homesteading.
“Hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.” – Alfred Austin
Welcome to The Holistic Homestead!
I’m Alicia, and along with my husband and two boys, we live on a 100+ year old homestead in the Midwest. We raise dual-purpose chickens and ducks, pastured pigs, dairy goats, and enjoy our large vegetable, herb and flower gardens. We are always looking for ways to create diversity on our land, improving the health of our soil and contributing back to the environment!
We didn’t always homestead, and honestly, for 35 years of my life, I didn’t even know what that meant.
I grew up on a commercial dairy goat farm, but when I married my husband, he “saved me” from the farm (his words, not mine 😉 ), and we moved to a larger city. We started out as a very typical family: my husband was a banker, I was a registered nurse. We owned a little two-bedroom condo where we soon welcomed two beautiful boys. We ate a very regular American diet (meaning, quite a bit of it was processed although I did cook most of our meals at home). Our kids seemed to be pretty healthy, and besides a miscarriage and some pregnancy complications, I really never thought about our health, our diet, or the lifestyle that we lived.
When my oldest son turned two and a half, he was diagnosed with moderate to severe non-verbal autism (you can read his story here). This was the turning point in our family’s health journey.
I found that there was very little the medical community could offer him beyond therapy. Because of this, I started to research.
And he started to get well.
I wouldn’t wish any child to go through the things that he has experienced, but on the other hand, I am so thankful for what we learned, because it has opened my eyes to a whole other world, one where we look at the root cause of illness and treat that. Where we look at the person as a whole, not this piece and that piece. What we learned from my son later helped not only me (you can read my story with neurological Lyme disease here) but also several members of my immediate family, not to mention thousands of families around the world that we now have been able to help find natural healing as well.
My Services as a Natural Health Practitioner
I am a Board Certified Naturopath (BCN) with a medical background as an RN; I am certified to work as an Iridologist (CCI – Level II), Master Herbalist (MH), Lyme Specialist (CLS) and GAPS Practitioner (CGP). Besides this formal training, I also have many years of experience living a holistic, healing lifestyle; I have seen firsthand the benefits that it can bring, both to adults and children!
This website can connect you with various resources for recovery and healing. If there is something that you can’t find or that you specifically need, please reach out to me below and I will do my best to help you find the resources you need!
Iridology
Iridology is the science of studying the iris and how it relates to our health. Having knowledge of our body’s constitution allows us to be able to support it more fully as we work to heal, no matter what other modalities we are using (conventional medicine or natural). To learn more about iridology, how it can benefit you, and to schedule an assessment, please visit my Iridology page.
GAPS Consults
The GAPS Nutritional Program is an amazing tool to help heal the body starting with the digestive system. As a GAPS Practitioner, I can help you navigate the protocol and provide one-on-one assistance to fit your specific needs. Having done GAPS with my family for three years and received additional training and certification from Dr. Campbell-McBride herself (the creator of GAPS), I am prepared to help you! Consults for new clients opening up in January 2024
Resources available on this website for you:
Our Farmstead Services
We are excited to announce that we will be expanding our business! Starting this fall/winter, we will be offering a variety of homemade and homegrown items in on our online farm store. Additionally, we continue to offer fresh eggs and produce on site for local customers (to find out what’s available, please message me on Instagram)
Some of the items that we offer:
- Plant starts for pre-order (local only)
- Houseplants
- Holistic animal products (herbs, salves, etc.)
- Fresh and dried herbs, herbal teas and blends
- Skin salves (soothing skin salve, green salve, black drawing salve and more)
- Homemade candles (beeswax, tallow and lard)
- A variety of natural homemade soaps, inspired by things we grow here on the farm
- Pen-and-ink drawings (farm & nature themed) and greeting cards, plus other handmade gift items
- Essential oils
- Kombucha & jun SCOBYs as well as other cultures like sourdough and kefir grains
Come visit our homestead store to see what is currently available!
Need assistance? We’re happy to help! Please fill out the form below:
To be “holistic” means to be concerned with the whole, rather than individual parts. This could be related to our health (which is often how the term is used), but it also is a way to look at life.
To me, a holistic life is one where all parts work together: the person cares for their entire body from their digestive system out, and they care for their animals, who in turn fertilize the land, which then produces abundantly to nourish the person.
In today’s world, we often try to force things to happen (forcing “health” with pills, forcing animals to produce using drugs or unnatural diets, and forcing the land to grow using harmful chemicals).
And while the desired result may be achieved, the ultimate result is far from desirable.
~ Alicia D.