In my first post, I told you about where we both came from and a little bit about how our original dream became a vision. But I didn’t really explain what the vision is. Of course, the basics are that we want to settle this land, improve it, and pass it on to our children in better shape than when we got here. In order to to do that, we base our farming practices on the concepts of Permaculture, Sustainability, Biodiversity, and Survivalism. Those terms have just started to become popular and many homesteaders don’t even know what they mean.
What is Permaculture
In an agricultural sense, permaculture is the concept that every element serves more than one purpose. For example, rainwater collection systems may be used to water livestock or irrigate vegetables. Animals are chosen for their ability to provide a protein source as well as to fertilize the land. Crops are grown to feed humans and animals as well as nourish the soil.
The development of permaculture systems can take a little creativity. How do you make a fence serve more than one purpose? We have many fences whose main purpose is to keep animals where we want them. But in some cases they either do – or will – serve as summer-time shade for the livestock or as a trellis for vining plants. Along borders, you can plant thorny berries that provide both a hedgerow and an edible crop. We plan to build a fence for our orchard that is – at the same time – a fence and cordwood storage. At another fence line, we’ll be building a dry rock wall next to a rock-lined ditch that will separate our pasture, control flooding, and water the animals.
What is Sustainability
Sustainability refers to methods that will stand the test of time. For farmers it means avoiding the depletion of natural resources include soil nutrients, water, minerals, wood and wildlife. Sustainable farming could include using alternative power methods, protecting the water system, organic farming methods that don’t pollute the soil, or choosing plants that feed the wildlife. Sustainability and permaculture go hand in hand because many permaculture concepts are structured for their ability to be sustainable and it usually takes a little planning to make both happen.
What is Biodiversity
Biodiversity encourages complex ecological systems. Rather than acres upon endless acres of monocultural crops, small plots of diverse crops are planted. They are usually rotated in some way to encourage better soil health and reduce the dependence on chemical fertilizers. Rather than huge ranges hosting hundreds of head of the same breed (or type) of animal, small holdings can house many different kinds of animal with smaller populations. When put together with permaculture systems, these smaller more diverse populations provide healthier plants and animals and higher yield individual crops.
Further, the overall health of the farm and family are improved because diseases and pests rarely affect the whole population at once. The down-side to a biodiverse farm is the amount of work it takes. You can’t just hop on a giant tractor, plow, till, and plant in a few weeks each year. While machinery can be used – and I highly encourage it – in some instances, you just have to get your hands dirty. It takes longer to manage the needs of many different types of animals.
There is a down-side to biodiversity. When you’re working on a small scale, you lose some of the efficiency that commercial operations afford. And while the individual yields are higher for the small holding…fatter animals, bigger tomatoes, etc…smaller populations mean less excess. A single acre can feed one family and have some excess to sell, but you won’t be making it rich. My goal is usually to have each system (like chickens) pay for itself (to feed my family) with enough profit to pay for one other system (like my project for next year-quail!).
Survivalism? Really?
Yes, really. But why? Why would we include Survivalism in our farm vision? At it’s heart, Survivalism is really the idea of keeping yourself (and your family) alive in the face of adverse circumstances. It could include outdoor survival skills, but more realistically includes a lifestyle of self-sufficiency that helps you develop skills needed to obtain your own food, find safe drinking water, and protect yourself from the elements.
The story goes that the average grocery store holds about 3 days worth of food for its local population. What if you couldn’t get to the grocery store? If there was a natural disaster that kept you home-bound, would you be able to sustain yourself? If electrical and water systems broke down, what would you do? What if the disaster lasted more than a couple of days? These are all questions that Survivalists ask – and prepare themselves – for. “What would I do if…”?
Putting It All Together
After considering the descriptions above, its easier to see how Permaculture, Sustainability, Biodiversity and Survivalism all go hand-in-hand. Permaculture concepts and Biodiverse ecosystems are more Sustainable than other agricultural models. A Survivalist mentality helps motivate the desire to homestead in the first place. Stay tuned for more posts on how we put all these ideas into practice as we develop our homestead in the next several years.
Rocks and Roses 