Homesteading As A Hedge Against Uncertainty
Many of the things that impact and drive the average person’s daily life are out of their control. Isn’t that a delightful thought? Rather than getting bogged down with what is out of your hands, why not focus your time and energy on what you do have the power to change? I’m not talking about some epic battle to try to pound your surroundings and circumstances into submission to your will. That’s a fool’s errand. It’s more about being a trouble shooter. Learning to anticipate problems and come up with solutions in advance. Learning to be flexible and opportunistic. Learning to make the most of your current situation and looking for ways to build where you are as well as planning to make things better in the future.
In recent times we have learned that in general, our supply chain has definite weaknesses that leave the consumer at risk. Those who looked at the supply chain critically in advance already recognized the potential dangers, but we were all certainly given a graphic illustration of our increasing dependence on a globalized marketplace. As a society, many have gotten away from consuming locally. It’s just too easy to access one of the large online retailers and have whatever your heart desires delivered to your doorstep. Sometimes for less than you could purchase it locally. Sometimes delivered for “free”. For some, the online shopping experience becomes a drug. Didn’t Karl Marx once say “.. ist das Opium des Volkes” or loosely translated “Amazon is the opiate of the masses”? (You might want to fact check my translation on that one.) How are they able to do this at such a low price? Are we paying a price beyond what is evident by the face value of the transaction? Are others being exploited so that we can enjoy our cheap luxuries? Is it sustainable?
A deep dive into the debate between shopping locally and globally is certainly appropriate, but it is not my intent right now. I’m not against occasional indulgences. I enjoy tropical fruit but I can’t easily grow large quantities of them in northeast Tennessee. Does that mean that I should never eat a pineapple or mango? Are you saying that I should never drink coffee? Seriously. That shit isn’t even funny. If ever there were fighting words… For now, let’s avoid looking at our consumer patterns as being good or evil. Let’s think of them in terms of risk and liability.
To put it simply, the farther that the consumer is from the production of any product, the greater the liability. Does this make sense? Think about the process of obtaining raw lithium from a mine in Chile and converting it into one of its possible end states as a component of a battery to help power a Tesla. Think about what goes into getting coffee from cultivation to your insulated Yeti cup. How much time and how many steps does it take to get to there? How many opportunities are there for something to go wrong in the process? What are the potential vulnerabilities?
Obtaining the appropriate permits and licenses.
Accounting for weather and terrain.
Availability and willingness of the labor force.
Availability of credit / Financial resources.
Processing.
Packaging.
Transportation of the product between each of the step in the process.
Transportation of other supplies / ingredients required for each step of the process. Inspections / regulators.
A finished product arriving at the point of use is a logistical miracle, but unfortunately, the process is so complex that it has the potential to turn into a nightmare. Especially if one is too dependent on obtaining the finished product on a very specific schedule.
Another arena over which we the people have absolutely no influence is inflation. Unfortunately, we are subject to a house of cards system in which our dollar has value because we have decreed it to be so, with no tangible physical backing. If the government needs money for whatever the pet project de jour is, it’s no problem. They can just print more! Like everything, inflation is multifactorial, but out of control spending and money printing are major contributors.
Inflation in the food arena over the last year is around 10-11%. Specific inflation of some individual commodities / products are much higher and the trend is disturbing. Eggs. Dairy. Meat. People are feeling the squeeze. I have not yet educated myself about what goes into calculating the different components or the aggregate, but with the government, it is safe to assume that things are worse than what is reported. They control the data and they have a vested interest in keeping the population from panicking.
My intention isn’t to complain, but if we don’t identify and understand the problems, we can’t come up with meaningful, effective solutions. So, what can we do?
Homesteading can both be a way to decrease the impact of disruptions in the supply chain and a hedge against inflation. Better than an insurance policy. What is more local than home grown and processed foods? A full fledged homestead isn’t an option for everyone. Start where you are and with the resources that you have available. Do what you can where you are. If you don’t like where you are, start taking action to change it. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being deliberate about getting better.
Here are a few examples:
Buy on sale. Buy in bulk. When appropriate, break things down into usable quantities and put your food preservation skills to work. Don’t have food preservations skills? What are you waiting for?
Buy local. Find farmers and producers and buy directly. Co-ops are an option. Sometimes local food is more expensive. Consider the possible reasons for this.
Grow your own herbs, vegetables and fruit. Don’t have much space? Grow vertically. Grow lights. Look into patio gardening. Use them fresh. Dehydrate them. Ferment them. Make them into vinegar or wine. Freeze them. Can them. Use them as animal feed.
Raise animals. Good for meat but also very useful for their by products. Eggs. Milk. Fertilizer. Good for keeping grass and weeds under control. Where you live may limit your options, but be creative. Insist that your Nigerian dwarf goat is actually a dog and dare someone to prove you wrong. There’s a fine line between a funny looking cat and a rabbit.
View things that aren’t produced locally as luxuries. If they are prized or priority luxuries, plan accordingly. Stockpile that coffee. Keep a supply of things like vinegars, salts and sugars used in home processing.
Always keep in mind that attitude, knowledge and experience are your greatest assets. They are highly portable and don’t take up any space. Give me ingenuity and adaptability over expensive equipment any day.
The impact that inflation and disruptions in the supply chain have on one’s life is a reflection of how dependent one is on the respective systems. If you raise chickens that are fed entirely from feed produced on your farm and they give you dozens of eggs daily, what do delays in delivery of an increasingly expensive chicken feed supply or the price of eggs in the grocery store matter to you?
What are some specific ways that you can prepare yourself to deal with supply chain problems and inflation?
