Is Colorado Too Cold for Homesteading? Search for Warm Microclimates

Ranch country near Walsenburg, Colorado has fairly mild weather in comparison to most parts of the state.
Ranch country near Walsenburg, Colorado has fairly mild weather in comparison to most parts of the state.

A reader left a comment the other day about how they love Colorado but said it’s too cold to live there. That comment was the inspiration for this blog post, which is about finding relatively warm areas in a cold climate.

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The Natural Farmer – Healing Damaged Land


Our Natural Building Blog covers various topics including ways to restore degraded land for growing food and homesteading. The Natural Farmer shares a good story about Peter Ash of Embracing the World who helped restore some highly contaminated land in India. The main story is from 1:57 to 5:41 in case you’re in a hurry.

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Best Places to Live with Minimal Building Codes: Lewis County, TN

Lewis County, TN has minimal building codes
Lewis County, TN has minimal building codes

I’ve been doing a series of articles recently on the best places to live in North America that have few or no building codes. I’m asking readers to send us their recommendations. Today’s article is the fifth installment of the series. I suggest moving to an area with minimal building codes to greatly reduce the cost of construction as well as escape many of the problems in urban areas such as high taxes and crime. For more on this topic, see Counties with Few or No Building Codes

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Free Land and Cheap Land in the US

Free land in Marquette, Kansas
Free land in Marquette, Kansas

One of the biggest concerns for natural builders is finding affordable land for their homestead or sustainable home. Rural land is often the best solution not only because it’s less expensive than urban land, but also because there are usually fewer building codes. With few or no building codes, it’s possible to build at 1/10th the cost of building in cities if you use recycled materials like pallets and barn wood, and local natural materials such as earth, stone and wood poles.

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