In this YouTube vlog, Victor Justin Rhodes leads a group of Abundance Plus members and volunteers—including Jordan, Rebecca, Ken, Jeremy, Amanda, and others—through a full‑day homesteading project on a 1.5‑acre pasture in South Carolina. The crew tackles a steep, uneven field, first raking and leveling the ground, then seeding and spreading hay. Rhodes coordinates tasks, offers jokes, and shares meals (tofu and tempeh) while highlighting the participants’ diverse backgrounds (e.g., newcomers from Washington, a family from Kentucky, and local homesteaders). The video emphasizes community collaboration, the physical and mental challenges of land work, and the satisfaction of completing a job that would otherwise take a week in a single day. Throughout, Rhodes reflects on the value of giving back, the importance of teamwork, and the personal motivations that bring people to homesteading.
Chapters
That was not me going in there, or the kids. Today we have some Abundance Plus members coming out to help with the chores and our big project, seeding the pasture. Both of you guys are from Washington State?
That's right.
Both of you guys moved to South Carolina?
Yep.
No relation whatsoever?
No relation.
First time meeting? That's right. Did you guys leave family behind in Washington? Yeah. We did.
No, I came to family in South Carolina. I was by myself out there.
Does your family think you're nuts? Yes.
Yeah, they do. I'm turning my family crazier by the day.
Do you think we can knock this out in an hour and a half? Uh, 3 hours? Oh yeah, an acre and a half. Stuff like this where the, where the tractors have come in and jacked it up, this will not level out, okay, on its own. But eventually we'll have the cows running through here, then the sheep, and then the mower. And so Just think, hey, I'm gonna have to mow this. Let's get it smooth, smooth enough to mow. This is going super well. You guys knocked that out fast. Let's go on down. There's spots all along this path. Jeremy, how is it that you can show up, entire family, all the way from Kentucky to North Carolina on a Monday? Community coming around together and working and helping each other out. Are you skipping anything today? Okay, hopefully nobody's watching. No, no, probably not. Probably not. Tell us the joke that you told me. How long do cows love each other for? For heifer and heifer. Good kid. Fun to be around. Good people, all these people. Fun to be around. Uh, such an honor to have them. So thankful for them. If we were to do this on our own, you guys would get 5 days of seeding pasture vlogs. So you can be thankful for these guys for coming and helping and knocking this out in a day instead of a week. Look who's here!
Supervisor has arrived.
I know, everybody quick, act like you're working quick!
Do you approve of the job that is being done, Henry? He doesn't look happy. He thinks that you're going too slow.
What are you doing on your place already?
Um, well, we started off with chickens. We got layers, raised about 100 meat birds this year, 3 turkeys. And we just got our very first pigs.
Nice. Amanda, your son is Jackson, the heifer joke boy. How'd you get that? How'd you get him so excited about homesteading?
I don't know, because he really doesn't strike me as the homesteading type, but when we get out and we're outside and he comes outside, he really surprises me.
Yeah. Ken? Yes, sir? You had an interesting perspective on why you would come out here. I think In the video application, I said, why would you want to— why do you want to do this? Or why is this— why should we have you? So what did you say?
It's all about giving back. We don't want to just take knowledge and do nothing with it. We want to be able to give back to our community and those around us. And we make it a very concerned effort to make sure that we are giving back to those who are giving to us. So, Justin, you've given us so much. In knowledge and wisdom. We're coming back to give you some sweat.
Thanks. We're covering ground. We've given everybody a water break. How's he doing back there?
He is— the supervisor is asleep.
Supervisor's asleep, guys. That's how we got away with sleep on the job, fooling around there, slacking. Why he's asleep. We come into the big expanse here, but fortunately it's not that bad. I think the worst is behind us. How's it raking with the baby on your back? It's not bad. Good.
It's not— it's not bad.
Aren't you glad for all these kind folks?
Yes, it's been fun talking to them too.
Yeah, I know. That's probably the biggest thing of jobs like this. It can be, um, harder on the mind than the body. It can be awful boring by yourself. Well, Pete's here. Just got back from unloading the feed. Look at this view though. We couldn't see this before, and that's an added benefit. I realize I've been doing you guys a disservice in regards to this pasture. Is this pasture steeper in person? This is— or milder?
Insanely steep.
You wouldn't—
they've been fooling everybody.
I need to hold the camera more like that, I think. I'm thinking let's get the raking out of the way, guys, and the hard part will be out of, out of the way. And then we can come in and seed, which is one person cranking and the rest of the crew Just throwing hay. That's looking good. Good job, guys. Good job, everyone. Everybody hungry? I got all-you-can-eat tofu and tempeh.
What's tofu?
Good. I love that your kids don't know what tofu is. How's that tofu, Jordan?
Delicious. Delicious tofu.
I tease them. How'd it turn out, Rebecca?
I think it turned out good. I hope it does.
Only the best for this crew. Post-lunch, how's everybody feel? Want to take a nap or you want to go put hay on a field? All right, the hard work is behind us. Got a little bit of— we got some hay. That's gonna be hard. Once we get it out here though, it'll be pretty easy. Let me put the seed down, Josiah, and then Jackson, you can follow me with the hay. I'll drive slowly down through there and you guys will pitchfork the hay out. That sound good? Let's do it. Now, if you're gonna be in a trailer while it's moving, it always works better with a camera. Busy bees. Oh my word, it's 4 o'clock and these people are hanging in there. Some kind of people right here. Well, it's gonna get dark at 5:30, so— but will it take that long? I don't know. They're kicking it into gear. It's the sprint to finish. Be close. Yeah. Oh, the sun is going away. But these guys have done it. Look at this, look at this! Almost 2 acres probably with that strip. How do you feel after a work day like that? Tired. You gonna sleep good tonight? Oh yeah. Okay, good. You got any energy left? A little bit. Okay, about that much? Yeah, that's about all we need. We gotta— we got a little patch Jonah has found over there. We're gonna take the hay bale over. You ready, Beck? Yeah, you tired?
Yeah.
How you holding up?
This 20-pound kettlebell back here.
I think Forrest wins the most energy. 10 till 5. He's jumping in and out of Sally onto the hay bales. And you're doing the last, you and Rebecca doing the last. Here, here's the real bare soil, guys, right here. All right, guys, you win, you win! Everybody did it, good job! Hopefully you got something out of it. Community? Yes, at least. All right, yay! Thanks everyone. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
