When I was a young girl, I remember my mom bustling about the kitchen. She turned and handed me a glass coffee mug and said, "Can you ask Mary for a cup of sugar?"

Source

Without question I wandered next door, cup in hand. Mary opened the door and welcomed me inside. She opened a large bin and scooped up the sparkling white granules and handed the cup back to me with a smile. I carefully walked home and returned the now brimming cup to my mother. Late that night I was probably rewarded for my efforts with a cookie or two.

That cup of sugar may have been a small gesture but as a child it represented my first experience with the value of community. When we open our doors to our neighbours, we receive so much in return; sugar, advice, friendship.

Growing up in the city, my community members were always just a hop, skip, and a jump away. Most anything I needed was a simple phone call and few doors away. The first time I moved to the country-side I felt like my community drifted. There was an initial sense of isolation, where had my community gone?

I didn't take long to recognize that, even though we were further away, our community still existed. We'd made friendships along the way and putting just a few miles between our doorsteps didn't mean those friendship bonds had been broken.

At our first acreage, our landlords house shared a yard with us and we became fast friends. If anything looked remotely suspicious we would call on each other to ensure each others well-being and safety. Just up the road we would find a homemade sign advertising eggs. We came for eggs so often that if our schedules didn't line up she'd leave our order on her porch and we'd leave her money in a boot.

The more I talked to country-dwellers the more I would see that it didn't matter whether your house was a few feet or a few miles away; people are generally good and want to help. I've seen neighbours lend trailers for hauling, rototillers for the garden, quads and more.

Photo by "My Life Through A Lens" on Unsplash

So How Far Can a Community Stretch?

As far, as your imagination will let it!

When we joined Steemit we had two main goals: (1) Earn a currency to create a working permaculture homestead, and (2) Establish a brand that people could trust and turn to for information. We wanted to deliver information to the masses about what we were learning as we worked towards our freedom.

Somewhere along the way, we started to build a community. We found ourselves connecting with one individual after the next. What an amazing feeling to find so many like-minded individuals. Suddenly, our little tiny-house world wasn't so tiny anymore.

We would discover that some of our new-found friends were actually close by while others resided on the opposite end of the globe. We would share knowledge, and ask questions and rarely did we ever leave emptied handed. We've learned, grown, and connected in ways we never imagined we could in our short nine months here.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Could There Be More?

While I really enjoy curating content, and connecting with Steemians through posts, there still felt like something was missing. As a self professed social-butterfly I really liked to be able to connect with people in real-time. Occasionally, I would catch someone's comment quickly enough to have a short exchange.

Wouldn't it be nice to connect like that more often?

Then the @ghscollective appeared in my feed with a game changing idea to connect homesteaders globally. This discord community is the brain-child of @steemcafe, @freedompoint, and @freedomtowrite.

Here you can connect with homesteaders who share the same passion for homegrown goodness. These people are of the earth and bursting at the seams with knowledge. But don't let their wealth of knowledge scare you because the atmosphere is nothing but relaxed and welcoming. Whether you're excited to share what's growing on in your garden or are looking for advice the GHS Collective welcomes you.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the the Global Homesteading Collective is that it's community driven.

If there is an aspect of homesteading that you feel passionate about but don't see a channel, hop on over to the town-hall and let the community know! Want to swap recipes? We—no, you can make that happen.

If you feel like you're sharing top-notch homesteading content but you're having a hard time reaching your audience drop a link in post-promo-channel. Or if you're following a fellow homesteader that needs more recognition, there is a place to share those posts too.

Plus, whether you gearing up for your day or are taking a break for a coffee, the GHSC has a space for you to have a conversation beyond the keyboard. Hop into the Coffee Break voice chat to say hello to your fellow homesteaders. We've had some great conversations already and want to hear what's happening on your homestead too.

So while the distance between us may leave your cup devoid of sugar, we can fill it up with so much more; knowledge, advice, encouragement, inspiration, and friendship just to name a few.

The homesteading community is vibrant and growing and we want you to join us. If you don't have a discord account, what are you waiting for?

Come be a part of the GHS Collective conversation: https://discord.gg/aYpkQR

---

---

Thanks for reading everyone! Please upvote, follow, and resteem to support this work. As always, comments are welcome.