Episode description

Hi, friend.

Did you get on the sourdough bandwagon during COVID?

Sourdough baking trended in 2020 while we all sat in our individual homes, looking for ways to feel productive, and, according to Google search trends, it’s still having a renaissance moment.

Like a lot of aspiring sourdough-ers, I failed repeatedly at sourdough starter and nearly gave up entirely.

That is, until my guest this week, Laura Lemon of Hippiebilly Homestead — a plant-based urban homesteader in Columbus, Ohio with a background in nutrition science and public health — got me on the right track and, via Instagram, fielded my questions about feeding a starter.

And, now …

Later, Laura and I connected more deeply over our shared history of preeclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy complication that affects blood pressure and can lead to strokes, seizures, organ failure, and premature birth, even death.

Another similarity Laura and I share is that we turned to nature to heal our reproductive trauma. Specifically, we both threw ourselves into gardening. The practice of growing food, nurturing plants, and tending the soil does something for the aching heart and mind.

Laura’s core belief is that anyone can participate in homesteading practices by starting small, whether it be with a single potted plant or finding your local municipal composting site.

Last year, she started to offer classes on her homestead for preschoolers to learn to grow food. She also built a **sick** mud kitchen for her kiddos and students, and found homesteading to be an enormous source of postpartum healing after experiencing birth trauma with both of her children.

And she had a goat named Crybaby.

Laura’s a homesteader. I consider myself a hobby farmer. And, here, we tread dangerously close to other hot-button labels, like:

* Tradwife — “traditional wife;” a woman who believes in traditional gender roles and marriage; this term became mainstream in the 2020s as tradwife influencers grew followings on social media; they’re often criticized for romanticizing the oppression of women

* Doomsday prepper — someone who hoards resources for protection against a catastrophic event; sometimes called a “survivalist”

Here’s my shot at a Venn diagram:

Sourdough in particular lives at the center of at least two of these circles. And I’ve even found myself identifying with other women saying:

I know I’m making sourdough, but please do not mistake me as a tradwife.

Because “homesteading” and its associated labels often have political connotations, the central question I posed to Laura in this episode was:

"Can homesteading support women's health, healing, and mental wellbeing while challenging traditional gender roles?"

I was thinking here specifically about Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm, the (in)famous influencer who, in my opinion, particularly since she graced the cover of Evie magazine last week, belongs in the homesteader-tradwife subcategory. She’s been accused of “poverty cosplay” and promoting submission to men, among other things.

→ (Read more from Sara Petersen at In Pursuit of Clean Countertops)

In this episode, Laura and I talked about:

* the overlapping spheres of homesteading, hobby farming, influencers, and tradwives

* postpartum healing and community after birth trauma

* teaching appreciation for food and gender equality in the kitchen

Time stamps

* 7:26: Raising kids on a homestead

* 10:31: Is #slowliving realistic?

* 14:02: Critique of the tradwife movement

* 20:16: The journey to homesteading

* 26:40: Community support for postpartum moms

* 29:00: Being a homestead influencer

What’s in Laura’s bag?

* Moleskine journal

* Robin Wall Kimmerer’s new book, The Serviceberry

* Fruit pouches

* Diapers

Thanks for listening and reading!

Tiffany Torres Williams returns on our next episode to talk more about how purity culture affects our brains and bodies.

Catch Part 1 with Tiffany here: S1E2 Virgin to Vixen on Your Wedding Night

Anywayyy, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving if you celebrated it. Let’s talk soon!

— Micah

P.S. Wanna continue this convo? Join me for our free online Women’s Sharing Circles. Our next one is Dec. 10, and the topic is “Feminine Rage.”

🗓️ Dec. 10, 1-2p ET / 10a-11a PT