Hi everyone! Its January in Iceland, and it has been four months since I have been ordering items for my seed collection and attempting to germinate them. Then, with artificial lights, the challenge is to keep them alive and well, over the dark Icelandic winter. Since the day is only around 3 hours now, I keep the seedlings indoors, with four conventional energy saving fluorescent bulbs. I switch them on 14 hours during the day, and switch off when I go sleep. I also have cheap geothermal hot water (a blessing of Iceland) for radiators above which I try to germinate the tropical species (such as dates, palms, pigeon peas, jícama), in mixtures of…
Category: news Self-sufficiency
Living off the grid – Generate less energy to save money
Living off the grid requires anyone to figure out ways to cut back in what they spend in order to survive. When someone attempts living off the grid they will generally have less income which means they need to reduce their expense to compensate. There are many simple things anyone can do to their house right now to cut their daily living expenses down to both put more money in the bank and lesson your over requirements for energy. Five things you should do right now if you are living off the grid A daily and constant draw is as simple as a light switch. If you switched out the light bulbs in your house with …
Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu Recalls His Father’s Suicide
I was visiting the Xiu Xiu website, since every now and then Jamie Stewart will write something of interest: either dramatic life stuff, or fun silliness, and came upon a really intense post about his father’s suicide which occurred 10 years earlier. Here it is in full: On November 13th, 2002, 10 years ago, my father, Michael, killed himself. He may have actually died on the night of the 12th, but my mom found his body on the 13th. Her own mother had died only 6 months before. I have never told anyone my entire experience of those days or of the funeral. At the time I …
Intro to Synthetic Biology
January 5, 2013 (LocalOrg /Tony Cartalucci) – Professor Jamie Davies walks an audience through the coming synthetic biology revolution. Comparing it to the personal computer revolution of the 70’s and 80’s, Professor Davies explains the lessons learned and how they can be applied to developing an open and constructive use of synthetic biology. What is synthetic biology (video)? It is the next step in genetic engineering – not simply copying and pasting genetic code from one life form to another, but creating entirely new genetic sequences, and thus entirely new life forms. Already, competitions like MIT’s iGEM, pit universities and even high schools against one another as they develop new forms of synthetic biology using “biobricks” -open source, standardized components that can be interchanged in the designing of a…
Truman Lake MO, interested in sustainability
I’m interested in networking with people in my area to share ideas and possible resources. Solar energy and sustainable living are my main interests. I’m 56, work full-time at a job I plan to retire from, own and living on two small properties close to Truman Lake and I want to make one of the properties self-sufficient. No leeching lazies/druggies/drunks/or militants. Zero tolerance for drama.
Mark’s Pickled Cucumber Recipe/s
The famous pickle Cucumbers are the most famous of all pickles, so famous that if I asked, “would you like a pickle?” You would probably assume I was offering a pickled cucumber when in fact a pickle can mean many different foods – which have been pickled (like peppers). As I explained in our last article, How and why to grow cucumbers, pickled cucumbers are so important even massive food chains are made off the back of this simple ingredient. Ok, so it may be a little tongue-in-cheek to say sliced pickles are the backbone of McDonalds but still, this humble ingredient is integral to many of their burgers (even…
Group Foraging Days
Family Foraging Courses/Group Foraging Courses Don’t see a course in your area? Want an unique Christmas present? Think you could get between a group of 2 to 14 people together who would like to go on a wild food walk? Then email Dave (dave (at) selfsufficientish.com) with a list of preferred dates and locations, if you find one mutually agreeable click on the button below to book and pay for the course. Only £300 a day You will be sent a personalised card with a personalised voucher (or emailed if it is needed urgently). Suitable for landmark birthdays (30, 40, 50 60), Hen or Stag Days, Anniversary’s or…
Just a catch-up
… and, I’m back… Sorry for the absence, I know it’s been awhile. Sometimes building this mad lifestyle just takes everything I’ve got. It’s not even how busy it gets, which it does, it gets crazy busy, but it’s all the rest of it, the struggling to keep my profile high enough so things happen. That’s the key, if you were interested, in how to write for a living, keep your profile high enough so things happen. And while I’m doing that, I’ve become more self sufficient than I ever was before. That’s good. At least it feels good. I’ve found some really fun self sufficient things lately that I’ll…
Looking Back And Leaping Forward!
“So much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to” ;2012 has been just lovely. We have enjoyed good health and a wealth of homegrown food which we happily shared with family and friends throughout the year. That in itself would have been more than enough for me. But thanks to my humble blog, 2012 also bestowed some great opportunities and accolades upon me. The year started with a visit from RTECountrywide’s Damien O’Reilly and when he aired his piece on Hunters Lodge on his Saturday morning show, I thought my website would dissolve such were the hits it received – and that set the tone for an amazing …
The Lemon Cleaner and Wine
I have been a bit slow in posting lately but work has been getting in the way with trainings lately and it messes with my free time and lately most of my free time is spent practicing my violin which I truly am enjoying. However, this post is mostly about how the lemon cleaner turned out. Here was how it started with the Meyer lemon peels in a jar filled with white vinegar and water (approximately 1/4 jar of white vinegar the rest water). It has been sitting there a few weeks and today I got a spray bottle and strained the new (hopefully) lemon cleaner into it. It filled the spray bottle about 3/4 …
How do you can when the power is out? Fire? Solar?
