Self-Sufficiency on a Shoestring: Recipes for a New, Fun and Free Lifestyle

by Alan Bridgewater

A low-cost guide to sustainable self-sufficiency explains how to grow one's own vegetables, fruits and herbs; how to raise chickens, pigs, goats and bees; and how to save money on heating and lighting, including using wind turbines, ground-source heat pumps, solar panels and wood-burning stoves. Original.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Survival, Home Economics, Green

191 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2012

Reviews

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 1 out of 5]

A brief guide to a self-sufficient lifestyle. The authors attempt to cover the whole gambit of self-sufficiency and as a result entries are very cursory without any real depth. There are much better books on the subject out there than do a better job.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to be this green, but I'm just not. I'm probably never going to raise bees or get myself a wind turbine. Maybe if I knew a lot of other people who could get me started, but it's just too far outside my comfort zone.

This book would be helpful in the "Where do I start?" and "I want to read about others who have made it work in order to build up my courage to take the leap" sort of way, but it doesn't read like a full instruction manual. There are a lot of gaps that you'd need to fill in.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really easy-going, practical book about living an independent lifestyle and how you can make it work. It is more of an overview - doesn't always go into great detail - but provides plenty to think about.
The best part was that the authors are obviously walking the talk, and are not preachy or superior about it.

[Amanda Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book on low cost ways to grow your own food, raise livestock, heat your home, etc. The book itself is gorgeous, beautiful images.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of interesting ideas and good for a brief overview, however if you actually wanted to implement them you'd want something with a little more detail.

[Matte Resist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grabbed this book with a bunch of similar ones from the library because even though I have a bunch of this type of book, I still enjoy reading new ones. The idea of cheap self sufficiency was appealing to me. However, this book lacked any detail. Many of the topics were covered in one or two pages; e.g., Keeping Pigs & Keeping Goats each get 2/3rds of a page of text. There just wasn't much substance to this book. The writing felt clipped and abbreviated. It seems more like book for children or teens who have little or no exposure to the idea of self sufficient living. I don't actually see it as being a very helpful book for someone who's really serious about pursuing self sufficiency.

[Ann Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this over lunch-was interested in the small home movement and growing more of your own food angles. The authors strongly believe that the best way to live is the full on isolated off-grid self-sufficiency model which I will never adopt. Included some interesting information, though.

[Callista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should have been called "an OVERVIEW" of self-sufficiency. He covered topics I already was aware of, but didn't give enough details to really be of use. The writing was clipped and underdeveloped. I enjoyed the beginning so I am giving it a 3 star rating.

[Tashie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be much more helpful to me if I had land. Not for a townhouse owner, but a very good manual on creating your own homestead with just a small backyard.

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

not very useful