Technology or simplicity?

An issue I see a lot in the area of homesteading, ecovillages and survivalism is the relationship between technology and simplicity.

There are some who believe, in simple terms, that the way to impact the environment the least, and/or achieve the greatest self-sufficiency, is to return to an old way of doing things and perhaps even shun technological advancements.

The opposing view is to use technology to improve our ability to live in harmony with nature and create a sustainable human civilization.

I wouldn't argue that either of these approaches are wrong. Realistically, however, we have to find the right balance. No doubt the current lifestyle of western colonial countries, specifically the U.S., cannot be sustained as it is. We cannot keep buying endless products, consuming goods imported from around the world, and driving from place to place in a frenzy. It's not economically sustainable, environmentally sustainable, socially sustainable and it's not emotionally sustainable for the individual.

They've been telling me this since kindergarten.

I believe the first step is reduction and simplicity. We all have to take the time just to reduce all the input. We have to reduce the amount of trash we bring into our homes, and thus dispose of. We have to reduce our consumption of food (I'm one to talk :P ), reduce our consumption of water, electricity, fuel, toiletries and material entertainment (TVs, computers, DVDs, CDs, hardware and gadgetry of all sorts).

We have to reduce our dependency on others, most especially for food, water and energy. This does not mean isolation, but it does mean that if the greater system is disrupted, people will be able to survive individually until the system can be restored or recreated. For long-term survival, food water and energy would be produced on-site rather than exclusively purchased and stored from outside.

I am not against technology by any means. I am against technology when it replaces knowledge or skills needed for survival. Many in the western world don't have to think about the people who have worked, struggled and even lost their lives to provide our food, fuel and consumer goods. We don't have to have a clue about the agricultural process to enjoy a pizza loaded with products from Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, etc.

People don't have to know a thing to survive these days. A lot of people don't even cook their own food, much less produce it.

Technology and science (including financial, political and social sciences) have obscured the basic processes required to sustain human life. As a result, those of us who rely on those processes are completely vulnerable even when it appears that the shelves will endlessly remain stocked.

In my opinion, advanced technology, especially complicated information systems, medical tecchnology and agricultural management, should be used with much reservation. While there are many great benefits for the individual, leaping ahead at the rate we are and in so many different areas seems to be stretching us thin as a society.

We can't maintain it; we can't even understand it.

IF the society breaks down, everyone who hasn't escaped dependency is in for rough times.

What do I do?
My solution is to cut back. As an individual, I cut back in every area that I possibly can. I'm not saying that I live a spartan lifestyle, because I don't. However, I do have an idea of how much I need to maintain my family, and that's where my focus is right now on the homesteading.

A few little steps at a time. I first look at how I can make something with the fewest outside resources.
Food was an easy start. Since college, eating out had become a HUGE problem for me. I didn't even start preparing many of my own meals until last year. I feel like I've come pretty far at this point. We keep a lot of grains on hand, some spices, and throughout the week we supplement with veggies and fruit, some eggs and some meat.

We are keeping chickens now to replace the eggs from outside, and we will probably either convert to vegetarians or suck it up and start killing our own chickens. As soon as I get my act together the veggies and fruit will be growing.
It has taken us much longer because we have few tools and few things on hand. For the chickens, we've done quite well and we have decent shelter for our flock of 13 without having spent much money at all ($10 I think?).

The garden is lacking because of human labor, because of limited tools, and partially because I have big plans and haven't yet figured out how to focus and get things done (except I have planted some fruit trees!).
I've spent a lot of time researching and looking for information on local, wild edible plants. It's surprisingly difficult to find that kind of information on my own. I suspect this is largely because of the overwhelming influence of modern agriculture which has essentially devalued other food sources and as a result the information has been lost.

I am interested in wild edible planting because it's the most natural and most efficient form of food production. A managed permaculture forest can, theoretically, provide much or all of what a human being needs for nourishment. After establishing the forest, if it is well-planned, it should require very little maintenance to continue production.

I've cut back in other places which haven't been as successful. In some ways, my reluctance to spend any money anywhere has made things much more difficult for me and probably ends up costing me more than actually investing a little bit of money in the beginning and having a long-term working solution.

This is where I believe in technology. Having a solar oven, or solar water heater, or something as simple as a well-designed clothesline would reduce our dependency on a energy but without complicating our lives too much. The upkeep required for those few items would not be unreasonable homesteading.

The organization of the homestead-- deciding where to start, where to invest initally, or whether limit ourselves to creating handmade objects from very local resources from the very beginning... it all gets overwhelming.

A modern homestead is a great puzzle. Goals, values, people and resources all complicate the process of moving forward.

Like starting a business, I imagine, and perhaps that's what we are doing here.

So here I am, a week later, still pondering.

Want to know about the homestead? Seth and I are planning on switching places so he's home and I'll be working outside. The chickens have all rotated, with the Barred Rocks being added to the original flock after 2 weeks, and the little chicks taking the place of the Rocks in the hayring.
I find Bitsy to be a joy to have around here but Seth doesn't much like her. We often have visitors-- the neighbor's dogs-- coming to poop on our driveway for some obnoxious reason.
Things are well. We're happy and inspired and I believe great things lie ahead.

Baking and biofuels.

That's right, baking and biofuels-- but not at the same time! Not right now anyway.

