Customer Reviews:
 A practical guide May 11, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is an incredibly useful guide if you want to be more self-sufficient. It has sections on generating your own power, recycling, organic gardening, animal husbandry, brewing and preserving produce. The layout of the book is very clean-looking with simple, clear diagrams. I have looked at a number of different books on self-sufficiency and this is definitely one of the best.
 A Great Starter How to Guide for Sustainable Living August 7, 2007
25 out of 30 found this review helpful
As summer draws it damp way toward autumn and work once again raises its ugly head, dreams of stepping off the treadmill and opting for a simple life cross an increasing number of people's minds.
Downsizing, that most corporate sounding word, is becoming an oft talked about alternative to the ever increasing stress of modern urban living. Ditching the overpriced, and massively over mortgaged flat, throwing the Blackberry in the river and heading for the hills for a simpler life has never been so appealing. The idea buying or renting a small place in the country, whether in this country or another, and setting up a small holding or more ethical business looks very appealing on when your stuck in another traffic jam on the M5, late for a meeting, with a to do list that is eating half your laptop's memory.
The only problem is, of course, is that the decree in business and economics and a life of urban living means often that the skill set we have are tangential to a self sufficient life style. Even a complete DVD set of `The Good Life' will only give you the sense of humour necessary for a new beginning.
Luckily however the support, whether it be in advice found on the net, the neighbours, books and courses are extensive- and you are going to need all of them at one time or another. If you think you live a technology filled life now then think again, there is a huge difference between using sophisticated technology and building so called `low' technology, and at first sight it is the `low' technology which is much more complicated.
There's a saying in architecture that the most serious mistakes are made right at the beginning. This is very true about downsizing, the choices you make right at the beginning, whether it be choosing the property, or if starting business, your partners, will determine the ultimate success of the move. This I think is the crux of why some people's dreams turn to dust, their primary motivation is to get away from the situation they are in rather than knowingly embracing where they going.
The Self-Sufficiency Handbook by veteran small holders and writers Alan and Gill Bridgewater is a whistle stop tour of the wide range of skills and knowledge that you may need, from picking the right property to smoking cheese.
The explanations are straight forward and well illustrated. The breadth of the coverage is superb with chapters on creating the self-sufficient house, an organic food gardening section, keeping animals and a pantry section. The book serves as a very useful introduction to the concepts and practises of self-sufficiency, in and of itself it is not the definitive guide to every subject, and much more detailed study would be needed, for example if you wanted to keep sheep or bees. However what the book does do is de-mystify many of the challenges of setting up your own sustainable home and garden. It points you in the right direction in a clean, no nonsense practical way, and shows very clearly that every problem you will come across has an answer.
From my own experience I know that the sheer mass of challenges you face when deciding to go along a more sustainable way of living can be overwhelming- what comes first the roof, the plumbing, the electricity? The obstacles, while all been manageable individually, seem insurmountable when seen as a whole. This book helps you break each task down to it component parts so that you can start to resolve each one, and in doings o raise your level of experience and confidence to tackle the most complex ones.
Anyone thinking of `downsizing' to a more sustainable lifestyle should have a copy of The Self-Sufficiency Handbook. It is now my first port of call when planning a project, with its help I can outline the work needed, and the further studying, training or advice I need before setting off.
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