Living off the land

Faith · #1 01/29/12, 05:20 PM

Is there anyone on this forum who have devised a way to live primarily off their land, not including large farms? Is it possible for your land to supply the majority of your basic needs? If so, would you share how you have managed to do this.

unregistered168043 · #2 01/29/12, 05:23 PM

Most of my food comes off my land. it could be 100% if I wanted to do without some things that I enjoy. How to do it? Just by growing staple veggies ( taters, corn, beans, etc ), keeping chickens, bees, hunting and fishing. It's not hard, but like I said you'll have to give up some things that you enjoy.

I also heat with wood, but I depend on the grid for my electric.

Faith · #3 01/29/12, 05:30 PM

Do you sell produce or other items that you make from home?

Faith · #4 01/29/12, 06:47 PM

I sure would like to get some feedback on this.

Pony · #5 01/29/12, 07:08 PM

Faith, I don't know if anyone lives 100% off the land. If they did, they might not have an internet connection...

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Srsly, though, if you read the forums, you will get many ideas of different ways to do it, and then you can tailor those ideas to your individual needs.

What are your goals? Do you want to live exclusively on your land, providing for all your needs, or do you want to do a combination of providing a certain amount of things, then bartering or selling to get your other needs met?

What is your skill set? What do you still need to learn? what do you WANT to learn?

John Seymour's "The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It" has some fantastic ideas on how to live off 2 acres, 5 acres, and more. Very helpful when trying to focus on figuring out how to do what you want to do.

Pony · #6 01/29/12, 07:11 PM

BTW: We have gradually become more self-sufficient on/through our land. It takes practice and dedication. Sometimes, it's actually less expensive to buy some things at the store (there's a wonderful "bruise and dent" store up across the border here that will occasionally get some excellent deals).

While it's possible to live exclusively off one's land, it certainly is more friendly to get along interdependently with the neighbors.

Sourdough · #7 01/29/12, 07:17 PM

It is sure easy in a State that pays you to live there. Trapping is one way. I get subsistence permits for 30 red salmon that I just dip out with a dip-net. plus another 60 Red Salmon with a rod. I get special subsistence Moose and Caribou permits.

In my opinion the real key is don't buy Crap you don't need, hoard your cash. Read books & don't own a TV thingie. Don't buy cell phones or cell plans. A person can get a seasonal job for 3 months a year, and hoard the cash.

You can do sewing for people. You just have to be willing to not buy every new fake chrome plated turd'sandwich that Madison Avenue is selling. You could always move to Alaska.

Faith · #8 01/29/12, 07:21 PM

Thank-you for your reply Pony. My situation is that I lost my husband to cancer 9months ago. I have always been a homemaker and now I must support myself. I don't drive but have always canned, made my own bread, grew my own vege, raised chickens for eggs. I know that I can supply all my own food as there is only me but I do have to have some sort of an income to pay bills and was just wondering if anyone has been able to do this by selling vege's etc. Thank you for the name of the book I will look for it

Pony · #9 01/29/12, 07:32 PM

But Sourdough - it's so SHINY!!!

Faith, is there a Farmers Market in your area?

Do you live rurally or in town?

Lots of town folk love home baked goods. Bread, pies, cakes, cookies, all of these sell very well. You may be able to get some contacts through your church for people who would love to sign up for weekly baked goods - kind of like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

If you go to the garden forum, there's a section up at the top for market gardening. Maybe a look through there can give you some ideas.

Sourdough has a good suggestion: If you are any good with a needle and thread, there are people in the world who do not know how to even sew on a button! (I know - it boggles my mind, too.) I did an internship at a school, and there were teachers there who were astounded by my (what I consider to be basic) sewing skills.

You can consider being a nanny too - there are a lot of people who will pay very good money for nannies.

Don't sell yourself short. I'll bet you have LOTS of great skills that will be valuable to others. Be sure you charge a good price for the life skills you have to share!

Faith · #10 01/29/12, 07:33 PM

Thanks Sourdough. That makes sense. I don't own a cell phone, I have a small house, put in an airtight fireplace and have three acres of trees so I don't have a heat bill. I am learning to cook on the fireplace and am enjoying it. I'm not much of a spender and am not caught up in the junk mentality. I'm happiest when I can be home. I'm just wondering if anyone here has been able to truly be self sufficient. It sounds like you have a nice life in Alaska, does the government still support homesteading there?

Faith · #11 01/29/12, 07:40 PM

Thanks for the ideas Pony. I will check out the market gardening forum. I have sold my bread in the past, I just find that the government makes it so difficult to do anything nowadays. Every idea I come up with seems to add 10 hours if research to find out if I can do it legally. I can sew and crochet children's clothing which I sell.

**Terri** · #12 01/29/12, 07:54 PM

Faith, I used to sell home-made goodies at the Farmers Market.

I found that it was easy to make money at the Farmers Market, but none of us made enough to support ourselves. I would earn perhaps $30 in cash for a morning of selling, and production costs would be about $15. The big people would earn $5,000-$7,000 every year but that was only enough to give them a second income.

Many people do make ENOUGH money off of the Farmers Market, but I think that they were selling to a more upscale crowd or to a larger one.

One of the first homesteading books I ever read was written by a lady on a wooded acreage. She cut trees every spring and then cut them up after they had dried some. She sold the better looking wood and she burned the twisted, ugly wood for her own heat. She would deliver it before work so that there was no transportation cost: she was going to town anyways.

The land that she cleared she put into vegetables to eat and to sell.

She had a flock of chickens that laid jumbo eggs, and she got a premium for them and so she made a profit off of her eggs: right now it is hard to make a profit off of eggs because feed costs are so high. You would need to charge more than the supermarket does right now, and she did.

**Terri** · #13 01/29/12, 07:55 PM

Faith, it is winter time. Can you trap and sell your furs, or is that not done where you live?

Faith · #14 01/29/12, 08:02 PM

No there is no trapping here. I've been thinking about the farmers market. There is one in town on Saturdays and perhaps I'll try that. How does it work, do you pay for a table or parking space. I don't need alot to get by. If I could make around 500.00 per month I would be fine. Were you able to sell homemade foods without problems from the health board. I know the laws are probably different there though.

Callieslamb · #15 01/29/12, 09:01 PM

Faith
The one thing I cannot supply is the basics - wheat, sugar baking soda-powder, salt etc. I can supply water, but I still have to have elec to pump it out of the well. I can produce most of the fruits and veggies we eat though. I say most -because I really like bananas and oranges and that isn't happening in my climate.

Yes you can make money off your produce, but it helps if you live in a good location. Driving for hours to reach a good market will take a lot of time and fuel. Do you live in a place where many people would buy your produce off your farm or will you have to truck it somewhere? You might look into what we call CSAs here - community supported ag. People buy a share of a farm and each week receive what's harvested. You might also look at small berries. In my state, I can produce foods that don't need a controlled climate to stay fresh- so bread and jams would be okay.

I ditto the sewing. My DD is attached with a wedding dress company. They pay her $16 per hour to alter them. Then the cleaners that co uses found out about DD and she does their alterations also- working from her home - part time with 2 babies, she can make $1000 a month easily.

I'm sorry about the loss of your husband. I wish you the best in what you decide to do.

Faith · #16 01/29/12, 09:08 PM

Thanks Callieslamb. The cold climate foods are interesting, I will have to research the laws here to see if I could sell my bread and jam. I live in a rural area, just off a highway, ten minutes from town. I think that I could get a good customer base at my home if I were to do a roadside stand, it's just so hard to find the legal info for my area. I sure appreciate e eryones input.

Pony · #17 01/29/12, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faith

Thanks Callieslamb. The cold climate foods are interesting, I will have to research the laws here to see if I could sell my bread and jam. I live in a rural area, just off a highway, ten minutes from town. I think that I could get a good customer base at my home if I were to do a roadside stand, it's just so hard to find the legal info for my area. I sure appreciate e eryones input.

I don't know how things work up in Canada, but sometimes, it can be easier to get forgiveness than permission...

vicb66 · #18 01/29/12, 10:17 PM

I live 100% off my farm.My income is generated from my business here.I'm not saying it's easy but it's definitely the life I return to everytime.I drove a truck for 18 years and I moved to the big city to try my hand at apartment life.The country is where I will die I think.Hopefully it's not for another forty five plus years.

Sourdough · #19 01/29/12, 10:20 PM

You might also be able to rent out a room. or even take in foster children, and get paid by the Goberment.

Yvonne's hubby · #20 01/29/12, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pony

I don't know how things work up in Canada, but sometimes, it can be easier to get forgiveness than permission...

Its that way around here too. But like you, I dont know how it works in Canada. In my neck of the woods we pretty much do as we please, and if someone steps over a line, the authorities will be fairly quick to inform you of the violation, and if one revises their plan to conform to the rules its usually just not an issue. I have only known of one person who got into a jam.. with the health dept over some illegal plumbing. Had he just fixed his problem it would have died a natural death, but he proceeded to argue with the PTB and wound up losing his property before it was all done.