Casey Milne

Hey Jordan, I'm Casey. I have 5-acres (mix of birch, spruce, fir woodlot) in New Brunswick. How far you willing to travel to pursue this venture? Up until recently I was a programmer, but I just could not stand it (sitting all day) anymore so over the past month or so since I quit I've been exploring all the different options for making a living from my homestead. I have a bandsaw mill so that's the first and probably most reliable way. My motivation for buying the land originally was to make concrete products, pavers, tile, countertops, sinks. And the final venture in the mix is tables, wood legs with concrete tops.

About the location, there is electricity and internet. It's about an hour drive north of Moncton, and 25-minutes from 3 different smaller communities, and one of those is Bouctouche on the Atlantic coast. There is no running water, so right now that's the biggest pain is doing dishes, no shower... I go into Moncton to a gym for a shower. Drilling a well is not in the budget yet. Right now what I have for buildings is just my 128 SQFT tiny home, and a camper that I use as a toolshed.

My biggest goal here really is to build up the business. Improving the living situation is important too, but it's all driven by having time and money to invest. And that will make or break it in terms of whether I stay here because I've realized the climate doesn't suit me (I'm originally from Vancouver). So if I stay it's because there is a good business operating, and somebody working with me agrees to stay most/all of the winter so I can travel through part of it.

I've thought about creating an ecovillage here, but nothing is set in stone. My main goal is to have a thriving business, and be able to travel in the winter knowing that the property, business and animals are all cared for by responsible people while I'm away.

If you want to see some photos I'm @eatbuildplay on instagram, https://www.instagram.com/eatbuildplay/

I've found that being conscientious is an effective way of combatting stress and anxiety, and negative emotions overall. There is a basis for this in psychology, that conscientiousness can temper the feeling that arise from higher levels of neurosis. I don't know if this appies to you, but for me when I learned about this I looked around at my surroundings and realized I was behind on cleaning and yardcare. In other words the orderliness, organization was slipping. And because of that it was also harder to get stuff done, which is the industriousness part of conscientousness. I can't really explain why this impacts thought patterns, except to say well, after my tiny house was cleaned up and yard cleaned, I was able to walk through that yard feeling a bit of pride in the work, and just enjoying the surroundings more. And doing that simple work took my mind out of the loop of worrying. Even though I still needed to think about my next business plan, instead of worrying and feeling anxiety about recently quitting another job... I was able to relax and just see the process more clearly. Maybe it's partly because the steps to do bigger things like start a new career, or solve financial problems, is not that different from cleaning a yard. It's still just a series of steps. Everything is a series of steps in life, and if we are feeling confident we can take steps and keep going that helps us feel good.

It might also be the weather :) I've spent 2 winters in New Brunswick (originally from west coast) and both have been filled with a lot of dark days, literally and mentally. I've started questioning if it's worth it to endure the climate, which has enabled me to own land and build a tiny house. Yet I've started thinking well, maybe for my mental health I'd be better off paying the high rental fees of Vancouver just in order to see more sun and more warmth.

I've enjoyed these tiny house tours for a long time on YouTube. Enjoyed the lego one.

Thanks Judith for sharing about your son's milling and furniture building. Getting the logs delivered sounds good, I have some good trees but don't have the equipment to drag large logs. I had an Alaskan mill and 880 magnum myself last year, unfortunately mine was stolen before I ever finished cutting 1 slab! First time I used it, didn't tighten the chain bolts enough, chain came loose and snapped the tensioner. And while I was waiting to get in the tensioner I'd ordered, the saw was stolen! At least the thieves could not move my band saw, and I've gotten camera's since then. I'll check out his FB page later to see what he's making.

Scott thanks for your reply... I used to be on Upwork and Elance before it but that was a long time ago. As my career progressed, I found better paying and longer-term contracts outside of Upwork. Never any shortage of work in that field, but it's like they say, you can do the safe thing and still fail. Meaning if you find programming boring, and do it just because it's in demand and pays better than most jobs, there is still all the other potential work you could have excelled at that is never tried. Programming doesn't turn into a business unless you create an app or grow and agency, and both are rarely successfully. I failed in both those directions many times. I'm tired of trying the same things and hoping for different results. I feel drawn to concrete, not so much to woodworking... but some woodworking is needed to make the wood/concrete tables that I think are a great pairing. I think I'll do the woodworking in order to make some tables, and if it takes off then hire somebody else to take over the woodworking part so I can focus on the design and the concrete.

Would you say normally you aim to make a small number of higher quality items, which you then have to charge a fairly high price for? Or do you aim for high production, and keeping the price low? One concern I have is being in New Brunswick, it's the poorest province in Canada, if I'm going to sell locally, I think the market for expensive handmade items might be small. There is less than 1 million people spread out across NB, so that seems difficult compared to say having a shop in a city like Toronto or Vancouver where a much larger market is there. I'm not sure if it's cost effective to ship furniture yet?

I've long dreamed of making concrete tables. Before I bought my current homestead in New Brunswick I tried once before with a workshop in Romania. It proved to be too steep a learning process. I want to make tables with wood legs, and solid GFRC tops. That's one idea I have for making money from my homestead. The other is to use the band saw mill I just bought last year. And one final option I'm considering, making concrete pavers and concrete tile. I've narrowed my options down to something with wood and concrete, just a matter of deciding what format.

Wondering if anybody else has done any of these types of businesses, and if so has it worked for you? I'm looking for some success stories and motivation, because frankly I jumped from my tech job without parachute so a little nervous about how the landing will go.

Aeron, hello from Saint Norbert, NB. If you don't know the area that's near Bouctouche, about 45-minutes north of Moncton. I'm building a tiny house and homestead here, it will be 2-years this July. Congrats on your straw bale house, you must be looking forward to the building season. Given the climate, it seems like of all the options straw bale (or light clay straw?) are the best choice. I have an interest in earth bricks or adobe, something about building in blocks appeals to me, but it doesn't really solve the need for insulation here. How has the straw bale been in terms of keeping out the cold? Did you have any trouble finding a supplier of suitable bales? I was searching around my area last year, and though I found straw the bales were often "loosely" bound... I started thinking well maybe buy those and do light straw clay filling in a wood frame instead.

For me personally the location of your property, lack of road access, make it a bit too challenging and remote. I am aiming to start a homestead this year, and have chosen New Brunswick as a location. I'd love to someday expand it to an ecovillage. Part of the reason I chose the property I found is because it's 45-minutes from Moncton. It is connected to a roadway. It has electrical/water.

I guess it's a different mindset for some people who really want to be as far remote as possible, or at least farther from civilization. You'll have to find people that can handle that and see it as a benefit. I think because of the
location you'd have to really be there yourself or have somebody there, who established a central base. There has to be some sense of a seed planted, like a central community center.

I don't know if it's easy or difficult to find people interested in moving to an ecovillage, but I'd be interested to see what response you get and hear what the growth is like there.