In today’s show we discuss the idea of the Carnivore Homestead.
For those of us that eat a mostly animal-based diet, we want to produce mostly animal-based calories from our homestead production systems. I got news – just because we like to eat steak doesn’t mean we aren’t going to grow plants – in fact, we’ve got to grow them in greater quantity and quality in order to feed the animals that become our food.
Carnivore homesteads have to be regenerative by their very nature if they are to be sustainable. Join me as we discuss the ins and outs of what I’m calling the 5 tenets of carnivore homesteading:
- Maximize Calorie Production / Unit Area – this means growing a better solar collector, which means growing lots of plants. We do this by managing the 4 pillars of any productive ecosystem – water, soil, light and life (biology/living organisms).
- Extend Calorie Production Throughout As Much Of The Year As Possible – extend the growing season, and no its not just about greenhouses, though those are great.
- Livestock Species Selection & Integration – select species that WILL thrive on what your land is innately good at producing, and integrate them with other species that improve the habitat for one another (non-competitive niches).
- Preserve Seasonal Abundance With Long Term Storage – we need to employ a variety of methods to preserve fat and protein during times of abundance for the times of dearth – freezers and canning are great, but there is so much more!
- Build relationships with other producers – don’t go it alone! Animal products are high-value, and if you are producing one you probably have an abundance greater than you can use. Trading, exchanging or sell to or with other local producers creates stronger, healthier, more resilient communities and allows us to create our own food systems parallel to the mainstream commoditized, centralized and controlled industrial food system.
Show Resources
- Epi-058 – Sovereign Food Systems: Silvopasture For Sovereign Meat Forests
- BLOG POST: Silvopasture – Sustainable Food Systems For The Era Of Energy Descent
- BLOG POST: High Value Livestock Fodder Trees For Temperate Climates
- Epi-007 – High Value Livestock Fodder Trees For Temperate Climates
- YouTube Channel: Farming With Trees
- Epi-059 – Sovereign Food Systems: Aquaculture Pantry Ponds
- Epi-061 – Up-Leveling Calorie Production With Azolla
- Permies Thread on Carnivore Homesteading
Need some help getting the “birds eye view” of your property and its surrounds to help you create a master plan for your sovereign homestead?
Check out our Hi-Definition Contour Base Map package. This package includes:
- Hi-definition LiDAR contour map layer (contour lines can spaced at whatever scale you desire – as tight as 1 foot or less if you desire).
- Aspect Map Layer – color-code your entire property by which direction it faces – very helpful in identifying ideal growing zones and microclimates for specific plantings.
- Hillshade Layer – for easily visualizing landform across your entire property.
- Slope Layer – color-code your entire property based on the % grade – very helpful for access planning, living systems establishment and site selection for buildings etc.
Deliverables include:
- Hi-definition .jpeg or .pdf of your entire property and/or its contributing watersheds, at whatever size you desire (if you wish to print a poster and have it laminated as an iterative design tool images can be generated at whatever size the poster shop will print).
- .KML file of the contour lines for importing and 3D viewing in Google Earth Pro (free to download) – this is a very helpful and accessible design tool.
We also offer consulting calls if you need some design help or a fresh perspective – see the Virtual Property Design Review for details.
What Plants Crave T-shirts And Stickers!
Another fun way you can support the show AND start some fun and interesting conversations along the way. For those of you that have seen Idiocracy, you know what this is all about. For those of you that haven’t…watch this.
