Dudestead

I've been listening to the latest series of podcasts (#317-#320). I'm only part way through #318, but something Paul and Jocelyn mentioned made me think of a business idea I've been considering.

I was thinking of a homesteading vacation. It would be a series of homesteading-related workshops with something of a “resort experience.”

There are a lot of people interested in homesteading who don't have much experience. There is a wealth of information online, but it is nice to be shown how to do something in person and get a little constructive feedback. While being shown how to do something once doesn't make a person skilled or even competent at the task, in my personal experience it is a major confidence booster for going out and practicing on my own.

Woofing and internships are ways to get experience, but they are not necessarily going to be funnest or most time-efficient ways to get that experience. I can understand why people might be hesitant to use their hard earned vacation leave to go work hard for someone else for little or no money, especially if there is risk of being stuck doing the same boring task the whole time. There would be no significant work involved in this vacation. There might be a short workshops on planting potatoes and peeling logs, but the customers would not be stuck planting potatoes or peeling logs for hours (unless they wanted to). The focus would be on demonstrating and giving the customers a try at a large number of common homesteading activities like canning, butchering livestock and sharpening tools. They also would not have to do many common chores, like cooking and cleaning. On the flip side, unlike woofing and most internships they would have to pay to be there.

When I told my brother about this idea he said that what I was proposing was a “dudestead.” I really like that name, although I probably won't use it because it might turn some potential customers off. For those who don't get the reference, after the western U.S. was mostly settled many city people would vacation at “dude ranches” to get the cowboy experience. Some of these were actual working ranches where the vacationers were expected to work, while some were resorts meant to pamper their customers and some were in between.

My family already has a homestead, and a tour business, and we're getting ready to rent rooms and cabins. The rentals would mostly be to snowmobilers in the winter, so this might be a good way to make use of them in the summer. Especially midsummer when we're not so busy planting or harvesting. Another advantage is that we're in an area that already draws a lot of tourists and there would be a lot of nearby entertaining touristy things for the customers to do.

Sounds like a great idea Tyler !

On the east coast in usa, bed and breakfasts are everywhere, from the old traditions of road building, and well, we have been around longer. Something similar we have is something called 'farm stays' they are bed and breakfasts, where the rent is discounted according to how much work is done by the rentee. The rooms are often visited by persons who are interested in a homesteading or farming lifestyle, but not ready for the commitment of lets say, woofing. Or just people who want a taste of the 'easy' life.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_stay

Miles Flansburg wrote:Sounds like a great idea Tyler !

Thanks, it has me pretty excited. My mom was thinking we should get started on it right away, but I'm thinking we should get our hostel, cabins and certified kitchen running smoothly first. If we have all that it seems like it would be inexpensive to try offering this vacation package.

chad Christopher wrote:On the east coast in usa, bed and breakfasts are everywhere, from the old traditions of road building, and well, we have been around longer. Something similar we have is something called 'farm stays' they are bed and breakfasts, where the rent is discounted according to how much work is done by the rentee. The rooms are often visited by persons who are interested in a homesteading or farming lifestyle, but not ready for the commitment of lets say, woofing. Or just people who want a taste of the 'easy' life.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_stay

Thanks for the link, that sounds similar to what I was thinking of. I'll definitely have to do some more research into existing models.

Or just people who want a taste of the 'easy' life.

That's something I'm a little concerned about. The point is to give people some broad but shallow exposure to various homesteading skills in an enjoyable format, but it isn't going to give them a feel for how much work is involved.

It's a great idea - thoughts I would add to this...

You could link this to a historical experience - how our forebears/pioneers/settlers lived. Some people pay to wear historic clothing for a weekend. Learning to make bread and butter would be a good start.

You could lean it towards nature as well - offer foraging skills and shelter building, with sleeping in the shelter optional!

Doctors here can prescribe "Green Gym" for physical and mental health benefits. I don't know how that would work over there. If things were right there should be an income source from helping people to become healthier through outdoor connections with nature, because this saves money and lives in the long run.