R. Abigail Gehring Boeken

The classic guide to self-sufficiency, with more than 200,000 copies sold—now fully updated! Anyone who wants to learn basic living skills—the kind employed by our forefathers—and adapt them for a better life in the twenty-first century need look no further than this eminently useful, full-color guide. Countless readers have turned to Back to Basics for inspiration and instruction, escaping to an era before power saws and fast-food restaurants and rediscovering the pleasures and challenges of a healthier, greener, and more self-sufficient lifestyle. Now newly updated, the hundreds of projects, step-by-step sequences, photographs, charts, and illustrations in Back to Basics will help you dye your own wool with plant pigments, graft trees, raise chickens, craft a hutch table with hand tools, and make treats such as blueberry peach jam and cheddar cheese. The truly ambitious will find instructions on how to build a log cabin or an adobe brick homestead. More than just practical advice, this is also a book for dreamers—even if you live in a city apartment, you will find your imagination sparked, and there’s no reason why you can’t, for example, make a loom and weave a rag rug. Complete with tips for old-fashioned fun (square dancing calls, homemade toys, and kayaking tips), this may be the most thorough book on voluntary simplicity available.

"Some of the material in this book appeared first in Good living guide to country skills"--Title page verso.

Are you drawn to a lifestyle that is greener, cleaner and more authentic? Are you inspired by the thought of building things with own your hands and feeding your family and friends with food you've grown yourself. Would you like to present your family and friends with items lovingly made by hand? If you are interested in a living a life that embraces simplicity and greater self-sufficiency, this is the book for you. The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Handbook will inspire and direct you as you learn how to lead a life of greater self sufficiency. If you are interested in a living a life that embraces simplicity and greater self-sufficiency, The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Handbook will inspire and direct you as you discover how to become achieve self sufficiency in your own life. This compact guide provides advice, tips, and step-by-step instructions for hundreds of projects, offering the entire family the tools they need to make the shift toward self-sufficient living.