CLAY COUNTY – At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, feelings of loneliness and uncertainty surfaced. A young Rianna Barbary discovered an idea to gain a friendly fellowship and meet a mutual goal.

The goal of everyone involved is to become fully self-sufficient and confident within themselves. With interests and hobbies revolving around homesteading and cultivation, Barbary created a niche Facebook group to find people with a common interest.

And she found an audience.

What started as a small group for local women in 2020 has risen to more than 800 members, and it is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women become more self-sufficient in their daily lives. As the founder and president of the Northeast Florida Homesteading and Prepping Ladies (NEFLHPL), Barbary continues to make sure that everyone involved can redefine independence for themselves.

“I was tired of feeling like I was the only one that cared about food preservation or gardening,” said Barbary. “And so when I started this group, it was like, ‘Oh, great! We all have things in common: we all like talking about these things.’ And I think that’s so important because no matter what the subject is, there will always be people with the same interests as you. It’s just about finding them.”

Growing up in Northeast Florida, Barbary has always liked the outdoors. From gardening to food preservation, she was interested in all things cultivation. And, with both of her great grandfathers being farmers, Barbary’s love only blossomed into her passion for homesteading and growing her own food.

In creating NEFLHPL, Barbary wanted to share the knowledge with other women in the area. When looking online, Barbary noticed that most homesteading spaces were predominantly male. In addition, Barbary wanted to beat the common stereotype that women need men to do the work.

“We don’t need a male figure to learn how to do it. We can learn how to do it on our own,” she said.

During the pandemic, Barbary also said she noticed many older women, especially widowed or divorced, in Northeast Florida who struggled with self-sufficiency and learning how to do things themselves. That propelled her to spark a change.

NEFLHPL aims to give women these opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency by helping them learn how to partake in homesteading activities such as gardening, hunting, fishing, knitting and sewing. The organization offers many programs with varying topics that women can pick from. For certain activities such as hunting, fishing and self-defense, NEFLHPL partners with other organizations in the community to act as a referral source.

Barbary said it’s important for women to learn these valuable skills to prepare for times of need.

“That’s what my mission started out as. I wanted to help women learn these essential skills that a lot of our ancestors knew. Any day they could do these things, now we’re having to go back to those things,” she said.

The organization also hosts frequent educational meetings where female guest speakers present their expertise. Barbary said in the past, one guest speaker who owned a birth center in Jacksonville prepped the women on doula services and safe water birth techniques.

In addition, Barbary said NEFLHPL also hosts opportunities for women to put a name to face by meeting in person and socializing.

“We want to keep reminding the women that it is about friendship, too. It doesn’t have to be learning all the time,” Barbary said.

Member Stephanie Sams recently joined the group and said it has been an amazing experience. Sams said she’s met women who range in homesteading skills such as writing books, raising animals and hunting. And because of this, Sams said she initially felt like an underachiever.

“These women are young enough to be my daughters. I’m like, ‘This is pretty impressive.’ So that’s how I got involved in it,” Sams said.

Sams said that learning how to garden has been her favorite aspect of the group.

“I have nine rose bushes, three hibiscus (and a) couple (of) crape myrtles that are still babies but in the process. I am a flower girl,” Sams said.

Sams said because it’s been such a male-dominated world, it’s important for women to learn how to be self-sufficient and confident on their own.

“I’m thinking, ‘Well, if my grandmother could do it, why couldn’t we all these years later?’” Sams said.

Barbary said the opportunities allow women to return to some techniques of the past.

“There’s really not a lot of opportunities like this anymore. I definitely think that, in our day and age, we’ve gotten away from things like food preservation, growing our own food, hunting, fishing, and all those things. So, I think providing a way for women to get back to those things is really essential right now,” Barbary said.

After officially becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Barbary said she has much in store for the organization’s future. Barbary said that next year, the NEFLHPL will be implementing a pilot program that will help disabled and senior women learn specifically about food preservation and health benefits. Barbary said the organization is currently taking public donations.

“By getting donations, we can help fund the program and be able to provide women with their own canning supplies and follow-up,” Barbary said.

Barbary hopes that women in the community continue to get involved with NEFLHPL and become more confident in themselves and their skills, whether that be through volunteering, spreading the word, joining or being a future guest speaker.

“We have a lot of great ideas and programs that we want to launch. So, right now, we’re just asking the community for their support. Help us help the women here in Northeast Florida become more confident in their self-sufficiency and prepping skills,” she said.