What does self sufficiency mean to you?

[NH Homesteader]

It's a catchphrase right? You see it everywhere on the internet, people going back to their roots and escaping the daily grind! But what does it mean to you? What are you doing to be more self sufficient? What do you wish you were doing? What the heck does it mean to be self sufficient anyway?

 

[sumi]

This is an interesting set of questions… and a great topic! For me self sufficiency means being independent. I.e. not needing to rely on providers for things like food, energy, etc.

I went from being fairly SS, harvesting rain water, growing vegetables, keeping a large flock of chickens and raising and butchering pigs (selling eggs, chickens, meat, fire wood and meat) to having just a small flock of chickens and growing a few veggies in containers to get my "fix", but I would love to be able to do more. Keep more animals and grow my own vegetables on a larger scale. Keep a goat or three for milk, etc. Right now, where I live makes that impossible, but once I moved and onto the right property…

 

[tortoise]

SS means to me.....

• Relying less on the grocery store
• Participating less in consumerism-related social norms
• Opting out of public school for secular reasons
• Getting to learn something new and experiment with wacky projects!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

For me, it means being as independent as one can be in todays world. Call me a control freak, lol. But, I like growing as much food as possible. I like keeping animals. I like knowing where my food comes from and what went into it. I like saving money. If I can grow better and safer food and save money doing it - why wouldn't I? I like projects - turning pretty much nothing into a little bit of something. I like having a back up system for electricity that will hold us over in the event of an outage. I like a challenge!

 

[Wannabefree]

For me it's financial independence, unsustainable fuel independence, utilizing as many local resources as possible, and most importantly BEING a local resource. If we aren't teaching the next generation we are really just pissing in the wind so to speak...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Dang, I like that answer. I love seeing young 'uns getting started in this lifestyle!

 

[NH Homesteader]

That is a good point. I wish I had started when I was younger! (not that I'm that old) I make a point of teaching my daughter as much as I can. She may not choose this lifestyle but she will know how to do things for herself if she ever needs/wants to.

 

[Wannabefree]

Yeah and the kids are sponges when you start teaching them!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

They really are -my grandkids (yes, I am THAT old) LOVE to come to the farm. They want to help with everything - and I let 'em!

 

[Hinotori]

To me it means relying on myself for as much as I can do. I'm not able to be fully self sufficient, but I do as much as I can.