Moving Back to the Land

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Abstract
A survey of urban-to-rural migrants and those planning such a move examined the "back-to-the-land" lifestyle, particularly with regard to its ecological responsibility. A dominant theme in the motivation and desired lifestyle of this group was self-sufficiency, i.e., growing their own food, generating power, educating their children, and so forth. The desired level of self-sufficiency was attained by relatively few people who had actually moved. In spite of the frustrations and sacrifices they experienced, however, nearly all respondents were extremely satisfied with the move. While no consistent "ideological" stance with regard to the environment seemed to motivate their changed lifestyle, many participated extensively in resource-conserving activities, and their interest in self-sufficiency seemed to result in a high level of ecological responsibility. The "back-to-the-landers" thus may provide a prototype of the ecologically responsible lifestyles that could be required more generally in the future.