There is no denying that homesteading interests are on the rise in our country (and abroad). The notion that we should take more responsibility for our own food supply and other necessities has increased since the pandemic. That global event made a great number of people realize there are weaknesses in our current society and supply chain. With this interest, we have seen an increase in homesteading conferences across the country. Via a partnership with our local conservation district, Red Tool House Homestead, is co-hosting the first ever Homesteading-ISH (In Search of Help) conference this fall in Charleston, WV.

The conference will be a two day event Friday, September 13th and Saturday, September 14th at Bible Center Church. Tickets will go on sale in March and can be purchased online then at homesteading-ish.com.

We are excited to have some great speakers lined up including Joel Salatin, Beth and Shawn Dougherty, and Josh Draper (Stoney Ridge Farmer). More will be announced in the near future.

So, with all the other conferences, why are we getting involved with another one? This is the first one in WV. Homesteading in WV is a unique challenge due to the terrain and limited availability of homesteading resources (livestock, veterinarians, etc). The Capitol Conservation District has an incredible amount of resources to craft a quality conference that will provide great information for anyone looking to be more self reliant on their land.

Another reason for this conference is that more people are moving to WV for this very reason. Technology is allowing people to move to more rural areas and still be able to work higher end jobs remotely. This makes cheap land in the most rural parts of WV accessible to more people. Also, our WV Ag Department is seeing the benefits WV has to offer for small farms and they are investing time and money in helping those farms get established. We find more and more people interested in the homesteading life in WV so we thought it would be best to provide local answers.

I am super excited about this event and will share more about it in the coming months here and on our channel. If you have any questions or suggestions for the event, don’t hesitate to comment or send me a message via our contact form. Kelly and I hope to see you all there!