Is it possible to be totally self sufficient

A solar thermal system heats water. Photo By John D. A one-third acre-garden supplies the author and his family with a majority of their food. Photo By Lisa Kivirist. Creative cooking methods can save big. The author bakes wood-fired pizza in his homemade brick oven.

Photo By Liam Kivirist. Cracked blades were repaired in Neighbor and mentor Phil Welty designed his solar thermal system to heat domestic hot water on his homestead. Neighbor and mentor Phil Welty produced homemade biodiesel from fryer oil donated by local restaurants. A PV-charged, all-electric CitiCar is used for short trips to town to run errands. Community support: Transition Green County meets for farm skills training. Potlucks are a regular farmstead event for Transition Green County.

Creating community has been the way of homesteaders for centuries. The Journey to Self-Reliance Begins Today, our one-third-acre garden meets about 70 percent of our food needs. Continue Reading. Get Back to Basics Deciding where to start your journey can feel overwhelming. Cultivate Your Relationship For those embarking on their journey with a partner, not to be overlooked is the commitment you make with one another to find a shared vision.

Share your thoughts. More Comments. Related Content. Compact Cabins. Add to cart. Recipes From The Root Cellar. Advanced Bush Craft. Building Rabbit Housing E-Handbook. Re-Connect in Person with Farmers and Foodies. This is for Mustard Lovers! Solar on Schools. This text can be changed. Join Today! Already a Member? Sign in with your online account. Already a Member but don't have an online account? This text can be changed Register Today! We live on 2 acres and have an orchard, large garden, berry patches, grape vines, a herb garden, and livestock.

Plus, if you live on a larger amount of acreage, you could grow everything and raise larger livestock as well. So no matter where you are at, you can always take strides to start your own version of a homestead. Living simply is probably one of the most important keys to becoming self-sufficient.

Simplicity will save you a lot of money in the long run. So embrace a simple lifestyle. The less you need, the less you spend. So just try to reach some sort of agreement as to what you all believe as a family a self-sufficient lifestyle should or could look like for your family.

Finances are obviously a huge part of self-sufficient living. The reason is because debt is such a huge part of most cultures these days. If you can begin to save money and live simply, then you can beat that mindset. But what happens if your source of income is suddenly yanked away from you? Well, that is another area of self-sufficiency that you should consider. Think of ways you can begin to form your own businesses. It could be selling eggs, selling livestock, becoming a consultant, being a freelance writer.

The ideas are pretty well limitless. Here are some tips we offered up on how to make it as a modern homesteader. The last tip I have for becoming more self-sufficient is to ditch your debt. You need to work really hard to get out of debt as fast as you can. So I know it is not an overnight thing to get out of debt, but it should always be something that you try to avoid. And if you have to go into debt, you should always think of ways to pay that debt off faster than agreed upon just to relieve yourself of that struggle.

There are basic needs that have to or should be covered in order to be self-sufficient. Here are the items and ways for you to accomplish those on your own in order to embrace a self-sufficient lifestyle:.

Food is probably one of the easiest needs to meet in a self-sufficient lifestyle. The reason is because food can be grown in the ground or in containers.

Plus, all you need is a few seeds and a little knowledge , and you are on your way to growing as much food as your space will allow. You will need to secure some type of long-term residence. We did that with our current residence, and are carrying that same strategy over to our new larger homestead. She advises: "Flip the main breaker of your house to 'off' and live life as though you WERE off-grid You would be surprised at what you can live without. With many of us dependent on supermarkets, essentials like toilet paper are among the first things to run out if disaster strikes.

Nikki suggests investing in a travel bidet. For Jeff and Rose Burkinshaw, utilising the natural resources around their remote plot is vital. Living entirely off-grid in the wilderness of Canada with their five children, they grow their own food, forage and hunt animals such as moose and birds — all of which they document on their website and YouTube channel. Keeping bees — and therefore generating your own honey and protecting these essential pollinators — is a brilliant way to add some sweetness to your diet without spending a penny.

With an extended family of 10, hardworking bees, the Burkinshaws have a home that, in their words, "literally flows with milk and honey". According to Canadian blogger and survivalist Shawn James, preserving meat is a great way to make sure your food stocks last — just one of the self-reliant skills he shares on his YouTube channel and website. He built his own log cabin from scratch, using resources he collected himself from the forest. Shown here in the initial stages of construction, the completed cabin features rustic handmade furniture created by Shawn's own hand.

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First Name optional Then. Is it Possible? An Overview for Self Sufficient Living. Self sufficient living means learning to grow your own, make your own, sell your own and bake your own, for homesteading, urban homesteading or mini farms.

Self reliance is the way forward. There is no better time to do this, especially with the presence of climate change, food safety, and the gloom of economic and political uncertainty. You don't want to be in a situation where you have the chance to take responsibility for your own destiny, but failed because you either didn't have the skills, or the inclination to make the change.

I am all for turning lawns into lunch. Don't think you need a farm or homestead to be able to grow a couple of rows of vegetables and have a few nut and fruit trees.

You don't. However, let's be realistic, it is almost impossible for people to be totally self-sufficient. You probably do not live in climate where you can grow your own rice, sugar, wheat, or even have the space. However, this shouldn't put you off to try and be as independent as much as possible.

And if you re-adjust your current diet, you could be more self-sufficient that you thought possible. Growing vegetables in your own backyards is moving in the right direction to being self-sufficient. It's time we stopped thinking of large open spaces as being a pre-requisite for self-sufficiency. We can be self-sufficient at home with Backyard Gardening and be self sufficient, on just a fifth of an acre. Grow heirlooms seeds for that old-fashioned taste, and seed exchange with your friends and neighbors.

And can you eat flowers out of your garden?