So I saw a story on the Yahoo homepage today about people living further and further off the grid, more independently.  In fact, some are preparing to live completely independent of anything or anyone else.  I read the Yahoo article about it, which was interesting.  This is how I grew up, to an extent.  We still went to the grocery store every week, and we got electricity when I was 7.  Before that it was a gas-powered generator and kerosene lanterns.  My parents hauled their own water since we didn't have a well, but that's not uncommon up here, as many folks live far outside any city limits for city water/sewer.  Oh ya, and the outhouse.  Sick  I was so happy when we got a real toilet.
This article describes people preparing in a frantic way though, for some unknown but looming economical disaster that government won't be able to manage.  I have not gone to the site, but I put the link here because whether you subscribe to some of these ideas or not, I suspect there are very good tips for gardening, saving energy, even irrigation systems, fixing things yourself, and maybe tips on herbal medicine.  These are things the Yahoo article described some people doing, and alot of us here at PLH have expressed interest in some of these areas.  Who better to find out how to do-it-yourself from than people who are really doing it all, all by themselves?  Let me know what you think, and I'll go look at it too when I get time.