For most of us, total Self-Sufficiency (the ‘2S’ variety) is little more than an illusion—especially if we hope to enjoy a level of comfort in our daily life. 2S is certainly possible (and sometimes necessary) for short-term survival situations, but it quickly gets old after a few days without the modern necessities we commonly take for granted. To thrive, we need more—much more. 3S—or Semi-Self-Sufficiency—is more practical and achievable. With 3S, we remain attached to the grid and community fabric, but we strive to consume less of everything in our daily lives. With 3S, our ultimate goal is to use as few outside resources as possible. Does this strategy sound familiar? It should—it’s been around for centuries.
As many of our friends have discovered, there are lots of individual answers out there, but most are applicable to specific situations. The solutions we deploy at EDEN must produce repeatable results. They must be robust, affordable, easy to construct, easy to scale up, and easy to maintain. For us, anything else is simply impractical.
The Real Challenge: The real challenge is continual commitment—backing our designs with the time and money needed to bring them to fruition—and staying the course as we push toward the 3S objective. How will we know when we’ve succeeded? After seven years, the verdict is in: we’re really getting there. At EDEN, the rewards have been numerous—and surprisingly timely. Our crops are healthy and delicious. Our investment has doubled in value. We’ve made hundreds of like-minded friends—and we’ve learned more than we ever thought possible.