Nobody wants to hear the negative possibilities but that doesn't make them any less true or possible. These days a lot people have big dreams and little actual self discipline and drive to make things work. On the flip side there's plenty of people who do though and there's tons of examples of thriving food forest systems and happy folks running them. I dream of such endeavors myself but I'm not sure I could do it. I attempt to farm 3 acres and run a small nursery and do pretty well but it's always hard to keep up with that. Also with all the comforts of modern society all around me. I still have to work part time to make sure my family eats and bills get paid. May not have to much longer but that's a hard won reality. We do grow substantial amounts of our own veggies and also raise lots of animals we eat. 100% meat needs met but that includes lots of fishing and deer hunting. However we butcher lots of chicken and ducks and hopefully rabbits. Produce wise we grow a lot but until I have large reliable fruit harvests of a variety of species and expand into more veggies as new gardens are put in I still buys lots of store produce. My small thing going on is plenty of work as it is and I struggle to keep up. I'm not in a foreign country and truly needing to feed my family entirely from my own work. That's a daunting task here in the states. Much harder elsewhere I'd figure in most cases except the possibilities of limitless all year fruit and vegetable growing a place like Central America offers. I'd try it and if I had the cash I'd entertain the idea of buying such a place as the farm offered here. However I know I'd not have an easy time doing the full blown homestead off grid kinda thing but I may or may not enjoy it. Would have to see how it went. I'd be happy with life either way but but there's a difference between happy and actually happy in every way.
Hey, if you like your part-time job, then why put unnecessary pressure on yourself to turn your gardening into a full-time thing? It sounds like you've found a good balance. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. As you say, maybe you quit your job to go fulltime survival gardening, only to find out that you don't really like doing that stuff fulltime. Then try doing that in a foreign country. It's like putting salt in a wound.
I've had a taste of it down here in Peru. It's not easy by any means. I actually miss the job I had back in the USA before I came down here. I had always intended to keep my Peru thing as an on/off sort of gig where I could spend a couple years here, and then a couple years back where I'm from.
That said, if anyone is interested in getting a taste of the lifestyle, feel free to send me a Private Message. I may be interested in paying someone a modest monthly stipend to look after my place a couple years down the road. In my opinion, you ought to know Spanish and should have some prior experience living in underdeveloped countries.
Topic: For Sale by Owner: Tropical Fruit Farm in Ecuador (Read 3300 times)