LIVING OFF THE LAND.
Although this is how people––including myself––have sometimes referred to the way Hannah and I live, something about the phrase "living off the land" feels inaccurate.Two things come to mind when I think of "living off" of something. First, there is living off-the-grid, in which one purposely removes oneself from the networks set up by government or private business––the grid––and tries to live without the conveniences of water or electricity, or tries to create those conveniences on his or her own. Either way, the idea is to live apart from the something, thus "off".The second idea evoked when I hear that phrase is living off one's parents, or off one's credit cards. To live off of something in this manner is perhaps to survive on something that is not one's own, or to frivolously live outside one's own means. So when I hear "living off the land" I think of someone either living detached from the land, or taking advantage of it. Perhaps even recklessly.It may very well be a silly prepositional difference (that I recognize no one will switch to), but I'd like to think we live with the land, not off of it. Hannah and I are not perfect, but we do attempt to give back much of what we take. As we clear our farm, we tread lightly into our forest, primarily using animals to fertilize and manage the woods to avoid erosion and preserve habitat. As we garden, we grow then replenish, using no-till methods everywhere possible, while trying to implement more permaculture systems slowly over time. When we forage or hunt, we take only what we need, and try and use every bit––or would, I suppose, if I were a better hunter. For the next couple years we will continue to live without electricity until we can afford an electrical system––solar, wind, thermal, etc.––that relies on a renewable resource, not on a finite supply of oil, or coal, or gas created by highly complex and slow-moving natural processes over billions of years. By living with the land then, we make it healthier, more bountiful, more productive, more diverse, create topsoil, encourage life, and give back. If we were living off of it, I feel as though we'd have little left, forced perhaps to turn to chemical fertilizers to convince anything to grow.Living off the land in this sense is precisely what we wanted to change about ourselves by choosing the lifestyle we did. We no longer wanted to be detached from all that sustained us. As physically hard and emotionally straining as it is, we wanted to know where our food came from, and we wanted to be a part of it––our food, our clothing, our water, etc.––as much as possible. In fact, maybe that's the question we should all ask ourselves in any decision––food, clothing, travel or otherwise: is this purchase or activity or lifestyle with the land, or off of it? Because the reality is that whether we live with the land, or off of it, we all indisputably need the land to live. And our children will, too.- Jesse.
