Self Sufficiency: Where to Start?

I’ll be honest: I have long dreamed of running off to a forest somewhere and “living off the land”. This always seemed like quite a niche ambition. Now, with the cost of living crisis continuing to deepen, it no longer seems like a wild idea reserved for reclusive anarchists and the like.  A much broader  section of society are now looking for ways to become more self-reliant and reduce living costs. So where to start?

While  increased self reliance is a goal our household is working towards, it’s a subject that I have no prior knowledge of. In reading this article, you’ll be coming with me on a journey and I would love to hear from you with any hints, tips or knowledge from your own experiences.

Step 1 - Get Real

A self-sufficient household can meet all of their basic needs independently:  including the provision of food, water and energy. When I first started to consider creating a self-sufficient home, I was searching for figures that would tell me decisively how much energy and water would be required per person. In reality, these figures are highly variable, based on the efficiency of your home and individual habits.

In a previous article on Sustainable Design, we discussed some ways to reduce consumption. New regulations seeking to protect the environment will make a certain level of reduced domestic energy and water consumption inevitable. However, the more you can reduce you households consumption, the more attainable self-sufficiency becomes.

Be realistic about the type of lifestyle you want and tailor your self-sufficiency  goals to suit that vision. Being completely self-sufficient is likely to consume every waking hour: particularly when it comes to food production. As such, you may choose to become self-sufficient in just one area - for example becoming energy self-sufficient. Alternatively, you could become partially self-sufficient across a number of areas. Any steps you take towards increased self-sufficiency are likely to have both environmental and economic benefits.

Step 2 - Set a Budget

Once you have a vague idea about how far you want to take this self-sufficiency bag, it’s time to find out what you can actually afford. As discussed, self-sufficiency will be a whole lot easier if you can minimise your consumption in the first instance. How your home is built is fundamental to this. If you find you need to make cost savings later in the process, you may begin omitting elements of earlier designs and compromise your ability to reduce consumption, scuppering your self-sufficiency goals before you’ve even begun. Having a thorough understanding of your budget from the outset will minimise this risk.

Talk to a self-build mortgage advisor as early as possible. They can give you a rough idea of what you may be able to lend based on your household income. Armed with this figure, you will be able to put together a crude cost plan outlining roughly how much you will have available to purchase land and the size of house you can afford to build. Costs can vary widely depending on location, specification and building technique however, the broad rules of thumb below can be used when creating an initial breakdown of your budget.

Step 3  – Create Your Wish-list

With a rough budget in hand, you can begin to create your wish-list. List the rooms you want to incorporate and think about the size you need them to be. Remember, the larger the home the more it will cost to build. It will also make self-sufficiency harder as larger heating, power and water systems tend to be less efficient. Consider how often you are likely to use each of the spaces you have listed and whether certain functions can be combined into one space.

Don’t forget to consider outdoor spaces too. Landscaping is an element that often gets cut from self-builds, as funds run out towards the end of a project. If food-production features heavily in your self-sufficiency dreams, there may be certain elements of your exterior space that are essential. Plan for them from the outset so that they are included within your budgets.

A homestead with productive and efficient features.

Think about heat and power. Space heating is usually the most energy intensive function in a home so this,  along with your power source, is likely to  contribute heavily to your self sufficiency ambitions. If energy self-sufficiency is your goal, having an idea of the systems you will use to achieve this will enable you to plan for the cost. It may also help you assess the suitability of sites.

Finally, think about your water supply. If you want to be completely self-sufficient you’ll either need to sink a well, or install a rainwater harvesting and filtration system that can clean rainwater to a level suitable for drinking. In contrast to mains water, both of these systems will require power to operate and will therefore increase your energy demand. Another option is to use harvested rainwater where drinking water isn’t required, for example washing machines or flushing toilets, and mains water everywhere else. The supplies will have to be kept entirely separate, using different pipe work  systems.

Step 4 - Find Some Land

Finding land is your first big hurdle and it may take some time to find a suitable plot. Having your initial budget and a good idea of what you want to build will go a long way in helping you determine whether a site is suitable. As your search gets underway you should revisit your budget and wish-list regularly, ensuring both remain realistic.

Consider local transport and amenities. This is particularly important if you are searching in rural locations. Sites that seem similar superficially may be vastly different in terms of how isolated they are.

Land with existing planning consent in place for residential development is likely to be significantly more expensive than land without, in large part due to the fact that self-build mortgage providers will not lend against land that does not already have planning consent in place. One way round this is to consider option agreements, whereby you agree with the landowner to purchase a plot for a given amount on the condition that you obtain planning permission.

Finally, don’t get overexcited and spend so much on a plot that you can’t afford to build anything! And keep an open mind – your site may not turn out to be a piece of empty land.

Meanwhile ……..

Finding your plot is likely to take a while, so it may be some time until, you are able to make further progress with your build. This doesn’t mean your self-sufficiency journey needs to stop. Here are three things you can do int the interim:

1. Up-skill
The whole idea of building a self-sufficient home started to seem a lot more real once I had been in touch with a mortgage advisor to discuss how much I could lend. At that point, I figured I should probably try and grow at least one vegetable before I abandoned urban life. If you plan on undertaking a lot of the construction work yourself, now would be a good time to up-skill in that area too. You could take a course or take on some smaller DIY projects to practice.

The first vegetables I ever grew! (Dwarf French Beans).

Home grown beans featured in a salad with pesto and breaded goat’s cheese.

2. Track your consumption
As stated before, energy and water consumption are determined by both the efficiency of your home and your individual habits. Smart meters are a great way to monitor how your habits impact your energy consumption and to compare how your household consumption relates to the national average. If you live in an older home, it is unlikely you will have a water meter. However they are a requirement in all homes built after after 1991 and smart water meters are becoming more common place. Tracking you consumption will help you specify appropriate systems in your new home and figure out how much water and energy you will need to source if you chose go fully self-sufficient.

3. Find some friends
Last but not least, find some friends. Having a group of people who are pursuing similar goals, that you can share information and tips with, may prove invaluable. If you get on well enough, you may even consider buying land together. Purchasing collectively, including throughout the construction process, can help your money go further and by the time you move into your home you’ll already be part of an established community.

Register your interest here if you would like to be connected to others interested in self-building in the same area as you.

Happy planning!