Listen on your favorite platform:
We’ve gotten really good at convenience, but it’s come with a cost: disconnection. Disconnection from our food, from the land, and honestly, from each other. In this episode, I sat down with Josh Thomas from School of Traditional Skills to talk about what it actually looks like to rebuild that connection in real life, without needing 40 acres or some perfect homestead fantasy.
Josh and his team are teaching people how to grow, raise, preserve, and cook real food, and just as importantly, how to bring it back to the table where relationships get built. We get into practical starting points like bone broth and bread, and the deeper why behind it all: becoming producers, not just consumers.
You’ll walk away with a simple first step you can take this month, plus a bigger perspective on how traditional skills strengthen families, build confidence, and create a kind of resilience you can actually feel.
Why This Matters to You
Disconnected from your food and stuck relying on a system you don’t fully trust? Josh described how common that is, especially when healthy food feels expensive, inaccessible, or confusing to navigate.
“Traditional skills” are out of reach because you didn’t grow up with them? Josh explained that the generational pass-down is broken, so what used to be normal now feels unfamiliar, even though it’s still learnable.
Feeling like convenience has quietly made you more dependent than you want to be? Josh talked about how the modern system makes it easy to consume, but harder to produce, and how that shift builds dependence over time.
Your family is together, but not really connected? Josh shared how getting closer to food, cooking, and eating at the table creates a natural space for conversation and relationship to strengthen.
Unsure how to start when your life doesn’t look like a homestead? Josh emphasized there are entry points for everyone, whether you’re in an apartment, a suburban lot, or on acreage, and that cooking is often the most accessible first step.
Actionable Advice
Start with one whole chicken and use it completely. Roast it for dinner, then turn the bones into broth so you experience how one ingredient can create multiple nourishing meals.
Make eating together non-negotiable. Set a specific time to sit at the table without devices so the meal becomes a place of connection, not just consumption.
Invite your kids into real tasks. Slow down enough to let them participate in age-appropriate work, and explain why their contribution matters to the family.
Choose production over passive consumption. Replace one convenience purchase this week with something you make yourself, whether that is bread, broth, or a simple homemade meal.
Share what you create. Invite a friend or neighbor to eat with you so the skill becomes community-building instead of something you do alone.
Josh did not start with a massive school or a national platform. He and his wife began by trying to feed their own family well, growing food, raising animals, preserving what they harvested, and learning through trial, error, and persistence. Over time, they saw what that lifestyle was doing for their health and for their kids’ confidence and character. What began as a personal commitment to real food and shared work evolved into the School of Traditional Skills, where he now helps thousands of families reclaim the knowledge, connection, and resilience that used to be passed down naturally.
Links and Resources to Explore
Listen to the Full Episode – Available now on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
If you take nothing else from this episode, take this: you don’t need a total lifestyle overhaul to reclaim your strength. Pick one skill, do it this month, and share the result with someone you care about. Then go listen to the full conversation with Josh and let it spark the next step.
Leave a comment
All comments are moderated before being published.
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.