on the part of governments is that, for growers who once advocated factory farming, facts, figures and reports have shown that the dangers of agrochemicals and pesticides are all too real. The endless food scares have shown that ‘what goes around comes around’. The simple fact is that, if we spread poisons on the land today, these self-same poisons will be back on our plates tomorrow.
All that said, while we do have to look at the negatives in farming – if only to see how not to do it – it is so much more exciting and upbeat to look at the positives. Perhaps it is enough to say that, from a self-sufficiency viewpoint, organic gardening and organic food can be equated with tastier food, healthier eating, more exercise, improved nutrition, a healthier environment, better soil conditions, better wildlife and geneally a healthier lifestyle.
Home-grown organic food is the best option on many counts – it is tastier, healthier and all-round good fun to grow.
LIFESTYLE
Being self-sufficient will eventually have an impact on every aspect of your life – where you live, how you live, the work you do, the car you drive, the food you eat, and all your activities. In this respect, it is very difficult to dabble with self-sufficiency, or settle for half measures. For example, it would be strange to become interested in off-grid energy and then buy a car that has a very high fuel consumption – the two just would not go together. So it is for food, entertainment, clothes, everything. Once you start out on self-sufficiency it is very difficult to be anything other than totally committed. Being committed does have its problems, and it can be hard work, but the positive aspects will by far outweigh the negative ones. You will be eating better food, your appetite will be better, your stress levels will go down, you will know what it is that you are eating, you will get more physical exercise, you will be fitter, you might well be able to give up your car, and you will be presented with a whole range of interesting food-producing options – chickens, pigs, bees, organic gardening. You may be able to say that you are physically tired and exhausted, and doing so much exercise that you are losing weight, but you will not be able to say that you are bored or stressed, or have difficulty sleeping.
If nothing else, digging the garden will make you fitter, and you won't have trouble sleeping.
How can I get started?
To become self-sufficient, there are many ways to begin. You could stay as you are and make lots of small modifications to your life; you could go for one massive life-changing upheaval and move house and career; you could make it work in the town, or in the countryside, or abroad. There will almost certainly be an option to suit your specific needs. There are lots of ways of reaching the same destination.
MAKING SMALL CHANGES
You could turn your garden over to producing food, change your diet, adopt different shopping habits, change the way the house is heated, change your use of electricity, gas, oil or solid fuel, change your vehicle, walk to work, only work half of the week, and so on. You could run an allotment, rent a piece of land, keep chickens and sell the eggs, or keep bees, for example.
A good solar heater will help reduce your water-heating costs.
MAKING A MAJOR CHANGE
We are all very different – different ages, and with different family and financial commitments – but in my opinion the best, and perhaps even the easiest, method of going self-sufficient is to move to a plot in the countryside. Certainly, such a major change would involve a lot of forward planning, and you would have to build in all sorts of safety nets, but it would be a great goal to aim for. Of course, you could in the mean time prepare the way by making lots of small changes as described above.
GATHERING INFORMATION
As with any great journey or scheme, it is vital that you prepare by gathering as much information as possible. You must talk to your friends and family, visit possible locations, look at your assets, talk to people who are self-sufficient. You must consider every aspect of what is possible, and then research all the implications. If you want to move to the countryside, you should have an extended visit. If you want to keep animals, you should try working on a farm. You must base your dreams and subsequent plans on good, solid, reliable information.
Questions to ask yourself
If you do want land – how much do you need?
Could you make it all work in the town or city, or do you need to move to the countryside where the land and property are often less expensive?
Could you make it work by moving abroad?
If you do have plans to move to another country, can you speak the language?
If you have children, how will your plans affect their lives? Are they at a critical stage in their schooling?
Do you want to go off-grid – no mains electricity, water or gas?
Do you have practical skills in woodworking, electrics, plumbing, cooking, gardening or animal husbandry?
Can you make it happen by staying put and renting fields and allotments?
Do you want/need the support of a like-minded group – a community?
Do you want/have to make a complete career change, or can you make it happen by adopting a career that backs up the self-sufficient set-up?
Do you have enough assets to make your plans possible?
Could you join forces with your parents, your partner’s parents, friends or family? If yes, have you ever lived and/or worked together?
If you go in with parents or friends – how will such an arrangement affect other members of the family?
If you go in with friends, partner or family, what happens if one party wants to pull out?
Could you form a co-operative with friends and neighbours, with you all clubbing together to buy land?
Could you join forces with family members to purchase a good-sized country house complete with land?
Do you want to go the whole hog – move house, grow your own food, keep livestock – or would you be content to stay put, concentrate on beekeeping perhaps, and sell your produce in order to buy in other goods and services?
GETTING DOWN TO DETAILS
Once you have decided in broad terms that you want to be in the town or the countryside, you must start looking at the fine details of what is possible. The following will point you in the right direction.
