Self-sufficiency books?

[smallblueplanet]

Thanks Bob. But don't worry about my fiscal status, we intend to live on love!

Buerk, good luck.
Make sure you supplement that with some potato's.

Chips with everything?

[Tam]

I would certainly go along with Two Sheds' suggestion - here it is at Amazon -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_...mour&x=19&y=21

[NOG]

Just recommend some books please, not make comments on my financial status which you don't know...

Hand well smacked and standing on the naughty step.

[kiwirach]

this is a very big interest of mine, so i shall watch to see if there are any books that catch my eye as well!. however, i have a good few now!!. i enjoy reading about people having a go, whether it can be done or not!.
as well as the above mentioned books this was one of the first books i read of people actually giving it a go and i really enjoyed it, even tho i dont live in tropical Queensland!. another i enjoyed was this by Barbara Kingsolver.

'It's not easy being green' is another good overview of a more self sufficient life.

i also check out American 'homesteading' or downunder 'lifestyle block' type websites/forums.

[bobleponge]

Did you not find that Barbara Kingsolver book a bit too schmalzy Kiwirach? Some of the statistics she quotes are quite staggering, but I found it a bit too sickly for me to really enjoy.

[HeyWayne]

Not sure about books Manda, but surely this DVD set is essential?

The Good Life - Complete [DVD] [1975]: Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith, Paul Eddington, Reginald Marsh, Moyra Fraser, Charmian May: Amazon.co.uk: DVD

[smallblueplanet]

...and i really enjoyed it, even tho i dont live in tropical Queensland!...

Ta, I have lived in sub-tropical Queensland, on the Gold Coast, but I wasn't interested in self-sufficiency at the time.

[kiwirach]

Did you not find that Barbara Kingsolver book a bit too schmalzy Kiwirach? Some of the statistics she quotes are quite staggering, but I found it a bit too sickly for me to really enjoy.

i think i glossed over any of the sickly bits and just read it for an understanding growing, harvesting and storing/processing your own food. i have to say, i always take american stuff with a pinch of salt....it can be a bit OTT!. bit it was useful in the overview that i wanted at the time.

[Jay Bee]

Any help as a starter? Selfsufficientish.com • Index page

[bluemoon]

I bought the Barbara Kingsolver book largely because she wrote one of my favourite novels of all time (The Poisonwood Bible) It is a bit sickly, but it's targeted at an American audience for whom the politics of food is something of a new idea. The words self-sufficiency there have weird connotations linked to either groups of scary men living in the woods with guns and an attitude problem or is a buzz word for getting people off benefits. I think her book is one of the first US based attempts at getting the ideas of environment, locally produced food and a person's general well-being linked together. We're lucky, we had Tom and Barbara back in the 70s and they've never really gone away so it's all lodged somewhere in our psyches, but in the US these are still new and to a certain extent, 'hippy' ideas. Hence the pussyfooting and general gushing attitude of the book.