self sufficiency abroad was : new on the group

[Guest guest]

Thank you all for your warm welcome

I live near The Hague where I was born, but I live now just outsite

the city.

Frankly, it is pretty hard trying to live self sufficiently over here.

In the neighborhood we are quite the weirdo's

I rent a small lot near my home, but it is difficult to fully get all

the benefits. There are a lot of old grumpy men there and they garden

like you 'should' garden. I had other things planted and they don't

like it too much. They cut all my chives (huh what are purple flowers

doing there), parsnip they have never seen and they got out my 3 year

old valerian root for nothing:(

But most of all they don't like me taking my kids over (old men and

children aren't the best of combo??).

So I have 4 small chicken in my back yard and a cat. I do can a lot

every year and I am always baking from scratch, make all presents

myself (felting, making soap and toiletries, waldorf dolls etc). Guess

that is the most self sufficient I can get over here.

A lot of things I can't get here in the Netherlands, so I get them

from abroad. A couple of years I ordered a dehydrator and recently I

got a tofu mold from Germany. I get most information from English

books, because there aren't a lot of books in Dutch about this subject.

Ieneke where did you live in the Netherlands?

I always think that the US is the Valhalla for self sufficient minded,

is that right??

Maria

 

, " Ieneke van Houten "

<ienvan wrote:

>

> Hallo Maria!

>

> I live in B.C., the California of Canada, but I am originally

> from the Netherlands.

>

> Where in Holland do you live? It is pretty hard to do

> self-sufficient things there, so I am curious to hear what

> you can pull off!

>

> Ien in the Kootenays

> http://freegreenliving.com (blog)

>

> ( the Oldest post on my blog is:

> How a nice girl from Amsterdam ended up living in a tipi

> on a mountain in BC)

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hey, Maria!

 

Thanks for sharing something about how

hard it is to live self-sufficiently in an

overcrowded country.

What is the population now, 16 million?

 

Folks, that is in a place about the size of

Vancouver Island, and no mountains either.

Count your blessings, all you North Americans.

 

Some level of central planning is a must under

those conditions, or the whole place would be

like one big strip mall and unbearably ugly.

 

Every time I go back (the last time was 2004)

I notice how amazing it is that they have managed

to salvage some truly beautiful landscapes with

all those people.

 

You wrote:

I live near The Hague where I was born, but I live now just outside

the city.

 

Where? Den Haag is my father's hometown, I spent

quite a bit of time there as a child. So you are in the

heart of the " randstad " , the metropolitan region

bordered by the country's three largest cities.

 

Frankly, it is pretty hard trying to live self sufficiently over here.

In the neighbourhood we are quite the weirdo's

 

I rent a small lot near my home, but it is difficult to fully get all

the benefits.

 

Define small lot? I am picturing something like the

plots near my parents' home near Nieuw Loosdrecht.

How many square meters?

 

Do you know the book

" How to raise more vegetables than you thought possible

on less land than you can imagine. " by John Jeavons?

 

And this one:

" Square Foot Gardening, can't remember the author.

OOOH! I just googled it on Amazon, and there is a

new one, " Cubed foot gardening " that combines the

square foot principle with raised beds. I WANT!

I have all the square meters I want, but the land is

very poor. Improved garden space is always at a

premium.

 

There are a lot of old grumpy men there and they garden

like you 'should' garden. I had other things planted and they don't

like it too much. They cut all my chives (huh what are purple flowers

doing there), parsnip they have never seen and they got out my 3 year

old valerian root for nothing:>

 

Hey, what gives them the right to mess with YOUR

plot?

 

But most of all they don't like me taking my kids over (old men and

children aren't the best of combo??).

 

So I have 4 small chicken in my back yard and a cat.

 

That is so cool! How big is your yard? Can you have

a " moestuin " at home? At least the chives and a few

kale plants! Boerekool is the most nutritious vegetable

per square foot and it does survive the winter there,

doesn't it?

 

Ieneke where did you live in the Netherlands?

