Becoming Barbara Good

[alldigging]

Yep - most of my family are going to think I'm weird. Weirder than usual, anyway.

If that's your main worry then you've got nothing to worry about

[PyreneesPlot]

Go for it!

What you're talking about is what we set out to do - and also with the same proviso.

Our income comes from interest on a couple of investments from when we sold the house, paid off the mortgage and bought and built this place - it is enough to live on, but without frills. Mr PP is a jobbing gardener which brings in a few more peanuts. We also have a panic stash which we do not touch, its for real emergencies. Having said that, we dipped into it in our first month as we wrote off our car.

In terms of self sufficincy, we still buy fruit as our apple and pear trees are still tiny and spuds and onions as they are dirt cheap and I'm rubbish at growing them. We rarely buy other veg - if we don't have it growing we don't eat it. We do eat meat and buy one bit once a week from an excellent butcher. No doubt we could get twice as much rubbish from the supermarket.

We trade produce with our neighbours and being an ageing village we also trade labour - tree felling and the like. (I say 'we' with tongue in cheek). In return we get bags of apples and cherries, game from the hunters and unspeakably awful wine! I make jam and pickles and then swap it back again for other things.

Its amazing what you can live without, but do you want to? We were without grid electricity for two years, which was tough. Much, much worse was the 18 months without internet. I miss buying books - I used to run a bookshop - and going to the pub, theatre, cinema, Waitrose, expensive cheese shops, London, visiting friends, holidays... But not enough.

On the other hand, we do buy things when we are given money by the parents, so birthdays and Christmas are once again time to treat yourself. Pity they all come in November, December & January!! The rest of the year is lean.

Before deciding if we could jack, we wrote down all the things we did, all the costs and then eliminated all the nice but not essential. Of course, every person will have a different list. We came here to ski in the winter so season passes are essential, other wise the point of giving up jobs and buying stuff is lost. But having a list of costs is quite liberating.

Yes, family and friends will think you're weird. I prefer the terms interesting or imaginative.

Good luck with whatever road you take.

[out in the cold]

Kaiya, I would love to be self sufficient, but an not brave enough to try it.

I am not sure if you have heard of The Findhorn Foundation? They operate out of the eco village (funnily enough, at Findhorn on the Moray coast) and have all sorts of info available that might help