self-reliance

So being part of the riot4 austerity and just generally wanting to live a better, healthier life has led us to try and spend more time biking around.  Most of our local errands we accomplish on foot but what about errands that take us out of town but arnt so far that we need to take the car?  What about those intermediate distance shopping trips?  How to get the goods home?

As someone who works in public relations for a permaculture guild, I often hear from people wanting to know what permaculture is all about. In a nutshell, permaculture is a set of design principles aimed at addressing human needs sustainably. Sustainable means ecologically, economically, and socially. We can divide human needs into five broad categories: food, water, shelter, energy, and community.