built in feet or inches.

Many homesteaders did not last the required five years due to all kinds of challenges such as blizzards, drought, grasshoppers, disease, and social isolation on the open prairies.

January 1, 1863, the day the Homestead Act went into effect, the fellow named Daniel Freeman. As the story goes, he was supposedly a scouter for the Union Army and told someone that he was leaving for St. Louis the morning of January 1, 1863, for military duty. Freeman convinced someone to open the land office just after midnight so he could be the first person to file his claim.

When the homesteader had fulfilled his requirements of living on the land for five years and show that improvements had been done, he then had to have two or three witnesses sign a document called "Proof Required under Homestead Acts May 20, 1862." Daniel Freeman had his neighbors, Joseph Graff and Samuel Kilpatrick, sign this first document.

Anyone including freed slaves, who had never taken up arms against the U.S. government, could file an application to claim a federal land grant. The occupant had to be 21 or older or the head of a family, live on the land for five years and show evidence of having made improvements.

Only about 40 percent of the applicants who started the process were able to complete it and obtain title to their homestead land. Eventually 1.6 million homesteads were granted and 270,000,000 acres (420,000 sq mi) of federal land were privatized between 1862 and 1934, a total of 10% of all lands in the United States. Homesteading was discontinued in 1976, except in Alaska, where it continued until 1986.

That was a shame too. I was in the 10th grade in 1985 and was taking American History. I learned about the act and my teacher, Mr. Warner had encouraged me to write a letter and inquire about the application process. I remember pulling out an old type write. You know, the one with the big spinning ball with all the letters on it. And I wrote my letter.

I got my answer weeks later. I was not 21 yet and was told I could reapply later. By the time I turned 21, it was too late. I wish I still had that letter. But at 15 years old, I found the rejection to be worthless and did not see the value in keeping the letter.

References:

The series referenced to in this week's video:

Here's the eBay seller I get my seeds from. This is my second year doing business with these guys: http://stores.ebay.com/heirloomvegetables

http://www.nps.gov/home/historyculture/firsthomesteader.htm
http://www.fold3.com/page/83001585_the_homestead_act_1862/#
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_Act
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/homestead-act/
http://www.falmanac.com/2010/05/homestead-act.html

Back to the Homestead - Homestead Journal Show Notes

Back to the Homestead

Keeping a Garden Journal

 Keeping records is not something that I enjoy much. I just want to get things done and not worry about all the logistics. Maybe it's because I am a nurse and a huge part of nursing is documenting and keeping records; it seems like half of the duties in nursing is writing something down that we just did. However, keeping records ensures we medical folks don't repeat something that didn't work and we can repeat which worked well the last time. Keeping a garden journal...or better yet...keeping a homesteading journal could end up saving time and money (as if these two things are separate entities). A homestead journal may very well keep you from making the same old mistake year after year after year.

If you are anything like me, when to plant is a guessing game. If we plant too soon, the frost gets us. If we plant too late, our harvest comes in late. If we keep simple garden records, we'll be better equipped based on the mistakes from years past. It's the same way with harvesting. What if we planted 100' of purple hull peas, grew them, picked them, hulled them and preserved them and by New Years, we had eaten all that we grew? A garden journal could remind us next year to increase our planting and subsequently our harvest.
Keeping a homestead journal is as important as keeping a canning cookbook or maintenance record on an automobile. With a project as extensive as homesteading, a journal is vital.

Now, we here on the Walker Homestead aren't sitting around writing notes in our homestead journal. We've been busy! The chickens are pinned up and they told me exactly what they think of the new arrangement (in chicken talk). We got some rows pulled and some potatoes planted. We "woke up" the yard, cut back the raspberries, sifting compost, fixing water lines, weeding, refreshing, fertilizing and getting a red neck to boot!
I have put together a garden journal that you can use. They are in both word and PDF format. You can do what ever you like with them. Add stuff. Take stuff out. Modify stuff. The sky's the limit. You may it your own.

Here's the PDF format: backtothehomestead.com/homestead_garden_journal.pdf

I hope this journal is helpful. Let me know what you think.

I often get a book or two on homesteading, gardening and other how-to's from time to time. However, the other day, I picked up a book called The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. It's about a young boy from Malawi, a country in Africa, who put together a device he called "electric wind." In his language, there is no word for "windmill." This fellow named William Kamkwamba and his family pulled themselves through a period of famine that we all hope we never have to go through. During this period of time, he would sneak into school (notice I said "into school"). When he got caught and expelled, he would dig around the dump yards and learn from the devices other would just throw away. If you are looking for a motivational read while you rest between chores, this is the book for your summer.

Here's what Amazon says:

With nothing more than a fistful of cornmeal in his stomach, a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks, and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to bring his family a set of luxuries that only two percent of Malawians could afford and what the West considers a necessity—electricity and running water. Using scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves, William forged a crude yet operable windmill, an unlikely contraption and small miracle that eventually powered four lights, complete with homemade switches and a circuit breaker made from nails and wire. A second machine turned a water pump that could battle the drought and famine that loomed with every season.


Keep on growing and remember: Don't worry too much about it. Just do all you can do and let the rough end drag.

SULAE