If the power goes out, permanently, how will you can? Is it difficult to control a pressure canner over a fire? Does a solar parabolic cooker supply enough heat to run a pressure canner? Is there another way?
Stitching Wounds: How To Suture
In a SHTF scenario, there will be no hospitals open for business. You will likely need to be able to stitch a wound for yourself or for someone you are
Permaculture in Iceland – Update from January: Growing many perennial species indoors!
Hi everyone! Its January in Iceland, and it has been four months since I have been ordering items for my seed collection and attempting to germinate them. Then, with artificial lights, the challenge is to keep them alive and well, over the dark Icelandic winter. Since the day is only around 3 hours now, I keep the seedlings indoors, with four conventional energy saving fluorescent bulbs. I switch them on 14 hours during the day, and switch off when I go sleep. I also have cheap geothermal hot water (a blessing of Iceland) for radiators above which I try to germinate the tropical species (such as dates…
Brinicle: Icicle of Death; Or I Can’t Fucking Handle How Amazing This Is
…no words: here’s the BBC link note: the BBC link has the narration done by David Attenborough, while the youtube one has …probably Alec Baldwin. You decide…
Japanese Dance-Art: Butoh
I can’t recall where I ever learned about Butoh, the japanese dance/performance/style of movement that uses white body makeup and slow hyper-controlled motion, that verges between the playful and grotesque. It’s…utterly fascinating. I don’t know if it’s beautiful, hilarious…or better left un-described. I have a couple of youtube videos I’d like to share that highlights Butoh dancing, and a documentary link for those who are really interested. The documentary linky link
What’s the Longest Mountain Range in the World?
Were you going to answer the Rocky Mountains? The Himalayas? The Andes? Turns out it’s neither of these. I wouldn’t have known that, mind you. I didn’t even know the relative length of any of those mountain ranges (4,800kms, 2,400kms, and 7,000kms, respectively, by the way). The record actually belongs to a mountain range that’s underwater…and stretches from Iceland, down under Africa, below Australia, up the Pacific to Baja California where it shoots up the west coast of the United States to end up in Alaska. Hawaii is actually the tip of this mountain range. It doesn’t have a name, but goes by ‘…
Vegetarianism, Anarcho-Primitivism, Permaculture, Sustainability, and Ted Kaczynski
As you can probably tell from the title, this post is going to be a clusterfuck. I don’t know where to start, so I’ll just talk about a book I’m currently reading, that got me back on some of these ideas I’ve been introduced to before, and go from there. The book is titled The Vegetarianism Myth by Lierre Keith. You can read the first chapter from her website here. This book is chock full of both good arguments, and full out bat-shit nonsense. The main point of the book is that a vegetarian diet is unsustainable and unhealthy (at least for veganism), and that if you really want to save the world and so on, …
Sustainable, Self-Sufficient, Off-the-Grid Houses: Earthsip Biotecture and Mike Reynolds
I talked about this in my last post, about Mike Reynolds the ‘Garbage Warrior’. He builds houses that are essentially made of garbage (about 45{660353129f8d892044c993645a1c75194301fec6786a7f617c15adde0b0011e9}), relies largely on the sun for heating (and dirt-filled tire walls to keep in heat), grows plants inside and outside for food, catches rainwater and recycles the water used through grey water recycling and plant purification. I want one of these house so bad! And you can watch the full documentary Garbage Warrior about Mike here:
Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu Recalls His Father’s Suicide
I was visiting the Xiu Xiu website, since every now and then Jamie Stewart will write something of interest: either dramatic life stuff, or fun silliness, and came upon a really intense post about his father’s suicide which occurred 10 years earlier. Here it is in full: On November 13th, 2002, 10 years ago, my father, Michael, killed himself. He may have actually died on the night of the 12th, but my mom found his body on the 13th. Her own mother had died only 6 months before. I have never told anyone my entire experience of those days or of the funeral. At the time I was working at East Side San Jose Child Development Center. The student population was largely impoverished or…
Facts about Wind and What is Wind Energy
A simple definition of wind is when air moves from a high pressure area to a low pressure area. This is the starting fact about wind – that movement of air is as simple of a reason to cause wind to occur. What causes the high pressure and the low pressure? These are differences are caused by the fact the sun does not distribute heat evenly across the planet. Some areas are warmed more than others and this variation of the sun’s heating causes the high pressure and low pressure areas which result in wind and subsequently, wind energy to be created. What…
Top Reasons to Be Self reliant in this day and age
In the current environment the work force is facing 10{660353129f8d892044c993645a1c75194301fec6786a7f617c15adde0b0011e9} unemployment, obesity and other health related concerns continue to get worse and worse, credit value as the housing market falls further and retirement is a dream turned nightmare for many. A sobering opening? Well that is why learning how to be self reliant in this day and age is something all people should strive for. Health: The more self reliant you are, the more you are forced to do in a day. If you are not paying someone to mow your lawn, to rake your leaves, to clean your gutters you …
How to Work from home – three ways to live financially self sufficient
