After 16 years of office job and cancer diagnosis, California family in 2016 left suburban life to build a 14-acre homestead in North Carolina mountains. What are they doing now?

Sometimes when life takes you to rock bottom, you bounce back stronger than ever before. Jason Contreras from Southern California is the prime example. In 2010, he was diagnosed with cancer - a health scare that changed his perspective on life completely. After 6 months of chemotherapy and in remission when Jason’s oncologist advised him to return to his normal life. That’s when Jason and his wife Lorraine decided to take control of their health choices. They made the brave decision to quit their jobs and move to the mountains of North Carolina for a simpler and holistic lifestyle.

Why California couple left city life

As per Jason and Lorraine’s official website Sow The Land, Lorraine worked at a fashion industry but left her job after their daughter Penelope was born to be a stay-at-home mom and homeschool her. Meanwhile, Jason, who was a computer drafter by profession, quit the company after 16 years as he wanted to live a more natural life.

In 2016, the couple sold most of their belongings and their Southern California home, bidding goodbye to friends and family and starting a new chapter in their lives. Initially, the pair started a small homestead on an abandoned 1.5-acre plot in the North Carolina mountains. 6 years later, they outgrew the place and moved to their current 14-acre property.

California couple runs a homestead

Jason and Lorraine have now learned to grow their own food on the farm, raise their own meat and improve the quality of the land and soil. They share the land with 2 steers, a pair of breeding kunekune pigs, meat chickens, egg-laying chickens, 2 geese, and 8 turkeys, as per The Epoch Times. The family has access to a private well and a creek. They plan on utilising the extra space for a garden and animal husbandry.

Jason and Lorraine also intend to turn old stables into a barn to host educational workshops, teaching willing participants how to plant and harvest crops as well as raise and butcher animals. The couple are homeschooling their daughter Penelope and are leading a life devoid of electronic distractions. The teen learns both from books and personal experiences.