The Coop

Episode #30 of The Coop is for anyone standing at the edge of a bigger life … and wondering if they have to leap overnight.Homestead Living Editor-in-Chief Anna Sakawsky sat down with Jason Contreras (Homestead Living contributor and the voice behind Sow the Land) to talk about the long road from a standard modern life outside Los Angeles to a working homestead in North Carolina.Jason shares how a Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis at 30 started the questioning … and how the last thing his oncologist said after chemo (“go back to your normal life”) is what made him and his wife refuse to. They didn’t sell everything the next week. They grew one tomato. Then they canned. Then they hosted a food swap. Then they sold the kitchen table. Six years later, they moved.In this episode, Anna and Jason discuss:What life looked like before the diagnosis: 17 years at a drafting desk, fashion-industry hours, two cars, four bedrooms they didn’t useHow “go back to your normal life” became the turning pointStarting with one backyard tomato, and why you can’t go back to the store-bought kindHomesteading in the city: raised beds, pickles, tomato sauce, living with one car, and a no-money food swap at the parkWhy the move took six years (2016), not six monthsLearning to process chickens at Primal Pastures before they owned landTrading a day of weeding for a CSA box to learn a new climateTreating 1.5 acres like a college course to find out if they even liked the workYouTube’s first year: about $80, and why the skills came firstWhat he’s most proud of: a family that harvests and cooks together, and a daughter who doesn’t remember the old lifeWhy you have to dare yourself to fail, because the next vision is better than the firstWhether you’re still in a backyard, still in a job you’re questioning, or already on the land and wondering if you started too fast, this conversation is proof that the leap can be slow, deliberate, and still count.

In Episode #29 of The Coop, Anna sits down with Anne Briggs (Anne of All Trades … homesteader, woodworker, teacher, and Homestead Living contributor) for an honest conversation about getting things done when your brain, your time, and the farm all pull in different directions.Anne didn’t grow up on a farm. She grew up “farm adjacent,” lived abroad as a missionary kid, and picked up her first four chickens on the way home from her honeymoon … then dug up a suburban Seattle backyard after her husband had already said no. That first garden failed. But the next season, it worked! Fifteen years later, she and her family are in Tennessee with a raw dairy, a large garden, multiple kinds of livestock, and a beautiful baby boy.Anne opens up about the struggles she’s faced too: severe dyslexia, not really learning to read until she was 22, ADHD, time-blindness, and years of being called lazy despite working harder than others to achieve the same outcomes. When reading finally clicked, learning became Anne’s superpower … especially when she turned around and taught what she was practicing, first in a garage, then on camera.In this episode, Anna and Anne discuss:How Anne went from a suburban Seattle backyard to a working homestead in TennesseeWhy being called a “Jack of all trades” is a complimentHow learning disabilities shaped the way she learns, teaches, and has built a lifeWhy tracking time and data makes hard decisions easierFrameworks for removing friction, implementing systems, and knowing what to prioritizeBuilding margin before adding anything newWhat a “successful” life looks like in retrospect, and how to measure any task against what’s truly important in lifeThe point of productivity, they agree, is not about checking everything off your list. It’s about creating margin for the things that truly matter: family, friends, good food on the table, and building a life you’ll look back on with pride.

In Episode #28 of The Coop, Anna sits down with Larry Littrell … urban homesteader, specialized real estate agent, and author of Fresh Starts Old Roots. They have an important conversation about one of the biggest decisions many homesteaders face: whether to stay, move, buy, or sell.Larry brings a rare dual perspective. He lives the lifestyle on a third of an acre while helping families find (or sell) properties that actually work for producing food, raising animals, and building a life of greater self-reliance. He walks through the practical realities that set homestead real estate apart from ordinary home sales … water access, soil, sun exposure, existing infrastructure, zoning, and the often-overlooked covenants that can quietly restrict livestock or gardens.He also speaks honestly about the emotional side. Leaving a place you’ve poured years into can feel like abandoning a legacy. Larry offers a different lens: sometimes the next chapter of your legacy is simply passing the work on to someone who will love it. At the same time, he encourages people not to wait for the “perfect” property before beginning. Bloom where you’re planted (build the beds, plant the trees, learn the skills) because those lessons travel with you.Whether you’re dreaming of your first piece of land, considering a downsize, or wondering if your current quarter-acre is enough, this episode of The Coop delivers clear-eyed advice and quiet permission to make the decision that fits your season of life.

In this solo episode of The Coop, Homestead Living Editor-in-Chief Anna Sakawsky reflects on more than ten years of living this homesteading life and shares the 10 biggest lessons it has taught her.Rather than focusing only on practical skills, Anna digs into the deeper truths that shape a sustainable, meaningful homesteading journey: why mindset matters more than acreage, why starting before you’re ready is essential, and why perfection is never the goal.She talks about the dangers of taking on too much too soon, the value of treating “failures” as lessons, the myth of complete self-sufficiency, and the quiet power of regularly checking your actions against your real priorities.If you’ve ever felt behind, overwhelmed, or unsure whether you’re doing this “right,” this honest conversation is for you!

In Episode #26 of The Coop, Anna sits down with Cassidy Cornell (suburban homesteader, backyard farmer, author of The One Acre Homestead, and McMurray Hatchery team member) for a practical, encouraging conversation about raising food (and livestock) on a smaller scale.Cassidy shares her journey into homesteading and how she’s been able to raise chickens, meat birds, ducks, quail, rabbits, and goats on a modest property. She offers clear, experience-based advice on choosing the right animals, managing limited space, and avoiding the biggest mistakes new small-space homesteaders often make.Anna and Cassidy dig into breed recommendations for high egg production versus efficient meat birds, the unique needs of ducks and quail, whether rabbits and goats make sense in tighter spaces, and how to design systems that maximize food production without overwhelming your time or property. They also talk about the importance of community sufficiency (sourcing what you can’t raise yourself from local producers) and the value of staying realistic about your current season of life.Whether you’re working with a quarter-acre suburban lot, dealing with zoning restrictions, or simply want to get more from the land you already have, this episode delivers practical ideas and genuine encouragement. You don’t need a large farm to start producing real food.