How, where and what you do to become self-sufficient is a personal choice. Doing as much as you can yourself in the environment you live is a noble goal. It takes time and discipline to reach your goals but once they are reached it can be quite liberating. Here's a list of things you can do (some big, some small) to become more self-sufficient.
Here's the list, submitted by Naomi Lever to Daycreek.com.