First and foremost, we’ve always thought of ourselves as preppers. So when , from time to time, friends would compare preppers vs homesteaders, we always sided with the prepper way of life.
But lately, we’ve been learning more and more about the homesteader side of things. It’s made us step back and look at this lifestyle—and we’ve learned a few things.
Not that we’re abandoning our prepper lifestyle. Not at all. But we may be changing our focus a bit.
Rather than being preppers or even homesteaders, we may actually
be evolving as prepsteaders, the best of both worlds.
Now, before we go any further, bear with us before you react passionately one way or another. You may find, as we did, ideas for enhancing the benefits of both prepping AND homesteading.
Once you’ve heard what we have to say, be sure to share your views in the comment section below.
Preppers vs Homesteaders: What’s the Difference?
The differences between prepping and homesteading often come down to focus. Here are what we consider the Top 5:
1. Driving Purpose
In many cases, preppers focus upon preparing for future disasters like major storms, floods, electrical grid failures, and even war.
After all, prepping is about preparation.
Homesteaders, on the other hand, are driven less by fear of future events than by the need to sustain themselves both today and down the road. Their driving purpose is survival long term, whether on grid or off.
2. Emergency Supplies
Many preppers spend their time building up supplies of critical items like food and water, emergency and medical supplies, and even guns and ammo. In an emergency they will have what they need to both endure the chaos and to start over, if necessary.
Conversely, homesteaders don’t worry about starting over—their supplies are already in place in the form of not just food pantries, but gardens, water capture systems, domestic animal herds, shelters and enclosures, and off-grid energy sources.
3. Community
As preppers, we often seem to be driven by fear of threats like (post disaster) roving mobs rampaging throughout our neighborhoods in search of food. So we sometimes develop a “compound” mentality—it’s us against the world.
We think defensively, and build impressive arsenals of firearms and ammo. We study self-help medical publications and train in self-defense.
Homesteaders also have a healthy awareness of the need to protect themselves. But their firearms are more often for hunting or protection against natural predators like bears, wolves or other animals that may threaten their herds.
In addition, rather than building walls around themselves and neighbors, they seek out close relationships with them.
They use neighbors to exchange and barter goods and food. They base relationships not upon fear, but upon a healthy sense of helping one another.
4. Lifestyle
Preppers may spend lots of time and money on food and supplies to last through a disaster, but in most other ways they lead a normal 21st century lifestyle.
In fact, unless you see their food pantries, you likely cannot distinguish a prepper from a non-prepper.
Homesteaders, on the other hand, tend to live in more remote areas away from society. Many are off-grid and pursue a nature-centric (vs technically advanced) lifestyle.
Preppers can work and live in high rise buildings. Homesteaders get their highs from living on the land.
5. Bugging Out
Every well-prepared prepper has his own bug out bag, along with a detailed plan of what to do should SHTF. They have supplies to help them restart their lives in case of total disaster.
Homesteaders live as though they already have what preppers prepare for. Their energy supplies are already working. Their food supplies reside in constantly regenerating gardens. They don’t need to bug out because they’re already well positioned and supplied in locales preppers would be fleeing to.
So Should We All Become Homesteaders?
Not necessarily. Homesteaders have some advantages, but homesteading is not for everyone. For example, you can’t homestead if you live in an urban area.
But if you started out as either a prepper or homesteader, you CAN adapt the best of both.
Homesteaders can take the best of prepper canning skills and take their winter foods supplies to a whole new level.
Homesteaders can recognize that, in an emergency, help from local fire and police officials may not be available. So they can adapt many of the short term emergency strategies of preppers such as medical supply storage, water and food storage and more.
Preppers can focus less on the quantity of food they have in storage, and concern themselves with food quality and the environment that are centric to the homesteader lifestyle.
In other words, when comparing preppers vs homesteaders, both can recognize the benefits of using the best of overlapping assets and claim them as their own.
They can become prepsteaders, people who save up food and supplies for unforeseen future emergencies and hard times, people who do not lose sight of the importance of renewable, sustainable resources for themselves and their families.
You May Be A Prepsteader If:
1. You recognize and utilize the best of both prepping and homesteading.
2. You provide for the protection and health of your family, as well as of the planet.
3. You believe in both self-reliance and in being ready for any disaster situation.
What’s your take on preppers vs homesteaders? Do you consider yourself a prepper, a homesteader, or just maybe, a prepsteader? Share your preppers vs homesteaders comments below.
It’s been said that all homesteaders are preppers, but not all preppers are homesteaders.
But when you pick and choose from the best of both lifestyles, you might be something that many of us believe could be even better. You just might be a prepsteader.