What Should We Be – Self-Reliant or Self-Sufficient?

It is good to be self sufficient because you self-govern yourself, you no longer depend on any external sources and that you grow, raise and build everything you require, at your own home. I mentioned the ways we can achieve self-sufficiency in the last article. This article will try to find the answer for, "what should we be, self-reliant or self-sufficient?"

Everything sounds fine and there is nothing wrong if you become total independent, but when it comes to practicality, do you think it is that easy? There are several things that we need to survive; starting from food, shelter and cloth. Is it possible to get all these things done by one person at one place?

Have you ever stumbled upon any wonder person who grows 100 percent of his own food, who never visits a shop simply because whatever is available in the shop is available at his own garden? I have not seen such examples and I think it is impossible, unless exception. Perhaps this is where we need to understand self-reliance; an important concept permaculture design focuses on.

Since, I mentioned permaculture in the context of self-reliance, let’s first understand what it means. Permaculture is a combined word for permanent and culture/permanent and agriculture. So, the point is in the name itself. It is an ecological design theory that aims to build a sustainable agricultural system and properly-structured human settlements based upon natural ecosystem.

Permaculture teaches us to understand the nature and to work with her, not against her to mutually build an improved tomorrow where our requirements are met without affecting the natural ecosystem. The message permaculture design tries to convey is presented in its 12 principles. It teaches us to learn things from nature while becoming independent in a way that our focus should be on attaining self-reliance, not necessarily self-sufficiency.

So, we are back to where we started: self-reliance vs. Self-sufficiency.

Self-sufficiency is all about becoming independent without having assistance or aid from any external sources. Grow your own food, raise your dairy cows, harvest your own water and all so that you no longer need to look beyond your home to survive. It sounds fine, but to attain that level of effectiveness, you need to work really hard by isolating yourself and by exposing you to different vulnerabilities.

You can’t grow all foods at your place neither you can guarantee that you will be future proof from any personal, environmental or aligned problems. Also, self-sufficiency sounds a little self-centred. Living in a society without thinking about others shouldn’t be a goal of ethical living. So, the better idea to become independent without diverting yourself from society is becoming self-reliant. Self-reliance means you take the responsibility of what are your requirements, from what you consume to what you produce.

For that you grow food at your home and help your neighbours (local farmers and domestic producers) grow food. This way, you do your bit in securing your future and also helping others to mutually benefit each other. In times of need, you need their help and they do their bit. Doing this, the ecology and demand-supply chain remain in a balance and everyone benefits each other without heavily focusing on oneself. There’re a lot more than said about self-reliance. I’ll cover how permaculture design teaches us to be self-reliant in the next article.