Let's start with the biofuels. Remember the pesky little tallow trees that are taking over the farm? Well, I got carried away with a little more research the other day investigating their potential as a crop for biofuels. Some folks are already way ahead of me on this one, but that's only more encouraging!
They actually appear to be pretty promising as far as that goes. The outer wax can be melted off and processed into a fuel that is essentially the same as diesel. I am looking more into this as a possibility either for personal fuel or for business.

Ok, now about the baking. All I really have to say is that I am on an outrageous baking spree for the past week. It started with a loaf of bread and a batch of cookies. Now I have two loaves in the oven and a batch of dark chocolate coconut cookie dough in the fridge. The cookies are most impressive. I substituted coconut oil for butter and honey for half of the sugar, then dumped almost 1/4 a cup of dutch cocoa into the mix and ended up with great results. Oh, I used wheat flour too.

The added cocoa provides a little iron and the (10% per tbsp!), honey and coconut oil have some of their own beneficial properties. Not saying these cookies are 'healthy' or anything, but if that's what you're looking for in a cookie-- move along.

Goats and milk.

I've started hiking around the property in the mornings and evenings before it gets too hot. I carry little Callum on my back in a backpack and he's calm and happy the entire time. It's a good way for me to get exercise without leaving him behind. Plus, now that he's older he can really enjoy the sights and sounds.

My primary goal out here is to be able to feed my family, and maybe a few others, when SHTF, the depressions really hits, the apocalypse comes, or whatever it is. Having well-established livestock and fruit trees as well as a few native edibles and perrenial food plants will be crucial in making this happen. Food stores of grains and staples will help hold us over until we are someday able to grow our own.
Taking a look at my goals and what we have done so far, I'd say we are well on our way. No, we're nowhere near self-sufficient but we have a lot of things in place and we're adding more and more as time goes on.

I have to have a few long-term plans too. You know, if 'S' doesn't 'HTF', the depression doesn't hit and the apocalypse doesn't come... we're probably going to want to generate some sort of income as well. I'm looking at a lot of ideas as far as this goes.

It seems to me like internet retail is pretty saturated. While that may be a component of what I plan to do, I don't think I could ever rely entirely on internet sales of any product. Since we'll be working with livestock anyway, it seems natural to look in that direction for some possibilities.
I've been researching a bit into the market for goat meat and dairy products. That really appeals to me but what I've found for business doesn't sound too promising. As with most things, though, it is what you make it. I'm not expecting anything to be easy nor do I aspire to create an empire of wealth, I just want to make enough to meet some of the 'outside' needs-- such as health insurances, transportation costs, taxes, things like that.

Locally there doesn't appear to be much available for processing goat dairy or meat so that's another option-- an actual (small) processing facility which could offer potential growth for other local goat farmers as well.

This would be a huge task to take on, on top of the self-sufficiency project, but it may very well be worth it.

I have to admit, Seth and I are considering another child within the next year or so and that would mean that *my* work on the farm would be pretty well hindered for quite awhile. Perhaps with Callum, that's already the case (it sure feels like it), but at the same time... maybe I'm more adaptable and more accomplished than I imagine.
I do have a tendency to feel overwhelmed, but progress is being made around here so I can't really say that I'm not getting anything done.

I have a passion for goats and animals in general. Even if it didn't turn a big profit, if it kept us afloat it would be more than worth it. Everytime I see one of these animals I get giddy, I'M SERIOUS! They are so cute and stinky and mischeivous. I love it.

Aye, but I don't know about the meat part. How will I keep from falling in love with every one of them?

Wild and plentiful.

As far as fruit goes, just a bit of seasonal planning around here would have us covered for most of the year. The blackberries are so plentiful that we have to cut them back and mow them over to keep them under control. Good fruit May-June. Some of the bushes have gotten attacked by "rust."
I've also discovered a few patches of muscadines for late summer fruit, though I'm not sure what type of muscadines or whether we'll even get any if we are competing with the wildlife. It will be interesting to see what happens this year, anyway. Perhaps in August I can also try to root a few vines and plant them closer to the house. Most of those that are growing are pretty high up in the trees.

Aside from those, I have the figs and I would like to have mayhaw berries and plums but I'm still working on finding some plants. I've considered growing some citrus. Ronnie's kumquats are delicious and he's able to grow lemons and oranges over there, but they have been overtaken by bamboo and aren't doing so well. My mom thinks I should grow bananas! We will see about that...

There was a solitary pink wild morning glory plant growing by the road and I was waiting for it to make some seeds so that I could spread them around, but the city came and mowed down all of the plants and I finally found its mangled remains. No seeds, but perhaps something ate them.

There is good news for the morning glory, though not that one specifically. Over at Ronnie's he had a big pecan tree fall down during a storm and knocked down his power lines. As a result, all of the wild weeds in his front yard had to be bulldozed and the dirt was scraped bare. It was mostly privet and air potato vines over there anyway so he wasn't too heartbroken about it.
I wandered over there today and in the bare dirt has germinated hundreds and hundreds of little morning glories. There are some wild type as well as some cultivated (that Ronnie claims he planted years ago in another part of the yard). I find it quite amazing just how many seedlings are popping up, so I'm planning on transplanting a little patch of them to my part of the property to see how they do.

Funny all those little seeds must have been waiting there for years-- waiting to get a chance to touch the bare Earth.