Conversations with Angela Miller and Jenefer Achondo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Miller and Jenefer Achondo

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I ( Angela) grew up homesteading as a kid, and I knew from experience that homesteading can be lonely as you go against the common grain. You are doing things differently and leaving gatherings early to lock up chickens and getting up early to milk cows. After a loss in our immediate family, I realized the importance of community. I reached out to a friend and asked if she thought gathering some women pursuing a self-sufficient lifestyle would be beneficial, and she gave a resounding, “Yes!”
So, we had a small gathering of 65 women at our home farm in Hohenwald, TN. We ate a farm-to-table meal and enjoyed fellowship and fun, along with a small speaker panel. After that evening, I realized I enjoyed hosting a meeting ground for women to connect and find their mentor and friend that they could do homesteading with. The following year, in March 2023, we hosted our first conference and second gathering right around the corner again in Hohenwald, TN, with 200 women and a few hand-selected vendors! Learning from well-known homesteaders, leaders, and authors like Beth Dougherty, Sophie Eng, and Ann Accetta Scott. The conference continued to grow and expand beyond my wildest dream. This year, we hosted over 200 women and a large group of vendors for two full days of fun, fellowship, and fantastic farm-to-table foods sourced from local farmers and makers! We are so excited about the doors that are open for us this upcoming year, and we are looking forward to April 25&26th 2025!😊 Angela

My part in the history of the Women’s Homestead Society is fairly small. In December of 2022, I was kicking around the idea of creating a small local group of women homesteaders in TN with the purpose of building community, holding local events to bring women homesteaders together, encouraging them in their day to day, and building mentorships for educational and growth purposes. I sent a text out to two of my closest friends with the name idea ‘Women’s Homestead Society’, in Jan 2023 Anglea purchased the Society, and built what it is now, a gathering place for women to link arms, learn together, grow together, and cheer each other on. I am honored to be a part of something that makes such a difference in so many lives, and cultivating community which is so deeply desired by so many.

Jen

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Event planning is not without bumps and hurdles, but this fantastic community of women has been here every step of the way! I couldn’t have done it without them! Our family grew this last year, and balancing being a stay-at-home mama, a homesteader, and a business owner has been challenging. But I have learned it is vital to reach out to my community. It’s okay to be honest and vulnerable and say I don’t have it all together. I asked my dear friend, Jenefer Achondo, to join me this year as a partner to reach more women and help them on their homesteading journey wherever they are in it if they are starting or have been doing it for a while.
Small businesses come with challenges as well, but I find that personally, the more you do it the easier it becomes. Fake it til you make it has a whole new meaning. Milking my cow in the morning or butchering a broiler chicken was second nature too me compared to figuring out how to write a sales page or figuring out e-mail campaigns on Mailerlite. Angela

I think for me the biggest obstacle has honestly been learning how to navigate being a wife, mom, homesteader, and business owner. It is a learning curve to try and find balance in everything that we are doing. Jen

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Women’s Homestead Society is more than just a conference or event. We truly believe in cultivating community and that spills out into every aspect of our business. We focus in helping homesteading women find a mentor and friend but also helping them find the beauty once again in the self sufficient lifestyle. We love bringing in locally grown, seasonal flowers from small farmers and we are also known for our farm to table meals that are also seasonal and from local farmers and growers. I love getting to highlight the small farmers and getting to curate a beautiful menu. This is an aspect that I absolutely relish and enjoy and I feel it sets us apart. We work so hard producing food on our homesteads and often forget to make it taste amazing!

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Networking is vital for the conference world! The best advice I could offer is to look to your peers in your group, reach out to them, see how you can serve them, and ask for their wisdom. I have been blessed with some of the best mentors in this small niche, and they have been some of the most amazing women to reach out and offer a helpful hand to me. For networking, I have decided not to worry if someone says no anymore and to reach out still. Behind every homesteading IG profile is a real person and usually most of the time people are happy to make a connection and form a friendship if you are sincere and not just out to get something from them. Angela

Mentors are so important in so many aspects of life. My advice for finding a mentor and networking in that capacity is spend time talking to people, getting to know their strengths and how they can teach you something. It’s also ok to have mentors for different areas of your life as well, because different people have different area of expertise. Jen

Contact Info:

• Website: https://womenshomesteadsociety.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenshomesteadsociety/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Womens-Homestead-Society-61551779009406/