→ 2010-05-14 04:25:31 (27 Comments)
August 31, 2010
Well, I’m a few days late but better late than never, right? There’s a lot happening so ya’ll pay attention, read all this stuff VERY carefully ya hear- thanks!
August 29, 2010
Meet a family who achieved what most people would think impossible in a big city. On less than 4,000 square feet of land in the heart of Pasadena, California, the Dervaes family gets all the food they need from their own backyard
August 27, 2010
There’s a lot on our plates right now (carry a lot of new projects!) and we are just plowing thru a heavy workload at the moment which leaves me little time or energy to bring you updates from the urban homestead.
August 20, 2010
Wow, it’s that time already for another Weekly Round Up? This week we are focusing on our growing outreach as we put out a call for a few know-how and passionate writers to become part of the our social network team. Would that be you?
August 13, 2010
With all that’s going on, figure it’s high time I sit and collect all the newbytes and articles that ya’ll may have missed this week. On Fridays I am going to try to make it a weekly habit to post some highlights. Git along little dawgies!
August 1, 2010
Though we haven’t posted much in the way of the ongoing impact our little film has had, we are happy to report that our homemade film is still growing strong.
Our short film, Homegrown Revolution (you can buy the DVD here) will be screening at home and abroad.
July 1, 2010
It’s wonderful when our site and lifestyle has such a broad appeal, the range of readership is incredibly diverse and reaches worldwide. As caretakers of creation, we are blessed that our journey has inspired and informed millions over the last decade.
June 16, 2010
The Urban Homesteaders and DIY tips to get you growing on the path to sustainable living … ” Dervaes hopes to encourage others to take up the spade and grow some of their own produce…
June 15, 2010
It came as a shock to us, so much of a shock we wondered if there was some sort of mistake! How could our little short film win BEST Environmental & Ecology Film of North America ? Are you sure it wasn’t “Short Film” or “Student Film?”
June 10, 2010
The FIVE winners, chosen by random.org, of our Homestead Blessings DVD giveaway are:
June 3, 2010
So how are you liking the new blog and boat load of new posts to boot (12 new entries in 18 days!)?
We took a bit of a break after the BIG revamp, but we are right back working on more improvements as we speak. There’s much more to come, but in the meantime, we’d [...]
June 2, 2010
Our family went on a brief jaunt to “Middle Earth” recently.
There’s lots to tell about the film festival (you can still catch a second screening of Homegrown Revolution on June 4 there in Palmerston North) that we attended, visiting the old (first) homestead where I was born (yep, I am a bonafide Kiwi – without [...]
May 14, 2010
Whew, we did it! Took us longer than we expected but it was well worth the wait and as about as close as an Amish barn raising experience we city folks get!
May 10, 2010
Jumping jimmy! We reckon the move just might happen this week so the blog will be down for some time (not sure how long – depends on if Jordanne can pull an all nighter or not) as the upgrades and move takes place.
Keep your fingers crossed that the move goes “easy peasey” and without a [...]
May 9, 2010
On a cold, drizzly, gray day in February two chefs were dropped off at the Urban Homestead.
See what happens when they have to whip up a tasty meal with ingredients from the garden and pantry in this “foodie’s” drama.
May 4, 2010
Come and listen to my story ’bout a man named Jed a simple pioneer, who kept his family fed
And then one day he was growin’ some food
When up from the ground come a mountin’ of doo…soil, that is. Black gold. Earthy.
Well, the next thing you know, ol’ J’s a ‘farmer extraordinaire
His kinfolks said, ‘Jed, please [...]
May 3, 2010
Here’s a sneak peek!
We are almost ready for re-launch of the spiffy new Little Homestead in the City “Blook” (aka blog book)
Jordanne could use a bit of encouragement as she’s on the homestretch and dealing with all the headaches that come with moving and coding. A couple of pieces of chocolate helped her thru today [...]
May 3, 2010
Winter, visited us briefly again last week. Thankfully for us it didn’t get too cold ( just windy and nippy)- but for others north of us the unseasonable cold snap along with hail, snow, freeze has devastated gardens and fruit crops.
The cold didn’t last very long temps are going to warm up yet again.
