Shaun and Donna Ferreira left city life behind in the pursuit of a more self-sustainable lifestyle; they share what “homesteading” looks like in South Africa.
Free State, South Africa (02 May 2024) – Four years ago, Shaun and Donna Ferreira packed up their car with simple items to live on the road, sold up their life in Benoni and set off on a 3-month journey to find a plot of land near a river that they could turn into a homestead. Homesteading grew in popularity during the pandemic years, leaving people around the world inspired to live a more self-sustaining lifestyle.
Speaking to the homesteading couple, we learned that they hope to inspire more South Africans to take up this lifestyle and grow the community.
After three months of living from their car, the couple found a space of land, a beautiful 4-hectare plot, nestled between several private game farms. They started setting up the homestead so they could grow their own food, harvest their own water and draw power from South Africa’s beloved sunshine.
Being 12 km from the nearest small town, self-sufficiency is key!
“From just land and nothing, we have built our home, our space here, and continue to grow and build”
“It’s been a crazy wild adventure in all forms”
“We now have 14 cows, 16 goats, 4 ostrich, about 80 chickens, 3 turkeys, 3 fallow dear, 4 sheep and 2 dogs”
To grow food, especially in the Free State, they set up three grow tunnels as well as gardens throughout the property. They have started planting food trees and other plants to help them on their journey to a self-sustainable life.
Shaun shares that there isn’t a day that goes by that they miss city life. They are enthralled by all their space has to offer. It has not come without its challenges. They have had to learn to manage poor soil, tend sickly animals, overcome flooding and brace for extreme weather.
Homesteading is growing in popularity and it thrives on community, which is what Shaun and Donna are working to establish. They run their Facebook page where they share all the highs and lows of life removed from the city. They currently engage with more than 13,000 people who are keen to follow their life on the homestead as well as glean advice and support.
When asked what advice the couple would share for hopeful homesteaders, they insist that being debt-free is the way to go and that having good start-up capital helps get established. They also share that having a wide variety of skills is key because you are going it alone, and a plumber isn’t just a phone call away.
“It’s best to learn how to do things yourself, like solar, plumbing, building and everything you can, as it costs alot for others to come put and do it for you and like us when you are quite far out it costs even more”
The question many South Africans will be thinking is, “Is it safe?”.
“To tell you the truth we have never felt safer, we sleep with house doors and windows open, we leave the car keys in the ignition and in 4 years we have not had one issue”
“However, we are security conscious, me being a security consultant.
“We have security beams around the house and we are also both armed… but again never felt more safe in our lives… we believe the less people around the better.. .and here are not many people, just more animals”
A day in the life of a homesteading family:
We wanted to know what Shaun and Donna get up to in a day. Their days definitely look very different to the average South African but for those dreaming of this lifestyle, here is what you can expect:
“It’s quite busy 😅 normally, morning the 1st thing we do is have a coffee ☕️ then at around 6 or 7, we let the chickens out the coops, then we have tea, at 8, we let the cows and sheep out into our neighbour’s field which is about 17 hectares.
Then it’s clean house and tidy up, the rest of the day I am busy watering, fixing, weeding, planting or anything else that needs to be done and around 5 pm we let the cows come back to our side.
Donna my wife brings the chickens back into what we call thier run area around the coops, and then she milks the cows.
Then after all that we normally sit on our deck, chat and watch the wildlife we have here and then make dinner, finally chill watching something on YouTube or music or a series or movie… off to bed and start again in the morning.”
When it comes to finances, diversification is key. Shaun shares that they have various income streams. From selling eggs, butter, milk and vegetables, to managing online work. The next goal for the couple is to set up an accommodation spot on the property where people can rent for short stays and holiday getaways while experiencing the full homesteading lifestyle.
Donna is also a phenomenal baker, so she sells her bread and milk tarts to people in their community. She also established a small merchandising company to cater to their growing online community’s wishes.
All in all, Shaun and Donna are loving life and they hope to inspire others to join the move from city life to one of self-sustainability. If you would like to follow their journey, you can do so here. Shaun has hinted that a YouTube channel may be in the works for the future, so stay tuned!
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