permaculture

[Marjory <forestgarden@gvtc.com>]

How much land does it take? 

When thinking of becoming self-reliant, the questiona risies "how much 
land do I need to be able to sustainably grow enough food for my 
family?"  The exact answer to that question depends on several factors, 
but you can learn a lot, and make a pretty good estimate, by looking at 
some scenarios that span the various alternatives. 

Lets start first off with the almost magical dream of the pure 
hunter/gatherer.  I often hear this one from those concerned about a 
collapse of civilization.  The shit hits the fan and you take your rifle 
and a few supplies and head out to the wilderness to live off the land.  
Just how much land does it take to support you without destroying all 
the wildlife and plant populations?  How much area do you need in order 
live /sustainably/ as a hunter/gatherer?

Since there are so few actual hunter/gathers left alive on the planet, 
and the few places where they do still exist tend to be jungles which 
look nothing like anything in North America, we will turn to 
anthropological data.  The quick and easy answer is that traditional 
peoples used on average, about 10 square miles per person.  10 square 
miles is 6,400 acres - that is for one person.  There are numerous 
studies and authors that cite this number and one of the most accessible 
is Jared Diamond author of the popular title /Collapse: How Societies 
Choose To Fail or Succeed/.  Another excellent source is /Tending The 
Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's 
Natural Resources/ which is a wonderful book detailing how sustainable 
wild-crafting is more about taking care of the land than simply taking 
stuff.  California's lush and diverse landscapes were able to support 
some of the highest native population densities known in North America 
with the highest being almost 1.5 people per square mile living on the 
coast of the Santa Barbara channel.  The plant and animal communities in 
the Santa Barbara area have been largely destroyed by modern peoples and 
that density is no longer possible today of course.  As another 
comparison, desert regions of California had roughly 1 person per 12.5 
square miles. 

Before we head off into other more obtainable land use scenarios, lets 
pause for a moment to acknowledge that in addition to having access to a 
huge tract of land for living the hunter/gatherer lifestyle, you also 
need at least a decade to learn the many, many, skills of living such as 
tracking and hunting, trapping, botany, weather cycles, fiber and 
cordage, shelter, tool making, fire starting, tanning, and so much more. 

OK, so you won't be going that primitive.  What about you growing your 
own food in gardens, food plots, orchards, livestock, and perhaps a bit 
of hunting?  Agriculture has gotten us the these high population levels 
so far anyway, hasn't it?  Yes it has, and small scale agriculture is 
definitely the way to go for most people.  So how much land are you 
going to need for that? 

The research to the answer to that question was started back in the 70's 
by a very forward thinking man named John Jeavons.  The work has 
continued since then and a method developed into a system called 
"Bio-Intensive Gardening".  The Bio-Intensive method has been 
implemented worldwide to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.  There is a 
wealth of detail in the entire Bio-intensive method, but the short 
answer to how much land you need can be summarized as approximately 
8,000 sq.ft. for a complete diet for one person (you need 4,000 sq/ft. 
of actual growing space and at least 4,000 sq.ft. for pathways and 
access).  That is also assuming you have four growing seasons per year.  
So if you can only get two growing seasons, then you need to double the 
space needed per person.  For reference, an acre is 43,560 sq.ft.  So in 
a more southern climate, you could theoretically support about 5 people 
per acre. 

The absolute best reference for the Bio-Intensive method is the book 
/How To Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land 
Than You Can Imagined /by John Jeavons.  And for another comparison, 
with data taken from Jeavons book, the average U.S. diet with 
conventional farming requires 15,000 to 30,0000 sq.ft. and is done in 
such a way that it diminishes soil -- i.e. it is not sustainable. 

So small scale agriculture is definitely going to be your best bet.  My 
personal experience is that 2 acres in a temperate region will 
completely wear you out and is enough room to comfortably support a 
family of four with a variety of food sources such as gardens, orchards, 
small livestock, and wild crafting.  You can still do a lot in less 
area, and of course, everyone always wants more.  Some caveats I've got 
to throw in there is you definitely need about a decade of experience to 
homestead like this, and you also need enough water.  An excellent 
source for seeing a what a diverse sustainable homestead on small 
acreage looks like is the video tutorial package titled /Food Production 
Systems for a Backyard or Small Farm./  The video they have created 
shows in good detail the systems they've setup to generate a lot of 
calories per year, how they did it, and why.  It is a good example by 
folks who are actually living it.