We love hearing from you, so here is your chance. Introduce yourself and tell us what makes you selfsufficient 'ish'. Go on don't be shy, we welcome one and all. You can also tell us how you heard about us if you like.
Hello
I'm new!!
I'm Desperate to start living my dream but am unsure where to start and that's why I'm here!!
To start with, the dream....
A little plot of land, a modest Eco house
Off grid electric and wood burner to heat house and water
Enough veg/ animals to feed 2adults and 3 kids!
Well, I'm not expert but I think the first problem is that to grow enough food to feed 5 people AND to feed the animals AND to have firewood for winter you'd need more than a little plot of land. So I suppose the first question you should ask yourself is how much land you could afford. If that ends up being financially crippling I guess it would kind of defeat the whole point of being self-sufficient.
If that's the case, as I imagine it is with most people here, then you'll have to settle for starting off by being self-sufficient-ISH and just making use of the resources you have at hand as best as possible. :)
Hi Tree, firstly, agree with everything Maykal says, you don't say where in the world you are or where you might like to be. Do you have any experience of growing food and raising animals. A modest Eco house can equate to a heap of cash, so making the one you have or one you might buy more efficient is sometimes a good way to go, which is what we have done, oh as well as moving country to somewhere we could buy outright with land, Sometimes living the dream is not all it is cracked up to be so being self sufficientish is a good place to start. Woof and Helpex is also good to get a bit of hands on experience, some places welcome families so you could see how you would get on. Don't forget if you find cheap land and a cheap house, there is a catch, cheap land is never a good investment and if you need to find work, because we all still need money, being in a part of the country or another country where there is economic decline, you will find it hard to earn any and locals will often be given priority over incomers. You need money, there are always lots of costs involved in keeping animals, feed, fodder, fencing, housing, vet fees etc and land may need drainage, landwork and setting up polytunnels, wood for beds eat into savings very quickly and it is expensive keeping a vehicle on the road in rural areas because of mileage you need to do to get places and it is hard on tyres and suspension etc, I know because we have done it and now have no savings left at all. A lot of kids in rural places have to be ferried around for miles to various schools and activities and you have to be mindful of what there will be for them in the future.
First thing that you need to ask yourself is: What your dream is. If you want an easy life, being selfsufficient is not for you. Very few people are completely self sufficient for good reasons. It is not that practical and most of us like stuff like coffee and chocolate which we cannot grow ourselves.
We moved onto our land 4 1/2 years ago. We have chickens and grow or forage a lot of our food. We want to get pigs and bees next year but have had to concentrate on getting our charcoal and courses business off the ground and deal with planning permission issues. It is all a lot of work but it is also very rewarding.
Work out what you want to do, what you can do. Make sure that your whole family is behind the idea. Be realistic and pragmatic but do not be put off by people who say that it cannot be done.
If you still insist, start small, move on, do as the other nice people say.
If you have any history of depression or mental illness forget it......
Pick blackberries scrump apples and dream, it's better I promice
Millymollymandy wrote:Bloody smilies, always being used. I hate them and they should be banned.
No I won't use a smiley because I've decided to turn into Boboff, as he's turned all nice all of a sudden. Grumble grumble.
I agree with you Boboff and you do need help, it is really hard sometimes doing all the jobs that need doing on your own, that doesn't help if you are feeling depressed and overwhelmed and then there are a million jobs to do, but you can't get out of the kitchen and into the garden ........ sometimes it is better just to have lovely dreams about country living and the good life
Don't be put off. But it's great advice to start small. What can you afford/have time to do now? There's loads of ideas on this site about where to start, small things you can do to get going, stuff to grow in pots. No point buying a huge plot of land if you don't know how to grow cress. Save money, do your research, put a plan together, involve the kids, spend some time on a farm. There you go, plenty to get you started.
Sorry :) I have a small allotment at home and am in my second year of growing! It has been a slow process but this year I've had a really good crop of marrows and tommatoes!! I also have 6 chickens and we regularly get eggs!! I lie this feeling and just want more!!! Lol xx
have you got the room for a small tunnel or greenhouse, that is really the way forward, I started life with a 6x4 greenhouse and six little raised beds, how much space do you have? how much space do you want to give over to veg gardening, are you in the uk? perhaps you could put your name down for an allotment to grow things like spuds and stuff that take a lot of room, that would give you a good feel for extra space and how to manage it
