One of the most important aspects of self reliance is having some measure of control over your food supply. Most people accomplish this by several different means. They usually raise small backyard farm animals, plant a garden, home food preservation, as well as hunting and fishing. While these skills are the very foundation of self reliance, there are folks that are in no position to have a garden or raise animals. However, it is still possible to reach a great degree of self reliance by other methods. For example, it is possible to gain control over your food supply by simply stocking up on common grocery store items. Additionally, you must adhere to some basic principles of food storage.
These days there are numerous businesses that command a huge corner of the long-term food storage market. They also provide a lot of wonderful information regarding the value and advantages of their products. As a result, I have in fact purchased a number of things from theses...
For one thing, I do not think much about the apocalypse or the end of our societal structure as we know it. I do not dismiss these possibilities. I just have a tendency to focus on scenarios that are much more common place.
Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, forest fires, flash floods, major...
We live in a culture of consumerism that keeps us spending money. Advertising is bent on convincing us that buying things will make us a better, happier, healthier person. If you can’t afford it, buy now, pay later. There never seems to be any talk about actually living debt free. In fact, we are constantly pushed in the opposite direction.
Many of us perhaps start out our adults lives with heavy student loan debt. We add to that debt by taking out a mortgage in order to have our own place. We then upsize to accommodate a growing family and purchase a new vehicle as well. As life would have it, along comes the unexpected expenses that have to go on a credit card. The end result is that a high percentage of us enslave ourselves to deep personal debt. We then work endless hours to support that type of lifestyle.
Years down the road we realize we are living under a crushing load of debt. We start to think we are going to spend the rest of our...
Take a good look at your lifestyle. I think it is safe to say that most of us live under such a cloud clutter that we have long forgotten what it is like to live a simple life. In fact, we are so far down that path that we no longer even think about simplifying our life.
There are also many things that clutter our lives and yet produce no value. Our homes are cluttered with possessions. Our business lives are cluttered with busy work and meetings. Our personal time is cluttered with endless emails, voicemails, text messages, and phone calls. Furthermore, our personal and family lives are cluttered with an endless list of obligations. To make matters even more stressful, our financial lives are buried under a crushing load of debt.
There are so many things in our lives that cost us money every month and yet do not truly enrich us. Most people never even realize how much this clutter and the long list of meaningless obligations eats away our time and our back...
Just mentioning the possibility of voluntarily living off grid is almost guaranteed to bring blank stares and questions regarding your sanity. The reason for this reaction is that most people have a lack of understanding about being off grid. Such a thought conjures up visions of being thrown back into the dark ages with little or no conveniences, bathing in a cold stream, perhaps using animal skins for clothing, using an outhouse (or not), and living by candle light. However, with modern technology, the reality of living off grid is actually quite different.
Choosing such a lifestyle does not necessitate being a Luddite. Modern-day folks that live off grid often have a lifestyle that is a marriage between “old -fashioned” country skills and modern technology. They are often creative thinkers that manage to recreate many of the modern conveniences associated with city life. Their only real limitations are based on climate, regional conditions, available...
True self sufficiency refers to the ability to support yourself or produce that which you need without outside help. Think of true self sufficiency as a sort of personal or collective autonomy. You rely only on your own capabilities, judgments, and resources. You are responsible for everything that you do and everything that you don’t do.
So many people talk about achieving self sufficiency, which of course has a nice romantic ring to it. Self reliance is also a term that you will hear. There have even been times in the history of the US when remarkable numbers of people decided to reject “the system” and go back to the land. Many succeeded while many others failed. What made the difference?
This brings up the question of whether or not true self sufficiency is achievable. You must also ask the question of whether or not it is even possible? Or are we really aiming for self reliance?
At one...
Having grown up with 2 working farms in the family, we were about as self sufficient as you could be. We raised cattle, chickens, pigs, rabbits, goats, and had an extensive garden. We hunted, fished, foraged, canned and preserved food in every way possible. We never really talked about self sufficiency. It was simply the way we lived. But, were we actually prepping?
When I was younger, I thought all the effort at self sufficiency was way to much work. I deemed it unpleasant if only for the reason that my parents made me do it. At the time, I knew little of how such experiences would shape my adult life.
For the past 20 years I have had a cabin that is 100% off grid. It is the usual story of the utility companies wanting to charge way to much money to supply services. I loved the property and the location so I dedicated myself to learning how to live off the grid.
I installed solar, high efficiency DC appliances, eventually LED lighting, and built a...
In today’s culture, borrowing money seems to be a way of life. It is the only way most of us obtain those “big ticket” items. In fact, many of us could not fathom how our lives would function if we were not able to finance our lives. So we borrow money, make payments with interest, pay off the loan and thus establish a sound financial history. But what is this was not necessary? What if we could just have a simply life without complication? What if simplicity was the norm?
A good credit history serves us well down the road when we want to purchase other more expensive items especially real estate. Mortgage loans thus make it feasible for the common person to purchase a home or land so that we may “have our own place”.
Such practices are so common place in our culture that we take it for granted. After all, it is these types of financial practices, the ability to buy now and pay later, that make so many things available to us in life. However,...
I am the type of person that constantly searches for and reads articles concerning self-sufficiency, homesteading, green living, etc. I often come across some interesting discussions that catch my interest. One of the things I repeatedly come across is the term bugging out. This term is usually related to some survival or disaster scenario.
Even though the subject of this blog is not really about survival and prepping, I thought is was appropriate to at least address this issue of bugging out. In many ways it is actually related to self-sufficiency. Certainly if you decided that “bugging out” was necessary, it is in your best interest to know how to take care of yourself and your family.
The term “bugging out” comes from military jargon and may have originated as far back as the Korean War. Sometimes military personnel found themselves in a position that was no longer defensible or was likely to be overrun by enemy forces. In...
An important first step in preparing for the unexpected is simply establishing an emergency food supply. From the perspective of being self sufficient, having extra supplies is fundamental.
I grew up with two working farms in the family and we always had a large walk-in closet that was well stocked with home canned goods, extra dry goods, and other basic supplies. This was a normal part of being self sufficient. I would strongly recommend that you do the same thing. This is something that is very easy and inexpensive to accomplish and it is similar to having an insurance policy.
There are several distinct advantages to establishing and emergency food supply. On a very practical level, if something were to happen and you either could not work or you were simply unemployed for a period of time, you would still be able feed yourself. If a major storm comes through your area and there is a significant interruption in the local...
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Having grown up with 2 working farms in the family, I was active outside from a young age. I have lived off the grid for over 20 years and still going strong. I would love to teach you the skills of sustainable living and all else that is needed for you to be secure in managing your own resources.
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If you want to know more about sustainable living, being off the grid and having more control over your own resources.....