Self Sufficiency

As time races on and this cycle comes to its end it is ever more important that we be prepared for whatever events come upon us. In keeping with the mission of the Foundation, that of soul liberation through education, healing and self discovery, this section focuses on self sufficiency and emergency preparedness. If you live in a disaster prone area however, the most important first step you can do is move to a safer one. The topics and resources presented here will help you get started to create and maintain a self sufficient lifestyle.

Being self sufficient doesn't mean living without modern day amenities. It's about taking back control from outside entities towards a more independent existence. It's a choice to live purposefully with an awareness of our impact on the environment and each other. Changes can be small or large in how we choose to live but a change is necessary and self reliance essential for family and community.

Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century, Dick & James Strawbridge
Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World, Mark Frauenfelder
The Self Sufficient Life and how to live it, John Seymour
The Homesteading Handbook, Abigail Gehring
The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading, Nicole Faires
Urban Homesteading, Rachel Kaplan with Ruby Blume
Emergency Preparedness: website for preparedness essentials
Mother Earth News- www.motherearthnews.com

General Guidelines: Must haves for Emergencies

Listed below are those items deemed by experts in the field of emergency preparedness necessary for survival and well being. To this we would add additional items outlined in the following sections which take preparedness to the next level, that of self sufficiency.

Top 10 Must Have Non-Food Items:
1. Sources of Light: flashlight, candles, fires, etc...
2. Means of cooking: fire, campstove, grill, etc...
3. First Aid items
4. Garden Seeds
5. Personal Hygene Items
6. Weapons and Ammunition
7. Cash/Precious Metals
8. Bleach: household cleanser and purifies water
9. Water Filtration System
10. Energy source

Growing Your Own Food

Even if you have no yard or only a small area of land, you can grow a garden. In an area as small as a 4 X 4 square, with good sunlight, you can grow a bountiful garden of vegetables and herbs. With a balcony that gets good sun you can grow herbs and vegetables in raised beds or containers. Even in colder climates, growing seasons can be extended through the use of greenhouses and cold frames.

Participating in community gardens, joining a Community Supported Farm (CSA) or even going to your local farmers markets are great ways to take advantage of locally grown produce and meats.

Square foot Gardening, Mel Bartholomew
Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners, Suzanne Ashworth
Grit- Magazine

www.freshpreserving.com/home.aspx This site offers instruction to get one started on canning and freezing your fresh produce.
www.seedsavers.org Seed Savers Exchange: a non-profit dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
www.localharvest.org Local Harvest: web site to find local farmer's markets, family farms and other sources of sustainable grown food in North America.
www.hobbyfarms.com

Wild Edibles and Perrennials: Don't forget nature herself provides food. Here are some resources about Nature's bounty. Next time you're tempted to eradicate those dandelions from your yard, think again!

The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants, Samuel Thayer
God's Free Harvest: How to Prepare and Prosper During Uncertain Times Ahead, Ken Larson
Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide, Thomas S. Elias & Peter A. Dykeman
Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification, Thomas J. Elpel

Edible Landscaping: Think beyond ornamental plants, trees and shrubs and look for ways to incorporate edible plants in your landscaping. Plant fruit trees, berry bushes, herbs, flowers, and veges throughout your yard and you will not only be feeding your family but attracting beneficial wildlife as well.

The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden, Ivette Soler
http://www.garden.org/ediblelandscaping/ The US National Gardening Association

A note on fruit trees: they come in many sizes these days so even if you have a small area of land, you can still have a few fruit trees. Mini dwarf trees grow to only 4-6 feet tall with full sized fruit so they are easy to care for and take up little space.

Animal Husbandry

Keeping animals is a big step toward a self sufficient life. Depending on where you live, how much land you have, time and money will determine the type of animal that can be maintained properly. Chickens have been around for centuries and are one of the most commonly kept animals. Besides the fact that they are relatively easy to care for, they also provide many resources including eggs, entertainment, and meat. With a little research and preparation keeping animals can provide much that is fulfilling and sustaining in life.

Chickens: www.communitychickens.com
www.backyardchickens.com
www.chickenkeepingcom
Bee Keeping:
www.bestbeekeeping.com
www.beginningbeekeeping.com
Goats and Sheep:
www.raisinggoatsguide.com
www.sheep101.info

Food Storage

We are told by emergency preparedness experts to have at least 3 days supply of food and water in case of emergencies. We would go way past that and say have enough food and water to last you and your family 6 months to a year. It doesn't have to be an expensive endeavor.

FDA article on longevity of canned foods: excerpt- "Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. The nutrient values varied depending upon the product and nutrient. NFPA chemists Janet Dudek and Edgar Elkins report that significant amounts of vitamins C and A were lost. But protein levels remained high, and all calcium values 'were comparable to today's products."

Build your own food storage supplies: With some 5 or 6 Gallon buckets you can store enough rice, beans, oats, wheat, sugar, powdered milk, etc… to last quite a while. Gamma Lids make a nice addition to these buckets. Look around your area to see where bulk grains and legumes can be purchased or fill the buckets up gradually. As you go to the store buy extra each time for your storage supplies. Along with the grain and legumes, you can purchase extra cans of meats and vegetables, and in no time you can have a well stocked pantry.

Purchase Food Storage: If you don't want to build your own emergency storage, there are many sites which sell year supplies of food for long term storage. These usually contain freeze dried and dehydrated foods in #10 cans and buckets of grains and legumes. You can also purchase individual buckets already filled and individual #10 cans. Provident Pantry and Mountain House are the two most common manufacturers of #10 cans of food. Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) are also a popular item for long term food storage.

