Attainable Sustainable: The Lost Art of Self-Reliant Living

by Kris Bordessa

Packed with delicious recipes, natural remedies, gardening tips, homemaking ideas, crafts, and more, this indispensable lifestyle reference from the popular blogger behind Attainable Sustainable makes earth-friendly living fun, real, and easy.

Whether you live in a city, suburb, or the country, this essential guide for the backyard homesteader will help you achieve a homespun life--from starting your own garden and pickling the food you grow to pressing wildflowers, baking sourdough loaves, quilting, raising chickens, and creating your own natural cleaning supplies. In these beautifully illustrated pages, Kris Bordessa offers DIY lovers an indispensable home reference for sustainability in the 21st century, using tried-and-true advice, 50 enticing recipes, and step-by-step directions for creating fun, cost-efficient projects that will bring out your inner pioneer. Filled with 340 color photographs, this relatable, comprehensive book contains time honored-wisdom and modern know-how for getting back to basics in a beautiful, accessible package.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sustainability, Gardening, Reference, Environment, Food, How To

320 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2020

About the author

I’ve been a freelance writer for a dozen years or more and have authored several books. A conversation with a friend got me thinking about creating a blog. I wanted to help readers take small steps toward a more self-reliant lifestyle, embracing some of the vintage skills that have been lost over the past few generations.

I launched Attainable-Sustainable.net in 2011 to answer the question: What if we could tackle one little actionable step each day to start working toward a more self-reliant lifestyle?

That blog has morphed into a beautiful book published by National Geographic Books in March, 2020 which earned the Best How-to Book of 2020 from the American Society of Journalists and Authors

The book covers diverse topics such as food preservation, gardening, raising small livestock, creating a homemade pantry, and crafting non-toxic home care products.

I've lived in Hawaii with my husband and two sons since 2005. I know you're imaging a hammock and a mai tai right about now, but ::spoiler:: there's laundry and dishes to do in paradise.

Reviews

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began reading "Attainable Sustainable" just as we started staying home from work due to the threat of covid-19. We have a lot of time on our hands now and a lot of time to try out some of the tips found in this book. This book is jam packed with ideas of how you can make yourself more self-sustainable. While the idea of self-sustainability itself may be daunting, this book breaks a bunch of initially complicated-seeming things into super approachable steps. Author Kris Bordessa acts as a wonderful coach towards making sure you feel well equipped to tackle the projects in the book.

This book has tips on just about everything you could think of: growing and raising food, cooking, making different household good, cleaning, etc. You can either read this book straight through like I did or treat it as an encyclopedia of sorts. Either way, I know this book is one that I want to keep on hand so that I can reference it whenever I want to try something new.

Not only is the book super useful but it is very pretty as well. It's chock full of tons of gorgeous pictures that not only show you finished projects but also gives you some instruction on how to accomplish some of the various projects. If you're interested in sticking your toe in the self-sustainability pool or if you're a newbie ready to fully dive in, this book is a great start!

[Andrex · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The changes came slowly but they came." SO SO true. This, what some would call simpler, not to mention healthier, lifestyle does not happen overnight. It is a gradual process.

PLEASE NOTE that this book is NOT for those who are already living the self-sustaining lifestyle and technically know it all. This book is for those who want to get 'on the road' to a better life, step by step.

Colorful photos are scattered throughout the book. Whilst I have dehydrated food for years I have never braved making our own beef jerky. This book has given me the 'push'. Going to try the recipe of Page 20 now with our grass fed beef as we like to take jerky with us when hiking or traveling.

The main categories are:
Eat * Make * Clean * Grow * farm * Trek

Those are BROAD titles with each section containing an incredible amount of information, recipes, how to's etc. This is more like a sustainable encyclopedia, there is SO much info in here. AMAZING resource. This is not a book you are going to read all in one sitting and put on a shelf to gather dust. This is a book you are going to be referencing regularly. Not much of hiker? It's time to get our and enjoy all the beautiful nature around us. Read the trekking section to gain a lot of wisdom, thus hopefully saving you some pain and mistakes. Ever made a Tuna Can stove? The author shows you how in here. The Climate Zone map at the end is VERY handy.

