Sam Schipani

Between the constant churn of fast fashion and the resources expended to make new clothes, the environmental cost of fashion is staggering. Creating and processing fibers — especially fibers made from synthetic materials — often uses…
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A few months ago, while I was squeezing a cheesecloth filled with pulped nuts to make almond milk, I realized that I had yet to milk a cow. It took the gush of almond juice between my fingers for me to realize that this was the closest to…
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Photo by MaryRN via Morguefile When it comes to farming and homesteading, Connecticut is small but mighty. After you figure out the basics of how to start homesteading in Connecticut, you may find that the Nutmeg State is right for you.…
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Photo by TheBrassGlass via MorgueFile The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a New England state located on the East Coast. Because it has long been inhabited and is thus densely populated with little land to spare, Massachusetts is one…
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For my generation, staying in touch is mostly digital: sending DMs to college buddies on Instagram, lurking on high school classmates’ Facebook profiles or receiving the occasional email from that friend in the Peace Corps…
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Photo by Sam Schipani If you were prone to injury as a child, you may know hydrogen peroxide best as the burning, bubbling antiseptic your parents liberally poured on scrapes and cuts. For years, medical professionals recommended using…
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Photo by Sam Schipani Hydrogen peroxide is available at nearly all drug stores, pharmacies and big box stores. Held in opaque bottles, it has made its way into almost every medicine cabinet and first aid kit. But it’s more than just a…
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Congratulations are in order, readers. This week, I celebrated my one year anniversary at Hello Homestead and the Bangor Daily News. It may seem like small potatoes, but it’s a big deal for me -- I haven’t lived anywhere for a full year…
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Photo by Gabor Degre When trick-or-treaters show up at your door this Halloween, what are you going to give them? Odds are good that you planned to pass out candy, but it wasn’t always that way. When trick-or-treating only gained…
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When I lived in the Bay Area, I would take the train to San Francisco every Friday for a long walk along the harbor. Sometimes, I would walk past the piers to Boudin Bakery to buy a loaf of their famous sourdough bread. The secret to their…
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I see art in everything. I have a blue enamelware spoon hanging on the wall of my kitchen. A cleaned jar of salsa with a flame-licked label (spoiler alert: it was hot) sits proudly on display in my living room. When I moved to New England,…
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Raising Angora rabbits for wool is a lucrative, easy way to generate high-quality fiber. Certain kinds of Angora rabbits -- the ones that generate the most and best fiber, of course -- require regular shearing rather than going through a…
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