Other Food items experts have deemed necessary to Food Storage:
Bottled water, pastas, rice, canned soups, canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, popcorn, salt/spices, powedered milk, cereals, beef jerkey, grains, cooking oil, nuts, vinegar, dried fruit, spices, honey, baking essentials, coffee (for barter), alcohol (barter item), juice powders, peanut butter, salsa, ramen noodles, pet food, and special needs food items.

We don't advocate one supplier or store over another but here are some that can get you started in your research for long term food storage needs. Search around and find the best solution to your individual needs.

US Sites:
Emergency Essentials: http://beprepared.com
Pleasant Hill Grain: www.pleasanthillgrain.com
Mountain House: www.mountainhouse.com
Homegrown Harvest: http://www.homegrownharvest.com/
Sun Ovens: www.sunoven.com
Solar Oven Society: www.solarovens.org/

EU sites:
Emergency Food Storage: http://www.emergencyfoodstorage.co.uk/
Mountain House: http://www.mountainhouse.eu/

Water and Water Filtration

A clean fresh source of water is essential for life and must be a part of your strategy. If you have a clean source of water nearby such as a stream, river, lake, or spring you are in luck. You may only need to boil, filter or chemically treat it to make it potable. If you don't have a source nearby you must include water storage in your planning. There are excellent filters on the market, hand held to table top that you can have on hand for making water potable. For emergencies you can store chemical tablets to treat water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterborne_diseases

Filters: filters mechanically remove bacteria and protozoa through the filter element. A couple of the main manufacturers of portable filters are: Katadyn and MSR
Chemical Tablets: are composed usually of iodine to kill harmful bacteria. They affect the taste of the water but are effective.
Boiling: as effective as the above two methods but takes more time.

Drip Gravity Filters: not inexpensive, but a great filter to have on hand. The filter elements usually will last months of constant use.

Monolithic: http://www.monolithic.com/stories/a-practical-life-sustaining-water-filter
Katadyn: www.katadyn.com
Berkey: www.berkeyfilters.com

Desalinization: process in converting salt water to fresh. This can be done with filters or through evaporation where water is separated from salt and minerals with heat, the vapor condensates and the resultant condensation is collected in a separate container.
http://www.wikihow.com/Turn-Salt-Water-Into-Drinking-Water

Water Barrels and Rain Water Cisterns: Capturing rainwater from your roof is a great way to water your garden during those dry summer months. You can purchase ready made water barrels or make them yourself out of 55 gallon food grade drums or even a garbage can. This water is usually not considered safe to drink unless additional purification steps are taken.
How to make your own rain barrel: http://www.motherearthnews.com/do-it-yourself/how-to-make-a-rain-barrel-ze0z11zkon.aspx

Cisterns are usually an underground basin sealed from contaminants with attached filters for use as potable water. These cisterns can be made from many types of materials and are practical ways of capturing water in water scarce areas.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/washington_marietta/docs/plans_for_developing.pdf http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1978-05-01/The-Homestead-Cistern.aspx

Sanitation

Sanitation: Having good sanitation is vital to health and well being. Here are some suggestions for when sewage systems break down, you find yourself in the wilderness or you are looking for a more sustainable sanitation system for your home or cabin.

The Humanure Handbook: a guide to composting human manure, Joseph Jenkins
http://humanurehandbook.com/
Holy Shit: Managing Manure to Save Mankind, Gene Logsdon

Compostable toilets: These systems use little or no water, don't smell and are a great alternative to the water and sewage wasting traditional toilets of today.
http://www.compostingtoilet.org/

Pet Waste Composting: Let's not forget our pets.
http://www.cityfarmer.org/petwaste.html

Greywater systems: grey water is wastewater from domestic sources such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing. This type of water can be recycled for use in landscaping or in creating wetlands. Greywater is different from sewage which is termed black water in that it contains no fecal matter.
http://www.greywater.com/

Renewable Energy

Energy harvested from the sun, wind, earth and water are renewable, non-polluting forms of energy that are readily available. Systems designed for off grid home use have an advantage over grid tied systems in that during emergencies, electricity is available even if the grid goes down. Systems can be small or large, depending upon budget, location, and type of system.

Aside from whole energy systems for homes, there are many useful devices that run off solar and mechanical energy. These include battery chargers, cell phone chargers, portable generators, flashlights, landscape lighting and cooking. These devices come in handy during emergencies and should be a part of your emergency kit.

www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tech/home
http://dsireusa.org/ website of the US State Incentives for renewable energy and efficiency

Emergency/Camping Supplies

Even if you are not an outdoorsman, everyone should have basic camping supplies as part of their emergency kit. Think about what you have at home that makes your life comfortable and translate that into what you would need in the wilderness to cover the basic necessities: food, water, shelter and fire.

You can go to your nearest sporting goods store, army surplus, or outdoor store to find endless items that make camping out, surviving in the wilderness or enduring an emergency, more comfortable.

Here are some suggested items to include in your kit:
Backpack into which you can pack much of these items
Handpowered flashlight
Emergency Radio- solar and/or hand crank
Travel First Aid kit
Paracord
Sleeping bag
Emergency Rations
Water purification tablets
Cooking supplies
Whistle
Waterproof matches
Mirror
Tent
Knife and a Multi tool
Axe
Baby wipes
Oral hygene
Hand shovel
Fishing and/or hunting gear
Sewing kit