Jade Miles - Futuresteading: Live like tomorrow matters: Practical skills, recipes and rituals for a simpler life

FOR MUM, CHERRY
A ROCK FOR ALL TIME.

You are a solver of problems, an endless
giver of self, a clear and calm thinker,
and assertive in spades - but fair to the ends of
the Earth. My luck in getting you in natures
draw has been my secret power since 1977.
I learned most of it from you.

This book was scribed on Pallanganmiddang Country.

Its breathtakingly beautiful, and fertile beyond imagination. Its our home.

On this patch weve realised our lifelong dream of planting and nurturing a heritage orchard and berry farm. Our practices are regenerative, and we mimic Mother Nature in every way we can. Weve made our mark on this land; as the years plod on and generations pass, we hope that these well-intentioned actions bear fruit.

But thats just our story.

What I cant tell you is the story of this land before white settlement. I dont know how the hills rolled, where the creek flowed, how the sun fell, which plants and animals flourished, or what kinds of patterns and pathways were made by the people who walked this country for tens of thousands of years.

This land is stolen. Our forefathers rewrote the rules to separate people from place - people who are inseparable from place. For all of the work that our family has done, its little more than a hiccup within the timeless stewardship of First Nations peoples.

Today, I acknowledge that this place I call home was never ceded. Whatever the piece of paper says, we cannot own this land demarcated by palings and wire any more than we can own the sun, air or birdsong.

As current custodians, we pledge to learn as much as we can about its Indigenous past, especially the stories and wisdom of those who came before us. We stand in awe and recognition of the rich culture that propagated and maintained a complex food-production system on this brittle continent for countless generations; it is a way of landscape-scale farming that we may never fully comprehend. We cannot heal the damage, but we will spend our lifetime trying.

Jade Miles and husband Charlie Showers run Black Barn Farm,
a biodiverse orchard, nursery and workshop space in north
east Victoria which is a magnet for visitors to learn about
permaculture, homesteading, as well as to pick-their-own from
some of the 98 varieties of heritage fruit and berries. Jade
co-hosts the weekly Futuresteading podcast with Catie Payne,
is active in the media about living regeneratively, hosts
schools programs and sits on a number of boards in the name
of reconnecting us to nature, food and a simpler existence.

Futuresteading is a practical and inspirational guide to living in a way that values tomorrow: a slower, simpler, steadier existence that is healthier for you, your home and the environment.

Whether you live in a city apartment, in the suburbs or on twenty acres, the principles of futuresteading offer easy-to-understand information and hands-on ideas. Learn to grow delicious food and medicinal plants; share rituals with loved ones through the seasons; feast on healthy home-cooked food for the family; nourish body and soul with outdoor expeditions and moments of rest; and create wonders with your hands.

This welcoming handbook begins by showing how futuresteading works in an accessible and practical explainer, before venturing through six seasonal chapters Awakening, Alive, High heat, Harvest, The turning and Deep chill filled with inspiration for the garden, including year-round produce tips and DIY projects, along with 30+ rewarding recipes for slow, nourishing and easy meals.

Grow, store, eat, preserve and share food that deepens the connections you have with your household, your soil and those around you.

CONTENTS

Preface

On fire time for change

LET ME TAKE YOU BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF 2020

3 January

As the mushrooming clouds of bushfire smoke threatened villages in our valley and the evacuation notices went out, it suddenly got real.

Charlies day out fighting fires yesterday was long and hard, and something in his voice was adamant when he asked me not to be here with the kids tomorrow while he is not here but in the bush. I resisted, of course, but actually he is right. So Im prepping, packing the car, moving the horses out and kissing the geese, chickens and sheep on the heads, wishing them luck and heading off. Our cars are full of petrol, our phones are charged, our fire box with woollen blankets and coats plus emergency rations is by the door, and I have a battery-operated radio. Ive got the emergency app on my phone, and Im alert with a plan of action in the back of my mind. Am I being overcautious? Having someone in our household who works in fire management not only heightens our sense of responsibility but also means that we must be prepared at home so he can be sure his family is safe while he is away at another fire.

DO YOU HAVE A FIRE PLAN?

6 January

Each day is the same but not the same! At daybreak, he dons the smoky clothes that he dumped by the door at the end of his 12-, 14-, 16-hour shift the night before, and leaves for more of the same. Where is he today? I dont know. What time will he be back? Late? I dont know. How long will these fires burn? I dont know. Is he safe? I dont know that either. He assures me they are well trained and always put safety first, but fires are unpredictable and things happen They did, and now his heart races until it wakes him in the night.

He is part of a crew I have never met, relying on comradeship I cannot fathom. His head swims with maps and briefings, incidents and strategies. He speaks a different language and has a fortitude that I can only imagine. He is building memories that I cannot share.

Its like groundhog day on a bed of quicksand. I dont know what to expect, because no one does. As the wife at home, I do know that the days pass, the oppressive smoke gives the antsy kids sore throats and headaches, the farm is mine to keep ticking along, the niggle of worry is just below the surface, the need to keep life normal is critical, and any fire plan that I have to enact for my own safety and that of the farm will need to be undertaken on my own.

Yet Im grateful. Despite my now embedded dread of summer and the inevitable fires that come with it, I have my house, my garden, my kids, the most incredible support from relentless daily messages, a husband who comes home more often than not, a village that has not faced fires this season, and a country that has a rising desire to see genuine change.