Self-Sufficiency Score

Rate your homestead's independence across 8 categories. Answer all questions honestly to get an accurate assessment with personalized improvement suggestions.

Assessment Progress 0% (0 of 38)

🥕 Food Production

1. What percentage of your vegetables do you grow yourself?

2. Do you raise animals for food?

3. What is your fruit and nut production level?

4. How do you preserve your food?

5. What is your seed saving practice?

💧 Water Independence

1. What is your primary water source?

2. Do you collect rainwater?

3. What water treatment capability do you have?

4. How do you handle irrigation self-sufficiency?

5. What is your emergency water storage?

⚡ Energy Independence

1. What is your electricity source?

2. What is your primary heating source?

3. What cooking fuel do you use?

4. What backup power do you have?

5. Do you have a woodlot/fuel source on your property?

🏠 Shelter & Infrastructure

1. What type of housing do you live in?

2. How adequate are your outbuildings?

3. How reliable is your road access?

4. What level of fencing/property security do you have?

5. How do you manage waste?

🩺 Health & Preparedness

1. What is your level of medical self-reliance?

2. Do you use herbal/plant medicine?

3. How many emergency supplies do you store?

4. What is your physical fitness for homestead work?

📚 Skills & Knowledge

1. How much gardening experience do you have?

2. What animal husbandry experience do you have?

3. What construction/repair skills do you have?

4. What food preservation skills do you have?

5. What navigation/woodcraft skills do you have?

🤝 Community & Barter

1. Do you have a local homesteading community?

2. How often do you barter or trade?

3. How much knowledge sharing do you do?

4. What is your connection to the local food system?

💰 Financial Resilience

1. What is your debt-to-income ratio?

2. How diverse is your income?

3. How large is your emergency fund?

4. How much does your homestead reduce your living expenses?

5. What percentage of living expenses could your homestead cover?

Your Self-Sufficiency Score

—

Category Breakdown

Top 3 Strengths

Top 3 Areas to Improve

Your Next Steps

Recommended Calculators to Improve Your Score

How It Works

This self-sufficiency assessment is based on 8 key areas of homestead independence. Each area has multiple questions scored from 1 to 5.

Scoring Methodology: - 38 questions across 8 categories - Each question scored 1–5 - Maximum possible score: 190 - Categories weighted equally (23.75 points max each) Level Rankings: Novice (0–38) : Just starting out Beginner (39–76) : Some homesteading activities Growing (77–114) : Building serious self-sufficiency Advanced (115–152) : Significant independence Near Self-Sufficient (153–180) : Very high independence Master Homesteader (181–190) : Near complete self-reliance The radar chart shows each category's percentage score relative to its maximum (23.75 points per category). This assessment is meant as a self-reflection tool, not a scientific measurement. Your goal should be continuous improvement in areas most important to your situation.

Why These 8 Categories Matter

True self-sufficiency isn't just about growing food. Water, energy, shelter, health, skills, community, and financial resilience are all essential. A homestead with a great garden but no water independence is only partially self-sufficient. This assessment helps you identify blind spots.