Part 6

Capstone: Design Your Own Subsistence Farm

10 lessons · about 305 minutes of reading, plus the fieldwork.

  1. 01The BriefWrite the fixed constraints of your site and household as a one-page brief before any plan is drawn.25 min
  2. 02Site Survey and Sector AnalysisDraw a scale plan of your site and overlay every sector that moves: sun, wind, water, frost, fire and access.30 min
  3. 03Water DesignBudget your site's rainfall and lay the swales, ponds and tanks that store it high and spend it by gravity.30 min
  4. 04Soil and Fertility PlanDraw a nutrient budget for your site, match every pound of fertility taken out with a pound returned, and name the fix where they do not balance.30 min
  5. 05Crop and Livestock PlanSet the grain, bean and oil trio in a real rotation with an area and a season for each, and admit an animal only if it feeds itself from the site.30 min
  6. 06Calorie AccountingTurn your crop plan into a single number, the people your site feeds, and name the macronutrient that limits it.35 min
  7. 07Labour and CalendarCost your design in hours, fit them into months, and prove the year's work will still fit a body that ages.30 min
  8. 08Economics: Costs, Surplus and Fair PriceCost your design to build and to run, prove it feeds the household before it sells anything, then price the surplus at a fair wage.30 min
  9. 09Red Team Your Own DesignAttack your own design on water, calories, fat, labour, money, pests, weather and health, and record what survives the attack.35 min
  10. 10Submit and DefendPublish your finished design so other people can check it, answer the strongest critic, and finish the course with no certificate bought or sold.30 min