My Self-Sufficiency tested yesterday
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Unexpected events can test self-sufficiency
Where I live an element of self-sufficiency is a must. I recently moved out of the city and now the nearest village is 2 miles away and it’s 3 miles to the nearest shop. I’m surrounded by farmland and hills and when the weather turns I’m told it can be bad. No doubt I’ll find out in the next few months!
Overnight there had been some pretty strong winds and severe rain. Yesterday morning the usual route to the village (to get my daughter to the school bus) was impassable as the river was about 5 feet high at the ford and looked too high even for the 4×4. An alternative route was blocked by a fallen tree that was too large to move. Luckily we have a third route – a little longer but it gives us access should we need it, just like yesterday.
So a little inconvenience and the kids were a little late for school. No big deal.
A few hours later the river had dropped and the tree had been moved out of the way– not by someone from the council, but by a local farmer who took a couple of his men off their usual work to get the road open.
Communal self-sufficiency
At first glance this might not sound like an example of self-sufficiency but I would disagree. It wasn’t really my, or my family’s self sufficiency that was tested, it was that of the local community. The farmer didn’t have to divert his men to clear the road. It isn’t his road, it’s not on his farm and he doesn’t even have to use it, but his men worked all day to help the local community get back to normal. No council workers. No calls for help. Just the locals pulling together to get things back to normal. Self-sufficiency at a community level.
Simple self-sufficiency – Help yourself and others
The big test will come when we get winter snow. I’ve seen photos of this place from the last few years and it gat be pretty bad up here. Some aren’t able to get to work or school for a couple of weeks. When that happens you need to have made some preparations and be practicing self-sufficiency already.
A stock of food is vital. If you can’t get to the shops, or the shops can’t be supplied, for a couple of weeks, you have a major problem. So having a few weeks worth of food is just sensible. A 3-6 month’s supply would be best self-sufficiency practice. That way you can also help others in time of need.
Heating fuel is a must. Most homes around here use heating oil so we stock up now with enough to take us through the winter. A few years ago I remember reading about the problems people were having getting heating oil in the middle of one of the coldest winters on record. There was a shortage and some places were inaccessible. I remember thinking “why did they not order more earlier on?” But this just illustrates how we are used to the “just in time” supply system. True self-sufficiency would demand an alternative fuel source, rather than relying on oil from a supplier.
Water isn’t really an issue for us as we are fed by a local spring, but for others it would be prudent to store some. An alternative, independent supply and some means of storage would be the best self-sufficiency practice.
There’s lots of other preparations necessary to achieve self-sufficiency and I could write a long list, but these vary depending on your situation. The best additional measure to achieve self-sufficiency that anyone can take is to get together with your local community. Practice self-sufficiency as a community and help each other, nit just yourself. When times are hard or unexpected events occur you will need their help and support.
Until next time…
Dorian
PS. If you have any suggestions on how to practice personal and community self-sufficiency, just comment on my Blog here.