Big Book of Self-Reliant Living


Book Description

Rural homesteaders and urban apartment-dwellers alike will find a mother lode of practical information packed into this completely revised and updated edition of the ultimate how-to handbook for all generations. A selective compendium of public-domain documents, it brings together in one volume a wealth of knowledge and useful instruction on just about every imaginable aspect of self-sufficiency—from building a dwelling and growing food to raising children, using tools of all kinds, and, yes, getting more mileage out of your car. Readers will learn how to: build a greenhouse; administer first aid; stock an emergency shelter; survive in the wilderness, at sea, and in the city; plant, buy farmland; grow plants indoors and out; read architect’s drawings; care for household pets; repair clothing; hunt, trap, and fish; repair a screen or leaking faucet; butcher and store big-game kill; relieve allergy symptoms; control insects; stay safe during storms and floods; can and freeze fruits and vegetables; take your own blood pressure; and much, much more! Praise for a previous edition: “How we have survived this long without [this book], I don’t know. The concept is brilliant and simple. . . . If we had lived in a rural community a century ago, much of the knowledge gathered here would have been in our bones.” —Harper’s




Homegrown & Handmade


Book Description

The author of Ecothrifty shows you how to life more self-sufficiently with her guide to modern homesteading―no farm required. Food recalls, dubious health claims, scary and shocking ingredients in health and beauty products. Our increasingly industrialized supply system is becoming more difficult to navigate, more frightening, and more frustrating, leaving us feeling stuck choosing in many cases between the lesser of several evils. That’s why author Deborah Niemann is here to offer healthier, more empowering choices, by showing us how to reclaim links in our food and purchasing chains, to make choices that are healthier for our families, ourselves, and our planet. In this fully updated and revised edition of Homegrown and Handmade, Deborah shows how making things from scratch and growing some of your own food can help you eliminate artificial ingredients from your diet, reduce your carbon footprint, and create a more authentic life. Whether your goal is increasing your self-reliance or becoming a full-fledged homesteader, this book is packed with answers and solutions to help you rediscover traditional skills, take control of your food from seed to plate, and much more. This comprehensive guide to food and fiber from scratch proves that attitude and knowledge is more important than acreage. Written from the perspective of a successful, self-taught modern homesteader, this well-illustrated, practical, and accessible manual will appeal to anyone who dreams of a more empowered life. “Dreaming of a mindful life? Niemann’s advice on gardening, cooking, orcharding, raising livestock, and much more demonstrates that it’s possible to begin the journey in your own backyard.” —Rebecca Martin, Managing Editor, Mother Earth News




Practical Self Sufficiency


Book Description

A guide to living off the land includes instructions on vegetable and fruit gardening, animal husbandry, and preserving produce




The Big Book of Self-reliant Living


Book Description

The ultimate how-to book for all generations Rural homesteaders and urban apartment dwellers alike will find a mother lode of practical information packed into this hefty handbook. A selective compendium of public-domain documents, it provides in one single volume a wealth of knowledge and useful instruction on just about every imaginable aspect of self-sufficiency, from building a living structure and growing food to raising children and using tools of all kinds. Hundreds of pamphlets, documents, and articles are reproduced here in facsimile, making this a true cornucopia of practical advice. Readers will learn how to: Build a greenhouseAdminister first aid Stock a shelter in case of nuclear attackBuild a stone wallSurvive in the wilderness, at sea, and in the cityPlant, prune, and propagate trees and shrubsBuy farmlandPrevent wood decayGrow plants indoors and outRead architect's drawings Care for household petsKeep beesPrevent and remove mildewRepair clothingHunt, trap, and fishRepair a screen or leaking faucetWeaveReplace a broken windowButcher and store big-game killUse a mortising machineApply plaster and set tileRelieve allergy symptomsBuild a wood-frame, brick, or log houseControl insectsManage a toddlerStay safe during storms and floodsCan and freeze fruits and vegetablesTreat various forms of athritisMake breadTake your own blood pressureCut metal and stoneand much, much more! Quote 2 here




Living on an Acre


Book Description

The classic USDA handbook to self-reliant living, now completely revised and updated.




