KODAK, Tenn. — Home is where you make it and for one Kodak homesteader family, home has a definition different than most.
The Cox family teaches their kids all about hard work, farm life and the value of the land in East Tennessee. They also share their lives and advice online.
Off Douglas Dam Road in Kodak, people may notice a small farm stand. It's closed for the cold now, with pre-sold canned goods and elderberry syrup kits lining online shelves instead.
But during the warmer months, it's a place where Laura Cox shares her little piece of heaven with the world.
"We offered just a variety of different things that we grew and produced on the stand for people to come and shop," Cox said. "My hope is to make the world a brighter place to spread hope, to spread love, spread joy."
The five acres in Sevier County are where Laura, her husband Brad, and their two kids, Arless and Maybelle, call home. They call it "Cox Homestead."
"I find a homestead to be something that is giving back to your family, whether that be through animals, produce, through other ways of creativity and providing for your own needs," Laura said.
Years ago, Laura left her job as a social worker to build a family and a sustainable farm. She always knew she wanted to raise her kids at home, but knew in her entrepreneurial heart that she needed to make and sell things to help the community.
"We got into gardening and farming to teach the children how to work hard and teach them where their food comes from, and hopefully provide the highest nutrition and food we can give to our kids," Laura said.
They grow flowers and produce in their garden, as well as raise chickens and rabbits. Some rabbits are sold as pets, others for meat. What the rabbits expel is also up for sale to use in soil and compost.
"It is so rewarding to get something from the garden and have it on the table for dinner that night, or to know where your meat comes from or dress your table with fresh flowers," Laura said. "All those things are just things that can't be replaced at the grocery store."
Laura shares it all on social media, teaching others what it means to be homesteaders in a day and age of instant gratification.
"We use this opportunity to build relationships with the people around us and to teach others how to use the land that they're given," Laura said.
They're even featured in a YouTube documentary, sharing what their daily life looks like. The first episode was released Sunday. Videos will be released through the month of November, with one posted every five days.
"It features 30 different homesteaders across the nation and how they are using their little corner of the nation to produce, provide and even turn a profit off their homestead," Laura said.
It may not be the way everyone lives in this day and age, but Laura hopes their story inspires others to work hard and savor the goodness in simplicity.
Anyone who wants to buy some canned goods, rabbits or elderberry syrup kits can visit Cox Homestead on Facebook, Instagram or Etsy.
The farmstand is open at the Cox Homestead during the warmer months at 3024 Douglas Dam Road.