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The Self-Sufficiency Handbook
The Self-Sufficiency Handbook is perfect for anyone considering a shift to a greener way of living. With easy-to-read layouts and simple text, it runs the full ecological gamut, from geothermal heating to crop rotation to soap making.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 26, 2017
Nice practical guide to living off the land and being self sufficient. It's a lot of hard work, but if you're young and ambitious, worth a shot. I can grow enough veggies for winter for myself on my small suburban plot, so maybe I'll try to utilize more ideas from this book to be more self sufficient. If I were younger, I'd go off grid in a heartbeat! Still might!
March 21, 2021
Un livre intéressant pour avoir une idée de tout ce qui peut être envisagé pour vivre retiré du monde.
Bon courage en revanche pour survivre retiré du monde avec seulement ce livre sous la main.
Bon courage en revanche pour survivre retiré du monde avec seulement ce livre sous la main.
February 10, 2018
An utterly delightful resource book and a pleasure to read. It covers every aspect of self-sufficiency, from energy, water and housing, to animals and gardening. This is not only a book for those who wish to be self-sufficient, but an excellent resource for those of us who wish to make our lives more sufficient. This well-researched book provides a variety of options that caters for the US, UK and elsewhere, so that the reader can consider all of the options and chose to make their lives a little better for the earth we share. Highly recommended.
January 2, 2013
This seems to be a book for people who are really, genuinely, very serious about going off-grid. As in, "No, seriously, I'm going to do this thing, and now I just need some advice on choosing the right land plot." Since I have never successfully grown tomatoes, clearly I was not the intended audience.
Still, it was kind of fun reading and daydreaming about my perfect, energy efficient little hobbit house, with a bountiful herb garden in the back yard.
Still, it was kind of fun reading and daydreaming about my perfect, energy efficient little hobbit house, with a bountiful herb garden in the back yard.
October 30, 2017
I am without doubt conscious that I make daily decisions that hurt or help our environment as well as my own state of mind and well being. I live in the suburbs in a place where bigger is better and I couldn't tell you more than the very basics about any of my neighbors. I've always imagined retiring somewhere in New Hampshire and would love to lead a much simpler, more self-sufficient life. I grow my own vegetables, recycle and walk rather than drive to local businesses, but I am still oh so reliant on electricity, internet, oil heat and all the modern conveniences that make our lives, well less connected with people. When I saw this book, I was immediately drawn to the authors who stated they would provide an overview on how to live a more self-sufficient life.
The book covers quite an array of subjects, from living off the grid to growing an organic garden and animal husbandry. I would compare this to an appetizer before your entrée; a small taste of something designed to wet your appetite. The stories are interesting and informative and the book provided me with a lot of food for thought. As a beginner's guide, I would recommend this to anyone looking to live a more green life, even if going off the grid isn't your goal. A solid 3.5 stars.
Thank you, Alan Bridgewater, Gill Bridgewater, Fox Chapel Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The book covers quite an array of subjects, from living off the grid to growing an organic garden and animal husbandry. I would compare this to an appetizer before your entrée; a small taste of something designed to wet your appetite. The stories are interesting and informative and the book provided me with a lot of food for thought. As a beginner's guide, I would recommend this to anyone looking to live a more green life, even if going off the grid isn't your goal. A solid 3.5 stars.
Thank you, Alan Bridgewater, Gill Bridgewater, Fox Chapel Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 30, 2017
From Netgalley for Review:
If you are like me and occasionally daydream about owning your own plot of land and having a completely self sufficient household, growing your own food and creating your own power, then this is the book for you. It is a hard core guide, not just about how to set up a few things to make your house more self sufficient, but how to properly pick a plot of land and what to look for depending on your needs, which I liked. I always appreciate guides that realize that it is not a one size fit all kinda world and talk about options for people since everyone is different. For me personally, it was fun to read but not the most useful, as I am wanting more of a very beginners guide to gradually make my environment more self sufficient (I also need to get better at keeping plants alive if I am going to grow my own food) but when I am ready to make the leap to a more complete outlook this is the book I will go with.
