Ben Hewitt lives in Cabot, Vermont with his wife, Penny, and sons
Fin and Rye. Over the past 17 years, the Hewitt family has
transformed an over-grazed pasture and neglected woodlot into a
thriving homestead, producing an abundance of nutrient dense food
in biologically active soils.
Utilizing a combination of permaculture design, wildcrafting, and
small-scale regenerative agriculture they call “practiculture,” the
Hewitt family raises and forages better than 90% of their calories,
with a focus on pastured meats, healthy fats, and fermented
vegetables. They also produce all of their lumber and firewood, and
practice traditional land skills such as hide tanning and basket
making.
The Hewitts consult frequently on homestead-scale production and
processing of nutrient dense foods, as well as homestead planning,
design, and implementation. They also run Lazy Mill Living Arts
(www.lazymilllivingarts.com), which offers workshops in a wide
variety of traditional land skills.
Ben is the author of four other books, including The Town That
Food Saved and Home Grown. He blogs
at www.benhewitt.net.
Library Journal- "Ben and Penny Hewitt have resided on a 40-acre
farm in Cabot, VT, for more than 15 years and are motivated by a
desire to live their lives aligned with nature and provide most of
their own food, creating from the ground up a sustainable and
traditional homestead. The Hewitts chronicle the development of
their sanctuary in this informative title, from the initial design
of their hand-built house and revitalizing the soil for crops to
foraging for wild edibles, processing their own meat, and
preserving produce. The belief in nourishment in all aspects—Ben
calls it 'practiculture'—of their lives, including dealing with
modern-day ‘stuff' and raising children (two sons), creates a
running thread throughout the book. Photographs and recipes all
support this personal reference to dwelling closer to the
land. VERDICT While it is information-dense, a
conversational tone and practical tips make this text a terrific
resource for homesteaders at all levels.”
Publishers Weekly- "This book is both the story of their bucolic
life and an introductory guide to homesteading skills they’ve
gleaned along the way. A comparison to Scott and Helen
Nearing’s Living the Good Life is inevitable, and the
books are strikingly similar in their combination of personal
narrative, practical advice from house-building to soil-building,
and sermon-y philosophizing on the ills of contemporary mainstream
culture. Unlike the Nearings, the Hewitts benefit from 21st-century
developments like permaculture, rotational grazing, and
nutrient-dense farming, and they incorporate livestock as an
essential and beloved element of their farmstead—almost a third of
the book is devoted to animal husbandry. Best of all, adorable
photos of the Hewitts’ two young sons lounging on cows, curing
hides, and harvesting garlic leaven the earnest prose.”
"If Walden were a how-to book and updated for the twenty
first century, The Nourishing Homestead would be
it. Whether you have land or not, are a hardcore homesteader
or a suburban gardener, you’ll find this book packed with countless
how-to gems for personal and family liberty. The practical
usefulness of this book is hard to overstate; the Hewitts have
written a manual girded by direct experience alone, not ideology--a
true rarity."--Ben Falk, author of The Resilient Farm and
Homestead
"A wise, poetic, and eminently practical manifesto, The
Nourishing Homestead provides all the ingredients for a
nutrient-dense life. Ben and Penny Hewitt teach us how to farm, but
more importantly, why to farm. In so doing, they have
seeded nothing short of an agrarian revolution."--Rowan Jacobsen,
author of American Terroir and Apples of Uncommon
Character
"Inspiring and informative. A brilliant union of theory and
practice."--Shannon Hayes, The Radical Homemaker
"Nesting deeply into a farmstead requires skill, patience, and the
right mindset. Sharing his insights after nearly two decades of
this life, Ben Hewitt's success beckons others to follow. Are you
intimidated by a non-corporate farmstead life? The Nourishing
Homestead empowers anyone aspiring to such a life: yes, you
can.”--Joel Salatin, Farmer and Author
“The Nourishing Homestead is just perfect for young families
embarking on a homestead way of life. Ben Hewitt’s approach to (and
philosophy of) homestead economics is alone worth reading the book.
His views on what he defines as "real food" and "deep nutrition"
might rattle the reader's brain occasionally, but all for the good.
Beyond that, the rich detail of information on how to make small
scale farming work successfully rings with genuine knowhow and
conviction.”--Gene Logsdon, author of Gene Everlasting
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