Will Bonsall's Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening


Book Description

"Society does not generally expect its farmers to be visionaries." Perhaps not, but longtime Maine farmer and homesteader Will Bonsall does possess a unique clarity of vision that extends all the way from the finer points of soil fertility and seed saving to exploring how we can transform civilization and make our world a better, more resilient place. In Will Bonsall's Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening, Bonsall maintains that to achieve real wealth we first need to understand the economy of the land, to realize that things that might make sense economically don't always make sense ecologically, and vice versa. The marketplace distorts our values, and our modern dependence on petroleum in particular presents a serious barrier to creating a truly sustainable agriculture. For him the solution is, first and foremost, greater self-reliance, especially in the areas of food and energy. By avoiding any off-farm inputs (fertilizers, minerals, and animal manures), Bonsall has learned how to practice a purely veganic, or plant-based, agriculture--not from a strictly moralistic or philosophical perspective, but because it makes good business sense: spend less instead of making more. What this means in practical terms is that Bonsall draws upon the fertility of on-farm plant materials: compost, green manures, perennial grasses, and forest products like leaves and ramial wood chips. And he grows and harvests a diversity of crops from both cultivated and perennial plants: vegetables, grains, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and nuts--even uncommon but useful permaculture plants like groundnut (Apios). In a friendly, almost conversational way, Bonsall imparts a wealth of knowledge drawn from his more than forty years of farming experience. "My goal," he writes, "is not to feed the world, but to feed myself and let others feed themselves. If we all did that, it might be a good beginning."




The Self-Sufficient Backyard


Book Description

The Self-Sufficient Backyard is helping Americans transforming from an honest homeowner into an independent, self-sufficient person that has an extra income and doesn't owe anybody a thing. You will not be troubled with what happens to the world around you, because everything you need is where is should be: on your property!




The Rugged Life


Book Description

Become self-reliant, live off the land, and be prepared for the unexpected in this modern guide to self-sufficiency and homesteading from New York Times bestselling author, retired Navy SEAL, and survival skills expert Clint Emerson. “Add The Rugged Life by former Navy SEAL Clint Emerson to your library today and get on the path to independence and self-sufficiency.”—Jack Carr, Navy SEAL Sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil’s Hand Clint Emerson is the go-to expert for surviving the first minutes, hours, and days of a crisis. Now, in The Rugged Life, he works with modern homesteading experts to show you how to thrive over the long-term—for months, years, or even a lifetime—by being prepared and self-sufficient. You can live the Rugged Life completely off-the-grid by farming your own food and using the waste from your toilet for compost. Or, you can live it by adding solar panels to your suburban home and keeping chickens and bees in your backyard. You can even live the Rugged Life in a city by simply gathering the salad for tonight’s dinner from your windowsill garden. Each of these homesteading and prepper long-term survival skills stand on their own, and taken together, they can help you design the independent life you want for yourself and your family. • Be your own homesteader: Make your own shampoo and face creams; pickle and ferment food; make natural bug spray and cleaning products; smoke meat; tan a hide • Be your own protector: Create a last-resort emergency plan; gather medicinal plants; protect against dangerous animals and threats; understand survival first aid • Be your own provider: Hunt for game; make a gillnet; set snares; forage for wild foods; build a rabbit hutch; ice fish; butcher a pig; keep bees • Be your own builder: Retrofit a van; set up solar, microhydro, and geothermal power; create a water catchment and filtration system; build a shipping container home • Be your own farmer: Grow a victory garden; build a greenhouse; waffle garden to save space and resources; build a root cellar; can, dry, and store crops; operate a tractor With hundreds of step-by-step, illustrated, self-sustaining skills and projects, The Rugged Life is for everyone who feels they can use more adventure, freedom, and choice in their life—everyone ready to get out of their comfort zone and try new, hard, profoundly rewarding things.