I truly have high praise for this book. It may not go into great detail on every single subject BUT there is more than enough in here to get anyone well on the way to self-sustainable living and it is ALL in one book. You don't have to spend hours searching the internet. The author has put it all together in one handy volume. My hat goes off to her as there was so much to organize here along with multiple recipes and tips to include. IMPRESSED! A definite keeper in this house.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. Thanks, Liz

[Raegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Disclaimer: I won this book for free through Goodreads giveaways in exchange for an honest review.-

Very informative and interesting!

This is a book that will always be useful. I will be coming back to try out a bunch of the solutions to live a better, sustainable life. There are a bunch of great pictures. Many different topics are discussed (growing, pest control, reusing, basket-making, herbs, and even skin-care). I recommend this to everyone!

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure where I found this book, what I was looking for, and then how to rate it now that I finished. It's basically an introduction to a lot of topics related to what you would do to homestead. There are some practical step-by-step instructions with pictures on topics like canning, rendering beeswax, and making campfire cornbread along with general information on a variety of topics that I would want to learn more about if I took on the endeavor. I liked thinking about the variety of ways to live more sustainably, and for some, like raising chickens, I realized there was more involved and hard decisions (e.g., do you keep them for their 10 year lifespan even after they stop their 2-3 years of egg production?!) and others like making soap and tapping maple trees that intrigue me. Though I skimmed little, I don't think this is a book one would need to read cover to cover. Much like anything National Geographic related, the pictures were lovely. I'm not sure I recommend this - depends on your interests - but I think it was a great resource for reflection and some learning for me.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attainable Sustainable is basically a guide for living more like people did before the advent of packaged food and the throw away society we now inhabit. Grow your own food, preserve it, learn to reuse what you have, can you sew? knit? crochet? Many of these skills used to be taught in school but no longer are – back in the dark ages when I went to high school I was required to take Home Ec. Now it’s an elective. Skills like canning and fermenting are fun to learn and can lead to a lifestyle that feels safer in troubled times.

The book is broken down into chapters; {Indoors) Eat, Make, Clean, (Outdoors) Grow, Farm Trek. The Eat section goes into the different ways to preserve food with recipes. As soon as I am able I want to try to make my own pickled ginger. It’s a condiment I love and being able to make it whenever I can get some ginger would be wonderful. There are also tips on bread baking (it’s really not hard. I’ve been making our bread for probably 30 years.) Make shares skills that many have forgotten like candlemaking, wool felting, leatherwork and more. Clean shows you how to make your own soap (been there) and skin care products along with household cleaning products, laundry soap, etc.

Grow starts you with the basics of beginning a garden from starting your seeds, preparing the space, what to grow, different ways to grow, etc. Farm goes the next step up with keeping animals like chickens, bees, and perhaps other small livestock like goats – Pricilla would be proud. There are also explanations of composting and why it’s so important. The final chapter, Trek takes you outside of your little corner of the world into the wider space and provides info on outdoor cooking, foraging, plant identification, how to tap trees for syrup (if you have hardwoods) and more.

The chapters are color coded so it’s easy to look at the side of the book and see where each one breaks. Now, as with any book like this, it’s not going to answer every question or go super deep into each topic but it is a wonderful reference guide to have available as you work towards a more sustainable life. The book is packed with information and once you do have the basics you know how to find what you need to learn even more.

I have been canning/freezing/dehydrating the harvest here on our little farm for about 12 years now but I was still reading the chapters on said with interest. You can never stop learning when it comes living this kind of life. You do’t have to go all in all at once – even if you start by making a batch of jam you will feel the joy of knowing you filled those jars for your family to enjoy. Start a container garden with tomatoes – there is nothing as delicious as a freshly picked tomato, still warm from the sun. Baby steps can lead to bigger changes.

This book was written in a very easy to read, entertaining way. It is full of very useful information on so many practical topics.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is more of a well-compiled tutorial list of sustainable living ideas than a good read of how to make choices that are better for your health, environment, etc. Honestly, I’d rather read about projects like these on a blog that goes deep into the how, why and with steps instead of a two page book article.

