THE HOMESTEADING FUNCTIONAL AREA

The Homesteading Functional Area is designed to provide the skills necessary for families and small communities to thrive and not just survive. Nutrition, Agriculture, Livestock, and Low Technology Living Skills are the focus of this learning path. Many of these skills are taught on our Affiliate "teaching Farms".

The BASIC Homesteading Program

Designed to build strong foundations in Self Sufficient, Sustainable, Long-term family and group skills. This skill program is intended to build on Individual Survival Skills and improve family, team, and community agriculture and livestock programs. The skills learned in this program are constantly evolving and very diverse.
Those that meet the requirements of this program will earn a Basic Homesteading Tab.

Earning the Basic Homesteading Tab

A PREREQUISITE to earn the Homesteading Tab is you must have previously earned the CAG Survival Tab.

There is one path to earning the Basic Homesteading Tab:

The Member must attend a Course OR Show Proficiency in Each of the Four(4) Homesteading Subject Categories.

• Courses must be provided by CAG, a CAG Affiliate, or an Approved Third Party (Coordinate with CAG Prior)
• Proficiency may be shown either by providing Nationally Recognized Certifications, or by Providing Photo/Video Documentation of a Project for that Category.
• Photo Project Documentation must always have the Members Name, Project and Member Number prominently displayed on a card in the photo, no photo edits please.
• Video Documentation must always begin with the Member clearly stating their Name, Project, and Member Number, no video edits please.
• Members should coordinate all projects, courses, and Certifications with CAG Management in advance to verify they meet the CAG Training Goals for the Category.

The Homesteading Categories are Arranged as follows with Suggestions/Guidance for Course/Projects Subjects:

Again, these are merely suggestions. Members should submit for and gain approval for their ideas for Course/Project Subjects to CAG prior to comitting to them.

MENTOR Program Assistance is available, Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will attempt to assist you in your learning!

Nutrition / Food

• Food Harvesting, Preparation and Storage (Garden/Orchard/Wild Harvesting and Methods used to Store those foods safely)
• Canning, Fermenting, and Dry Packaging Food (Safe Pressure and Water Bath Canning for Meats, Fruits, and Vegetables)
• Meat Preservation - Smokehouse, Drying, and Salt Pack (Safe Processing from raw meat to long term preserved)
• Livestock and Game Processing (Safe and Efficient killing, gutting, skinning, and butchering for Livestock/Game)
• Cheese/Butter Manufacture (Process from raw milk to fully processed product)
• Austere Nutrition and Mass Food Production (Establish and Operate a mass feeding program in an Austere Environment)

Livestock Management

• Domestic Livestock Management (Safe and Efficient Care and Feeding and management of Domestic herd/flock animals)
• Fishery Management (Safe and Efficient Care and feeding of a Small Scale Fishery program)
• WIld Game Management and Conservation (Efficient management practices for maintenance of sustainable population of wild game in a geographic area)
• Hide and Fur Processing (Safe and Efficient Processing of Hides/Furs for personal use or profit)

Agriculture

• Small Scale Garden Management (Efficient, Sustainable home gardening methods for personal use or profit)
• Small Scale Orchard Management (Efficient, Sustainable Orchard methods for personal use or profit)

Living Skills

• Basic Sewing and Clothing Repair (Safe and sustainable maintenence and fabrication of clothing items without access to external grid power)
• Soap/Candle Making (Safe and Efficient Soap and/or Candle manufacture at home for personal use or profit)
• Weaving (Safe and Efficient collection of natural materials and production of woven products for practical use)
• Thread/Yarn/Cordage Manufacture (Safe and Efficient collection, processing and spinning of Wool or Fur to produce thread, yarn or cordage)

 

To Request Tab Credit you Must:

First, ensure that you are logged into your personal profile on www.CAGMain.com and that your profile is complete.

• All Course/Project Videos and Presentations should be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• On the CAG Home Page, Select the MEMBERS ONLY Tab
• In the drop-down menu, select the REQUEST TAB CREDIT tab
• Fill out the blocks completely, incomplete submissions will be accepted
• Upload an electronic copy of your Certificates into the block provided or Email Videos/Presentations as directed above
• Don't forget to hit the SUBMIT button
• The CAG Staff will process your request and contact you.

East West Farm is a pasture based, all natural, family farm near Atlanta, GA in Cobb County. Daniel and Katie Seedorf are the husband/wife team that’s keeping the family farm alive in an area that used to be purely agrarian, but now pasture land has been built out with shopping malls and subdivisions. Daniel and Katie are the parents of Sarah, David, James, and Ryan. Their last name is not the only thing unusual about them, they’re actually natives of Cobb County, which these days seems rare to find.  Daniel is a full time fire fighter, and the only thing he enjoys more than farming is being a dad to his kids. Katie is a full time mother, teacher, chef, homemaker, assistant farmer and when Daniel is at the fire station, she runs the farm with a little help from the kids. About five years ago they came to realize that there is something bad wrong with food today. First they switched to raw milk, then they discovered farm fresh eggs and grass fed meats. It didn’t take long for them to decide that farming was to be their chosen lifestyle so they could provide their family with the healthiest foods possible, have a positive impact on the environment and share their bounty with those who understand that it takes more than a USDA stamp to ensure food is safe and healthy. East West farm got it’s name from Psalm 103:11-12 “…as far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” You honestly can’t get any farther apart as the East is from the West, and those who choose to love God know that is how far their sins are removed by Him. As far as the East is from the West is also how far removed from the industrial food system we desire to be.