Back to the future – striving for self-sufficiency

Ability to provide for one’s needs without any external assistance and help. Satisfaction with whatever one has got. Using the available resources to meet the needs. All of these statements refer to self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency is the state when one does not require any outside help and utilizes the resources available to them to meet the needs. This can be talked about on a very small scale – on the level of one individual— as well as on a large scale like taking to national level.

Throughout the world, there are many areas which have lived without facilities provided by the government. So, they have to live on their own resources for survival. On a smaller scale, an individual without any job would make baskets, or use any natural talent to earn a livelihood. In most cases, families have their own little backyard farms, which provide enough vegetables, fruits to meet the needs. They keep dairy and poultry, enough to provide for their requirements. Going above, it can be observed that several communities have their own farms and dairy and poultry. On national level, a self sufficient country does not feel any need to import goods from other countries and if the produce of the country is more than the consumption, it also adds to their economy by the export of the goods and food. It starts from the individual level. For a country to be self-sufficient, it must have self-sufficient individuals.

On a household level, compost bins can be built to recycle the waste to be used as fertilizers or for producing bio-gas. Rain barrels can be built to store water for irrigation purposes. Solar panels can be installed. Learning basic repairing skills like appliance repairing skills, basic plumbing skills etc can be helpful.

In Pakistan, every area does not have access to each and every facility. So families keep hen for eggs and meat. They grow crops, vegetables and fruits for their use and excess are sold out to other. They keep dairy for milk, meat and selling purposes. Home mills are installed, and wheat, corn, barley etc are ground into flour. Most of the time, women have their own looms and learn different embroidery designs. They do not only make dresses for themselves but also sell them out. These sales are not only made on a national level but international level too.
In some remote areas in most of the countries, people do not get access to the gas to burn. This urges them to produce bio-diesel for their own use. In other areas, people do not have access to electricity so they use solar panels.

This makes the citizens and, as a result, the nation strong and practical. They take decisions and work on it. Self-sufficient people or communities do not wait for others to take action or provide the necessities of life. Self-sufficiency, in other words, stirs the strength of taking decisions. Also, a self-sufficient person, community or a nation does not have to ask others for help and at times they become the ones to help. It boosts confidence and saves one the humiliation of begging. Within a community or a country it makes the bond stronger. The inner stability of a community increases. They start relying on their own strengths; they try to find the helping agency within themselves rather than looking for it outside. One of the advantages is that the things are recycled now and then because they are put to use. In case of disasters, self-sufficient people, communities and country can deal with the aftermath pretty well.