If you are like me and occasionally daydream about owning your own plot of land and having a completely self sufficient household, growing your own food and creating your own power, then this is the book for you. It is a hard core guide, not just about how to set up a few things to make your house more self sufficient, but how to properly pick a plot of land and what to look for depending on your needs, which I liked. I always appreciate guides that realize that it is not a one size fit all kinda world and talk about options for people since everyone is different. For me personally, it was fun to read but not the most useful, as I am wanting more of a very beginners guide to gradually make my environment more self sufficient (I also need to get better at keeping plants alive if I am going to grow my own food) but when I am ready to make the leap to a more complete outlook this is the book I will go with.
October 23, 2017
I wanted badly to like this book, because I am all about self-sufficiency and learning skills to make the best like I can on my rural property. How well you like this book will depend on what you are looking for. I was hoping for more self-sufficiency skills. This book focuses far more on finding the correct parcel of land for your needs, and energy sources. The chapters include: The Land, The Self-Sufficient House, The Organic Food Garden, Animal Husbandry, and The Pantry. While the book does talk about how to begin the path to self-sufficiency if you live in a city, the bulk of the book is focused on things you can do in a rural setting. I also found there was nothing really new here if you have read quite a bit on the subject of self-sufficiency and rural living. That said, if you are new to the idea, it is a good, and somewhat comprehensive, "manual" on the subject.
June 29, 2020
Skimmed. A weird mix of overly basic/extremely repetitive if you have any prior knowledge (it seems like the book was short 25 pages or so and so they pasted the SAME description of good soil once for every vegetable discussed) with short confusing or overly simplified sections on huge topics (like the complexities of building an efficient house).
I did appreciate the author's straightforward attitude towards processing foods - no fearmongering about what could go wrong when you cure meat or make wine or whatever, just a reminder to use your senses and some descriptions of what it looks like when something looks wrong.
The best part was the overview/review sections on different crops and processing methods.
I did appreciate the author's straightforward attitude towards processing foods - no fearmongering about what could go wrong when you cure meat or make wine or whatever, just a reminder to use your senses and some descriptions of what it looks like when something looks wrong.
The best part was the overview/review sections on different crops and processing methods.
December 11, 2017
I received this book, for free, in exchange for an honest review.
This is a focused book on homesteading. There is a great deal of more depth in this book than in most homesteading books. Most homesteading books are wide,not deep and gloss over things like what kind of land to buy. This is understandable based on the amount of topics most homesteading books cover. Topics like soap making aren't covered here, which allows greater detail in areas energy efficiency and gardening. All in all an excellent homesteading resource.
This is a focused book on homesteading. There is a great deal of more depth in this book than in most homesteading books. Most homesteading books are wide,not deep and gloss over things like what kind of land to buy. This is understandable based on the amount of topics most homesteading books cover. Topics like soap making aren't covered here, which allows greater detail in areas energy efficiency and gardening. All in all an excellent homesteading resource.
March 22, 2018
Not the best book on self sufficieny I've read. It covers home designs and systems, growing food, animal husbandry, and some preservation techniques. While some information presented is decent, I didn't like the writing style and felt that it did not go in-depth enough on some topics. Worth a thumb through with a focus on certain areas of interest, but I won't try to read it cover to cover again.
February 21, 2018
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Subtitled Your Complete Guide to a Self-Sufficient Home, Garden and Kitchen, The Self-Sufficiency Handbook is a 240 page general guide to the concepts and ideas involved in becoming more self-sufficient. The content is divided into 5 broad categories: The Land, The Self-sufficient House, The Organic Food Garden, Animal Husbandry, and The Pantry.
Each of these sections are pretty much standalone and could be read in any order. There is no required cohesiveness to the content and it can be read and accessed as needed. To that end, the book includes a fairly good index which makes the content specifically accessible.
This is a very broad and general book. It's a good 'starting off' guide, a 'dreaming' guide; it's emphatically not a specific how-to guide. If it errs, it tries to be everything to everyone. Anyone actually going into homesteading will hopefully have a solid workable plan for getting from lifestyle A to whatever level of self-sufficiency is desirable.
It's very tempting to see pictures of healthy gardens and adorable lambs and healthy beehives and want to be a part of that lifestyle. (I did! ) The guides rarely describe neighbor's pet-dog ravaged lambs, nosema infested empty beehives, or flattened gardens with more weeds than produce and production that wouldn't feed a toddler.
This is a very pretty book. It is a positive upbeat book, a 'you can do it' book. There are recipes and crafts in the final section with nice (very general) tutorials about apple cider, wines, soap and candlemaking etc.
