The First-Time Homesteader has all the essential information you need to start a homestead in the city, country, or suburbia, including advice on gardening, raising chickens, keeping bees, starting a home dairy, and living more resourcefully.



Are you striving for improved self-reliance and self-sufficiency for yourself and your family? Author Jessica Sowards of YouTube’s Roots & Refuge Farm is the warm and welcoming guide you’ve been waiting for.

Homesteading is a mindset and a lifestyle aimed at living lightly on the land, being more resourceful, appreciating the value of hard work, and understanding the diverse and amazing connections between humans and the planet we live on. Homesteaders constantly strive for a more sustainable life and a greater connection to the cycles of nature and the foods and goods we consume. Starting your very first homestead is a journey of discovery and passion that’s also likely filled with questions and what-ifs. In The First-Time Homesteader, Jessica fills in all the blanks with honesty, humor, and charm.

Now you can take those first and most valuable steps toward establishing your own homestead with a seasoned homesteader at your side. Jessica warmly guides you through the process of setting up your property (no matter how small or large), establishing a garden, welcoming animals into the fold, living more resourcefully, and expanding your homestead kitchen tools and skills with grace and confidence.

Start your first homestead with lessons on:

• Raising chickens for meat and eggs
• Starting and operating a home dairy
• Housing, fencing, and processing advice for meat animals
• Planning and planting your homestead vegetable garden
• Keeping bees for honey, pollination, and beeswax
• Stocking your medicine cabinet with useful herbs and home remedies
• Living a resourceful existence by reusing and repurposing
• Stocking the kitchen with all the tools and techniques you need for success

You don’t have to live off-grid or give up contemporary conveniences to homestead. You just have to have the desire to live a more thoughtful and fulfilling life. Take your very first step today, hand in hand with an experienced and enthusiastic guide in The First-Time Homesteader.