A Step Back in Time
It wasn’t long after turning onto Dry Creek Road and into the Brazos de Dios that I felt like I had stepped back into time. Homestead Heritage is a agrarian community outside Waco, Tx that focuses on sustainable agriculture, supportive community living, and maintaining their Christian values. Over Thanksgiving weekend, the community hosted a fair, welcoming visitors to learn about and experience various activities around the farm. From bees to sheep shearing, there was something to interest everyone.
The first thing you will notice about the Brazos de Dios is the size. Homestead Heritage is approximately 500 acres and sits on the Balcones Fault. The community is made up of 45 families with individual homes and property making up the Brazos de Dios. As I maneuvered to a parking space, draft horses passed by hauling folks on a guided tour of the property. We eventually took a tour and learned that all crop cultivation is completed with horse drawn implements (plows, planters, cultivators, etc). I can remember as a kid helping to pick a small section of corn into a wagon pulled by a team. I also remember one of my uncles tilling up the garden with a single hitched plow. There were farm implements on display and horse demonstrations given over the course of the two day fair. Unfortunately, we missed these, but it gives me something to look forward to next year.
This being my first visit to the Homestead Heritage fair, I didn’t know what to expect. We were given a guidebook and sent on our way. The path weaved us through various buildings and sections of the farm. The first station was a petting zoo of sorts. There was a woman teaching folks how to make yogurt from the milk collected from the goats a few pens over. There was a man demonstrating sheep shearing- collecting the wool. I grew up showing sheep and know that it is a work of art to get the wool off in one piece. Sheep shearing around our farm usually required a box of bandaids or at least that was the running joke. A little further in were various farm birds- turkeys, pheasants, guineas, and of course chickens. After admiring the critters, we were able to watch a sheep dog herd sheep, learn about bees and honey production, taste cheese, and traipse through herb gardens.
One of the last stops was the mill. From the outside, you see a gorgeous barn with a water wheel. You may have seen a similar image in puzzle form. However on the inside, you will find flour being made. The simplified purpose of the mill is to reduce wheat down to flour or corn to corn meal. The whole process is fueled by hydropower. Water spins the paddle wheel, which spins the stones that crush and refine the wheat. The product is later bagged and available for purchase in the front.
At every station of the fair, there was a message of sustainability. So what is sustainability? The goal of sustainable agriculture is to produce the food and fibers needed by a society without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Farming with horses and crop rotation schedules encourage soil health by decreasing erosion, limiting soil compaction, maintaining top soil, and putting needed nutrients back in the soil. On the homestead, chicken coops are moved around to various positions in fields to allow for natural fertilization. Manure is packed with nitrogen which plants need to grow. Bees are needed to help with pollination of crops, flowers, and herbs. Homestead Heritage takes an organic stance not because of the popular idea that says it healthier than modern agriculture. They take this stance because they value sustainability and are using every aspect of their plants and animals to further production in ways that align with the values of the community – sustainability, service leadership, community, and work ethic.
I could go on for days about individual aspects of the Homestead Heritage, but I would rather you go and visit. The annual fair is the weekend after Thanksgiving only, but you can visit year round and experience it on a smaller scale. There is a restaurant that features a farm to table menu. The cheese cave can be toured as well. I will be going back to visit the cheese cave and the market soon . If you want to see many types of agriculture in one place, you should make plans to visit Homestead Heritage.
Plan your visit:
Website: https://www.homesteadcraftvillage.com/
Address: 608 Dry Creek Rd, Waco, Tx
Upcoming event(s): Sorghum Festival – Sept 2, 2019
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