EcoThrifty author to speak at Kennedale Library

Public invited

The Kennedale Public Library is hosting Deborah Niemann-Boehle, author of EcoThrifty Living: Cheaper, Greener Choices for a Happier, Healthier Life, this Thursday evening, October 13 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm.

 

This is a free public event. {{more:Read more …}}

Niemann has written several books including Homegrown and Handmade and Raising Goats Naturally. She and her husband have lived on a 32 acre farm in Cornell, Illinois since 2002 but she has roots in rural Texas, growing up in a small community near Houston.

It did start out that way for her or her family. In the early years, her husband was in the Navy and they moved a lot. It was during this

period and experiencing her first pregnancy that Niemann began reading books about

childbirth and pregnancy, ?and that was the first time that I?d ever heard

anybody say anything about the connection between your diet and your health,?

she said.

 

started reading labels and cooking from scratch …

?I thought, ?Wow, that?s pretty cool. If my children eat better, they might not be sick all of the time.? I started reading labels and cooking more from scratch. My husband started baking bread.?

Over the next nine-year period, she and her husband talked about moving to a rural area and growing their own food, and that dream finally reached fruition in 2002, when they purchased 32 acres in rural Cornell and began Antiquity Oakes, an old-fashioned, self-sufficient homestead.

Currently on their farm, they raise Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, Shetland sheep, American guinea pigs, Irish Dexter cattle, chickens and turkeys for meat, eggs and dairy products, while an organic garden and orchard provides fruit and vegetables.

They also make their own soap and utilize maple syrup and honey produced on the farm. Some of the meat produced on the farm and wool is sold via the farm?s website.

?A lot of people look at this and say, ?This is hard.? I looked at all of it and thought. ?People have been doing this since the beginning of time, and it can?t be that hard,?? Niemann said. ?The truth of the matter is it?s somewhere in the middle. It?s not as hard as most people think it is, but it?s certainly not as easy as I thought it was going to be.?

 

for those living the urban life …

But the book, Ecothrifty, was written for those who live the more traditional lifestyle.

 

?I wrote it because so many people think making greener choices is going to be complicated, expensive, you?re going to be using things that are inferior,? Niemann said.

 

?While those things can be true, they don?t have to be. There are plenty of things you can do that are greener that will actually save you money and are better and tastier.?

 

limited space so call now …

Registration is required for the event at the Kennedale Public Library due to limited space. Call 817-985-2136

to reserve your spot.

Information for this article was written by Tom C. Doran and published in the AGNews Illinois. Read full article at Former

City Slickers Operate Self-sufficient Homestead

 

The author also maintains her own blog at http://thriftyhomesteader.com/