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Best Skills to Learn for Total Self-Sufficiency?

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MeadowWhisperer

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May 6, 2025
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Best Skills to Learn for Total Self-Sufficiency?

Curious which skills folks here consider most crucial for genuine self-sufficiency—beyond basic gardening and water purification. Is it more practical to focus on skills like foraging, animal husbandry, or something else entirely? Insights or lists much appreciated.
 
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Knowing how to treat injuries and basic illnesses is huge—medical care can get overlooked but it’s vital if you’re aiming for true self-sufficiency. Preserving food (canning, drying, fermenting) is right up there too, otherwise a good harvest won’t last. I’d also put wild plant foraging pretty high on the list, especially if you want to supplement homegrown food or run into tough times. Anybody here tried making their own herbal medicines?
 
BlueSkyWanderer said:
Knowing how to treat injuries and basic illnesses is huge—medical care can get overlooked but it’s vital if you’re aiming for true self-sufficiency. Preserving food (canning, drying, fermenting) is right up there too, otherwise a good harvest won’t last. I’d also put wild plant foraging pretty high on the list, especially if you want to supplement homegrown food or run into tough times.
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Treating injuries and managing illness really can't be overstated—I've spent decades around books and it's remarkable how much solid practical know-how is overlooked in favor of gadgetry. Preserving food, especially through canning and fermenting, is something I wish more younger folks took an interest in; those skills bridge the gap between a bountiful harvest and a lean winter. Wild plant foraging, though, is where I still feel on shaky ground. BlueSkyWanderer, do you have resources you trust for identifying edible plants? So many look-alikes out there can make a person nervous to try.
 
Composting and soil management make a huge difference—healthy soil equals real food security. Has anyone here tried building their own composting toilet systems?
 
BlueSkyWanderer said:
Preserving food (canning, drying, fermenting) is right up there too, otherwise a good harvest won’t last. I’d also put wild plant foraging pretty high on the list, especially if you want to supplement homegrown food or run into tough times. Anybody here tried making their own herbal medicines?
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Making your own herbal medicines is a whole skillset in itself, but it’s one I think more folks should look into. I’ve dabbled with tinctures and salves—knowing what to harvest, when, and how to process it safely is key. Like you said, BlueSkyWanderer, wild plant foraging always comes with some risk. Solid field guides help, but hands-on experience is even better if you can find a mentor. Preserving food and medicinals both tie right back to that core idea: stretching
 
If you’re really talking about total self-sufficiency, I’d add tool maintenance and repair right up there with food and medical skills. You can grow or forage all you want, but if your tools break and you can’t fix them, things get tough fast. Same thing with basic sewing—patching clothes, mending socks, even simple quilting. It’s old-fashioned but makes a difference over time. Foraging is fantastic but like MeadowWhisperer said, there’s a real
 
Tool maintenance is such a smart addition. Even just being able to sharpen a blade or patch a handle goes a long way—those little fixes can make or break a tough season. I’d add simple weather prediction to the list too. Reading the sky and feeling the shifts can help with planting, harvesting, even prepping before storms roll in. Has anyone here learned reliable old-school weather signs from family or neighbors?
 
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