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Reply #16: It is a process. Take your time, and celebrate small accomplishments. [View All]

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Home » Discuss » Topic Forums » Rural/Farm Donate to DU
bvar22 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-25-11 02:07 PM
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16. It is a process. Take your time, and celebrate small accomplishments.
*It will cost twice as much,
Take 3 times as long,
And require 5 times as much labor.

*Start small and expand what works, especially in the Veggie Garden.
Trying to do too much the first year can be overwhelming, and takes the fun right out of it.
Reframe the goal from "As sustainable as possible"
to "More sustainable next year."

*County Extensions are great, but are financed by BIG Money, and occasionally push the latest Chem products.

*You can glean valuable nuggets by eavesdropping at the local Co-Op.

*Unless your local utility has a sell back capability, wind & solar are not worthwhile.
Without Sell back, you have to invest in a cumbersome, expensive, short life, very toxic, lead/acid battery storage on your property.
Our rural grid has no Sell Back capability,
so we focus on Passive Energy Efficiency.
(The Solar Hot Water system is next on the list.)

*Patience. Some things like Fruit Trees, Grapes, Asparagus, BlueBerries take YEARS to produce a decent crop.

*Buy BULK, and cook from scratch.
Can, Freeze, Dry as much as possible for Winter.

*Goats and Fruit Trees/Veggie Gardens don't mix.
Don't get goats until your fencing is Bomb Proof.

*Chickens are fun, easy, entertaining,
and have also proved to be the best source of Year Round healthy food in addition to great fertilizer for the veggies.
If there are predators around, build a very secure area/coop for the birds.
A mean/pugnacious Rooster will earn his keep if you let your birds Free Range.
Ours attacks anything that approaches his hens, even us.
We would have to get rid of him if we had kids,
but he DOES protect the hens.


*Neighbors are a valuable asset. They KNOW what grows/works well in your area,
and LOVE to talk about it, but sometimes get stuck in the box of "We've always done it this way".

*Neighbors (again). Your relationship with them is important. In rural areas some (most) of them will be hard core Republicans/Fundamentalists. It is best to avoid open, hostile opposition on political matters, but don't sacrifice your values. Finding Common Ground is easy (love for the area/love for the land), and indirect methods produce the best results when dealing with deeply ingrained belief systems.

When we arrived here, we joined the local Rural Volunteer Fire Dept.
We kept our mouths shut, attended training, took care not to step on any toes, always showed up,
got sweaty & dirty, carried more than our share of the load, and the other members soon accepted us as "good people".
Everybody in this area has some connection through the Fire Dept,
and when YOU show up when somebody needs help, they tend to "accept" you.
Our connection to the Fire Dept, and the local people in it, has quickly opened doors that would have been tightly closed without it.
In rural areas, it IS who you know,
and everybody wants to talk about the last fire.
(This is not for everybody, but merely an example of one way to integrate yourself with the rural community.)

*(repeat)Start Small, and expand/improve what works,
but don't be afraid to experiment, or to fail.


My wife & I started down the Sustainable/Organic path in 2006.
It is a process.

Next year, we will !CONSUME! even less.


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