 

I spent most of my time in Amsterdam, but I lived briefly in

Krommenie and in Haarlem, and we always went for vacations

in Noordwijk aan Zee.

 

I always think that the US is the Valhalla for self sufficient minded,

is that right??

 

I wouldn't know, I live in Canada!

It was pretty cool here but like everywhere else

it is getting more regulated. It all depends on where you

are in both countries.

 

Visit my blog sometime.

 

The first post is about how we ended up being

the only people on the planet to have combined

wearing wooden shoes (picked up on a trip back,

never wore them in Holland) with living in a tipi.

 

I'd love to hear about what you grow, and when

it grows. I never gardened when I lived there,

I was a city girl.

 

Ien in the Kootenays

http://ienvan.multiply.com (blog)

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I found this very interesting too. Funny how we have these preconceived

ideas of how others live!

 

 

 

Jan G

 

_____

 

On Behalf Of Ieneke van Houten

Monday, January 14, 2008 3:38 PM

 

Re: self sufficiency abroad was : new on the group

 

 

 

Hey, Maria!

 

Thanks for sharing something about how

hard it is to live self-sufficiently in an

overcrowded country.

What is the population now, 16 million?

 

Folks, that is in a place about the size of

Vancouver Island, and no mountains either.

Count your blessings, all you North Americans.

 

Some level of central planning is a must under

those conditions, or the whole place would be

like one big strip mall and unbearably ugly.

 

Every time I go back (the last time was 2004)

I notice how amazing it is that they have managed

to salvage some truly beautiful landscapes with

all those people.

 

You wrote:

I live near The Hague where I was born, but I live now just outside

the city.

 

Where? Den Haag is my father's hometown, I spent

quite a bit of time there as a child. So you are in the

heart of the " randstad " , the metropolitan region

bordered by the country's three largest cities.

 

Frankly, it is pretty hard trying to live self sufficiently over here.

In the neighbourhood we are quite the weirdo's

 

I rent a small lot near my home, but it is difficult to fully get all

the benefits.

 

Define small lot? I am picturing something like the

plots near my parents' home near Nieuw Loosdrecht.

How many square meters?

 

Do you know the book

" How to raise more vegetables than you thought possible

on less land than you can imagine. " by John Jeavons?

 

And this one:

" Square Foot Gardening, can't remember the author.

OOOH! I just googled it on Amazon, and there is a

new one, " Cubed foot gardening " that combines the

square foot principle with raised beds. I WANT!

I have all the square meters I want, but the land is

very poor. Improved garden space is always at a

premium.

 

There are a lot of old grumpy men there and they garden

like you 'should' garden. I had other things planted and they don't

like it too much. They cut all my chives (huh what are purple flowers

doing there), parsnip they have never seen and they got out my 3 year

old valerian root for nothing:>

 

Hey, what gives them the right to mess with YOUR

plot?

 

But most of all they don't like me taking my kids over (old men and

children aren't the best of combo??).

 

So I have 4 small chicken in my back yard and a cat.

 

That is so cool! How big is your yard? Can you have

a " moestuin " at home? At least the chives and a few

kale plants! Boerekool is the most nutritious vegetable

per square foot and it does survive the winter there,

doesn't it?

 

Ieneke where did you live in the Netherlands?

 

I spent most of my time in Amsterdam, but I lived briefly in

Krommenie and in Haarlem, and we always went for vacations

in Noordwijk aan Zee.

 

I always think that the US is the Valhalla for self sufficient minded,

is that right??

 

I wouldn't know, I live in Canada!

It was pretty cool here but like everywhere else

it is getting more regulated. It all depends on where you

are in both countries.

 

Visit my blog sometime.

 

The first post is about how we ended up being

the only people on the planet to have combined

wearing wooden shoes (picked up on a trip back,

never wore them in Holland) with living in a tipi.

 

I'd love to hear about what you grow, and when

it grows. I never gardened when I lived there,

I was a city girl.

 

Ien in the Kootenays

http://ienvan. <http://ienvan.multiply.com> multiply.com (blog)