[Lisa Houlihan]

This is a a bound version of a magazine to flip through. As a book, I suppose it might serve to pique interest in a given subject but I suspect virtue-signaling is its main job. It cracked me UP that it dedicates the same scant pages to keeping bees and keeping chickens to the (enjoyable! but less vital) activities of macrame and mosaics.

[Karen W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very frustrating book. So much potential, but nothing new for anyone who is even remotely familiar with the topics covered, and not enough detail given for those who are new to them. Pretty to look at, but very little substance.

[Debbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Similarly to the moral from 'The Town Mouse and Country Mouse' from Aesops Fable, Ms. Bordessa's Lost Art of Self-Reliant living is a testament to living sustainably with what we have, can grow, and make, rather than succumbing to the omnipresent societal fear we literally buy into that more is always better.

From the incredible full page photography to the clean, colorful page layouts, there's something for everyone. This inevitably will speak volumes to first-timers who want to dip their toes into sustainable living.

With easy to follow recipes, detailed instructions, and sound encouragement, I recognize this is a book I will be 'reading' for a long time. Dog-eared, well worn, and highlighted from what I predict to be a tremendous amount of use, it will prove to be of value for years to come.

[Morgan Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it cover-to-cover. It covers the simple, effective ways of doing everyday tasks that we’ve lost due to the “Single-Use” mindset.

As we head into interesting financial times, I’ll take plenty of lessons from this book on how to make my own kitchen staples from scratch, grow a productive garden in my yard, try my hand at canning, and maybe dip my toes into the chicken pool.

Not every topic interested me personally and some simply didn’t fit my lifestyle, but the author did an incredible job briefly but thoroughly covering each topic.

I’ll return to this book over and over. But not before I finish setting up my worm bin!

[Lorilin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very surface-level exploration of homesteading. The book gives a one- to five-page overview (at most) of basic DIY home activities. A random assortment of some of the topics covered: beekeeping, pickling, sewing, composting, macrame, soap-making, raising chickens, building a fire, and the list goes on. If you’re looking for ideas of ways you can self-sustain, you’ll find a bunch here. And then you’ll probably have to find a more in-depth resource elsewhere.

[Kayla Schrage]

Did not read it cover to cover. I was captivated by the title and book cover, but as I skimmed the topics - this book isn't for me at the time in my life.

[Laurel Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received Kris Bordessa's book in my first giveaway and was beyond thrilled when it arrived on my birthday. This is the perfect gift you give yourself if you want a sustainable lifestyle. I read all 319 pages in one night; it's that riveting and enticing. Her earthy writing style is equalled by dozens of gold-standard National Geographic (NG) photographs. NG editors called Kris in Hawaii in 2016 to write this lifestyle journey for them! How awesome is that? Kris genuinely lives the self-reliant lifestyle; she has such a vast array of real experiences and important skills, you'll be inspired and motivated. It's the kind of favorite encyclopedic resource you can start on any page and rely on for a lifetime.

Here are some highlights: Making jerky, salsa, kimchi, kefir, limoncello exactly as they make it in Pisa, apple cider vinegar from apple scraps, easy soft tortillas, sourdough bread complete with the starter instructions, homemade ranch dressing, hummus and mayo, crunchy baguettes, simple savory oils and fused vinegars, homemade bacon and Italian sausage. Teacup candles, an oil lamp, cloth napkins, pillowcases, reusable bags, patchwork quilting, felting wool, basketry, macrame, leatherwork, mosaics, and block printing. Kris simplifies making soap, helps you make your own body lotions, deodorant, coconut scrub, moisturizers, dry shampoo, facial masks and hair moisturizers; talk about saving money and looking good.

You'll want to grow and dry herbs; infuse oils in a slow cooker or distill fragrances from plants; make safe cough syrup, soothing salves, green cleaner, baby wipes, dishwasher soap with two ingredients; scent diffusers using vodka and repel cockroaches and flies.

