About

OUR MISSION

Our desire is to help as many people as possible live healthy, simple, sustainable lives.

We share stories, wisdom, and practical advice from seasoned homesteaders with years of hardened experience. Through their stories, we hope to inspire a new generation of modern homesteaders.

And through preserving traditions and re-establishing lost skills, we’ve built a supportive network of people who are empowered to lead lives of abundance.

Everyone has more control over their food, health, and lives than they realize.

How We Started

Homestead Living was born from the vision of two people — Melissa K. Norris and Darrell Vesterfelt.

Melissa is a 5th-generation homesteader who needed business advice. Darrell — whose family farmed for generations — had become an expert in helping companies grow their business.

After years of dreaming, they launched Homestead Living to inspire as many people as possible to take greater control of their life, food, health, and land.

At Homestead Living, our foundation rests on a set of simple values.

We work hard. We believe in the power of story. We’re humble stewards.

We bootstrapped this company and have hustled to keep it growing. We’re down to earth and we do our best to be genuine and generous.

We’re committed to this beautiful movement. And so very excited that you’re here.

Our Contributors

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Alexa Heung
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Allison Michael
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Alyona Demyanchuk
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Amie Torkelson
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Amy Fewell
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Angela Ferraro-Fanning
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Anna Sakawsky
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Anne Briggs
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Barbora Batokova
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Beau Davidson
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Bevin Cohen
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Brandon Sheard
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Carolyn Thomas
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Carrie Wilson
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CeAnne Kosel
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Corina Ross
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Cyndi Ball
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Dawn Combs
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Dawn Crocker
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Deborah Niemann
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Donna Stoll
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Dr. Patrick Jones
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Emilie Toups
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Esther Munroe
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Eve Kilcher
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Georgia Varozza
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Hank Shaw
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Homestead Living
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Jacob Lauser
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Janet Garman
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Jason Contreras
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Jeff Anderson
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Jeremy Chambers
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Jessica Spiers
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Jill McSheehy
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Jill Winger
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Joel Salatin
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Justin Rhodes
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Kayla Adams
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Kaylee Richardson
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Kristen Davidson
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Kristin Graves
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Laine Rhodes
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Laura Gilmour
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Laurie Neverman
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Lindsay Hamby
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Lisa Bass
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Lisa Steele
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Lora Bennett & Kammie DeGhetto
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Mary Shrader
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Melissa K. Norris
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Merissa Alink
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Michael Smith
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Michelle Fraser
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Mike Dickson
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Morgan Gold
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Nikki Conley
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Rachel Hester
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Rachel Porter
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Robin Greenfield
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Robyn Jackson
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Rory Feek
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Sara Dahmen
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Sean Jennings
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Shanon Brooks
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Shawn & Beth Dougherty
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Sophia Eng
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Stephanie Haglund
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Suzanne Tabert
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Tammy Trayer
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Tim Eng
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Timothy Hammond
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Tom Watkins
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Tracy Lynn
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Trevor Pickett
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Will Harris

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Who’s Behind Homestead Living

Founder

Melissa K. Norris

Melissa K. Norris is a 5th generation homesteader, who lives with her husband and two children in the Pacific Northwest of Washington state.

Founder and CEO

Darrell Vesterfelt

Darrell grew up on 100+ acres of Michigan farm before moving away for college. As a young man, Darrell found that he had a knack for business and he loved helping people.

Director of Operations

Troy Klongerbo

Troy guides day-to-day operations of Homestead Living, ensuring that the company’s impactful work is reached by the people who value it.

Director of Publishing

Jeremy Stevens

Jeremy takes lead on all editorial for Homestead Living — from the newsletter, to the print magazines, to all of our books — to ensure that every story is well told.

Sr. Solutions Analyst

Melissa Thorpe

To make sure everything functions properly with our technology stack, Melissa is our expert. She lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband and two children.

PM, Administration & Support

Felicity Fields

The friendly face is behind our customer support emails and contributor communication. Felicity’s energy and organization for working with people matches the passion she has for her backyard homesteading efforts in Oklahoma.

Communication

Robert Bruce

Robert is our communications master, connecting with our audience via emails and website copy. He and his wife live on a 1 acre farmette in Oregon.

Community Coordination

Amanda Kroening

Amanda is the friendly face answering your inquiries and comments on Facebook and Instagram as well as creating social content to share with our community.

What does Homestead Living do?

What started as a digital, quarterly magazine published online rapidly grew to the point of offering an annual printed collector’s edition, a monthly subscription (with both print and digital offerings), and other educational resources geared toward inspiring the modern homesteading movement.

Explore our monthly subscription here.

Explore our annual prints here.

Shop our books here.

Our north star is to create a platform to tell the stories of folks with dirt under their fingernails and calloused hands.

Our work is for homesteaders, by homesteaders.