Self Made


Book Description

For readers of #GIRLBOSS and viewers of Shark Tank—a global revolution in entrepreneurship is under way, inspiring women to blaze a trail of financial self-reliance and become self-made. Featuring a foreword by Suze Orman. What does it mean to be self-made? It’s not just about having money, but financial empowerment is where it begins. It means getting out of survival mode, where you are one problem away from catastrophe. It means changing your mindset from instant gratification to goal orientation. It means being able to sleep at night without worry. It means being rich in every way: rich in money, rich in family, rich in love, rich in time—abundant! For Nely Galán—entrepreneur, TV producer, and real estate mogul—helping women to become self-made is a movement and a mission. Galán pulls no punches. She is the straight-talking friend and mentor you’ve always wanted, and here she shares valuable, candid, no-nonsense lessons learned on her own path to becoming self-made (“There is no Prince Charming”; “Think like an immigrant”; “In your pain is your brand”; “Don’t buy shoes, buy buildings!”). You’ll read inspiring stories of women who started and grew businesses out of ingenuity, opportunity, and need. You’ll find exercises to help you identify your goals and your strengths. You’ll learn tips and tricks for saving money, making money, and finding “hidden money” that can help jump-start your self-made dreams. When you become self-made, the change in you inspires change in those around you, because one of the greatest rewards of a self-made life is seeing how the sparks from your personal revolution can light a fire in others. So come, join the Self-Made movement. The revolution starts inside of you! Praise for Self Made “A much-needed and wise book that teaches women not to fear money but to see it as a means of reaching our dreams. Nely shows us how to become money courageous instead of finance fearful. I want to give this book to so many women (and men) I know. Thank you, Nely.”—Sandra Cisneros “Nely Galán and I have traveled the country together helping women grow their businesses and live their dreams. I know firsthand that Nely is the ultimate self-made woman and your best girlfriend. Her generosity of spirit jumps off the page as she shares the secrets of her hard-won success and her contagious confidence.”—Nell Merlino, creator of Take Our Daughters to Work Day and founder of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence “Self Made teaches women to unleash their spark and hustle. Nely inspires readers to use what they have to get what they want on their path to becoming self-made.”—Tory Johnson, “Deals & Steals” contributor on ABC’s Good Morning America and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Shift “You are not truly complete as a woman until you feel confident and empowered to make decisions about your money. Throughout my career, I have seen how a woman who takes ownership of her financial life is transformed and liberated, and how that in turn has a tremendous impact on her children. This is my belief and my personal experience, and it’s why Self Made resonates so strongly with me.”—Maria Elena Lagomasino, CEO of WE Family Offices and member of the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company, the Coca-Cola Company, and Avon Products, Inc. From the Hardcover edition.




Raising a Self-Reliant Child


Book Description

With this practical guide, parents can end daily power struggles with their preschoolers, toddlers, and infants and create more time for the family to spend on things that matter by encouraging early childhood independence skills. We’ve all heard the news about helicopter parents and boomerang children—but how can parents safeguard against these trends when our children’s lives are increasingly scheduled and competitive? Pediatrician Dr. Alanna Levine offers a commonsense parenting approach that avoids divisive strategies and helps parents find a balanced ground between overindulgence and strict control. Raising a Self-Reliant Child focuses on teachable moments where parents can instill independence, such as sleep time, toilet training, mealtime, and playtime. With Dr. Levine’s practical strategies and techniques, young children learn to take responsibility for their daily routines: babies learn to sleep through the night, toddlers learn to nap without their parents stretched out alongside, and school-age children learn to dress themselves and make breakfast with little parental intervention. Overprotection and micromanagement keep young children from the self-development that comes naturally from learning and doing on one’s own. And children who don’t learn independence skills at an appropriate age grow into adults who expect others to fix challenges and conflicts for them. Dr. Levine helps you break the cycle of daily power struggles so that you and your family will have more time to focus on the things that really matter.