Are [...]
April 23, 2010
Back in 2008 our family and farm were featured on ABC Nightline (check out the original LIVING THE REAL SIMPLE LIFE circa 2008)
This week, they aired a piece which featured a snippet of the archival footage and focused on a very important question: “What is Your PLAN B?
That’s a really pertinent question. Especially since, these [...]
April 15, 2010
Good little article but there are some slight misstatements. 1.) We grow 99 percent of our PRODUCE not diet 2) We do buy supplement animal feed (grains pellets) oh, and our goal is “ZERO” food miles!
Path to Freedom conserves water while cutting ‘food miles’ from Dervaes family’s carbon footprint
By Carolyn Neuhausen PASADENA WEEKLY
On a quiet [...]
April 14, 2010
On newsstand today – TWO articles in the Daily News featuring the urban homestead.
Photos courtesy the Daily News John McCoy/Staff Photographer
Farm living in the city with the Dervaes
By Natalie Haughton, Food Editor
It’s trendy to go green, grow some vegetables in your back yard, have a few solar panels on the roof and drive a hybrid [...]
April 12, 2010
This first work order to humans was “to dress and keep the garden,” a command to do the work necessary to tend a garden , along with a compassionate care over animals that reside there.
Thank you all so very much for your care and concern over our lil Amy (named after a character in Louisa [...]
April 6, 2010
WHAT: Screening of FOOD INC Local Food Potluck, Produce & Seed Swap
WHEN: Sunday April 18 (6 PM – 10 PM)
WHERE: 626 Cypress Ave, Pasadena CA 91103
COST: $10.00
RSVP – click here (note we went back to our simple rsvp format)
You asked for an event; however, if we do not get enough folks attending this event we [...]
March 31, 2010
Taking a Blogging Break
It’s a Holy season for us here on the urban homestead, so going to take a few days break to concentrate on some projects and re prioritize a few things.
Lots of things happening, Holy observances and it’s that busy time of year. A farming life is 24/7 and it just kicked into [...]
March 18, 2010
Webservant, sis -Jordanne, is still plugging away at the new blog and still working on making improvements to the main site.
Check out the latest cool feature (hint: look at the bottom of your screen) – helping you navigate from wherever you are, fast n easy!
Still needs a bit of tweaking but otherwise – NICE!
March 16, 2010
The iconic Saturday Evening Post does a feature on the Urban Homestead!
If Norman Rockwell were alive today, wonder what his artistic rendering of an urban homesteader would be? That would have been somethin’
Urban Homesteads and Hope
By Jen Stewart
The concept of “urban homesteads” are gaining popularity in recent years. To put it simply, modern-day pioneers who [...]
March 8, 2010
Has this site inspired you, do you glean all sorts of helpful information, enjoy the many pictures of life here on the urban homestead? Do you want more? Would you like to help keep us going and growing?
The kind folks at Franklin Springs Media have give us Homestead Blessings DVD’s to giveaway this month [...]
March 8, 2010
Thanks to our wonderful readers we’ve been nominated in TWO CATEGORIES for
Best Landscaping, Garden, or Urban Farm Project
&
Best Website About Farming or Gardening
Wow, thanks all!
Reader’s Choice Voting Process
Starting today and running until Friday, April 2, 2010 is the reader’s choice voting period.
During this time our readers, family, friends, and fans will be able to [...]
March 5, 2010
I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty and joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. ~Helen Keller
Time’s A Wastin!
You know that Paul Simon ditty “Slip Sliding Away” where it says “You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away.“ That’s [...]
March 4, 2010
Path to Freedom’s urban homestead featured in LA Times BRAND X supplement (pg 12)
A Green Path by Jessica Hundley
First, there is the study in opposites; sprawl of concrete meeting a spread of fecund growth, white picket fence lining city street, the roar of freeway competing with the screech of a hen celebrating the laying of [...]
February 18, 2010
In TreeHugger’s second annual Best of Green Awards, they are looking to bestow top honors on the people, places, and things that are helping move sustainability into the mainstream.
Over these last ten years online, have you been inspired by this site to start your very own urban homestead – or at least try to do [...]
