The The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency: The Classic Guide for Realists and Dreamers

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The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins ~ Not a topic that most people want to discuss, but if you truly want to “close the loop” and harvest abundant crops from your own land without outside inputs, then it’s important to look to yourself as a source of fertility. This discusses every aspect of humanure in an accessible and easy to implement way. Make Mead Like a Viking by Jereme Zimmerman ~ Techniques for brewing traditional meads with minimal equipment and no additives, as they were brewed thousands of years ago. This book reads like the biggest mess of mistakes imaginable. Yet, with love and determination, this odd couple manage to pull off a full-service CSA that includes, meat, milk, grains, and all the vegetables needed to feed local families for a whole year.

Here in the UK, the average citizen consumes more than they produce, and some goods and services are seen as essential and impossible for us to create ourselves.The books above are straightforward and to the point, and though I’m 15+ years into homesteading I still learned quite a lot from them.

Not everyone’s going to move to land out in the country, and many people are just looking for a way to incorporate small DIY projects into their routine. Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas ~ Another great technical manual full of literally hundreds of recipes.Having the ability to manage money is not only a key factor in becoming financially independent, but it’s also essential for one to become self-sufficient. Self-sufficiency is the ability to rely on oneself and be able to support yourself with no outside assistance. Mastering Fermentation by Mary Karlin ~ Perhaps the most accessible beginners fermenting recipe book, this book contains detailed recipes (and beautiful pictures) of nearly every type of common home ferment, from vegetables to vinegars and cheeses. It’s a great place to start if you’re looking for a recipe book, rather than general theory. I’ll be honest, I’ve found very few good preparedness books. If you really want a “preparedness book” then what you actually need is more or less this whole library.

Far from Paradise - the story of man's impact on the environment (1986). London: BBC Publications. (with Herbert Girardet) Winemaking can be just as technical as home brew beer, and depends even more on the quality of the ingredients. These are the books he recommends for beginners, and they were incredibly helpful to him when he was starting out. Essential Guide to Radical Self Reliant Gardening by Will Bonsall ~ This is one of my favorite books, and I’ve already mentioned it twice before. Still, it’s one of the best gardening guides for homesteaders that intend to provide much of their own food, so it bares mentioning again.

Off-Grid Living Books

This book is more than just practical advice, as it gives you illustrated examples of how to perform tasks. The illustrations go so far as to break down accurate floor plans for a new home. Don’t worry, they’re all related to self reliant living, and I’ll skip my extensive collection of Icelandic Cookbooks…)