The Self-Sufficiency Specialist. Alan Bridgewater

Making beer

       Making cider

       Making wine

       Making vegetarian soap

       Making candles

       Glossary

       Index

       Author’s foreword

      We were warned. We knew that we were poisoning our environment, so it had to happen. Our once green and bounteous Mother Earth is sick. This is not a hidden sickness; the physical symptoms are clear for all of us to see. The air is thick with pollution, our forests are shrinking, carbon emissions are rising, global warning is a measurable fact, our food contains so much rubbish that it is making us ill, the fish are dying, ocean levels are rising and there is climate chaos. The good news is that self-sufficiency offers exciting, dynamic, practical, down-to-earth solutions to the problem of how to live in a leaner, greener, cleaner way. No more sitting around being a victim and complaining about how the problem is so monumental that it can only be solved by people in power.

      Self-sufficiency offers practical and detailed solutions to the problems of living in a way that will invigorate the planet. Imagine an off-grid home independent of mains services, clean wholesome organic food, fresh air, growing your own produce, more exercise, less pollution, you and your children working and playing in a world humming with healthy wildlife. Self-sufficiency offers you a real, practical, pioneering, hands-on way forward.

       Measurements

      Both metric and imperial measurements are given in this book – for example, 1.8 m (6 ft).

       SEASONS

      Throughout this book, advice is given about seasonal tasks. Because of global and even regional variations in climate and temperature, the four main seasons have been used, with each subdivided into ‘early’, ‘mid-’ and ‘late’ – for example, early spring, mid-spring and late spring. These 12 divisions of the year can be applied to the appropriate calendar months in your local area, if you find this helps.

What is self-sufficiency?

       What will it involve?

      Self-sufficiency is an eco-friendly way of living that involves being self-contained in terms of energy, food and shelter. To put it another way, if you grow your own organic food, keep some livestock, cut back on your use of electricity and fossil fuels (natural gas, petroleum and coal), if you store away your produce, and generally spend a good part of your time working on the land, then you are well on the way to being self-sufficient.

       QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

      You may have dreamed about going self-sufficient but how do you put your ideas into practice? The following list of questions may help towards planning for a self-sufficient lifestyle that is tailored to your needs.

       LIFESTYLE

       Do you want your self-sufficient lifestyle to be an all-encompassing philosophy for living – something that touches every aspect of your life – or are you simply going to change some aspects for the better?

       Do you want to change everything at a stroke, or are you going for a little-by-little approach?

       If you have a partner – and this is of vital importance – is she/he totally with you on this?

       Do you want your particular dream plot to be in the city or in the country?

       Can you make your dream happen by staying in your present home and renting fields and allotments?

       Do you want a smallholding of, say, half a hectare (around 1 acre) or a hectare (around 2 acres)?

       Are you going to try to be organic?

       Are you going to try to be eco-green in all things – housing, food, clothing, possessions?

       Do you want to put all your time into self-sufficiency, or are you going to opt for a compromise and work for, say, half the week to supplement your needs?

       Do you either need or want to completely change your career for one that backs up and/or makes your self-sufficiency possible?

       Could you perhaps sell up your city home and use the money to buy a home in a less expensive area, such as the countryside or abroad?

       Could you join forces with like-minded people – friends, family or a commune?

       FOOD

       Are you aiming for a traditional smallholding set-up with, say, chickens for meat and eggs, a cow or goat for meat, milk and cheese, and crops to feed you and the stock?

       Are you a vegetarian, and if so how will this impact on your lifestyle?

       Are you going to try to be organic?

       Are you going to attempt to be completely self-sufficient in food?

      A small wind turbine will produce enough electricity to light the average home with 3–4 bedrooms.

       ENERGY

       Are you aiming to go off-grid and do without mains water, gas and electricity?

       Are you going to look to the past and manage without electricity? Or are you going to look to the future and go for high-tech solutions?

       Are you going to have a wind turbine?

       Are you going to have a geothermal plant?

       Are you going to super-insulate your home?

       Are you going to give up your car in favour of some other transport, or perhaps downgrade your present vehicle for something less fuel-guzzling?

       Are you going to have a borehole or well?

       ANIMALS

       Are you going to keep livestock such as chickens, pigs or bees?

       If you are not going to keep stock, how will you nourish your land?

       Are you going to keep the stock primarily for your food – eggs, milk and meat – or do you want to sell any surplus?

       Do you have enough space for stock?

       If you are aiming to keep stock (say a cow for milk), have you considered the implications – feeding, animal welfare, milking, 24-hour care?

The benefits