The “Starting from Scratch” Challenge

Alright friends: peer to your right —>

See that RSS feed?  It’s coming from Starting from Scratch, an amazing project that’s happening this week.  You’re going to be blown away by what these folks are doing.

For the next seven days, three families in Cleveland are going to be surviving only off what they hunt, fish, farm, and forage.  They’ve been preparing since January, learning how to live off the land and putting away stores of garden vegetables, foraged fruits, and wild game.

I’ve supported this blog because I’m completely fascinated by their plan to kick it pioneer style; over the past six months, I’ve watched my friends turn completely agrarian and transform their urban backyards into farm yards, complete with chickens.  A patch of weeds is no longer a patch of weeds in their eyes: all wild plants are divided into two groups, food and not food.  They even inspired me to attempt a garden in my fourth floor Queens walk up.  I didn’t grow enough food to survive for a week, but I did get a nice salad out of it.

First, meet the key players: Mark, Kathy, and Sharon.  Then, follow along this week as they challenge themselves to go off the grocery store grid.  I think you’ll find it as fascinating as I do.