We Can’t Teach People Homesteading Without Teaching This Skill, Says Homesteader and Mom of 6

Jessica Sowards, the homesteader and YouTuber behind Roots and Refuge Farm, is guided by the desire to build community and connection—starting at home.

Despite growing up in the suburbs, Jessica Sowards always dreamed of an agrarian life. Courtesy of Roots and Refuge Farm

If there’s a theme powering the current behind the wave of modern homesteading, its connection—to the land, to livestock, to our food source, but most importantly, to other people. In the Midlands of South Carolina, Jessica Sowards is pursuing that connection with her own brand of joyful hospitality.

Ms. Sowards is unafraid to dream big. Ever since she was growing up in Arkansas, romantic visions of farming filled her head.