America’s industrial economy and its by-product, a consumer-oriented lifestyle, are no longer sustainable. They are poisoning themselves and exhausting themselves. They have reached the point of diminishing returns. It was this awareness that led to the creation of SISL, with the mission to practice and share with our neighbors self-sufficiency and independence from remote, centralized, industrial, impersonal institutions. For example, we believe in producing safe, healthy food and creating food self-sufficiency in our local community. We believe a secure place in the environment depends on mirroring the healthy patterns found in nature. We believe this approach allows us to build productive, sustainable, and even profitable cultivated eco-systems that have the same stability, diversity, and resilience as natural eco-systems. Finally, we believe sustainability has its roots in the ageless values and practices once called “agrarian,” by which we mean:

• Reconnecting individuals directly with the production of their basic physical needs while living in harmony with each other and with Nature, respecting her means and her limits.




• Nourishing man’s social and spiritual as well as physical needs though proximity to Nature and though fellowship in a humane community.




• Preserving the longevity of natural eco-systems and reserves of natural resources for future generations.