About - Self Sufficient Me

Who We Are

Self Sufficient Me is a blog about self-sustainment by growing our own produce (plant/animal), and self-fulfilment by looking after our health (physical/mental) through exercise and slowing life down a little.

At the same time, we focus on our environmental footprint and how we can improve our “patch of dirt” not only for our own benefit but also to better develop the surroundings for other plants and animals – it’s their world too.

We try to, “look, and see the Earth through her eyes;” and we say, “You don’t have to be self-sufficient in everything just be self-sufficient in something,” also, “respect your body and keep it healthy through regular exercise.”

You don’t have to be self-sufficient in everything just be self-sufficient in something!

Our Mission

The “Eye” for our logo with the pupil as the Earth signifies our desire to look and see how nature does things and how we can get the most out of working with nature rather than against it. For example, using indiscriminate pesticides might protect against pests in the interim but it also kills good bugs and bees which over time upsets nature’s balance to combat pests naturally, therefore, requiring more pesticide use and the cycle continues to get worse.

By observing nature and understanding the balance (that is often in our hands) we can create our own backyard micro-ecosystem that benefits all creatures, plants, and humans.

Overall, the vision is to create a diverse and interesting internet resource and forum on self-sufficiency and support the self-sufficient community who not only collectively helps to protect our planet through sustainable living and lifestyle, but also, benefits personally through the satisfaction of pursuing, creating and sharing their self sufficient successes!

What is Self Sufficiency?

Self sufficiency is the act of sustaining ones life without the direct aid or help of others. For most of us, “total” self sufficiency without the help of anyone or any organisation is not an achievable goal or even desired. Also, self-sufficiency (to me) means much more than “surviving” or being frugal – I think of it as a lifestyle and motivation to empower myself to learn how to do things rather than outsourcing everything. The benefits of this mind-set are HUGE because the more we do for ourselves the healthier we get mentally, physically, and spiritually… That’s why self-sufficiency is so important in my life and why I want to promote it so much.

But, Self Sufficient Me is not about me it’s about us! Here at Self Sufficient Me we want to explore, learn and teach each other about becoming more self sufficient. Why? Because (not withstanding the points made above eg health) by becoming more self-sufficient we save money, reduce waste, recycle more, and thus help to sustain our environment and planet.

And, that’s just some of the reasons self-sufficiency is so awesome.

About the Editor

Mark Valencia retired from the Australian Army in 2008 after 21 years of service and is married with two children (boys). He has always been passionate about self-sufficiency (even as a child) and he is now enjoying the opportunity to communicate this passion through his Blog and YouTube Channel. You can learn more about Mark through his writing, videos and various other media he produces.

Self Sufficient Me is a blog and YouTube Channel about self-sustainment by growing fruit and vegetables and keeping animals such as chickens for food. It’s also about lifestyle and self-fulfilment by looking after our health (physical/mental) through exercise and “slowing life down a little.”