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Welcome

Little City Farm is a cozy 100-year old house situated on a unique evolving site in downtown Kitchener, Ontario.

Many environmental visionaries have inspired us, and we are practicing ways to reduce consumption and incorporate natural cycles into every day living. Rather than setting up a rural homestead, we are exploring a sustainable lifestyle in the city and we hope to share this with our guests. Read more about our Eco Bed & Breakfast.

To us, urban homesteading means a conscious choice to live more simply and within our means, while supporting endeavors that promote community & sustainability, and increase the livability of our city.

As urban homesteaders we are learning to produce quality homemade goods that are necessary to meet our everyday needs. We grow much of our own food, recycle our greywater through a pond system, bake in an outdoor cob oven, incorporate solar power, eat a vegetarian diet, use bicycles or a shared co-op vehicle for errands, use a passive-solar greenhouse to produce fresh greens all winter long, support local artisans, and buy from farmers who we know by name.

If you are interested in reading more about the day-to-day life on our little homestead, please visit our blog.

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About Us

We are Karin & Greg, and our newest addition Maya, an urban homesteading family living on 1/3 acre near the downtown core of Kitchener, a mid-sized Canadian city. In the past, we have lived and worked on a variety of organic & biodynamic farms across Canada, and have developed a passion for growing our own food and living a life that is light on the earth. We also enjoy the vibrant community & car-free options the city life offers, and yet dream of a slower, self-reliant rurally based existence.

For now, our urban homestead is just the place where we can begin to unclutter our busy city lives, find more time to do what we enjoy, and live a more simple, healthful, restorative and earth-centred existence.

Karin Kliewer

Karin has worked for nearly a decade in the non-profit sector, with a focus on community development, social justice and urban agriculture. She has been training as an herbalist since 1999, and operates a small natural herbal business called Homestead Herbals. Karin has also been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years, and has a passion for cooking & catering emphasizing a seasonal, organic menu using fresh whole foods. When not tending the garden or browsing at the local farmer’s market, she can often be found baking delectable vegan treats for her other business Wildflour Baking. She provides outstanding meals for our guests at Little City Farm Bed & Breakfast.

Greg Roberts

Greg has a background in carpentry & construction, beginning his building career with the goal of gathering skills for creating his own sustainable house someday. He has also worked for nearly a decade in the non-profit sector, helping to retrofit & renovate various old buildings in downtown Kitchener for social agencies, as well as with other community development projects including a local barter system. Greg has an interest in renewable energy, and a passion for water, including ponds, rivers, and rain barrels. He has designed the passive-solar greenhouse & the grey water recycling system at Little City Farm.

Maya Hazel Kliewer-Roberts

Our little honeybee, our little hazelnut, Maya, the newest member of the Little City Farm homestead, is about half a shovel high and weighs as much as a sack full of new potatoes. Maya is being introduced to the homesteading life from the vantage point of mama's hip, where she can be found supervising the picking of herbs, harvest of garden vegetables, or tending of chickens. She loves the outdoors and accompanies us on long rambles to the farmers market or throughout our neighbourhood.

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What’s An Urban Homestead ?

As with any homestead, there are always projects on the go, which vary with each new season. We welcome guests to explore these projects, or lend a helping hand if interested, while visiting.

SPRING - the greenhouse is brimming with seedlings, the gardens are being planted, the chickens are discovering the great outdoors and new building projects are being assessed.

SUMMER - our gardens are in full bloom, we are busy canning & preserving the bounty, making wine, harvesting herbs for the annual herb shares, firing up the cob oven, hosting workshops, and enjoying meals outdoors.

FALL - we are planting garlic for the new season, harvesting the last root crops, planting the cold frames, making soap & herbal products, and relaxing around the fire on cool evenings.

WINTER - we fill our time with researching, attending organic agriculture conferences, taking courses, mapping out the next year's garden, sprouting greens, listening to CBC Radio, and reading a few more books in our home library.

Click here to view our Homestead Herbals page.

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Links

Urban Homesteading

City Farmer – www.cityfarmer.org

Path to Freedom – www.pathtofreedom.com

City Chickens – www.madcitychickens.com

Sustainability

Post-Carbon Institute – www.postcarbon.org

E.F. Schumacher Society- www.schumachersociety.org

Food

Slow Food - www.slowfood.com; www.slowfood.ca

100 Mile Diet – www.100milediet.org

Canadian Organic Growers – www.cog.ca

Seeds of Diversity – www.seeds.ca

FoodLink Waterloo Region - www.foodlink-waterlooregion.ca

Kitchener Market - www.kitchenermarket.ca

Bailey's Local Foods - www.baileyslocalfoods.ca

Edible Toronto Magazine (Golden Horseshoe) - www.edibletoronto.com

Fertile Ground CSA - www.fertilegroundcsa.com

Action

Council of Canadians – www.canadians.org

David Suzuki Foundation – www.davidsuzuki.org

Citizens for Renewable Energy – www.web.net/~cfre

The Working Centre - www.theworkingcentre.org

Grand River Car Share - www.grandrivercarshare.org

Green Building

Whiting Design - www.whitingdesign.ca

The Ontario Strawbale Building Coalition - www.strawbalebuilding.ca

The Grand House (strawbale student co-operative) - www.wacsa.org/grandhouse/Frameset.htm

Health

Healing Path Centre for Natural Medicine - www.healingpathcentre.com

Queen Street Yoga - www.mjyoga.com

Sherrie Grise Massage Therapy - www.sherriegrise.com

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