“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.

Date: May 30, 2010
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12 noon
Location: North New Brighton War Memorial and Community Centre
Address: 93 Marine Parade, New Brighton, Christchurch, New Zealand
Cost: $5.00
Host: New Brighton Project
Event Details:
Urban Self-Sufficiency: Eating and Living the Sustainable Way
Since 2001, Jules Dervaes and his family have been living a protest—Path to Freedom—against corporate control of the [...]

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

Listen: [...]