Urban ecological vegetarian homestead in Syracuse, NY close to downtown.

United States . Joined in July 2017

The Bitternut Homestead (named after the Native American Iroquois word Otisco, or Us-te-ke, meaning "bitter-nut-hickory") is a 4 bedroom home in Syracuse's Near West Side (NWS) just off of downtown. Syracuse is a city of 145,000 people, and the NWS is an urban community with high racial, but low economic, diversity - a median income of $25,653 exists in the bottom 3.5% of national zip codes. The house at 717 Otisco St is a 100-year old renovated Victorian purchased in 2010 for $1 from Home Headquarters (HHQ), a local quasi-governmental/non-profit housing agency. The house had been vacant for 3-4 years at the time of purchase, and required new plumbing, electric, heating, hot water, structural repairs from water and animal damage, and major interior and exterior finish work. For instance, all window glass was broken and would be replaced while preserving the original wooden frames and sills. There was also no front porch, it having rotted away and been demolished by HHQ during holding of the property. Residents of the Collective live together, a primary strategy for creating community. Shared chores may include cooking, shopping, cleaning, trash/recycling, gardening, and other tasks including a spring and fall cleaning day, and a spring and fall gardening day. The grounds are landscaped according to Permaculture principles & design, the original owner Frank Cetera being a local Permaculture educator and designer. The Homestead also houses the operations desk/office of The Alchemical Nursery, a non-profit organization working to create "Regenerative Landscapes and LIfestyles" utilizing strategies from the realms of Permaculture, mutual aid, eco-socialism, social justice, & ecovillage philosophies & methodologies. Natural building & simple living are also strategies being utilized. A Vermont Casting cast iron stove provides primary heating, while being supplemented through electric baseboard heating. Although electric heating is initially more expensive from the supply side, it was chosen because it was less expensive to install, allows zoned control in each room, can be supplied by solar panels, and to keep natural gas out of this "Anti-Fracking House". Other techniques include interior natural clay plastering and homemade paints, hugelkultur garden beds made from downed woody debris, hand finished floors (scraping, sanding, treating with linseed oil & beeswax).