Sustainability, Preparedness, Micro-Farming, City Farmer, Self-Sufficiency; these are all words that many people from around the world relate to. We all have a common goal and that's to develop skills in the art and practice of being more self sufficient. Ultimately we want to live our lives in the joys and woes of being experimental when things are good, so that when and "IF" things get bad we are prepared.
A few weeks ago I received an Email from an Urban Homesteader in India. I get real excited when I receive emails because it's like opening up a surprise every time. I never know what question is going to be thrown at me and I love challenging myself on research and providing a real answer. But this email was different. Shabeer as he refers to himself, asked me if I knew of a better way to deliver water to his 50 plus rabbits. Currently he is using watering dishes and the water gets quite messy. I thought this was an easy one. So I replied back to Shabeer with a link to Amazon showing him a Rabbit Water bottle for apprx $4 a piece. I thought, wow that was easy, I can do this all day.. Ok so whats next? Wellllllll, Shabeer Replied with a gracious thanks and said "Those water bottles would be nice but at $4 a piece that's really expensive because that's like over 200 rupees for each water bottle." I just literally stared at the screen and then suddenly the emotion of embarrassment slowly started to drape over me. Taking a deep sigh I thought to myself while reading his statement over and over how dumb and arrogant I must have sounded to suggest that a $4 water bottle would fit into any persons budget. And then it dawned on me. Yes a $4 water bottle is not expensive in my world and the way in which I practice the art of becoming more Self Sufficient is achieved by what some might consider to be privileged. And for the first time there came to be true meaning in my quest for Self-Sufficiency.
Thinking of Shabeer and the question he posed to me I really started to think about what does it truly mean to be self-sufficient. figuring out Shabeers water issue became more than just a water issue. Every night and Day I have spent thinking of ways to make water delivery systems attainable and cheap for people who don't have the convenience to shop on Amazon and spend a boat load of money to support their Hobby and/or Lifestyle. When I started to think more about this issue, the world started to pan out and there I was standing on the Urban Self-Sufficientist Soap Box with a very small Megaphone. I have come to realize that people around the world need real solid solutions to complex problems that I don't personally have to deal with. But the Hell with that!! My background would never allow me to quit and persistence to find a solution is the goal. So I dug deep and I recruited the help of someone I work for in my secular life. His background consisted of spending 5 years teaching people how to survive on nothing and being able to survive in hostile areas. I knew that with his instinct and my practical application of the subject we would be able to brain storm and come up with a direction of where we want to start.
In order to understand what the needs of Shabeer would be we had to put ourselves in the mindset that even though we have items available to us, what can we develop that would be cost effective and at the same time easily replicated all over the world. After several discussions and failing numerous "What If" scenarios we finally came to the conclusion that for someone like Shabeer living in India with access to many different materials but not having the necessary funds to support his lifestyle the way that he really wants to as an Urban Farmer.. The best method for his water delivery system would have to include 1st.... a plastic bottle. The main reason... Water bottles are everywhere, They are thrown on the sides of roads in garbage heaps and you can recycle them from the stores. The Idea is to deliver water to rabbits in a safe and effective manner that can be controlled and easily maintained. This is just part of the solution, because the real problem is with delivering the water to the rabbits. Rabbits hate to be wet. So having a system that is spilling all over the place is not going to work. The Idea of the actual Small Animal water bottle makes so much sense with the metal spout. We thought of using bamboo... but there is the rabbits strong desire to chew on everything. So we thought about using car antennas because older vehicles have the hollowed out antennas... but there is the issue of finding a ball bearing small enough to fit in the cavity to not let water drip.. Finally we centered around the idea of using a nail with a wide flat head pushed through the top of the cap from the inside. The idea the rabbits would learn to push the nail to the side releasing a trickle of water.
We are still developing Ideas for Shabeer and a system that can easily be replicated in any part of the world. But thinking about this has really made me understand that average people around the world are really facing complex issues with regards to their urban farms. I want to help people like Shabeer everyday. One day I may start a non-profit to help urban farmers around the world purchase necessary items. The fact remains that even though I have a very small megaphone, I am fortunate enough to be standing on a soap box. And with any means possible I will continue to highlight the real struggles that many people face.
My cool weather Vegetables were doing really good. Until a few days ago. I noticed that specifically my Broccoli came under attack all of a sudden. Towards the end of last season I noticed that my green leafy veggies were being ripped from the ground, leaf, stem and root; as if someone just helped themselves to my garden. I couldn't believe it! So it was no surprise that a few days ago I saw the same thing happen and needless to say I was pissed!! Because Broccoli is one of my favorite veggies to grow and eat fresh. That night I went on a hunt for rat traps to see if my suspicions were correct. I find the best bait for rats is using some sort of gooey power or cereal bar that can be molded around the copper step trigger. I used something from kashi. As night fell I set the traps. I was excited to kill something... cursing at the bloody rats hoping that I would seek redemption. After the Traps were set I walked back into the house still pissed about the fact my broccoli bed was decimated. I laid down still cussin under my breath and suddenly the ambient sound coming from the TV was shrilled with a sharp "SMACK!!" and Instantly..... A devilish grin forced it's way through my face followed by a sigh of relief as One "SMACK!!" after another continued through the night. Because I'm a big pussy there was no way I was going outside to check on those traps. I would have definitely lost all my cool points had I seen a rat squirming around in the trap (this coming from a guy who jumps out of high performance aircraft for a living) 
