Resilient Livelihood

Discussion

John Robb:

"Here's what a resilient livelihood is and why it is important.

A resilient livelihood is achieved by diversifying your income. To be resilient, you need to get your compensation from many small, and very different, sources. It's also a livelihood where you aren't dependent on any one source (customer, product, service, or category).

Here's an example of a resilient livelihood from one of my favorite farmers, Sepp Holzer. Sepp sells 30-40 different products and generates a multi-million dollar income from his 40 hectare (hillside) farm. Sepp explains why this is good in his own words:

I have built ponds, terraces, and gardens, kept fish and wild cattle, I have grown mushrooms, set up an alternative tree nursery and so much more. Despite the fact that there are many different areas a farm can specialize in, it was important to me that I did not focus on any one source of income. I wanted to remain as flexible as possible, so that I would always be able to react to changing market conditions.... Over the years, this decision has been proven right again and again... Since then, I have been able to double the original size of the Krameterhof (his farm), whilst many of my critics have had to give up their farms....

The lesson here is that many small incomes from a diverse number of sources will allow you the flexibility to meet the needs of a rapidly changing or turbulent environment (farming is a very uncertain business, and Sepp was operating w/o the subsidies most farmers get).

It's important to note that a resilient income is very different from a "robust" livelihood. A robust livelihood is income from a "safe" source or a small number of sources such as:

   A big company.  A job or a pension.
   A government.  A job, a pension, or a subsidy.
   A financial portfolio.  Hedged or in safe assets.

A robust income is pretty good at keeping you housed, fed, and clothed during normal times. However, in turbulent times, "safe" companies, governments, and financial systems can become just as vulnerable to failure as anything else.

This is a lesson that applies to communities too. We saw this with Braddock, PA and the catastrophic effects of its reliance on "safe" incomes from the steel industry.

How do you diversify your income to make it more resilient?

Explore things you can sell or do to make an income from a new source, even if you don't need a new source of income right now. Try them out in the marketplace. Turn a hobby into a micro-business. Follow your passions and have fun." (email newsletter on resilience)