February 17, 2010
I just wanted to let you know how much I love the calendar! It is exactly the inspiration I hoped it would be. Beautiful photographs and printed on that nice thick paper, really great quality. Thank you
-Elizabeth
LITTLE HOMESTEAD IN THE CITY 2010 CALENDAR
(11″ x 17″)
Looking for something to inspire you (and others) throughout 2010?
Buy [...]
February 16, 2010
Folks keep coming up to Farmer J & D wanting to know where they got their hats. We finally got tired (in a good way) of folks asking so we are taking pre-orders on these caps
Choice of colors Dark Green or Burgundy
Size: “Flex fit” so one size fits all)
$20.00 (plus $5.00 S & H)
Colors
Dark [...]
February 4, 2010
A major tv media outlet is looking to:
” profile someone who is in the LA area (from San Diego to Santa Barbara) that is in process of transforming his/her life as a combined result of the economic conditions and who is taking the Dervaes’ message as the inspiration for that transformation. The more radical the [...]
February 1, 2010
“Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.”
–Anne Dillard, The Writing Life
I was sitting in the living room adjusting, testing my camera when I snapped this [...]
January 29, 2010
Attention local foodie writers, bloggers, critics!
Interested in trying eats from the Urban Homestead for an upcoming cable TV show, scheduled filming — weather permitting, Sunday Feb 21.
Inquire at info@urbanhomestead.org
Note: Please refrain from contacting if you have food allergies and or are vegan!
January 29, 2010
Jordanne snapped these gorgeous photos – it’s a wonder we actually made it home. You could drink in these scenes forever!
EcoFarm Conference (whose unofficial motto was “Still Dirty at 30″) sadly ended. Inspired, it was time go home and “kick some butt” as a friend put it.
The sun came out on the last day of our [...]
January 28, 2010
Now to the biggest, best farming conference in the West!
Monterey Bay/Asilomar, EcoFarm Conference Jan 20-23
Before the conference started, we needed a place to stay for night or two before we were given our designated rooms on the conference grounds and were blessed with a place to stay beachside. (A big thanks to the Bakke family [...]
January 28, 2010
We are right in the middle of our travels!
Santa Cruz Jan 18
On the road again and the rain started coming down – pouring from the sky in torrents. We aren’t used to rain like this!
It was certainly a wet and wild drive! Our next stop before the EcoFarm Conference was Santa Cruz to meet John [...]
January 27, 2010
Meadow Vista Jan 17-18
Saying our goodbyes to all the wonderful folks at Nevada City Wild & Scenic Festival (read all about it in case you missed it!), it was time to mosey down the mountain to a little one stoplight town nestled amongst the pines, Meadow Vista, where we were to meet up with a [...]
January 27, 2010
We are home!! OK, I know I said that already…
We thank God for a safe trip ( driving in the rain is no fun – an not very safe!)
Anyhow, it’s good to be back to the crazy life here on the urban homestead. I know may of you are anxiously waiting for the weekly meal [...]
January 20, 2010
The new Urban Farm Magazine dropped by and did a brief interview with city farmgirl, Jordanne, and city farmer, “D.”
The Dervaes Family: Pioneering the Urban Farm
Take a tour of the Dervaes family’s urban homestead in Pasadena, Calif.
In the bustling city of Pasadena, Calif., lives a family of urban-farm pioneers. Jules Dervaes has spent more than [...]
January 14, 2010
Whoosh. That’s the sound of time flying by!
Where does the time go? One week, turns into two and I am already behind in putting up our weekly meals. Father time is going to need to slow down a bit.
Given that we are smack dab in the middle of winter and enjoying fresh [...]
January 13, 2010
Before we head up North (check out our itinerary of places we’ll be) here’s another pictorial dispatch from the urban homefront.
After the early cold snap, we’ve been enjoying some beautiful weather (yep, just in time for all those hoards of out of towners) Thanks to our beautiful weather, we probably have another slew of folks [...]
January 10, 2010
My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there. ~Indira Gandhi
Deselected Because of Principles
Unfortunately, we won’t be traveling to Sonoma Film Festival due the fact that the [...]
