by Tricia
As our debt has been shrinking, my husband and I have been discussing what we hope to have in our future home. One thing for sure – we would like to be more self-sufficient and have land to have a decent-sized garden and a small orchard. I think to my childhood for inspiration here. We had a large garden, blackberries, wild asparagus and pear trees. Just down the road, we had apples. Us country kids would go out on picking trips and then take our stash to our forts. We’d munch on our healthy treats for days.
It’s funny how sometimes you end up trying to recreate some aspects of your youth. Anyways, back to the story on hand.
I wasn’t aware that there was a movement going on where individuals are learning to live off their land. This particular movement is mostly driven by fear of uncertain times ahead.
Convinced the planet’s oil supply is dwindling and the world’s economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn’t prepare.The exact number of people taking such steps is impossible to determine, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the movement has been gaining momentum in the last few years.
[Via Yahoo.com]
For my husband and I, our desire to live a more sustainable life boils down to family and finances. You can save a lot of money by doing what these survivalists are doing (except for stocking up on guns – that could probably get pretty expensive). We can also have more quality family time since less time needs to be spent pursuing more money.
My husband has met a family that is trying to live “off the grid.” They purchased something from us that we basically thought was junk but they are going to reuse it to meet their needs. From what my husband told me, they are trying to do it just to see if they could do it and to save money. I wish I was there for that part of the conversation because I would have asked a few questions. I arrived a little late for it. I do have their contact info so I may ask them for an interview if I can muster up the courage.
While we won’t go as far as some of the survivalists in the Yahoo story, we will try to incorporate sustainability as much as we can, when we can. First step? Planting an awesome garden this year!
