Jedi Self-Sufficiency thread

I have had requests from a few different members to start a self sufficiency thread with a focus on gardening, preserving food, reusing and recycling materials around the living space, and other topics centered around the theme.


I will be posting series of videos, texts, websites, and graphics detailing how Jedi can go about being more self-sufficient, environmentally friendly, and living a healthier lifestyle.

All members are obviously welcome to contribute and ask questions. I know we have an off grid group, but I feel that having a forum thread focused on this as well would contribute to more meaningful discussion on the topic.

I think that this is a great idea. It's a wonderful place to start small and showcase little things everyJedi can do to make their world a little better than they found it while supplying themselves with what they need. It's also a great place to plug the off-grid group, and invite that group to showcase their particular talents and skills to others.

Awesome!

I would especially love ideas for apartment dwellers. As much as I'd love to have a big garden and raise my own animals that's just not a reality for me right now.

Thanks for starting the thread Koh! I look forward to watching your videos and seeing what tips you can give.

I'll most likely need advice for space saving gardening too. I'm not in an apartment but the back yard is covered in rock mostly so gardening isn't much of an option outside. I've done a little gardening before and worked at a nursery so maybe I'll even have some tips for people.

Should be a great opportunity to share skills and advice.

Goken wrote: I would especially love ideas for apartment dwellers. As much as I'd love to have a big garden and raise my own animals that's just not a reality for me right now.

There's a book called "Square Foot Gardening" that shows how to cram as many plants as is healthy for them into the space of a square foot. If you're only looking to grow a few plants, the proper lighting and a few small pots or 5-gal buckets could go a long way. Also: eggshells are great for seed-starting, and if you use the carton to hold them, they fit nicely on many windowsills.

We have an entire group dedicated to this. Its called Off the Grid.

Join us there. Many of us talk about exactly this. You are all welcome.

I didn't see the above mention of the group but we have some good talks there too.

J_Roz wrote: We have an entire group dedicated to this. Its called Off the Grid.

Join us there. Many of us talk about exactly this. You are all welcome.

I didn't see the above mention of the group but we have some good talks there too.

I did mention the off grid group.

I also mentioned that I am starting the thread here, as it (in my opinion) will allow more people to communicate on the topic in an easier way than the off-grid group currently allows for.

Goken wrote: I would especially love ideas for apartment dwellers. As much as I'd love to have a big garden and raise my own animals that's just not a reality for me right now.

Along with square foot gardening you can also grow sprouts in your window or the kind that you just put in a jar and keep it in the dark. Everything from clover, alfalfa, broccoli to wheat, dandelion, other veggies and grains. Sprouts are basically nutritional powerhouses, and should be what everyone is eating versus their multivitamin that are a waste of money as it goes right through you into the toilet.

Apartment and city living's (or any environment) first task is mostly surrounding keeping your bills low and making sure you have no debts. Minimalizing expenses while maximizing the effectiveness of things you do spend on. The most important financial lesson I learned was to 'set zeros' as a way to make sure you're saving money. You make money but as you make it you pretty much pretend you didn't and have it all written out as it comes in and goes so that all your main and basic expenses are known and accounted for. You know how much extra money you have to work with for goals and things you want but to get to those goals and wants it's good to save first to build a cushion for emergencies and peace of mind. Then you can account those goals and wants into the equation with your expenses so you can plan it all out weeks or months in advance.

For me the first ideal thing to focus on is health because maintaining health is essentially your first line of self sufficiency as your body can take care of itself. So doing things like sprouts for a good intake of vitamins and minerals, buying the 5gal jugs and getting the cheap super filtered water (most grocery stores have them now or there are delivery services), keeping a stock of staple foods like beans, rice, quinoa, lentils, pasta, whatever you eat along with the seasonings and some canned vegetables as a reservoir are key self sufficiency of health. Then keeping fresh supplies of produce so that you're making simple, healthy meals from scratch and you should take the time to prepare them in advance if you're a busy person and have scheduls to abide by.

Another part to the health aspect, again the core of self sufficiency is being able to take care of yourself and that starts with your body, is what you also put on or into your body besides food. Many prescription drugs, cosmetic and bodycare products contain all sorts of harmful heavy metals and other toxins that today are in excess everywhere else in the environment. An easy internet search of ingredients yields lots of very surpising information. There are many, many easy homemade or commercial products now that are free of this crap and besides remedying the problem (in the case of drugs or say something like deodorant) promote overall health via nutrition, essential oils, etc. For almost every prescription drug you can take, there is a tweak in your diet you can do to no longer need it (doesn't matter if it's something psychological or something like high blood pressure). Besides this it's also good to have plans or preparations for emergencies like having first aid and medical supplies, insurance and also extra money set aside for who knows what.

After looking back and what I have learned and exprienced I consider financial and health to be the first two things one should really grasp and contemplate so that as you learn to have some control of them, you'll be able to have more control of and depth to the other varieties of self sufficiency. Another thing to consider is why one wants to become "self-sufficient" or even "off the grid". The reasons you feel the desire to are what the world is telling you are areas in your life that you need to develop skills for or just something that could be a good idea to be doing. Whether it's some environmental calamity, war and political situations,economic collapse, pandemic style stuff, power grid failure, or maybe just one aspect of life that you simply want less dependence on like finances, food, health, defense, communication, transportation, etc.

It's also all about balance. Everyone needs durable, effective clothing that will last long and be comfortable in a variety of conditions. Same goes for other gear and tools or even methods of transportation. The topic is so vast and varies from person to person, community to community but this is my initial outlook when thinking about self sufficiency before getting into specific specialties.

Thanks for making this thread! I'm in a similar boat with the apartment living issue, as I mentioned in chat. Subscribing to this so I can gather ideas.

My parents garden, and have since I was a kid, but they have a lot of land, and I most definitely do not. Looking forward to learning some apartment farming skills! ^.^

If you join the "Off the Grid Group" too, it gives you notifications when a new post or discussion is posted there as well...