There's an easy garden; a simple cold frame and a neat salad tower from PVC; veggie pesto and an edible landscape; sprouting seeds with a T-shirt and gardening vertically; an upside down tomato plant and making fertilizer; and growing microgreens. Anyone can now prune correctly; grow a pollinator garden; make a bird house; herb-infused honey and beeswax; properly cut up a chicken; make ricotta cheese and simple mosquito repellant with four ingredients; build a fire and make a can stove; clean fish and cast iron; make a campfire pizza and build a leaf hut; create a field journal; find the North Star and identify animal tracks; know which leaves are poisonous; collect seeds and make a flower press, tap a tree and make maple syrup. There's an excellent climate zone chart, a useful three page list of recommended books and websites; attribution to every photograph by name and page number and a six page intuitive Index.

Whether you're 10 or 100 this book is useful, fun and worthwhile for beginners as well as those of us who grew up in the 50's. Her topics and tips are endless with succinct explanations and are easy to accomplish; the pages are NG quality and the unusual cover is beautifully designed and feels good to hold. All this and heaven too for $35.00; so worth it. This is a keeper!

Mahalo nui, Kris.

[Living My Best Book Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attainable Sustainable is a great book for those who enjoy being outside and in the garden. I love planting and growing vegetables and herbs in my garden and I learned so much.

The book is perfect for beginners. If you have never planted your own garden, you will learn so much. The great thing about this book is that it shows you pictures and details the best environment to have successful growth.

It also has so many other great ideas like DIY home supplies. It's so empowering to learn how much you can get done at your own house.

I give Attainable Sustainable 4 stars. It's a great DIY and an environmental book about planting, baking, and even making your own natural household supplies. The stunning pictures and detailed tips will prove to be beneficial on your sustainable journey.

[Susannah Shmurak · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a long time fan of Kris Bordessa's website, Attainable Sustainable, I was thrilled when I won her book in a giveaway. This beautiful book is an amazing reference for projects the aspiring DIYer can take on one by one. From the basics of fermenting and bread-making to dyeing your own cloth and making soap, there's something in here for everyone from the newbie to the experienced homesteader. Covering a huge array of topics -- home canning, garden planning, numerous craft projects, sprouting, raising livestock, outdoor adventures, and so much more -- it's an inspiring experience to flip through the pages and consider what steps toward more self-reliant living to take next. Happy to have it in my collection and looking forward to picking up some new skills on the road to self-sufficiency.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a GoodReads giveaway that I won.

The book is a very nice book. It is well organized, with nice photos & good drawings.

This book is awesome for people who are complete newbies to "Self-Reliant Living". However, having grown up in very rural northeast Wisconsin poverty - I already knew most of the material that was covered in the book about identifying animals and plants and am very familiar with foraging for mushrooms & edibles.

If you are knew to this lifestyle option - this book would be an excellent one to start with. If you are a semi-experienced naturalist - don't spend the money - because the value won't be there for you.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! We have had this book less than a week and my whole family has been reading it. There are so many great ideas in this book, our “to do” list has grown substantially. My 11 year old daughter has taken particular interest in this book. The fact that it is a book that she can read has been been both educational and motivating. I love the breakdown of sections between food items, cleaning, growing, farming and trekking. Wonderful content. We won this as part of a Goodreads Giveaway and it has started a lot of family conversations this week for thing to do. Thank you!

[Whitney Stanfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing and I recommend it to anyone that is looking to start down the path to sustainable living. This book is very well organized with easily absorbable information. I did not find a single recipe that I felt like I could not follow. I borrowed this from my local library but will be purchasing my own copy for my personal collection since it is a great reference book. National Geographic is the best and this book is testament to their Brand quality.

[Helena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd been waiting a while to get this book from the library, and it was worth the wait. The book is beautiful as well as helpful and informative, and it breaks projects down so that they sound completely doable. I'll be asking for a copy for my birthday for sure; I'll want this around to refer to in the future.

[Stephanie Sirois · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want a vague overview of being a homestead with maybe 10 recipes or how tos, this is a good book. It provides a brief sketch of stunning a homestead might look like, leaving you to (hopefully) research how to do the rest.

