Growing Our Own Food: A Path to Financial Freedom and Self-Reliance

I'm still recovering from the body aches from a recent journey to a burial with my colleagues. Everyone has been sharing their experiences, and I’ve come to a conclusion: everything happens for a reason. Thankfully, we made it back safely without any accidents, because that would have been a completely different story.

Today, however, is about something else entirely; I had to spend time working in our garden. A few days ago, I posted about harvesting cassava from our garden. We went on to process it into cassava flakes and some of it into "garri." I believe that one of the best ways to handle the challenges of financial hardship and limited financial freedom is by growing our own food. Even if we can’t produce everything we consume, it’s ideal to aim for at least 50% self-sufficiency. This approach can help save money and reduce the need to spend our entire salary on food items.

Everyone knows that relying on a salary alone isn’t a guaranteed way to get rich. True financial growth comes from wisely investing money and diversifying income sources.

We continued with cassava harvesting today. We have about three plots of land dedicated to cassava, and the rest of the land is used for animal farming and growing various types of vegetables.

I have a lot of respect for farmers—it’s not an easy job at all. The stress involved is significant. Farming requires dedication and patience. Sometimes, natural conditions like too much or too little rain can negatively affect crops and reduce yields.

I’ve had my share of setbacks with our farming efforts. We once bought four goats to rear, but only one survived. I realized that losses like these are part of the learning process. Even some of our poultry went missing—two of the chickens were stolen, and others may have fallen prey to snakes. We simply never saw them again. The rabbits also had their challenges; two out of the five we initially bought died. These are just some of the challenges farmers face.

If we have farmer in our family and around us. They should be celebrated. Although, every work has their own challenges and confrontation but I believe farming could easily wear someone out if not being mechanised.

Despite these struggles, each experience is a lesson learned. Farming teaches perseverance in the face of setbacks, and with each loss, we gain a deeper understanding of how to adapt and improve. In the end, we learn from each other’s experiences and keep moving forward.