Late this afternoon I stopped in at my local health food store on my way home after doing some business at my local Apple store.
I mentioned to the cashier that I had recently returned from Ecuador. She asked me if I knew a Polish man calle Bo Polinski. I told her that I not only knew him but traveled through Ecuador with him in the past two months. She had made arrangements to meet and chat with him about Ecuador.
She , among others is very concerned about food supplies in the near future. When she suggested to her friends that that make themselves known to someone who owns a farm they look at her with disbelief at this question.
This is a fair question I think. The theory is that there might be huge prolong electric shortages caused by natural sunspots on the earth.
If huge sub stations are affected it could take months to replace. Our society is totally dependent on electric power to preserve food that is sotred in our large super markets unlike the days of past where you stored whole foods -vegetables, grains , etc. in your root cellar for six months at a time. That is how I grew up in the fifties and sixties. I grew up on a farm and we were quite self-sufficient in most ways.
We had a vegetable garden, a cow that produced milk and butter, hens that laid eggs, a pig for bacon, a deer or moose shot in the Fall for winter, rabbits caught in winter to make great rabbit stew. We never had a fridge so we were not dependent on electricity to preserve our food. Mother made 13 loaves of bread every third day from scratch. You get the idea.
In Vilcabamba and other places in the world it is still possible to be self-sufficient. When scouting for land one of the most important things to find is an independent water supply especially a spring on the property. In a temperate climate like that found in Central America it is possible to grow food all year around.
If you are in the city you might want to store enough food for three months or so as your usual sources will not be available in case of a electricity disruption.
One could technically live on sprouts and water if one had to but it would be boring wouldn’t it. So having seeds that sprout and knowing how to sprout is very important.
People I met in Vilcabamba are saying that the standard of life is low but the quality of life is rich. There are no public libraries and other community services that we take for granted in first world country but there is an abundant of delicious, natural whole food available. Many fruits are ready for picking at all times as well as vegetables.
Permaculture versus monoculture is talked a lot in the Vilcabamba community.
The farmers that I was in touch with did not use anything on their crops so therefore were organic without the benefit of an organic label.
The unwashed eggs from the Japanese farmer that I met during the last week of my stay were definitely free range.I had gone there with a new a friend to buy tomatoes that had rippen and needed picking immediately.