My Homestead Plan! Please Review! | Page 3 | Construction and DIY projects | Forums

Howdy verukter! Self-sufficiency can certainly be done on a 1 acre parcel of land (within reason), but you will want to avoid having any livestock larger than perhaps a pair of goats and maybe some chickens (but they do not take up much space in a portable chicken tractor). There is a great book on homesteading on small lots out there; The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour. I can't recommend this book enough; he does a complete breakdown of how to live self-sufficient on 1 acre, 5 acres, and 10 acres or more. He breaks it down all the way to the best way to layout your lot to maximize the usage of your space.

From what I can see, your biggest struggle is going to be finding a municipality that's okay with a 200-300 sq ft dwelling with no well? Most townships and county level municipalities have restrictions on how small of a home you can build and will require you to have running water. Since you mentioned selling things at a local farmers' market, I assume you do not want to be too far out in the sticks. You made need to look into buying your lot in an unincorporated area somewhere. Generally, an unincorporated area is a part of a county somewhere which is outside of any municipality's control, and they will pretty much leave you alone and let you do what you want. Here in Michigan, we have a few of these scattered in the Upper Peninsula.

Maybe it's just the political scientist in me coming out, but I think your biggest struggle with this plan is going to be finding a municipality that doesn't rain on your parade and tell you can't do it in their jurisdiction.

Overall, I think you have a good start on your planning process, but keep working to improve it (and check out that book). Cheers!

Wow, looks good! Perhaps the People's Democratic State of Michigan is alone in their bogus requirements. Mass. is starting to sound better and better. lol