Self sufficiency is a popular idea, but for obvious reasons, no one can become completely self sufficient. We cannot produce our own metal tools, let alone computers, and therefore have to trade surplus and/or have a secondary source of income in order to buy such items. What we want to achieve is to produce most of the carbohydrates our community consumes, plus a significant percentage of fruits, vegetables, eggs and alcoholic beverages.
Anything we cultivate will be on the basis of permaculture principles, which were the norm throughout most of mankind’s history. This is not based on a vague ideological belief out of concern for the environment, but on an understanding that ultimately, a farmer converts solar energy + water + minerals into edible crops and meat. When you start using chemical fertilizers, pesticides and expensive equipment, your production numbers will go up, but your margin of profit goes down. This is why the size of farms continues to grow the world over, because farmers need more land to achieve the same standards of living as their parents had.
By contrast, people like Sepp Holzer, Brett Markham, Gareth Lewis, the Amish and the dacha farmers of Russia have proven beyond reasonable doubt that farming the old ways using permaculture principles is entirely feasible. Not polluting our environment with chemicals that might cause cancer is a bonus. It also means that if a disaster were to take place, we can continue to farm as we were, because our farm is not dependent on external inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and highly specialized equipment.
PROTEINS
Most of us are not vegetarians, we certainly like our meat. But the goal of our farm is survival first and foremost. We have to keep it simple. Large animals require a lot of work. We will only have sheep for grazing, and chickens/ducks for eggs & pest control. We will occasionally butcher some animals to keep the numbers manageable. More on that in part 2.
There is a lot of wildlife in the area, which can be hunted legally in good times, and would become a free for all in bad times. We have two neighbors with a cattle ranch of free roaming Cachena cows. Another neighbor has a milk farm with 60 cows.
All in all, there are plenty of local options for a healthy balanced diet.
THE LAND
We have plenty of water, sunshine and fertile land, rich in organic material and with high nitrogen content. To maintain fertility we need to rotate crops regularly, and use the fertilizers we have at our disposal: mulch, wood ashes, wood chips & sawdust, sheep & poultry dung.
The terrain we work with is challenging. Only a few lots lend themselves to farming by tractor. But farming by hand is entirely feasible. This is still the case for most of the vinyards in our area, which can have grades of up to 70%. These can only be worked by hand, yet manage to be profitable.
Let’s be fair, farming by hand is not exactly the same now as it used to be in the past. We have chainsaws, rotary tillers, brush cutters, power tools. All kinds of irrigation tubing, tarps, poly tunnels, water tanks, pumps. Electric fences, instruments to measure many things, weather forecasts. We send or receive anything within a day to and from places as far as Madrid or Lisbon. We have access to all kinds of information, and can communicate with potential customers form all over the world. We have refrigeration, can rent heavy equipment to do a big job, have access to a wide variety of seed and so forth. Farming by hand is by no means primitive.
The size of the land with which to start is about two hectares. Three quarters of these parcels are flat enough to be farmed with tractor, around 1.3 hectares. Most of the land has not been cleared yet. Steep lots have to be cleared by hand. Some of the flat lots have mature trees on it, which will also have to be cleared mostly by hand. It will probably be a year or two before the selected parcels are all ready for cultivation. There is more land available in our valley that we can use in de future.
OUR TRACTOR
In a month our Goldoni TD386 powered by a Lombardini LDA100 engine should be good to go. In case of a catastrophic event, this model can be hand cranked, and run on vegetable oil. It is a simple model to repair, and relatively small, weighing just shy of a ton. Engine parts are commonly available. Parts for the drive-train are not as easy to get, as the model was never very common and is over 40 years old. Fortunately, it is extremely sturdy and made to survive several world wars
Currently our tractor is undergoing modifications and repairs following acquisition. The terrain we are working on is steep, and dying in a tractor accident would not contribute to the success of this project. The axles are widened, it needs new brake shoes, new oil retainers on the front axle, and a safety arch. A chain mower is being custom made as we speak. We already have a plow and a cultivator.
Our 4×4 tractor can power a host of labor saving devices, such as a rotary tiller, wood chipper, log splitter, irrigation pump, chestnut dehusker, a trailer, even a excavator attachment. It could power a generator that would turn vegetable oil into electricity.
This article appeared on our Substack. The goals is to produce food for our own residents plus 50 more. Paid subscribers of this Substack secure the right to shelter, food and security in case of a major global disaster, as well as the possibility to camp in Penadexo for free while the good times last.