We are a team that truly believe in living a self-sufficient lifestyle. We use the techniques, products, passions and rituals that we write about in our everyday lives. This is OUR PURPOSE; To help you live yours!
Awaneechee
I grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas in California. Although always out in nature, our upbringing was mainly, a consumer based one. Our parents instilled in us a strong work ethic and fierce sense of Independence.
So it was no surprise when we packed up the family and moved two thousand miles to escape the vicious pay check to pay check life. To our frustration, almost a year after the move we had not escaped it. We were already very frugal and never found much joy in extravagant outings or items. As we discussed new possibilities, the ideas began to fall like dominoes until the only conclusion for us, was a homesteading lifestyle.
For me it was like falling in love. I had never understood what people meant by “finding your passion” until now.
Not only has this lifestyle allowed us to provide for and enjoy our ever growing family; it has also led us to what many call the Red Road or Pagan Path. To honor the many ancestors of our mixed family we follow both, although I consider them one in the same.
The road to your dreams is often rough, ours come true where the grass dirt and gravel meet, at our Rough Road Homestead.
StarGazer
I was raised in the desert southwest in a very “traditional” family. My family was a very devoutly Catholic household, that valued, not just a strong work ethic, but a very unsustainable level of consumerism. From an early age, I felt like I didn’t belong to “society” as it was presented to me. As a young adult, I sought out many different experiences in lifestyle and spirituality. I had been instilled with drive and determination, but I knew that society’s definition of success would never make me happy. So, I set out to find my passion and purpose.
Through quite a misspent youth, I developed several debilitating health issues. At 45, I spent almost 3 years bedridden on a liquid diet. I have always felt like my purpose was in healing, especially working in behavioral health, which I did before getting sick. What a catalyst!!
That was 4 years ago, and my health journey has included an almost complete divorce from western medicine, a complete change in the way I fuel my body and following my instincts to get up and move. I changed, literally, everything. The realization that what I put in and, on my body, was killing me lead me to an increasingly natural lifestyle. The fact that what we are being sold is poisoning us, led me to this. The need to share this information far and wide, so that, hopefully, nobody else would have to go through what I did. I believe there is a much more sustainable way to live life, through homesteading, herbalism and NATURAL living. This philosophy leads me back to the pagan roots I discovered when I first left home.
I hope that anyone who reads this or is going through something similar feels comfortable enough to reach out. I am willing to teach anyone how to take responsibility for your health, your life and your wellbeing. Blessed be!
Gaia's Sanctorum 