Working Towards a Self-Sufficient Life: Where to Start
Self-sufficiency doesn’t happen overnight. For most small-scale farmers and homesteaders like us, it’s a gradual process — learning by doing, making mistakes and figuring out what works in your environment. But getting started is easier than you think. You don’t need 100 acres or a full farm setup. What you do need is a willingness to try, start small and keep learning.
Here’s where we recommend beginning:
1. Grow Something You’ll Actually Use
Start with food you regularly eat. Herbs, leafy greens, potatoes, garlic — things that are easy to grow and hard to mess up. If you’ve only got a balcony or a couple of garden beds, that’s more than enough to get going.
We started by planting the basics, then slowly built up to a larger veggie patch and cut flower garden. Every season, we add or trial something new.
2. Start Saving Food (Even If You Didn’t Grow It)
Preserving food is a big part of self-sufficiency. You can start by freezing excess produce, making your own sauces or chutneys, or even learning basic dehydrating.
We also started saving seeds from our flower garden to grow more each season — it’s a great way to expand your garden without spending extra.
3. Keep Chickens (If You Can)
If your local council allows it, chickens are a great entry into livestock. They give you eggs, help with composting food scraps, and are pretty low maintenance. You don’t need many — just 3 or 4 hens will keep a small household in eggs.
4. Compost Everything You Can
Food scraps, lawn clippings, animal manure — it can all be turned into something useful. Composting is a simple habit that reduces waste and boosts your soil. We use compost in our veggie garden and around flowers. It’s not fancy, but it works.
5. Get Comfortable With Basic Tools and Repairs
Part of self-sufficiency is learning how to fix and build things. You don’t need to become a carpenter, but knowing how to use a drill, repair a fence, or set up a basic irrigation line goes a long way. Over time, you’ll build confidence and save money by doing it yourself.
We’ve done a lot of reusing and repurposing old materials from when this place was a vineyard — and it’s saved us thousands.
6. Think About What You Can Reuse or Repurpose
Look at what you’ve already got — old containers, scrap timber, fencing, irrigation piping. We turned old vineyard gear into livestock fencing, shelters and water lines. It’s become a habit now — one that saves money and keeps waste to a minimum.
7. Choose the Right Animals (If You Want Them)
If livestock is something you're working toward, pick breeds that suit your land, climate, and goals. For us, that meant Australian White Dorpers for meat and Boer goats as friendly, social animals that suit hobby farms and families.
Start small. Even just two goats or a couple of sheep can give you experience without being overwhelming.
8. Keep Learning, Stay Practical
Self-sufficiency doesn’t mean going without — it means being mindful, resourceful, and practical. Whether it’s a podcast, book or just talking to other farmers, keep learning.
Don’t get caught up in the idea of having to “do it all.” Start with what you can manage. Every small step adds up.
Final Thought
We’re still on this journey ourselves. Every year we tweak things — change how we grow food, raise animals, or store supplies. Some things work better than others. But that’s part of it.
If you’ve been thinking about making your setup more self-reliant, start with one or two of the ideas above. Build on them. In time, you'll find a rhythm that works for you.