Watching the aftermath of a storm that has left millions paralyzed, with their most basic needs unmet, we see how fragile this way of life is that we’ve created. It is very clear how dependent we have become on the smooth operation of a large and complex system to keep us alive and well. Most of the time the availability of products we need most is taken for granted. When a reality check of this nature comes along, we can’t believe it could happen to us. But it’s happening now.

Once we figure out how to clean up the mess (on borrowed resources), and we will, the question will be what have we learned? What is the problem and where do we invest our energy to solve it? The problem is in our design–it lacks resilience. We solve the problem by focusing our energy on creating resilience through design.

A resilient system requires resource efficiency. The current systems that create and make available basic products like food and energy are huge and incredibly inefficient. In many cases they require more energy input than they produce. This is clearly not a sustainable design and cannot go on for long.

They also require resources to be moved across great distances. The further a resource travels, the more of its value is lost in transit. A big system that relies on this far-reaching movement, therefore, ends up wasting a good portion of its resources. We have taken this for granted in the era of relatively cheap and abundant energy. It is prodigality in its grandest form, the foolish notion that there’s always more where that came from.

These large systems, as well as being unsustainable, lack resilience in that if they should fail to deliver there is no alternative. We simply go without. People fighting in gas lines, looting supermarkets and the quick descent into chaos follows. When people can’t get what they need to survive they become desperate and violent.

We can learn by observing nature. In nature, resiliency is created through diversity. Small systems evolved for the specific needs of a locality. The maximization of resource efficiency, where nothing is wasted. And above all, the ability to weather the storm in whatever form it takes. When one supply line is cut off, there is always another nearby to take its place.

So to be resilient on a large scale we must be resilient on many small scales. We start small and simple, we focus our energy and resources locally and efficiently, and we create. We begin to take back the control of our basic needs and lessen our dependency on a fragile, inefficient, unsustainable, and non-resilient system that can not go on like it has. We do not do this out of fear, but out of love for the result: lasting health and happiness.

A good place to start is by producing some of our own food. This can be done on some scale regardless of where you live. My wife and I just planted 20 fruit and nut trees in what will become a ‘food forest’ here in central Chile. The area is not much bigger than an average suburban back yard. A food forest, like any forest, is a collection of trees, shrubs, herbs, vines, flowers, etc., all mixed up together in a carefully designed way with the specific intention of providing useful products.

With all the information out there, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to start and how. Every system must be unique to the needs, resources, climate, time and space of its inhabitants. But a free flow of ideas allows us to take control of our education, to learn and to share what we have learned. I would encourage anyone, regardless of their available time, space or budget to start down this path to resilience and freedom.

Here is a great resource for all kinds of info, dig in and enjoy yourself. http://www.permies.com/

TVP