Gothic Rewilding: Wildsteading


What is a Wildstead?  

The simplest explanation is a Wildstead is a Wilderness Homestead, which uses rewilding techniques to live in balance and harmony with the land.
It is an integration of food forests, rewilding gardens, and no-till gardens, using native and naturalized plants to sustain one long term.
A wildstead is a dwelling in the wildlands where a rewilder dwells in balance with the wildlands and the seasons around them.

Why Wildstead instead of just Homestead?

A wildstead works with the land, the seasons, the animals, and the people to create an integrated, balanced dwelling for both rewilders and the creatures native to the area. 
It respects the Native inhabitants of the land while seeking as displaced refugees of colonialism, to become as naturalized to the land as possible, without uncalled-for appropriations. 
Homesteading has a tainted history, sadly interwoven with Native removal acts and colonialism.  
Begun in 1860s  by Abraham Lincoln, it brought many immigrants, long displaced due to colonialism in their homeland, while continuing the ravages of colonialism within the United States.  It often brought in foreign animals, plants, and chemicals to modify the land towards monoculture gardening/crops, for greater productivity.

Wildsteading seeks to do things as close to the right way as is possible, after years of doing things the wrong way...

How to Start a Wildstead?
You can begin if you have a bit of earth in a community garden, rented land, or a piece of land you are dwelling on.  Study the native plants of your region, learn what plants have naturalized, and begin to grow...
You can rewild inside your dwelling as well, as best as you can, be it the type of dwelling you have, the things you use inside, how you heat/cool, and many other ways.  

As I continue my journey, more info will be forthcoming...

In Umbra Terras,

 Lady Morria


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