Life on the Homestead: On Becoming Self-Sufficient

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If you're thinking of becoming self-sufficient, a good place to start is in your own kitchen. Where does the food you eat come from, and could you produce more of it right in your own backyard?
If you're thinking of becoming self-sufficient, a good place to start is in your own kitchen. Where does the food you eat come from, and could you produce more of it right in your own backyard?
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You can fit a lot of plants into even a small yard.
You can fit a lot of plants into even a small yard.
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Backyard sustainability: local produce and a bicycle.
Backyard sustainability: local produce and a bicycle.
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Not enough room for a garden? How about containers on your steps?
Not enough room for a garden? How about containers on your steps?
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How do you know when you’re homesteading? When you have sheep in your car you know you’re off to a good start.
How do you know when you’re homesteading? When you have sheep in your car you know you’re off to a good start.
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A clothesline, aka a “solar clothes dryer.”
A clothesline, aka a “solar clothes dryer.”
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You don’t need to own a home to start raising animals. All you need is a backyard and an understanding landlord.
You don’t need to own a home to start raising animals. All you need is a backyard and an understanding landlord.
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Jenna’s fiddle. While you’re learning to be more self-reliant, why not learn an instrument and enjoy homemade music?
Jenna’s fiddle. While you’re learning to be more self-reliant, why not learn an instrument and enjoy homemade music?
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Jenna’s house dogs at work carrying dogpacks.
Jenna’s house dogs at work carrying dogpacks.
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Rabbits are a good animal to raise if you have limited space.
Rabbits are a good animal to raise if you have limited space.
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Owning your own farmstead may not be practical now, but it’s a wonderful dream for the future.
Owning your own farmstead may not be practical now, but it’s a wonderful dream for the future.
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Chickens on the back porch.
Chickens on the back porch.
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Taking some time to relax by the fire. Now this is homesteading!
Taking some time to relax by the fire. Now this is homesteading!
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Beautiful Idaho.
Beautiful Idaho.
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Jenna’s new book, “Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life.”
Jenna’s new book, “Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life.”

Late one night I was grinding coffee and listening to a radio show. There was nothing particularly interesting about this. Most nights I get the percolator ready for the next morning, and the radio is almost always on in the kitchen. But that night I realized something mildly profound: A hundred tiny efforts and decisions had converged right there on the countertop.

The radio was crank-powered, and the coffee grinder was an old hand-turner I had picked up at an antique store. I was standing in the glow of my solar-powered lamp with the aid of some beeswax candles. Suddenly, I realized that nothing I was doing required any outside electricity. I was seeing in the dark, grinding locally roasted beans and listening to renewable energy driven entertainment. As mundane as the situation was, it felt perfect.

Outside the kitchen, my trio of hens was cooing in their hutch. Snap pea pods, hanging heavy on the vine, were climbing up my windowsill. The dogs sighed and stretched on the kitchen floor. The smell of just-crushed coffee beans wafted through the air, giving me a sense of profound comfort. I felt that if the world shut down, we’d just go on grinding and stretching and sighing until we retired to a warm bed. Maybe it was the candlelight, or maybe it was the promise of fresh-brewed coffee in the morning, but in that moment I felt I’d accomplished more than anything I had ever achieved in my professional career.

Seeking and Becoming Self-Sufficient

My first step down the path to self-sufficiency happened when I started learning more about how products get to us consumers. I was considering a vegetarian diet to get in better shape and feel healthier. By reading a few basic books on vegetarianism, I started to learn about the mass production of meat in factory farms and all its related problems. The more I educated myself about how the meals I was eating got to my plate, the more disgusted and disappointed I became. I also became much more appreciative of small farms. The more I read about all the small organic farmers who treated their meat animals humanely and didn’t flood their planting fields with chemicals and pesticides, the less I could stomach buying those foam trays of meat and plastic bags of vegetables from the grocery store.

  • Published on Feb 16, 2009
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