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Ypsilanti family finds happiness in living off the land

Julia, Amelie, Eliah
Kyle Norris/Michigan Radio
Julia, Amelie, Eliah

Meet the Gold family. They're modern day homesteaders. 

Julia, Amelie, Eliah & Jason Gold.
Credit Kyle Norris/Michigan Radio
Julia, Amelie, Eliah & Jason Gold.

Their goal is to live as self-sufficiently as possible on their three-acre farm inYpsilanti. (They often say they use yesterday's knowledge combined with today's technology.)

Two years ago they started the Michigan Folk School.The school promotes traditional folk arts and the preservation of forest and farmland.

To find out why the family started the school, and why they became homesteaders in the first place, listen to this week's Environment Report, right here.

During my interview with the family, six-year-oldAmelieGold wanted to explain to me how the family goes into the forest to tap maple trees. She walks us through the process, and you can listen here:

Copyright 2021 Michigan Radio. To see more, visit Michigan Radio.

Kyle Norris
Kyle Norris got her start in radio as a Michigan Radio intern. Her features have appeared on The Environment Report, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The Splendid Table, World Vision Report, Justice Talking, and The Health Show.