Or as Joel likes to call it: “the self-contained home.” Two foundational requirements of sustainable living are water and food. Joel talks about these two foundations and ways to develop them in this roughly 30 minute talk with Reluctant Preppers. Whether you live in a rural area, the concrete jungle or suburbia, we all can learn from Joel’s insight. Here are some highlights.
Water:
Joel discusses the concept of
“How it is best for human beings to participate with rain drops.”
We should look at how to best reduce water use and sewage. A great way to do this is to install a cistern. Joel is a big believer in cisterns, except of course if you’re unfortunate enough to live in a state that now outlaws rain water collection. It’s amazing how much water you can collect from your roof. And it seems the folks in Australia have a widespread understanding of the benefits of cisterns. They’re everywhere.
Food:
Joel’s number one recommendation for food production is a solarium. A solarium!? Yes, that’s right, a solarium. Joel emphatically says
“Every single home, every single building should have a solarium on it.”
A solarium can provide both heat for your house, thus reducing dependence on petroleum and other heating fuel, and provide a means to grow your own food all year long. They’ve recently put one on their old farm house.
His number two recommendation is an edible landscape. Remove the grass and replace with food. And if you have to deal with deed or zoning restrictions, “move!” Or try more covert alternatives like aquaponics, chickens or “pot” (aka container) gardens.
Joel’s third recommendation is a fully stocked larder. As he says
“use your home as your food warehouse.”
