An informative email from a MSB reader, Bazza, who is currently living the self-sufficient lifestyle.
Just read the article, Survival Retreat Land Size and Considerations, and if I can just make a couple of points.
If you are wanting to survive any scenario that involves attacks, loss of any form of energy, a breakdown in government or whatever, you should already be living where you believe you have a good chance of survival.
We live such a life and the one honest fact I can pass onto you about our lifestyle is that it is not easy.
You are not able to move to a new location and expect to settle in and plant crops and get good returns in the first year. In many instances soils that have not been used for growing vegetables before can take up to three years to be made suitable either by inputting animal manures or growing green crops and digging them in.
It is a full time job for at least one member of a family, regardless of the family size, to maintain the food supply for that family. Cultivating, planting, watering, weeding, predator control, harvesting, saving seed, storing, fencing, and so on and on and on and……..
Keeping livestock is a must if you are going to be a survivor. Poultry, sheep, goats or even keeping fish takes time and effort but also adds to the diet and will give you a better chance to stay healthy.
We grow at least 90% of our vegetables and a lot of our fruit is preserved so that it can be used out of season.
I often wonder why many of the survival lists put generators at the top when electricity is not a true necessity. A generator can be a large dollar item and the fuel to run it would be better used in powering chain saws, water pumps, saw benches or agricultural equipment.
Our biggest user of the electricity we produce is refrigeration which is used to keep diary products, meat and some vegetables frozen for out of season use. We are in the process of altering our vegetable growing system so that instead of growing large crops of one particular vegetable at one time we are going to plant smaller lots more often so there will not be the need to freeze.
At the present time we are not growing any grain as it is just impractical but we always have quite a bit on hand as we use some to grind our own flour and we also use it to feed to the poultry.
It must be remembered that everything you get from the supermarket may disappear from the shelves if a true emergency were to occur. Sugar, salt, toilet paper (ouch), tea, dairy products and the list is huge. Your store should contain as many of the items that you purchase and it must be remembered that if you have enough of any item to last for a certain period of time, you have only that time to come up with an alternative or go without when it runs out.
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I keep hearing that living self sufficient is hard. However, this is just not true if you are equipped with the right knowledge.
We produced 100% of our food using intensive organic gardening and aquaponics; with winter gardens to avoid canning. We press fuel oil from sun flower seeds and run a 2 KW generator for power when needed; all without spending a fortune in solar.
Take a look at growing organic intensive. Starting with rock hard clay soil that will not grow grass in just one year the soil is soft enough to push you hand under it to 12 inches and rich enough to grow corn. No need for a tractor either. Biochar, compost, and humanure eliminate the need for buying fertilizer after the first year. A broad fork prepares the soil for the next year in only a couple hours. Hard? Im sorry I just dont see it!
Working a never ending enslaving job for 8+ hours a day, now that is hard. I dont do more than 2 hours work most days and I love it!
Further, take a look at food forest, the worlds most productive system of growing for very minimal energy inputs!
The hard part is making decisions to give up certain things, eating the same meal 4 times in a row ect ect. Yes, overcoming mental barriers is the hardest work you will ever need to do. You dont need a tractor and the huge money and energy systems to use it. You dont need a lot of land or water; 1/4 acre supports 4 of us just fine and unfinished clay pots irrigate the soil with efficiency as great as hydroponics. You dont need to eat out, you dont need to pump power to dryers, heaters, and air conditioners either, get a cool tube system.. You dont need to spend large sums of money on solar for power; syngas/woodgas runs gas motors just fine.
Further, there is no need to disconnect from power grids or the internet. Keep the power, but only use it if you have no other choice. Technology IS a good thing when used to improve life. Why use a hand drill when you can fire up a simple induction generator, plug in a drill and get 10 times the work finished in a day? Also, dont just produce food, produce something that you can trade with others for money or barter to get the things you need like internet to learn how to make biochar for example. Here we hacked routers and setup a network spanning 15 miles, now 5 families can share an internet bill.
Cost for us to do all this?
Land $4000
Home $8000 -now using natural building with on-site materials
Humanure composting system $30
4 kw Diesel motor $400
Induction generator $50 used motor and some capacitors
computer equipment $1200
Welding machine $200
Steel and other building materials $500
Truck $1500
Internet bill $7/month
Extras bought monthly, Toilet paper $14, Sugar $5, Flour $23, spices $5, truck gas $40, insurance $72, Savings $100, Cell Phone $30.
As you see it does not take much for a family of 4. This is easily made selling some gourmet salads, and fish fillets.
Learn to work with what you have and make it work, a skill that is required for a self sufficient life. Please people, Work Smarter NOT Harder!
DanD
Wow! that sounds too good to be true. Do you have a website demonstrating what you do? I would be very interested to look at it. If not maybe you should make one, it sounds like you have time! Maybe you could do a blog? I think this info could be very valuable to people.
I need a fence for my cavalier. Would wireless be better or underground wire? Which can make is the greatest? Has anyone any experience of this?. My dog will not be left outside unattended!! An electric fence will not electrocute other animals! Any positive comments out there?.