Back to Basics: Why homesteading is finding a new generation
- Claire Inkson
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
There is a loaf of fresh bread cooling on the bench, children collecting eggs outside and herbs growing in pots by the door.
For many New Zealanders, that kind of life once felt old-fashioned. Now, amid rising food prices and growing interest in slower, simpler living, homesteading is making a comeback.
But according to Waikato mum Laura MacDonald of The Kiwi Country Girl, modern homesteading is less about perfection and more about practicality.
“I think that homesteading at any level is going to make a difference to easing the pressure of rising food costs,” she said.
“And not necessarily suddenly running out to start milking a cow and growing all of your own food. Starting in your kitchen with the basics is always the best place to start.”
MacDonald grew up on a farm and says rural living has always been part of who she is.
“I grew up on a farm so it’s really all I’ve ever known. I lived in town when I was at university and then in the UK for a couple of years, but I think I always knew I would end up back on the land.”
Today she lives with husband Josh and their four children - Sadie, Macey, Finn and Monty - on a one-hectare lifestyle block in Waikato, where the family raises chickens, pigs and lambs while growing much of their own food.
The property sits alongside Josh’s family farm and over the past 12 years the couple have slowly built the life they once imagined.
“When we first moved back to NZ after living overseas we ended up where we are now ... and we just slowly started figuring it out,” she said.
“We started with chickens and a small veggie garden and it quickly expanded to a larger garden, pigs and preserving some food and over the last 12 years we’ve just kept learning and adding new things along the way.”
MacDonald first began sharing that journey online through a blog called The Weekend Homesteader, later rebranding as The Kiwi Country Girl documenting the successes, failures and lessons learned along the way.
What began as simple posts about gardening and learning to live off the land gradually evolved into recipes, preserving, homemade pantry staples and eventually a thriving online community.
“I started sharing more made from scratch recipes and it grew from there along with our family,” she said.
“The community that has built up alongside my website, membership and social media platforms is incredible. Lots of us on the same journey together and now that we are more seasoned homesteaders, lots of newbies too.”
Importantly, MacDonald is quick to remove some of the polished social media gloss often associated with homesteading culture.
“So much didn’t work!” she laughed of those early years.
“We went in with a lot of confidence and more time than we have now but not a lot of knowledge, so we made a lot of mistakes and learnt a lot along the way.”
That realism is part of what resonates with followers increasingly searching for practical ways to reduce supermarket spending.
MacDonald says one of the biggest misconceptions is that self-sufficiency has to happen all at once.
Instead, she encourages people to start small.
“Have a look in your pantry and see what you are buying that you could make instead,” she said.
“Things like spice mixes are a really great place to start and save you a huge amount of money.”
Her second piece of advice is simple: grow something.
“Grow a few herbs or salad greens, even in a planter box.”
And third?
“Get chickens! They are the ultimate homestead animal in my opinion - easy care, and they turn food waste into delicious fresh eggs!”
For the MacDonald family, homemade basics now make up a significant part of their household food supply.
“Making bread and bread products like pizza bases, bagels, English muffins and sourdough, homemade yoghurt, spice mixes and baking like muesli bars, crackers and other baking,” she said.
“We save a lot of money at the supermarket because we are mostly buying ingredients rather than ready made food.”
One recent calculation particularly stood out.
“I worked out the other day that to make a batch of my bagels (8 bagels) cost $1.08 cents in ingredients as opposed to $8 to purchase 8 bagels from the supermarket.”
Still, MacDonald is careful not to oversell the lifestyle as a quick fix.
“A lot of the time things can be expensive to set up,” she said.
“By the time you build a garden, fill it with good soil and compost, buy seeds/seed raising equipment and tools etc, your set up cost can be quite high, but once you are established you can keep your costs really low.”
Nor is it necessarily about saving time.
“I don’t think time-saving is really something that you strive for when you are homesteading,” she said.
“It’s almost never quicker to make something from scratch than it is to open a packet.”
“But the reason for us doing it is not to save time, it’s the quality of what we are making and growing, enjoying a slower pace of life and having an appreciation for doing it or making it yourself.”
That slower pace is also central to how the family is raising their children.
“It has always been really important to us that we raise kids who know where their food comes from and how to produce it,” she said.
“I think that everyone should have basic skills like knowing how to cook, grow food, care for animals and how to use tools and sew on a button!”
She believes part of the growing appeal of homesteading is that it reconnects people with the rhythms of seasons, food production and family life in a way modern life often doesn’t.
“I think it makes you appreciate all of these things more and it gives you a real understanding of working with seasons and nature rather than against them,” she said.
“Growing your own food takes time - so much time! From the time you plant the seed to when you actually harvest the food, you are talking weeks if not months, so it gives you a real appreciation for how it happens. Plus, the process really is so magical!”
“The same goes for raising animals for meat. And being able to do it with your family, show your kids the process and then harvest, cook and eat it together really puts into perspective what is truly important.”
While homesteading has long been associated with rural communities, MacDonald says she is increasingly seeing interest from urban New Zealanders trying to bring pieces of that lifestyle into suburban homes and town sections.
“I think homesteading has always attracted a really diverse group of people, but what I’ve noticed lately is that more people who live in towns and cities are trying to see how they can bring homesteading practices into their lives, even without living on land which I think is amazing!”
She believes the movement is being driven by a combination of economic pressure and a deeper desire to reconnect with food, family and a slower way of living.
“I think a lot of people are feeling the pinch and are looking for ways to save some money where they can, but I am also seeing a lot of people who want to get back to a more simple way of living.”
For MacDonald, the goal is not perfection or complete independence.
“It’s not something that is achievable overnight,” she said.
“But I think if you have that as your end goal, it is absolutely achievable to become mostly self-sufficient, and I love the idea of leaning on your community and small local businesses and growers to fill the gaps where you can’t quite get there on your own.”
And perhaps most importantly:
“Realising that even if you are not quite doing it all on your own, that is not failing!”
Follow Laura on Instagram @thekiwicountrygirl
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