Svarog Community Homestead [Europe/CRO]

Hi everyone, how's things with you?

Basically, this is a long-planned project that I finally got to start around 6 weeks ago (April 8th).
I lived in Croatia but then moved to Ireland for a better job and better money.
I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but had a pretty good idea it wasn't what I then had. I wanted to get away from a lot of things, but most of all, I wanted my own space, a job that I loved and have decided upon myself, for myself; I also wanted to find new ways to accomplish things, expand on ideas, and to bring any other 'lost' folk to exchange information/knowledge/wisdom, etc.

- (I'm not gonna go into to much detail here, as it is already covered in my Crowdfunding post) -

Slowly but steadily, I got experience, I got money, I got time to plan it all.

And so I did plan it, first bought some land, then a year later bought a van, then saved as much money as I could to bring with me.


With the accumulation of tools, gear, materials, ideas, anticipation, etc., the times has finally come to do the deed. I quit my job and drove back from Ireland to Croatia, taking everything I had with me.

This particular post will serve as a "log" or "diary" for what I'm doing here, and everything will be up for questioning, advising, revising, debating, and all other forms of "-ing" imaginable (yes, even ridiculing).

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The main goals for this home/farm-stead are as follows:

ensure self-sustainability (It's a very short term, but a very long way to get there. it can be divided into a few categories to make it more comprehensive):
- producing own food
- making own money (earning, not forging)
- staying warm/dry
- making/using own resources to accomplish tasks around the homestead

share knowledge
- via internet, book(s), gatherings, festivals, etc.

networking
- connecting with local communities and doing projects together

expanding/growing
- buying up neighboring lands and delivering it from the claws of conventional agriculture and modern life

world domination
- this goal isn't intended, but is unavoidable: if everyone keeps breaking free of the system and we keep persisting in our cooperation and sharing and networking, this is the only possible outcome.

So, in that direction I had a few priorities when I came to the land, and those are mostly done now:
1) Set up a garden, so there will be food for future seasons.
2) Get animals, so they can start growing and can be harvested when ready/needed
3) Fix a permanent shelter


1)
I now have 7 large beds and 1.5 smaller beds that have production going on.
I am doing all this by hand and by myself, so this took way more time than I thought it would. But plants grow the slowest, and there's a timeframe to get them going, so they were an absolute #1 in getting things started.
From the beds I will get some food (I don't eat much veg, so not a lot is needed), some money, and the rest (that which didn't get sold or eaten) goes to feed the animals - there is also going to be a few beds planted specifically as animal feed - sorghum, clover, sunchokes.
So far it's going well, however some beds could do with some replanting as plants got eaten away or killed by the weather.

2)
In the meantime, I was making some chicken tractors (and worked on improving them). Got some chickens on Week 3 (5 laying hens), which were supposed to be already laying but still are not (I paid them a good bit (€12/$13 each), because the guy claimed they are laying) - no matter, I learned how to tell if they're already laying, so there wont be mistakes next time.
I got gifted a rooster, he got sick because he wasn't used to being outside (respiratory infection or something). He got antibiotics and was good as new in 6 days.
2 weeks ago I got an assortment of chicks (all kinds, mixed breeds, just your standard no-clue-which-breed village yard chicks), 20 of them in total. They're loving the chicken tractors and are progressing well.

A week ago the pigs arrived. There was a very specific local breed that I insisted on getting, and it took a long time to finally find them. Things didn't go too smooth as the guy who was supposed to keep 5 piglets for me "forgot about it" and sold the whole lot, and I drove 3 hours for nothing. It turned out ok-ish as I found another seller on my way back, but it was 2x the price, so I only got 2 piglets instead of the intended 5-6.
The piggies were a bit shy for a few days, but now are out and about their pen, rooting and chewing, and getting trained to electric fence.

3) Shelter is kind of a work in progress.
The shed that I am living in now is actually quite cozy (I have a sleeping bag and nights are warm - I was freezing my ass off when I first arrived though =D), so for now I don't really need to think about it, mostly just making shelves for keeping my things in, other than that there isn't much to it.
However, it really has been a lucky find, as when I was buying the land, I didn't really have a good look at it at all - I couldn't get inside it, so I didn't know what to expect; I actually wasn't counting on it at all, thinking it would be full of junk and in bad shape, so basically useless. But it turned out more than well, and until winter I won't need to worry about this aspect too much.

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That's it for now, I'm using the library to post here, and they are closing soon.
I'll see you in the next one!