This how-to, user-friendly guide teaches self-sufficiency-covering all of life's essentials: shelter; alternative energy sources; growing and preserving food; home crafts; directions for making herbal remedies; and even home-grown entertainment.
"Voluntary simplicity" has become a catch phrase for what seems to be a yearning for a simpler, more self-sufficient and economical way of living in the late 20th century. This book, first published in 1981 and recently updated, was probably many folks' first in-depth exposure to the idea of a simpler life, making things by hand, and enjoying a stronger sense of control over personal budgets, home projects, and lifestyles. Hundreds of projects are listed, illustrated in step-by-step diagrams and instructions: growing and preserving your own food, converting trees to lumber and building a home from it, traditional crafts and homesteading skills, and having fun with recreational activities like camping, fishing, and folk dancing without spending a lot of money. This book will have you dreaming and planning from the first page! -- Mark A. Hetts
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Excellent:
This book is jam packed with very useful information and lots of pictures. My son-in-law and his mom love it. She and I grew up on farms where much of this information was common practice. I'm glad to see people trying to regain the natural and healthful ways of farming. This book covers absolutely everything you need to know to survive and thrive.
good overview:
This book provides a great overview of a lot of things, but doesn't get too much into the weeds. As the daughter of a contractor, I'll tell you that the book leaves a LOT out of building your own home. But I'd like to build a stone cottage some day, so i appreciate the ideas it offers. I'm not all the way through, but I like how they offer other books to read if you are interested in one specific activity, allowing you to gain more knowledge than the general overview the book provides. Good overview, but if... more info
Very informative:
This book has some interesting things for the diy type of person that I never considered doable on a small scale before.
Back to Basics:
This particular book is as it's title implies Back To Basics. It is an excellent book which will give you a historic view of how things were done in the past and give you a foundation to build your skills on. In the event of a disaster, it will give you guide lines on how to do tasks and build skills to help you come out on top of many situations that can result from a natural disaster, a financial disaster and hone your survival skills. I recommend it for this reason. While the book is out of... more info