For anyone who dreams of being self sufficient the biggest hurdle they will face is how to pay the bills and earn enough income to live self sufficient. How to work from home is not an easy thing and more importantly it is not something done overnight. Patience will be a key as you build investments and income streams which will eventually allow you to see the light on how to work from home and earn enough income to work for yourself. There are endless ways to try and become self sufficient financially, the three items I am going to list below are the investments that I am following in my own attempts to work from home and live self sufficiently. Online Writing…
Easily remove wine stains from many materials
Many homesteaders enjoy the process of making their own wine. It is a great way to further the self sufficient lifestyle and a fun hobby to experiment with. One problem with wine is its amazing ability to stain. Whether you are enjoying this delicious beverage or bottling it, chances are you are bound to splash a bit on your clothes or carpet at one point or another. If you have had wine splash on clothing before, you probably know how badly it stains. Have no fear – there is a way to prevent wine from staining your favorite materials. The best part about this is that the stain remover is inexpensive and…
Great uses for fallen leaves
Fallen leaves serve many purposes. While many people simply rake up these leaves and throw them in the garbage, there are alternative solutions for managing this frustrating situation. Instead of throwing out your leaves this year consider saving some for around the house. In order to winterize your garden a fresh layer of mulch should be applied before the colds sets in. There are several different types of mulch that you can use, but leaves are also a great option. If you have a mulcher laying around your house you can use it to shred your leaves easily. The shredded leaves can then be placed on top of your perennials that have been cutback and around your shrubs and trees. The insulation from the shredded…
Living off the grid – Generate less energy to save money
Living off the grid requires anyone to figure out ways to cut back in what they spend in order to survive. When someone attempts living off the grid they will generally have less income which means they need to reduce their expense to compensate. There are many simple things anyone can do to their house right now to cut their daily living expenses down to both put more money in the bank and lesson your over requirements for energy. Five things you should do right now if you are living off the grid A daily and constant draw is as simple as a light switch. If you switched out the light bulbs in your house with fluorescent bulbs you will see an overall savings in…
Looking to move off grid
hello! I am Timmy a 28 year old male living in Florida currently. For the past 7 years I have dreamed of living off the grid. I am done running the rat race with my fellow man in this monetary system, I rather share and work together towards a common goal and create great friendships along the way. I was born and raised on a farm with horses goats and chickens leaving with knowledge and care for livestock, I can also ride as well. I am an avid hunter in florida. I also grow some of my own vegtables with the room i have. i am a very hard worker and dream to be free. i am saving for some land one day hopefuly, but…
Nipton – self-powered town in California
One of the world’s biggest solar power collectors is being built next to the tiny town of Nipton, Calif., which is ironic because Nipton is the closet thing to an off-grid town – with 85 per cent of its energy coming from a set of solar panels installed by one of its 60 residents. Gerald Freeman unlocks the gate to the small power plant and goes inside. Three rows of solar collectors, elevated on troughs that track the sun’s arc like sunflowers, afford a glimpse of California’s possible energy future. This facility and a smaller version across the road produce almost all of the power required by Nipton’s 60 residents, its general store and motel. Freeman, a Caltech-trained geologist and one-time gold mine…
Tired of waiting to go off grid?
Seems to me there are many looking to break free of mainstream societies ways, but also involve many obstacles to overcome. When considering our own ideals such as location,lifestyle and all sorts of other factors, finding suitable partnerships is not very likely to happen quickly. And even if it did, what do you do when its not working out as planned? I’ll tell you what I did. Bought myself a camper, didn’t spend alot, and started the transition to off grid on my own in the vast free land use of the Southwest. There are actually areas all over the country you can camp …
Stops Along the Way: Part 2
Five o’clock quickly arrived at my desk on my first night as a full-time RVer. I left my office and walked into the dark parking lot knowing I would be home in less than 30 seconds. No one from work knew it. Since I land acting and print gigs on occasion, they believe my camper is to go on jobs out of town. Half-truths go a long way. I also made it a point for them to know that owning an RV has always been a dream of mine. I considered letting my co-workers know of my new lifestyle, but I’ve grown less trusting with age. My managers may feel less compelled to give me higher raises…
Truman Lake MO, interested in sustainability
I’m interested in networking with people in my area to share ideas and possible resources. Solar energy and sustainable living are my main interests. I’m 56, work full-time at a job I plan to retire from, own and living on two small properties close to Truman Lake and I want to make one of the properties self-sufficient. No leeching lazies/druggies/drunks/or militants. Zero tolerance for drama.