8 TIPS FOR LIVING OFF THE LAND

To kick start Plastic Free July, we decided to put a post together with a few tips on sustainability and living off the land. With this post, we hope to help inspire and inform you about small changes that will help you live more sustainably.

START SMALL

Our first tip for living a sustainable lifestyle is to start small. Don't try to tackle too much in your first week because that is a sure-fire way to become overwhelmed and give up! Start by making small changes such as reducing your plastic waste; this is an easy place to start and will even save you some money on your much-loved cosmetics brands and food. As you get more familiar with refill stations, you will become aware of which brands hold the same ethical values as you. We stock a large supply of cleaning and cosmetic refills in The Metta Centre and we're so happy to see the number of customer demand growing, making the refill service the most popular product in our store.

GROW YOUR OWN VEG

Learning to grow your own fruit and vegetables will not only fill your kitchen with healthy and ethically sourced ingredients, but it will also give you that joyous feeling of knowing that you grew it yourself. It's easy to get started and doesn't require as much space as you may think. However, if you don't have space in your own back yard then look at local allotments. You can even find allotments in big cities such as London, they give an incredible community spirit, as well as providing benefits to the environment through supporting and regulating the ecosystem.

POULTRY KEEPING

Keeping poultry on your land not only gives you a guarantee that your eggs are coming from happy birds, but it's also very rewarding in other ways. Eggs laid by pasture grazed chickens contain more nutrients than shop bought eggs, they also taste undeniably better and have consistently better yolks! Chickens create excellent fertiliser and will help keep your land clean and reduce bugs. They are also highly entertaining, and you can adopt chickens from farms, giving them a happier life as part of your family.

WILD BEEKEEPING

Not only will helping bees do wonders for your agriculture, but it is also a great way to help boost the decreasing number of healthy bees currently in population. Did you know that bees are responsible for pollinating nearly 85% of food crops as well as cattle food and wildflowers? It is essential that we tackle the declining bee population so let's do our part by giving them a lovely garden to visit. If you are unable to keep bees then look into other ways you can help, such as planting a bee garden full oftheir favourite flowers. 

HERB MEDICINAL USE

Herbal and alternative medicine is an ever-growing business and one which you can supply for yourself from your very own herb garden. Popular herbs for plain include turmeric, rosemary, feverfew, lavender, and holy basil. Additionally, herbs such as valerian and chamomile can help you sleep, while ashwagandha, lemon balm, and bergamot will help soothe your nervous system. Simply brew a tea with these wild herbs or introduce them into your cooking. Always consult with a herbalist or doctor when trying alternative medicine for conditions. There are lotsof fantastic books available to get you started.

HOME COMPOSTING

If you're looking to grow an organic garden while also reducing waste then home composting is an absolute necessity. There are lots of different ways to do this but we find the easiest way to keep on top of it in our kitchen is to keep a small closable container near the sink to scrape leftovers or teabags into. Of course, not everything can be composted but you can get a well-constructed list along with some guidelines in the resources section of CAT, or by following the link below:

INSTALL A SOLAR PANEL

If you plan on living on-site, or you just want to find a way to make your home more energy efficient then look into installing solar panels. Not only is this a renewable energy but it will also save you money on your electricity bills.

GREYWATER AND REED BED SYSTEM

Greywater is a water recycling system that you can set up in your home to collect used water from sinks, showers, baths, etc to then use elsewhere in your home. The water is cleaned and pumped back through to flush your toilet, use in your washing machine, or outside tapes. You can make your own filter system by creating reed beds to filter the water system through. This is an effective eco-friendly solution that can be easily implemented in your home. You can learn all you need to know on this by taking a course with CAT:


So that's our top 8 tips for living a more sustainable life off the land. Hopefully, you will find these tips inspiring. Let us know your best tips in the comments! This was an original blog post for our shop WITHMETTA.ONLINE . Please visit for your sustainable shopping and follow us on Social for more tips and updates. 

WITH METTA

Follow us on Instagram @withmetta.online
 

0 comments:

Post a Comment