Hello from Cityfolk Farm, home to the DIY Homesteader Festival and our hands-on, small group workshops. We welcome you to the prairie homestead we steward – 80 acres of forest, marsh, and meadow, a stone’s throw from Lake Winnipeg, near Thalberg, Manitoba, in Treaty 1. It’s a place where you can come to plant your feet on the ground, open your heart to the wide open prairie sky, and reconnect with skills of the past and each other.
The farm and festival are on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation, on Treaty 1 territory. We are neighbours to the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation.
Why are we spending time creating shared space and educational events? We believe in connection. All the kinds. Connection to nature. As plant-lovers, homesteaders, farmers, builders; urban and rural. Connection to each other. Coming together to take the next step toward our individual homestead dreams, and the collective goal of leaving the earth a better place for future generations. We believe that it’s time for change. Time to stop viewing homesteading and farming through a narrow lens. We believe that all people should have the opportunity to reconnect. To learn how to grow good food. How to prepare that food in nourishing ways. To identify, harvest and tap into relationship with plants. To ethically raise bees and animals. And so, so much more. We believe that it’s time for all of us to roll up our sleeves, grab a shovel, and dig into learning, growing, and reconnecting – together. We explicitly invite – and encourage – members of under-represented or marginalized populations to join in this community as teachers and learners: this includes, but is not limited to, LGBTQ2+ and BIPOC folks.
