Interactive lesson

A five-year development plan, step by step

Interactive lesson: from the map to a work plan — a list of projects, the order, five years, a budget with reserve, hours and a yearly review.

Free sample Chapters 1 and 2 (8 steps) are free. The full lesson comes with the Development plan module. Already bought? Unlock

This lesson is general guidance, not professional training. Local regulations and expert advice always take precedence. Read our disclaimer.

The whole lesson as text

1. The picture in five years

The plan starts with a picture of the homestead as it will be in year five, drawn on the map.

Take the map — Take a copy of the map with the layout from H01-04. You build the whole plan on it.
Draw year five — Draw what the homestead looks like in year five: all buildings, plantings, fences, tracks and livestock.
The goal in sentences — Write three to five sentences: what you produce, how much food comes from the land, how much time you work and how much money the homestead costs or brings in.
Why five years — Fruit trees need 3–5 years to a full crop, a hedge 5–8 to become stockproof, and garden soil 3 or more years of compost.

Why: People overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in five. Five years is the time it takes a homestead to settle: fruit trees start cropping, the soil turns loose, and you learn what your land likes.

A shorter plan pushes you to do everything at once; a longer one is too uncertain to be useful.
For how much food your family needs, see H00-02 How Much Food a Family Needs.

2. The list of projects

Break the five-year picture down into projects with a clear end.

List every project — Enter everything in the five-year picture as a separate job with a clear end.
Place and precondition — For each project, note where it is on the map and what must come before it.
Estimate the money — Materials, services, equipment. For larger items get three quotes and use the middle one.
Estimate the hours — Enter the hours of work, yours and other people's. Then order the list by preconditions.

Why: “5 m³ tank by the shed”, “80 m garden fence” and “10 apple trees in the orchard” are projects. “Sort out the land” is not a project, because it has no end and can't be costed.

An estimate “off the top of your head” is almost always too low.
Prices for materials and services change from year to year and from area to area.