Self Sufficiency and Provisioning

Resiliency and self-sufficiency

In 1979, during a period of remarkable inflation, the U. S. Office of Consumer Affairs under Esther Peterson produces a manual called People Power, What Communities are Doing to Counter Inflation. Throughout the book there are hundreds of examples of communities realizing that others were not getting adequate care and respect and chose to come together to engage in critical thinking and problem solving.

Because of the Covid 19 virus, all around the world, people are reporting how difficult it is to do their normal daily / weekly routines. Grocery shopping, picking up doctors prescriptions, going out to eat, paying bills, banking, legal issues, entertainment.

We can spend time installing and maintaining backup and redundant systems, so we can have choices when the power goes down.  We can alos put energy into establishing and maintaining relationships with people who we trust and provide support in times of need.

Make your home more self-sufficient

  1. Procurement
    1. Buy flours and grains in bulk
    2. Cooperatively purchase materials for home.
  2. Cooking
    1. Try out new recipes.
    2. Appreciate the taste of home cooking again. 
    3. Bake breads to share weekly 
    4. Preserve fruits and vegetables seasonally.
  3. Gardening
    1. Grow a family garden
    2. Pot up vegetable starts for your porch
    3. Pot up surplus vegetable starts for apartment dwellers and shut- ins.
  4. Water User
    1. Reduce the burden on your own septic system by installing a grey water systems.
    2. Put your sink, laundry and shower grey water system
    3. Build your roof water catchment system for your garden
  5. Maintain your woodstove and forest lot. 
    1. Reduce the demand to cut down more trees.
    2. Maintain 100 foot fire safety zones.
    3. Eliminate low branches and bushes to minimize ladder fires.
    4. Cut and stack firewood
    5. Utilize discount senior or low-income fuel wood programs
  6. Energy Use
    1. Pick up scrap wood whenever you can. 
    2. Put heat shortage containers in your greenhouse
    3. Gather downed trees on your property for firewood
  7. Communication
    1. Maintain computers, printers.
    2. Keep land lines for regualr use and emergencies
    3. Maintain solar and quick chargers for cell phones
    4. Keep up to date on applications and software