In 2012, Lloyd Minick and Michael Hanan started an urban homestead. Eight years later, Ten Acre Organics is a prime example of self-sustainability and self-sufficiency. With an eye for promoting a mindset of growing one’s own food and getting back to basics, they’ve managed to build a model that cuts costs and fosters a growing community.
If supplying your own energy and growing your own food has been in the back of your mind as of late, this Texas Hill Country-based enterprise might be the study in progress you’ll want to look into. With COVID-19 and the Coronavirus on everyone’s lips, cutting costs and eliminating food waste while sustaining your family is something for which Ten Acre Organics can provide assistance. Community gardens and city homesteaders can be seen in every American urban center. Rain barrels and solar panels have been employed for years by those enthused with the concept of self-sustainability, and Hanan and Minick can help if you’re wanting to learn more.
Video: YouTube/CentralTexasGardener
Shared on the CentralTexasGardener YouTube channel, this video of the Ten Acre Organics urban micro farm was posted in 2014. According to the interview, Minick and Hanan were driven by the concept of self-sustainability. Their small urban farm is situated on just one-tenth of an acre in East Austin, in the Texas Hill Country. Growing vegetables and fruits, making use of an aquaponics system, and raising chickens, this urban homestead model requires 90 percent less space and uses 90% less water than a traditional farm. It’s also less labor-intensive and uses less non-renewable resources in comparison to traditional agricultural practices.
As Ten Acre Organics began to produce more, they started to benefit other households, giving back directly to neighbors, and then to the city of Austin. Their growth has not slowed this pair of urban homestead pioneers in their goal of educating others of their experience on a global level. In a report from 2016, the two were working to take their model of “fresh, healthy, and sustainable food production” to the world. They regularly provide information on homesteading in both small- and large-scale ways. Their model makes use of less natural resources and is less time-consuming, while maintaining great output. If you’re looking into homesteading processes of your own here in Texas, this is a great place to start.
