Playing It For Laughs - a book of doggerel (1999). San Francisco: Metanoia Press. (with illustrations by Kate Seymour) Budgeting is equally as important; creating a budget helps individuals determine exactly where their income goes each month, so they know how much they are able to save. What Is Energy Self-Sufficiency? Self-sufficiency is a way of life that provides you with the resources to meet your needs and become more independent. Homesteading is one way of achieving this goal, as it requires very little money but can help you on your journey to becoming self-sufficient. When your goal is to be self-sufficient, you can’t just start with no knowledge – that’s a recipe for disaster. Believe it or not, there’s a lot to learn about before you set out on a plot of land to grow your own food, find your own water supply, raise animals, and create a home.

This can be achieved through a variety of practices, such as growing your own food or building your own shelter. Also, adopting a ‘life cycle’ approach to products – where items are reused or recycled until they have no further use – it helps ensure fewer resources are wasted. Healthy Living: Exercise and Nutrition

Books for Self Reliance

Saving money should be a priority for anyone who wants to become self-sufficient. Setting aside an amount of money each month, even if it’s only a small amount, can help build up an emergency fund or savings account that can be used when unexpected expenses arise instead of relying on credit cards or loans. The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency (2002). London: Dorling Kindersley. (with Will Sutherland) There’s something meditative about working bees. Some days I’d just pull up a chair a few yards from the hive entrance and just watch the ladies about their work, streaming in and out of the hive loaded down with pollen and nectar. It’s a totally entertaining and well-written read. Plus it makes you (or at least me) feel like your life is easy by comparison. The Women’s Heritage Source Book: Bringing Homesteading to Everyday Life ~ Assembled by multiple women who all incorporate homesteading into their daily lives, be it in an apartment or small suburban “farms.”

Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff and John J. Palmer ~ This contains one recipe for every classic beer style: IPAs, Porters, Lagers, Sour Ales, Milk Stouts and many more. Really, any style you’d want to make, you’ll find a recipe here. Each recipe has won awards at brewing competitions, and it’s the perfect base if you want to try developing your own recipes (or just make a great beer in any style). If you’re looking to build your own home, these resources cover the best techniques for doing it right. This book is like homesteading meets Mad Max in the best possible way. Wendy and her partner Mikey are pretty radical thinkers and makers. From camel poo to papercrete, to biodiesel fuel and more, these extremely creative people have created a beautiful homestead using mostly things other people consider trash.

Animal Husbandry Books

John also made many television programmes: an early series followed the footsteps of George Borrow's Wild Wales (1862). In the early 1980s he spent three years making the BBC series Far From Paradise (with Herbert Girardet) which examined the history of human impact on the environment.

The Wood Gasifier Builder’s Bible: Off Grid Fuel for the Prepared Homestead by Ben Peterson ~ He takes you through the process of building a wood gassifier from start to finish. Unfortunately, while he does show you the one he built, he’s a little spotty on the details of how they work in general. Though it’s not the best manual, it’s the best I’ve found on the topic because it actually does have a practical example. Winemaking can be just as technical as home brew beer, and depends even more on the quality of the ingredients.Believe it or not, charcuterie is another form of lacto-fermentation and with a little dedication you can craft your own prosciutto, pancetta and salami at home. This is one of the best, most famous books for self sufficient homesteaders, bushcrafters, and all types of people who care about self reliance. Best Self Sufficient Living Books Having a permanent, reliable book to serve as your guide in off-grid living is great! You get some pleasant reading material for slow, sunny days. But most importantly, you have a physical companion that won’t fade away when the power goes out. No self-respecting homesteader’s reading list would be complete without the most influential self-sufficiency biography ever written. The Nearings have influenced just about every other author on this list in some ways.