Understanding Self-Sufficiency
Self-sufficiency means not needing any aid, support, or interaction with others for survival; it is therefore a type of personal or collective autonomy.
Self-Sufficiency in Communities
The term self-sufficiency is generally applied to sustainable living communities in which nothing is consumed outside of what is produced within the community. Some examples of self-sufficiency include initiatives like simple living, homesteading, survivalism, DIY ethic, and the back-to-the-land movement.
Key Activities Supporting Self-Sufficiency
There are activities that help self-sufficiency, for example autonomous building, permaculture, sustainable and organic agriculture, and using renewable energy. As total self-sufficiency is not easy to achieve nowadays due to global economic practices, the term is also used to refer to limited forms of self-sufficiency, for example growing one’s own food, going off-grid, and being independent of public utility supplies (e.g., electricity, gas, and water).
Self-Sufficient Communities in Practice
One such approach to self-sufficiency and sustainable living, exemplified by small-scale transition towns and rural ecovillages, seeks to create self-reliant communities based on principles of simple living. These communities try to maximize their self-sufficiency particularly by engaging in food production.
Addressing Basic Human Needs for Self-Sufficiency
Self-sufficiency and sustainability also mean that basic human needs have to be addressed in order for people and communities, whether small or large, to function properly. These needs are essential and include eating, drinking, sleeping, safety, and social interaction.
Material Requirements for Sustainable Communities
When establishing communities (e.g., a small-scale family homestead, a medium-sized ecovillage, or even large urban cities), from an administrative perspective, one must take into account certain material needs and facilities required to create any form of operable human society.
Five Basic Material Needs for Self-Sufficiency
The basic material needs of a person include:
Food and Water
Clothing
Housing
Health/Medical Care
Education (Transferring the value system to the next generation.)
Complementary Material Needs in Society
Besides these basic needs, there are complementary needs in society that are not essential to maintain a functioning, self-sufficient community. These include:
Transport
Heating/Light
Articles for Personal Use (e.g., tools, handicrafts)
Art and Culture
Protection
In harsh environmental conditions, such as places with cold winters, heat and light become basic necessities.
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