You’ve got chickens, raised beds, and a pantry mess. Perhaps you’ve even got a side hustle that brings in some money. Instead of feeling proud or free, you feel… behind. Tired. Like you missed the memo on how to actually pull this off.
No one talks about this part of Homesteading: the phase where you’ve opted out of the system but haven’t quite built the life that works for you. The hard truth is, this is what makes homesteaders quit.
You are not lazy or unmotivated, you’re overwhelmed, isolated, and chasing too many things at once.
The Part You Don’t See on Instagram
This is the stage of the homesteading journey that gets edited out:
- The half-built fences.
- The fermenting project you forgot on the shelf.
- The canner YOU ARE AFRAID OF still in the box.
You leave the J-O-B to start your homestead and suddenly realize it’s harder than you thought. When you look for help you either get vague advice or a 300-video playlist that makes you feel more behind.
That’s why The Holler Homestead exists and why we launched the Holler Hub project. You can come visit but you won’t see an Insta-ready retreat. We are a working homestead that’s made about every mistake in the book. We are still learning, rebuilding, and sharing so that you can avoid some of our mishaps!
You get to learn in the middle of it from real people doing real things.
What Is This Place?
The Holler Homestead is a place where your nervous system can finally downshift. As part of the Hub project, you come here and feel the peace, get some quiet.
From this quiet, the solutions start to show up.
You might come for a canning class, or a rabbit processing workshop, a short-term rental, or just to sit under the shade tarp and talk through your next step with someone who gets it. You won’t be making your five-year plan. Instead, we get to your next step. Perhaps you even are handed a canning lid, or have a conversation. If you time things right, you will get to taste a locally-sourced charcuterie lunch.
It doesn’t matter what you try. What matters is leaving with a mind that’s clearer and YOUR NEXT STEP.
I’ve been homesteading here for 18 years and taught hundreds of people, helped organize national events like Self-Reliance Festival, and built this into a hub in a much larger network of doers: People just like you, all across the country and around the world.
You’re Not Alone – We Love This Lifestyle Too!
That’s the part most folks don’t expect. You show up thinking it’s about learning a skill, and you realize it’s also about belonging. You meet people who compost like you do. Who’ve been scared of pressure canners. Who’ve felt the same quiet desperation and finally decided to do something about it.
The Holler Homestead isn’t just Nicole Sauce on her land. It’s a community of thousands of people connected through classes, meetups, podcasts, festivals, and old-fashioned word-of-mouth. It’s a place where knowledge is shared, questions are welcome, and nobody’s pretending they’ve got it all figured out.
This Lifestyle Is Not for Everyone, But It Might Be for You
If you’re looking for a Insta-pretty influencer or a picture-perfect plan, this isn’t your place. But if you’re looking for clarity, connection, and a way to move forward with your hands in the dirt and your mind at peace — then it just might be.
Because YOUR answer probably isn’t in another podcast, YouTube rabbit hole, or Pinterest board.
It’s in a real place with real people where things finally click.
Come spend a day, learn a skill, and leave with your shoulders down, your mind clear, and a next step that actually fits your life.