NEW HOMESTEAD HERBALS ONLINE SHOP! Enter Shop Here
Find our handmade soaps, salves, teas & more, made with organic ingredients and herbs grown at Little City Farm.
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2010 WORKSHOPS AT LITTLE CITY FARM See List Here
An exciting new line-up of workshop topics on do-it-yourself urban agriculture, sustainable living, eco crafting, and slow food!
Welcome to our Urban Homestead 
We are an urban homesteading family trying to live sustainably in the city. In the spirit of modern pioneering, we aim to provide many of our basic needs (food, water, shelter, energy, transportation) while reducing our impact on the environment.
For us, urban homesteading means a conscious choice to live more simply and within our means. By choosing to stay in the city we want to help support endeavors that promote community, and increase the livability of our city. We grow much of our own food in organic permaculture-style gardens; harvest rainwater & recycle our household greywater; dry and preserve foods for the winter; practice traditional homesteading crafts such as soapmaking, winemaking and bread baking; power our home with green electricity and incorporate solar power in our greenhouse; use bicycles or a shared co-op vehicle for errands; and generally try to create a home that is both productive and sustainable.
What we can't produce, we try to buy from local artisans and farmers, many who we know by name.
Our home is a cozy 100-year old house situated on a unique evolving site just off of downtown Kitchener, Ontario. Many environmental visionaries have inspired us and you will find the writings of Thoreau, Rachel Carson, Wendell Berry, Starhawk, Gary Snyder, Vandana Shiva, and many others, on our bookshelves. At our urban homestead we are practicing ways to reduce consumption and incorporate natural cycles into every day living. Rather than setting up a rural homestead, we are exploring what this lifestyle can look like in the city and we hope to share this with our guests through our workshops and eco-friendly Bed & Breakfast. Read more about our Eco Bed & Breakfast.
If you are interested in reading more about the day-to-day life on our little homestead, please visit our blog.
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Who We Are
We are Karin & Greg, and our newest addition Maya, an urban homesteading family living on 1/3 acre near the downtown core of Kitchener, a mid-sized Canadian city. In the past, we have lived and worked on a variety of organic & biodynamic farms across Canada, and through these experiences developed the desire to grow our own food and live a life that is light on the earth. We also enjoy the vibrant community & car-free options the city life offers, and yet dream of a slower, self-reliant rurally based existence.
For now, our urban homestead is just the place where we can begin to unclutter our busy city lives, find more time to do what we enjoy, and live a more simple, healthful, restorative and earth-centred existence.
A Little More About Us
Greg's background is carpentry and construction, a trade he went into with the intent of someday building his own sustainable home. This dream has been partially realized with the straw bale addition Greg built here at Little City Farm. Greg currently works with a non-profit organization supporting a local barter system and small business development. Greg also has a passion for water - rivers, rain barrels, ponds - and has been developing the greywater pond system and rainwater reclamation at Little City Farm.
Karin's passion is food. She worked for many years in community development, with a focus on urban agriculture, community gardens and food security. Having been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years, she loves developing healthy whole-food based recipes, as well as growing and preserving the garden harvest. Karin mindfully prepares simple, elegant meals and baked treats for our guests using local seasonal fare. Karin has also studied herbal medicine for many years, and is a certified Master Herbalist. She runs Homestead Herbals, a small home-based business making natural soaps and herbal products.
Maya, our little honeybee, is the newest addition to our family. She supervizes the harvest, feeds the chickens and collects their eggs, helps mama in the kitchen, accompanies us on long walks, and generally keeps us entertained with her new discoveries and joy for life.
Little City Farm is 100% Green Energy Powered!
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