Embrace Self-Sufficiency: Kickstart Your Modern Homesteading Adventure

Have you ever wanted to learn how to do any of the following?

• Make sourdough bread
• Ferment vegetables
• Keep bees or chickens
• Compost kitchen and yard waste
• Grow better vegetables
• Start a small family orchard
• Participate in the barter economy

If you answered yes to even one of these questions, you may be interested in an upcoming series of workshops and programs that will teach you hands-on skills. 

The University of Illinois Extension staff in Bloomington, Illinois is excited to announce the launch of  the “Modern Homesteading & Self-Sufficiency” workshop series. The series will kick off with a two-session program on Wednesday August 21st from 5:00-7:30PM at the McLean County Extension Office. This session will be available in-person or online for free.

In the first session, Maggie Ray, Extension Program Coordinator in Murphysboro, Illinois and a Southern IL homesteader, will guide program participants through three important ideas. 

• Finding Your “Why” – why do you want to learn modern homesteading skills?
• Realistic Goalsetting – how to begin this lifestyle without getting carried away
• Time Management – how to incorporate these skills into already-busy lives

Nick Frillman, Extension Educator in Bloomington, will be teaching the second session. In this session, he will cover how to start new and productive garden beds for the 2025 growing season by using cover crops in late summer, fall, and winter of 2024. Nick will cover:

• High-labor and low-labor options for creating new garden beds using cover crops
• Various cover crop species to use for different situations 
• Methods for quickly establishing and easily terminating cover crops 
• Common household and garden materials to aid the cover crop establishment process

In this series of programs, we will strive to have a hands-on component of the class, or a hands-on homework assignment to reinforce learning objectives. For this session, in-person participants will have the option to buy enough cover crop seed to sow a 12’ x 12’ garden patch, for a cost of $10 cash or check. 

The next three workshops after the August 21st launch event will be:

Unity Community Garden Tour Day – Ginger, Cover Crops, Vegetable Tips and More

• Thursday, September 5th, 10:00am to 11am OR 5:30pm to 6:30pm (choose one) – Normal, IL

How to Make Mead (a.k.a. Honey Wine) – with Central Illinois Beekeeping Association

• Saturday, September 14th, 4:00pm to 5:30pm (time subject to change) – Heyworth, IL

Introduction to Sausage-Making – Bulk Sausage, Casing Basics, and More with Slow Hand BBQ 

• Early October, date and time TBD – Peoria, IL

Future workshops will occur in Bloomington-Normal, Fairbury, Eureka, Peoria, Pontiac, Champaign-Urbana, Atlanta, LaSalle-Peru, and elsewhere. Contact Nick to be notified about future programs.

Our goal is to teach practical skills that can enhance household resilience and build a supportive community in Central Illinois for modern homesteaders. This community will provide a platform for sharing ideas, recipes, strategies, stories, and experiences.  Check out our first event to learn more. 

To register for our first session and/or others, please contact Nick Frillman at 309.663.8306 or by emailing frillma2@illinois.edu