Psst! Are You Self-sufficientish?


I'm not really a campaigning kind of person, but I am trying to take some baby steps in leading a greener lifestyle as part of my New Life's Resolutions. Therefore, it's always good to discover websites which are there to help with guidance on how this might be achieved. Today, I've found out about The Green Village - i.e. they emailed me - which is a relatively new UK-centric website and is about:

... helping people to be greener, live more self-sufficiently and ethically, and providing people with the information they need to make responsible decisions about how they live their lives. We are a community of like-minded people who know the importance of looking after the only planet we have and celebrating the diversity it contains.

In tandem with my post on Incredible Edibles last week, I've thinking quite a lot about food issues lately and how our diet will have to change over the coming decades*. I've been doing some background research and came across the Self-sufficientish website. They also have a book just published in paperback which immediately went onto my Amazon wishlist. It happens that The Green Village are running a competition to win a copy of this book [so why are you telling everyone about it - Ed]. They also have details on how you could get involved in the next series of Grow Your Own Drugs.

The Green Village has lots of other useful information about green issues, such as a closer look at the increasing popularity of free-range food and what the NHS is doing about its rather high fuel consumption. These topics are presented in a fresh, non-preachy way, which I like. One for your Bookmarks/Favourites methinks.

* = Emma Cooper, Soilman and The Inadvertant Farmer have also been having a bit of a debate or think about these issues lately, if you're interested.

Comments

  1. Elizabeth Musgrave24 August 2009 at 21:32

    We are self sufficientish (pretty good in summer/autumn when we hardly buy anything but run out in about December until the next summer - must do better!). These are great links and somehow I hadn't come across them before. They are wonderful, thanks so much for the intro.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Susan Tomlinson25 August 2009 at 03:33

    Not self-sufficientish enough, sadly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. petoskystone25 August 2009 at 13:47

    i also am uneasy with my current dependence on food supplied by others. this season finds me making plans to alter greatly my foodstyle next year. there is something in the air which raises this unease-i'm not sure what just yet....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Plant Mad Nige25 August 2009 at 15:38

    The big problem I have with all this is in understanding what really is green and what just appears to be green.

    Home grown fruit, for example, should be far more desirable in supermarkets than imported. Or should it? Unless we know all the details of the inputs, we can't know the true footprint.

    And are supermarkets more evil than street markets. Probably, but it would be nice to quantify and measure so we know for sure.

    I find it all rather troubling, and some of the rhetoric, from all sides, simply clouds the water.

    I just wish I was better at understanding.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Helen/patientgardener25 August 2009 at 20:09

    I'm glad you didnt mention sustainable!

    ReplyDelete
  6. VP28 August 2009 at 15:45

    Elizabethm - I hope you find them useful. I'm hoping to be much more self-sufficient next year.

    Susan - I saw your post on your neglected beds and I understand why! Perhaps you need to swap pecans with other produce from your neighbours!

    Petoskystone - I'll be doing the same.

    Nige - I'm struggling with that one too. It's really hard to get objective information as most people are presenting data to fit their particular agenda. As a scientist by training I find that most frustrating.

    As for understanding - I feel like I'm staring at a great big bowl of spaghetti at the moment. Who knows what I'll unravel when I try and untangle the mess in there?

    PG - I thought about it whilst I was writing this piece, but I knew the grief you'd give me if I did!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The Constant Gardener28 August 2009 at 17:07

    I love self-sufficientish! great for recipes (especially when there's a glut on - as now...) and for general good advice. There's a very good forum there too if you've got chicken problems or anything to do with looking after yourself. I haven't dared to try their scary-looking projects to set up wind turbines or build your own compost loo yet though...

    ReplyDelete
  8. VP28 August 2009 at 20:07

    CG - they've started having a regular column in Garden Answers too. I'm seriously tempted to sign up for one of their foraging courses. They do some of them in Bath, which is no distance from here at all.

    ReplyDelete

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