The Dervaes Family are made up of Father Jules, Son Justin and Daughters Anais and Jordanne. Each with their own talent (Anais is the self proclaimed chef whilst Justin is a ‘jack of all trades’), they have chosen the city of Pasadena as their urban farming haven where they grow an incredible variety of vegetables, as well as keeping a range of animals ranging from ducks to pygmy goats – they even have their own beehive housing a swarm of wild bees! And all this on an unfathomable 1/10 acre of land.
With their goal to collectively reduce their family’s environmental footprint they believe it will take ‘nothing less than a revolution for humanity to achieve its full potential’. Whilst that may sound a little intimidating this family have taken their ambitious ideas, and indeed ideals, and applied them at ground level, making urban farming for the masses seem entirely achievable.
What is immediately apparent from perusing this site is the overwhelming sense of community – real life and cyber. The passion they exude is palpable in every aspect of their lifestyle. By bringing back skills and crafts that have albeit been lost in current culture, they are striving for a return to simpler ways that cause much less destruction to the planet. Plus, who wouldn’t want to learn how to make their own soap and candles or be able to turn their hand to carpentry?
From their energy conservation measures, which extend to what they call ‘powering down’ through to water conservation (no long daily showers for this lot!) and simple strategies ranging from staycationing and natural beauty (these girls promote the make-up free look), this family haven’t left any stone unturned when it comes to sustainability.
Even if you admire what they do but feel you can’t implement their practices into your own life (excuses, excuses…), maybe you can take away with you some of the underlying positive sentiments such as ‘being a good neighbour’. Better still, spread the Homestead message within your own community and like these urban farming pioneers understand that to move forward we must look back and reintroduce these traditional skills.
In their words: The Future is now. The choice is ours. We couldn’t agree more.
Follow their wonderful blog Little Homestead in the City
