Why crafting? Why make stuff that can be bought?

I have a wonderful friend here in Norway and I don't see her nearly enough.  She is originally from East Germany (yes.. she grew up before the Wall was knocked down) .  I asked her if she was into crafts and she said no.  Then, lo and behold... I find out she is an avid bread baker and grower of all things green!  She WAS a crafter and she didn't even know it!  What is bread baking and garden tending if it is not a craft in this over-commercialised, over-marketed world?  Can't a person just go to the store and buy a loaf of bread or a bag of buns?  Why grow your own herbs and veg when you can just go buy them at the 'super' market? We all know the answer.  DIY is better.  Create it yourself and enjoy and perfect the craft. If we do our research, our choices are expanded and we make and grow exactly what we want.  Not only that, we exercise our brains and hone a skill that we are passionate about.  When people mention 'crafting' they tend to think far too narrow a field, like those things that can be done with yarn, but crafting is so much more than that.  How about these for a few:

Canning and preserving food that comes during times of plenty.  Make jams, jellies, pickles.  This is a long held tradition anywhere cold weather sets in and Norway know it well.  Not only do they do all of the above, but they also dry/dehydrate food for preservation.

Home brewing is pretty much self explanatory.  Fermentation is thousands of years old and, sure, we can buy it, but the satisfaction of capturing the delicate chemical balance ourselves is something else entirely:
Tipsy bragging rights!  

Bee keeping is undergoing a bit of a renaissance, and not too soon, if you ask me.  Wild bee populations are suffering losses at epidemic proportions and, as human beings (bee-ings?) on the planet, we need our bees!  Recently, I was forwarded an article about a roof top bee-keeper right in the city of Trondheim.  If you think this might be the craft for you, please, take it on and keep a hive or two, for our food's sake. 

Keeping a chicken coop in the back yard?  Yep, you are a crafter!    

Other important examples:

Saving heritage seeds and sharing them.

Mending anything that breaks, like clocks, shoes etc.

Creating alternative energy sources like windmills in your backyard.

They try to define crafting as making something out of nothing, but everyone who crafts knows that is .   Our knowledge is not nothing and nor are the resources we call on to help.  We all have mentors and we put our money where our ideals are.  We buy supplies. We talk to like-minded people and we use our imaginations and energy and we make it happen.  That is far from nothing.  Crafting is a Superpower.