Quality of life in an alternative lifestyle: The smallholding movement

Abstract

While the notion of alternative lifestyle usually evokes the stereotype of groups or individuals who live on the margin of the socially acceptable, the focus of this study, the smallholding movement, is a description and analysis of individuals whose alternative lifestyle is grounded in traditional values through the return to semi-subsistence agriculture on small parcels of land. The analysis operationalizes five quality of life (QoL) indicators and then through zero-order correlations and step-wise regression, attempts to predict the correlates of QoL. Prominent in the study are six value scales that are intended to capture the central concerns of the smallholding movement. The value scales, however, were relatively weak predictors of general QoL, while the actual lived experience of smallholding (community approval, employment of alternative technology) were relatively good predictors. In reference to specific satisfaction with smallholding as a way of life, however, values did become relatively good predictors of QoL. Notable by their absence as predictors of either general or specific QoL were urban based status factors such as education, occupation, and income, even though the small-holders themselves possess relatively high educational and income levels, and are employed in professional and technical occupations.