Of good use to those beginning to explore options and at the 'dreamer' stage. Very well photographed and written in accessible layman language. Available in ebook, paperbound and hardback formats. Published 14th Nov, 2017 by Fox Chapel publishing. Authors Alan & Gill Bridgewater have been living a smallholding lifestyle for many years.
Three and a half stars, some very good general info here.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
Subtitled Your Complete Guide to a Self-Sufficient Home, Garden and Kitchen, The Self-Sufficiency Handbook is a 240 page general guide to the concepts and ideas involved in becoming more self-sufficient. The content is divided into 5 broad categories: The Land, The Self-sufficient House, The Organic Food Garden, Animal Husbandry, and The Pantry.
Each of these sections are pretty much standalone and could be read in any order. There is no required cohesiveness to the content and it can be read and accessed as needed. To that end, the book includes a fairly good index which makes the content specifically accessible.
This is a very broad and general book. It's a good 'starting off' guide, a 'dreaming' guide; it's emphatically not a specific how-to guide. If it errs, it tries to be everything to everyone. Anyone actually going into homesteading will hopefully have a solid workable plan for getting from lifestyle A to whatever level of self-sufficiency is desirable.
It's very tempting to see pictures of healthy gardens and adorable lambs and healthy beehives and want to be a part of that lifestyle. (I did! ) The guides rarely describe neighbor's pet-dog ravaged lambs, nosema infested empty beehives, or flattened gardens with more weeds than produce and production that wouldn't feed a toddler.
This is a very pretty book. It is a positive upbeat book, a 'you can do it' book. There are recipes and crafts in the final section with nice (very general) tutorials about apple cider, wines, soap and candlemaking etc.
Of good use to those beginning to explore options and at the 'dreamer' stage. Very well photographed and written in accessible layman language. Available in ebook, paperbound and hardback formats. Published 14th Nov, 2017 by Fox Chapel publishing. Authors Alan & Gill Bridgewater have been living a smallholding lifestyle for many years.
Three and a half stars, some very good general info here.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
Read
March 4, 2018Because my husband and I are looking towards our retirement soon and hoping to have a plot of land somewhere, I thought that this book would be a great start. This is a very comprehensive book about how one can start to live on their own, off-the-grid so to speak. This particular book goes into quite a bit of detail and, frankly, it was over my head. It talks about the types of water filtration systems, animals, plants, food-making, and house you need to be self-sufficient. This book will work for those wanting to live off-the-grid, preppers, and those who are looking to reduce their dependency on municipalities.
I received this book free for an honest review from NetGalley. The opinions are my own.
I received this book free for an honest review from NetGalley. The opinions are my own.
March 1, 2008
This isn't as much about farming/intensive gardening as it is about green building, composting your own sewage (!), and other aspects of self-sufficiency. Nonetheless, a very valuable resource. A bit hard core, but I'm sure, very valuable. Seriously, in between some of the very hard core stuff, there is some really good advice on digging, mulching, and growing veggies.
July 1, 2009
Interesting. I have no plans to turn off my power and build a windmill in my backyard. Wouldn't get that one by the HOA. I like the gardening and canning section. I was expecting more of an "urban homestead" type book, not one about going without any local services.
October 21, 2013
This book is really useful. Had a lot of great ideas I hope to use when I move out. Anyone whether looking to become self-sufficient or just live a more ecologically friendly lifestyle should give this book a try.
January 10, 2016
A beginners guide to greener living. Lots of great information for getting started and deciding how green you want to be. See my complete review at http://adayinthelifeonthefarm.blogspo...
February 5, 2018
While Bridgewater's book contains a wealth of information, it is not exactly what I expected as it is written in the vein of how to life off-the-grid, which gives me thoughts of those living in the mountains called off-gridders.
March 18, 2018
Unfortunately, I got so bogged down with tedious information in the beginning that I couldn't make myself interested enough to keep reading. It might have some very good info, but the writing wasn't engaging enough for me to truly find out.
June 30, 2008
Very good detail on living off grid.
June 14, 2009
I continue to daydream.
December 29, 2009
Helpful info about organic gardening, and other useful tips regarding a life living off-grid. I read this book pretty much just to glean the gardening info.
December 25, 2012
very complete guide. enjoyed the building plans.
February 14, 2018
A great set up of tips, tricks, how-tos, and watch-out-fors for those wanting to begin a truly self-sustaining lifestyle.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews