Self-sufficiency is the ability to provide for your own needs as much as possible, using the skills, resources, and creativity you have at hand. At its core, it’s about reducing dependence on external systems and instead cultivating resilience, independence, and connection with the land. Traditionally, this can mean growing food, keeping animals, preserving harvests, generating energy, making tools, or building and repairing things yourself. But it’s not only practical — self-sufficiency is also a mindset: learning to live simply, valuing what you have, and finding empowerment in knowing that you can create, grow, and provide for yourself and your community. It doesn’t mean doing everything alone — rather, it’s about regaining balance, where people, animals, and ecosystems support each other in a more sustainable way.

Self-sufficiency for us is not about isolation, but about empowerment and resilience. It means learning the skills that allow us to meet our own needs in harmony with nature — growing food, preserving harvests, keeping animals, building with our hands, and making use of the resources around us. Each skill we gain brings us closer to independence from systems that harm the planet, while deepening our connection to the land and to each other. At the same time, we see self-sufficiency as a form of abundance: the joy of eating vegetables we’ve grown, the warmth of wool from our own sheep, the strength of knowing we can create and repair. It is a journey of learning, creativity, and responsibility, and one of the most meaningful ways we can take part in shaping a sustainable and regenerative future.

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