[Keʻalohi Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you need to start your path to a more self-sustainable life. Kris covers all of the bases, from gardening to homemade cleaning supplies to fermenting.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked:
The structure, chapters and photos. I’m keen to try some of the recipes, and I really appreciated the section on trekking. I’ve read a lot of sustainability books and they all cater to a “type” (American/Christian/rural.) While this book still catered to Americans living on the mainland (which was a little strange, given the author lives in Hawaii) it had lots of practical knowledge for people living in urban & suburban areas amd there was none of that “cleanliness is next to godliness” prattle.

What I didn’t like:
Misinformation on GMOs being spread via a National Geographic book. The author used this platform to push an agenda and I had to gloss over those fear-mongering areas. Literally you can read any article by NatGeo on GMOs to gain a much clearer perspective- I’m not sure how they published this book.
And yes, I wish there were more books about self-sufficiency and sustainability that weren’t just US based, but we make do. For any Australians, I recommend Stephanie Alexander’s Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion for great gardening tips in our climate and recipes.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrific book if you're just starting with living a more sustainable lifestyle. I'm already pretty heavy into making preserves. I've raised chickens and had farm-fresh eggs for almost a decade now, so some of the content in the book is stuff that I just skipped right past. However, it gave me several new ideas for things I'd like to pursue (i.e., making my own candles, moisturizers/lotions, soap, etc.) I think this book is ideal for someone who is maybe living in an urban or suburban environment and wants to expand their horizons with projects that will lower their impact as a consumer, while also rewarding them with final products that are much higher quality than what they're probably buying from the grocery store. That being said, I think the reader would need to expand to other books if interested in going deeper into any particular subject; there are entire books about making preserves or raising livestock. I think the purpose of this book is to give you a jumping-off point and to spark ideas. On that front, it certainly delivers.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me in a homestead group I am in (not currently living a homestead life but I aspire to). I cannot say enough wonderful things about this book. There are so many projects in here that I have already undertaken, and so many more I am now inspired to try! It is going to become my homesteading basics bible, and I am so grateful for the thoughtful and easy to read way the author lays each topic and project out. Such a well done guide to living a simpler more satisfying life in this busy world. Well done!

[Katrina Clohessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good starting point for learning about various tenets of self-reliant & eco-friendly living. I'd suggest that after reading through this book, the reader further pursue any areas of interest via more in-depth texts on gardening, cooking from scratch, homesteading, traditional crafts, etc. Because of my own background knowledge in some of these areas, this book served more as a source of inspiration for further studies and exploration.

[Christine Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

During this pandemic, it was natural and horrifying to consider how much we rely on stores for groceries and goods. This beautiful book is an overview of all the different ways you can become more self-reliant, including gardening, food preservation, sewing, soap making, raising livestock and foraging. This book didn’t go very deep on any one topic but is good for general knowledge and exploration!

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was around 3.5 stars for me.

This book is for those beginning their sustainability journey. It covers easy replacements and changes to things to help be more sustainable. It's mostly high level and while things like raising your own chickens and using your own containers at the grocery store may not be accessible, the book is broken down my section and ways to re-use common household items and buy less.

[Maria Jansson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have for anyone striving to live a selfsustainable life. It covers the basic of a great variety of subjects such as; gardening, cooking, canning, fermenting, candlemaking, soapmaking and farming. I really like the attractive design and modern approach to homesteading. The photos throughout the book are of very high quality and the descriptions very easy to follow.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had breadth and some depth. It was well-organised. Activities were classified into indoor (Eat, Make, Clean) and outdoor (Grow, Farm, Trek) activities. It's a good introduction on a wide range of topics from making beef jerky to macrame pot holders to rearing goats to foraging weeds. I thought her strongest chapters were her gardening chapters. I was surprised to hear tin foil and plastic baggies being used in the trekking chapter to make food packets, but it does make the lifestyle more relatable and achievable to the average person.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit twee and undeniably inviting, though without sacrificing too much content. The choice of topics is a bit funny at times (macrame?), but that's okay. Worth a look through, but this is more likely to be a coffee table book for folks who daydream about farms, rather than a useful reference for those who actually use these skills.