Starting a self sufficient farm

by Matthew Whittal
(East London, South Africa)

We are a family of four, my fiance, my two parents and i will be giving self sufficiency a go as of December 2012! We own a small farm , 35 ha, near Christmas Rock, East London. The farm has a lot of water, surface and underground and the climate is ideal for growing crops almost all year round, with a few exceptions in winter. We plan to be as self sufficient as possible from the get go. We will raise our own livestock and plant our own edible crops. We plan to also delve into aquaponics, growing our own Tilapia as meat and will also produce bio-gas from animal waste to use as a fuel for cooking.

I would also like to start an "allotment" project on the farm for people living in East London and surrounds. The project would allow them to hire an allotment of land from us on which they can grow their own organic produce. They would be allowed to grow anything they liked on their allotment and we would tend to their crops during the week when they are not there. People could come to the farm every weekend to tend or to harvest their crops.This is an ideal way for people who are conscious about healthy living to make sure that what they eat is the healthiest and 'cleanest" food possible. In today's world of processed and chemically treated food, there is almost nothing a person can buy in a store that has not been either processed, chemically treated, injected with hormones or genetically modified. Self sufficiency is definitely the cleanest and healthiest way to live!

We will be starting a website shortly where anyone can follow the progress we are making. for the moment anyone is welcome to follow my blog.
http://green-theleastofourworries.blogspot.com/