Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Urban Homesteaders

URBAN HOMESTEADERS
INTRO:
NOT EVERYONE IS DESPONDENT OVER THE COST OF GAS AND FUEL THESE DAYS. ONE YOUNG FAMILY IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS BELIEVES IT'S POSSIBLE -- AND PREFERABLE -- TO LIVE ON ALMOST NO FOSSIL FUELS, AND STILL LEAD A MODERN LIFE. KAREN BROWN REPORTS.

AMB1: BACKYARD
amb2: chickens squawking.... ABOUT A DOZEN HENS ARE ROOTING AROUND RECENTLY TURNED SOIL IN THE BACKYARD OF DANIEL STAUB, KRISTIN BRENNAN, AND THEIR TWO YOUNG CHILDREN. THE HENS LAY ABOUT TEN EGGS A DAY -- THE FAMILY'S MAIN SOURCE OF PROTEIN. THEIR GARDEN IS STARTING TO PUSH UP KALE, COLLARD GREENS, TURNIPS, AND STRAWBERRIES. LATER IN THE SEASON, THEY'LL HAVE SQUASH, CORN, AND POTATOES. AND WHEN THEIR LITTLE ONES DEMAND SOMETHING SWEET, THEY WHACK THROUGH THE BRUSH TO A BACKYARD BEEHIVE.
AX1: KRISTIN: ' it was just one hive and they produced 80 lbs of honey this year that we actually harvested....(FADE UNDER AND OUT...)
TWO YEARS AGO, BRENNAN AND STAUB -- BOTH 31, COLLEGE-EDUCATED, AND RAISED IN MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES -- BEGAN AN EXPERIMENT IN WHICH THEY LIVE ALMOST ENTIRELY OFF THE FOOD THEY PRODUCE THEMSELVES. STAUB SAYS THEIR LIFESTYLE IS A REACTION TO WHAT HE CONSIDERS AN IMPERSONAL, GLOBAL ECONOMY.

I would say we are attempting to live in a locally based economy. now, locally-based economy isn't about economics. locally based economy is really about community, for me. and it's about the connection between people and each other, and the natural world around them.

IN ADDITION TO GROWING AND RAISING FOOD, THEY HAVE NO CAR -- AND INSTEAD BIKE, WALK, OR TAKE THE BUS, WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO THE MARKET OR VISITING FAMILY IN THE NEXT STATE. BOTH ARE TANNED AND FIT. THEY WEAR ONLY SECOND-HAND CLOTHING, USE CANDLES FOR EVENING LIGHT, STORE THEIR FOOD IN A ROOT CELLAR, AND HEAT THEIR HOME WITH WOOD.

AMBI; crunching up newspaper
STAUB CRUNCHES UP NEWSPAPER TO START THE FIRE IN THEIR WOOD STOVE.

ax2: It functions as our heat, it also functions as our cooking apparatus, and also functions as our clothes dryer to some extent in the winter.

THERE IS A LONG TRADITION OF HOMESTEADING IN NEW ENGLAND, FROM HENRY DAVID THOREAU TO INTENTIONAL, SELF-SUFFICIENT COMMUNITIES OF TODAY. BUT WHAT MAKES BRENNAN AND STAUB'S LIFESTYLE DIFFERENT FROM, SAY, A RURAL HOMESTEAD IN VERMONT .... IS THAT THEY LIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF A LOW-INCOME, INNER-CITY NEIGHBORHOOD IN SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.
AX: i think we felt like we could live this way anywhere, so the question is, in what way will be offering it most to pp. a lot of people in a lot of situations can benefit from changeing their consumption habits and that's even true of pp who don't have a lot of power to consume, a lot of resources.

STAUB AND BRENNAN DID NOT WANT TO LIVE IN AN ISOLATED, RURAL SETTING AMONG OTHER HOMESTEADERS. SO THEY BOUGHT A HOUSE ON THREE-QUARTERS OF AN ACRE IN MASON SQUARE, THE POOREST NEIGHBORHOOD IN SPRINGFIELD, ITSELF A CITY WITH SERIOUS

ax4alt: KRISTIN: *i think there is a certain evangelistic nature of what we're doing.0:18:26.4 we actually decided we wanted to be in a place where there's this tension of lifestyle. 0:18:56.4

SINCE THEY BUY VERY FEW THINGS, AND THEIR MORTGAGE IS LOW, THEY CAN LIVE OFF TWO PART-TIME SALARIES, HE -- AS A PIANO TEACHER; SHE, A FARMING CONSULTANT. THEY'RE HOPING THEIR NEIGHBORS WILL NOTICE THEIR SIMPLE LIFESTYLE ... AND CONSIDER FOLLOWING SUIT. SO FAR, NO ONE HAS -- POSSIBLY DISTRACTED BY OTHER LOCAL ISSUES. RECENTLY, THERE'S BEEN DRUG DEALING AND STRAY SHOOTINGS ON THE BLOCK. NEVERTHELESS, BRENNAN AND STAUB SAY THEY'VE WORKED TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH NEIGHBORS, TRADING EGGS OR VEGETABLES FOR MEAT OR FISH THAT OTHER FAMILIES RAISE. AND THEY'VE GOTTEN ESPECIALLY CLOSE TO LOCAL CHILDREN.

ax6:'So you want to get as much of the root as you can' so let me show you, 'like this?'

10-YEAR-OLD LORENZO NICHOLSON IS HELPING BRENNAN MOVE PLANTS FROM ONE GARDEN PATCH TO ANOTHER.
'' you're gonna actually put your foot on the shovel. i know...."ah, i know..." [fade under]

LORENZO IS ONE OF A DOZEN YOUNG NEIGHBORS WHO SPEND MOST SUNNY AFTERNOONS IN THIS BACKYARD. IT?S THE ADULTS WHO ARE A HARDER SELL. STAUB IS OFTEN MAKING THE CASE TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT WHAT SEEMS LIKE A SACRIFICE ....IS ACTUALLY THEIR PREFERENCE. (SAWING AMBIENCE) FOR INSTANCE, ON THIS DAY, THEY?RE TURNING TREES INTO FIREWOOD USING A MANUAL TWO-PERSON SAW.

[ax11: if you see it as time that is taken away from something else you need to be doing, well, then it seems totally insane, but if you see it as something that is an activity worth doing in and of itself, you're getting exercise, you're spending time with family, you're not using the fossil fuels that would be involved in using a chain saw.0:37:02.9]

BUT ON THE WHOLE, THEIR RELATIVES SAY THEY TRY TO BE SUPPORTIVE. BRENNAN'S FATHER, JIM IS AN ORTHODONTIST IN RHODE ISLAND.

ax15 (phone): 0:03:50.1 all of us are upset at the materialism that we take part in, and these kids have risen above that. now, i take issue with -- well, ok, you don't have a car, that means i have to pick you up, ...and that's an imposition on me -- i might take that point of view.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, HE ADMIRES THEIR COMMITMENT. AS DOES DANIEL'S MOTHER, SYLVIA STAUB, A RETIRED PSYCHOLOGIST. SHE SAYS SHE NOW PAYS MORE ATTENTION TO HER OWN CONSUMPTION HABITS, AS HARD AS THAT CAN BE FOR A DOTING GRANDMOTHER.
ax16: one of things that's a challenge in the family is they won't accept any gifts that are new if they can be bought recycled, hand me downs, handmade.

IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY FOR BRENNAN AND STAUB EITHER. THERE ARE CHALLENGES TO THEIR EXPERIMENT. THEIR HOUSE IS NOT ZONED FOR HENS, AND THEY WORRY ABOUT LEAD IN THE SOIL. AND WHILE THEY'RE UNITED IN THEIR VALUES, THEY STILL NEGOTIATE EXACTLY HOW TO LIVE THEM OUT. BRENNAN IS GENERALLY MORE WILLING TO THROW ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE WHEN GUESTS COME. AND WITH AN INFANT AND TODDLER TO RAISE, SHE ADMITS TO AN OCCASIONAL CRAVING FOR MODERN APPLIANCES -- LIKE THE DRYER THAT CAME WITH THE HOUSE.
we've been tempted to throw diapers and covers into the dryer. 'and what stops you?' well, it's a slippery slope. if we used the dryer once, we'd be tempted to do it again, so we decided not to do it.

BUT OCCASIONALLY, SHE WILL TURN ON THE ELECTRICITY.

ax14:'like when i'm trying to shave my legs by candlelight, that's when I'm like -- ok, turn on the light.
BUT THE HARDEST PART, FOR HER, IS HAVING SO FEW LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE AROUND. STILL, NEITHER BRENNAN NOR STAUB HAS ANY INTENTION OF GIVING UP. IN FACT, THEY'RE HOPING TO GO FARTHER. NEXT YEAR, THEY PLAN TO BUY A MILKING GOAT.
I'M KAREN BROWN.