Self sufficiency

competitionscafe

Those are both great choices! (I place a high priority on scenery too) I think I would have a slight preference for France because I would love to live in or near mountains + the wine is better.

I really like Dorset, Devon and Cornwall too though - the West Country does seem to be a very popular choice for 'downshifting' and also seems to be becoming a bit of a haven for quality small food producers (great seafood too).

I am sure you will keep us all updated on your progress.

moanymoany

This is a site I discovered:

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/

I can't imagine living in a 'yurt', but some of the contents look quite interesting.

I would love to know if anyone has tried any of the ideas.


Wow, found another one, and these are both British sites for a change.

http://www.go-self-sufficient.com/

[Deleted User]

I have a small garden, no allotment, and live in a terraced house with my two kids and OH.

We are planning to become more self-sufficient and I am looking for a book to help that deals with achieving self-sufficiency in an urban environment (we will never be moving to the countryside). I was thinking The Self-Sufficientish Bible, but I don't know if it is any practical use?

I would appreciate any recommendations - thanks!

Penelope_Penguin

circlestarsquare wrote: »

I have a small garden, no allotment, and live in a terraced house with my two kids and OH.

We are planning to become more self-sufficient and I am looking for a book to help that deals with achieving self-sufficiency in an urban environment (we will never be moving to the countryside). I was thinking The Self-Sufficientish Bible, but I don't know if it is any practical use?

I would appreciate any recommendations - thanks!

Anything by John Seymour :T He suggests that you'll need more than a small urban garden, but his books are a great read, and anyone can dream

Red_Doe

The Ministry Of Food (repro of World War Two government leaflets and info) deals with growing your own food in a very economic and user friendly way. I think it would be ideal for you as you are in an urban environment and everyone, city/town/country had to dig for victory back then. I got mine very cheap ages ago from Amazon, you could look there. I also have the SSB but prefer the MOF to be honest.

tori.k

john seymore complete book of self sufficiency is a must read, it covers everything from the farm smallholder to the backyard gardener...its my bible

downshifter

Agreed - John Seymour is the god of SS. His complete book of SS has everything in it, from things you can do on a small scale or with an allotment, to things you can dream about (and even achieve) with a larger plot. Reading that has really changed the direction of my life and dreams.

DS

DitaBombita

I loaned from my local library last year The Self-Sufficientish Bible, pretty good. Actually they had quite a few SS type books, so Id check out your local library, they had a small section near the craft / cooking books.

ChocClare

Hi circlestarsquare and welcome to OS!

I agree with the others about John Seymour, but it can be a bit daunting if you're just starting out. If you go to your local library, you will probably find they have a "green" section - all the libraries in Bournemouth and Dorset seem to have this, so I think it must be the in thing. Anyway, they have got everything from reducing your global footprint to making cheese to herding your own llamas in our libraries, and there was a vast swathe of stuff to borrow for free and assess for yourself in the comfort of your own home. There are also a HUGE number of websites/blogs which are very helpful - self-sufficientish of course, but also cottage smallholder here and path to freedom here among the most obvious.

DH and I started out in a house with a small garden on the cliffs surrounded by town and holidaymakers. This did not stop us getting solar panels (saved MASSES and provided hot water May to October for FREE!!!! (well, sort of, we had to pay for the solar panels, LOL!)) or growing herbs, veg and some fruit; making compost; heating the house with wood-burning stoves and DH running his car on waste vegetable oil. We also had a Lister engine which also ran on WVO and ran a generator, but that was INCREDIBLY noisy so not very neighbour-friendly!

We have now moved out to the country and have more trees for fruit, keep chickens and bees and grow more veg than we could in town. But you can still do a LOT in an urban environment. Let us know how you get on!

Austin_Allegro

'Self Reliance' and 'The Lazy Vegetable Grower' by John Yeoman are both quite good. Mr Yeoman was able to grow veg on a smallholding in Bucks (thought to be almost barren) with his plant-pot vegetable growing method.