Does the US have it wrong? Should we create gardens instead of putting in another development of cookie-cutter houses?

I was walking around the countryside today, and I am always amazed at how beautiful it is and how everyone has a garden and some form of farm animal.

Whether it is one cow in the yard, a bunch of chickens running around, or a bunch of sheep or goats, once you leave the big cities, you will notice that almost everyone is self-reliant. They also share with their neighbors, as I have experienced in San Carlos.

I have too much I share with my neighbor and vice versa. Now ask yourself when was the last time you had too much and shared with your neighbor.

I noticed a few things when I returned to the US last month. First, most yards do not have a cow tied up or chickens running around; instead, their yard is perfectly manicured to the latest style.

Then I go to my sister's house, which has two goats, two big dogs, and a bunch of chickens running around the yard. I can tell you whose house I would prefer to be at, yes my sister who also has a garden and a compost. I might have encouraged those.

Then I went to visit my cousin in Tennessee, and yet again, I noticed tons of yards, yet no produce or farm animals. Both my sister and cousin live in the country.

They can have farm animals and gardens. Instead, I see new housing developments where farms used to be, where grain farms were, and cornfields. Now turned into something out of ¨The Stepford Wifes¨ I wish I was joking.

They rely on grocery stores to always have what they need. Well, when I was home, I also saw that the price of eggs had doubled!

What in the world? Keeping a few chickens and having fresh eggs daily is cheaper than a dozen eggs. My sister sells organic, fresh eggs for $4 a dozen. She sets them out in the morning, and people pay her via Venmo.

Yet before I even get to my cousins, she says Jon, wants you to show us how to start a compost—her husband. So, of course, I say yes, as I am obsessed with composting, the one simple thing everyone can do.

I was going to build a compost box but did not get around to it, but instead, we buried the compost, that is what they did in the 1600s, and that is also what they do here in Colombia.

Here they sometimes just put their vegetable waste around a tree, which eventually composts back into the soil. You will always see crushed eggshells around plants here.

It works. We like to complicate so much; you need this particular box, no, you don't. I made a hole and plopped it in; it's simple. You can put something around it to prevent animals from digging it up, but animals usually don't bother veggie and fruit waste.

My cousin also has garden beds, which last year I encouraged her to start growing veggies, and she did and will continue this year. She also informed me that a new law in Tennessee was passed where if I want, I can build a tiny house in her backyard I might.

I told her we would be getting chickens; she said perfect. Plus, her daughter loves gardening; as I said, the compost feeds the worms. So now she feeds the worms every day. When I go back to visit, we will build a worm farm.

I have no plans to live there full time but possibly create a part-time residence.

I notice Colombia ( or any 3rd world, developing nation) vs. the US. If something happens, or there is a grid shutdown, life will go on as usual here. No wifi, but the wifi in the countryside is iffy. Using more candles; when I lived in San Carlos, we always had candles, a wood stove, plenty of wood stored just in case, and the ability to feed ourselves.

In the US, they are more concerned with the next housing development instead of producing food. I hope people realize the food you buy in a store has to be grown somewhere.

Would you rather have it come from your backyard instead of having the latest patio set? I know I would. The US has become so advanced that the store will have what we need even in the country; it's becoming a city or the city mindset.

What if that option no longer exists or is limited due to having to import vegetables because we have no farmland left? I am passionate about this as until the age of 18, I never bought fruit or vegetables at the store. We grew our own. We always store winter squash, potatoes in the basement, and apples from the fall harvest.

That may be why I am so drawn to the lifestyle in the country where they know where their food comes from. I am in the mountains of Colombia, and here, they grow onions, root veggies, and tons of potatoes.

You will notice what they sell is what they produce. The shops sell local food. In the US, we must seek out locally grown because we have so much imported, resulting in higher food costs.

I know here, when I buy a banana, it will not have a Dole sticker; it will not have any sticker because it was grown down the street or maybe one department over. Not another country over, yet the whole Dole debacle is another story. My banana tastes like a banana, not a cardboard-flavored yellow thing.

If the grid goes down or the market crashes, life would continue as usual here; the cows would continue to be milked and slaughtered for food. The gardens were harvested, and the collection of rainwater was for emergencies.

A way of life that I once knew and will continue to seek out and advocate for, as well as a healthier way of living. I would rather have a cow as a neighbor than another cookie-cutter house with no personality.

Refurbishing an old, falling house appeals more to me than a brand new home where everything requires wifi to work, a big fat no thank you.

I am happy that my family trusts me to ask for my advice, and they don't just ask but take action, and all that poop you are thinking from chickens or goats is terrific for your soil, which in turn makes it more fertile to grow veggies:)

Originally published here and here.