First you need shelter, I mentioned somewhere else that underground homes are easy to heat in winter and stay cool in the summer which saves energy. Thats a big plus with todays prices and a bigger plus if you are making your own power.
Here are some links for info.
http://architecture.about.com/cs/greenarchitecture/a/eartharch.htmhttp://www.earthshelter.com/http://www.subsurfacebuildings.com/Links.htmlNow you need POWER ! Electricity is the most versatile source of modern energy, it can provide efficient heating and cooling as well as light, but it can also power all of todays modern conveniences, and it is cleaner than any other power source. there are many reasons for getting off the Grid, but the 3 biggest are price increases, location, and reliability. The price of electricity is only going to go up, Some really nice places are just to remote to make grid power practical, and even where it IS available the wires are at the mercy of weather and other types of damage (power here has been knocked out twice by vehicles hitting poles) Here are some options:
http://www.homepower.com/home/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WDZISfOtfchttp://www.mrsolar.com/http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/solar-power/http://www.awea.org/faq/rsdntqa.htmlhttp://www.windpowerexpo.org/Now that we have a source of power we can run all sorts of stuff, Battery chargers for Phones/radios, CD/DVD players, laptop computers and so on. We also have heat for cooking, If we are aiming for self sufficiency we will probably be hunting, fishing and either raising live stock or trading with some one who is. in that case VEGETABLES might not only be good for you, they might will also make good trade goods. Now when we buy tools we always (if we're smart) buy the one that will last a lifetime, well you can do something similar with seeds. Most vegetables that you buy have been Hybridized for color shelf life and other things, BUT, the seeds when planted will often not grow, or will not give good results this is where "heirloom seeds" come in these are old time varieties of veggies that have not been genetically manipulated. If you take the seeds from an Heirloom squash and plant it, you will get exactly the same kind of squash, In effect you buy the seeds once and each crop generates the seeds for the next.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heirloom_planthttp://www.heirloomseeds.com/http://rareseeds.com/Fruits and berries for dessert or wine making can also be grown at home.
http://growingtaste.com/fruit.shtml Herb gardens are also a very important item for the home
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/herbs/ne208hrb.htmThen of course there are the wild foods around you. Whats the point of living in a rural area if you never get out in it ? Where you are will determine what plants you have available.
http://theforagerpress.com/fieldguide/guide.htmhttp://www.wildfoodadventures.com/That should be enough to kick off some discussion.
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