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Meet a family who achieved what most people would think impossible in a big city. On less than 4,000 square feet of land in the heart of Pasadena, California, the Dervaes family gets all the food they need from their own backyard.

What Path to Freedom represents is a lifestyle change, a way to transition from this system to a better one. This difference sets us apart from other projects because we have created a real model where the tangible results of our changes simply speak for themselves. We are living it.

“In the old days, people had relationships with nature and connections with animals,” [Jules Dervaes] said. “When you remove that and put it in a factory someplace far away, people forget about it. When you have a different relationship with your animals and with your plants, when you treat them real well, they respond. Your own health and the health of the planet are intimately related, and as a society we’ve gotten away from that. So we just brought this all to pass in the city, in our Urban Homestead, and we’re spreading the word far and wide.”

The most notable and noble aspect of the Dervaes’ decision to live in this manner is how they have managed to secure, maintain and grow a very strong sense of family. They live together, work together and eat together. And they eat well. Their goal for living a better life has had a very strong impact on their community in Pasadena and far beyond. They are living a revolution and hope more people join in.

The most important tip is to be patient. “You have to keep coming back to try to adapt and try something else,” Dervaes says. “Experiment because you are going to learn from it.”

[Jules Dervaes], the former beekeeper and founder of the worldwide Urban Homesteading movement, which encourages urban dwellers to live a low-impact, self-sufficient lifestyle, said he owed his success to the inspiration he received from both the people and the countryside when he lived in Stafford during the 1970s.

The man at the centre of flood concerns in Stafford [New Zealand] has credited a small concrete breakwater built by a former resident [Jules Dervaes] 30 years ago for saving his house, and possibly his life.

Interview by Kathryn Ryan
The Dervaes family have transformed their California home into an urban homestead. They harvest nearly 3 tons of organic food from their 1/10 acre garden while incorporating many back-to-basics practices, as well as solar energy and biodiesel. The idea started when the family was living in Hokitika in the 1970s. (duration: 16′37″)
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20100525

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Download podcast: http://media.libsyn.com/media/twobeerswithsteve/Episode_46_-_Urban_Farming_With_Jules_Dervaes.mp3
Download this episode to your MP3 player, throw on your work clothes, grab your spade and head to the garden. Leave the European Bailout and the NYSE glitches behind you and grow something real.
Jules returns to the show and this time I (Steve) have moved beyond making lame excuses as to why I [...]

The Path to Freedom Urban Homestead and kitchen are featured in this new Food Network show, Private Chefs of Beverly Hills. Watch the It Ain’t Easy Being Green episode on Friday, May 7, 2010, 10:00 PM Eastern Time.
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4