KNOWLEDGE CENTER — Loop Farmstead

Homestead Practice

Hands-on knowledge for working the land. Field notes from the slope — take what's useful, leave what isn't, adapt for your own place.

BOOK THE FIRST YEAR — a critical edition for the farmer who listens to the land

WV Homestead Guide

Everything we've learned about living on this land, organized by topic. Not expert advice — field notes from the slope.

001 GETTING STARTED — first steps for new homesteaders
002 PLANTING GUIDE — what to plant, when, and how
003 PRESERVATION — canning, drying, freezing, root cellaring, seed saving
004 SEASONAL CALENDAR — month-by-month tasks for WV homesteads
005 SOIL & COMPOST — building fertility naturally
006 WATER SYSTEMS — wells, springs, rainwater, irrigation
007 ANIMALS — chickens, pigs, bees
008 WILD PLANTS — foraging in Appalachia

Food Sovereignty Guide

Complete guide to growing food as praxis — from soil to seed to table.

Enter Food Sovereignty Guide

Understanding the System

Why we homestead isn't just about food — it's about refusing to feed a machine that eats people. These readings make the invisible order visible.

Article Series

Organized by topic. Read them in order or jump to what you need.

001–020 COMMUNITY ORGANIZING — building power from the ground up
021–040 MUTUAL AID — solidarity, not charity
041–060 SOLARPUNK — the world we're building
061–080 WITHDRAWAL & EXIT — stop feeding the machine
081–100 BUILDING ALTERNATIVES — the new world in the shell of the old

Standalone Articles

Interactive

APP ESCAPE FROM CAPITALISM — learn the system's logic by working through it yourself

Philosophy

DIR PHILOSOPHY — permaculture, solarpunk, agroecology, manifesto
GOV ON GOVERNANCE — 29 replacement laws: bills drafted, blockers identified, ready to introduce

📼 Videotape Archive

Field recordings from The Loop. Each tape loads directly — no platform redirect. Views count at Spectra Video.

[T01] Welcome to The Loop 26:15 · 47 views · 2026-04-18

What is happening at The Loop Farmstead? What are we doing here?

[T02] Why I'm A Subsistence Farmer 13:39 · 31 views · 2026-04-19

Here I am in America setting up my life to be a subsistence farmer. Why?

[T03] Solarpunk: The Third Path 12:58 · 86 views · 2026-05-02

What if the stories we tell about tomorrow shape what we're willing to build today?

[T04] The Daily After Work Garden Routine 18:56 · 17 views · 2026-05-03

Just a normal day after work in the garden. Terraces, walking, digging.

[T05] Growing A Years Worth Of Onions 19:02 · 31 views · 2026-05-04

Why we farm with animals instead of vegan agriculture. Building terraces.

[T06] Learning to Listen To The Land 18:20 · 28 views · 2026-05-09

We've been on this land since June, and the first question was simple: can we grow food here? The answer turns out to be yes — but not by following anyone else's rules.

[T07] 400 Plants Transplanted In One Day 21:58 · 18 views · 2026-05-20

We put over 400 plants in the ground in one day: watermelons under sunflowers, pole beans climbing stalks, Kazakh melons in every gap, zucchinis as chicken feed, and wheat scattered on swales. No fertilizer, no pesticides, no watering after transp...

[T08] Rain Day Farm Tour: Terraces, Swales & Water Systems 39:15 · 23 views · 2026-05-22

A rainy day tour of The Loop Farmstead, walking through the entire 0.8 acre hillside permaculture system. This is less than a year in: hand-dug terraces slowing water down the slope, swales capturing and infiltrating rainwater, staple crops (field...

[T09] Chop and Drop: Tree Cleanup & Permaculture Garden Update 11:33 · 16 views · 2026-05-27

Cleaning up after a tree fell on the garden, then using chop-and-drop mulching to build soil fertility. The tree came down across the grapes and potatoes, but we got it cleared and turned it into an opportunity to expand the growing area.