Reader's Digest Back to Basics A Practical Guide to Old-Fashioned Self-Sufficiency Editor: Phillip Rodwell

Have you ever wished you could be less dependent on mass-produced items from the supermarket, less reliant on tradespeople for those around-the-home jobs or that your lifestyle was less stressful? "Back to Basics" is the self-help book that shows you how to combine modern labour-saving techniques with traditional skills to achieve a more rewarding way of life for your family.

Contents: Houses: Buying a rural property. Building a house. Stone, earth and pole houses. Renovating old buildings. Additions. Fireplaces. Paving, fencing. Water supply.

Energy: The energy efficient house. Solar, wind, water, wood as a fuel. Food and livestock: Gardening and building healthy soil. Organics and permaculture. Flowers, vegetables, fruit, nuts, herbs. Grains and grasses. Raising livestock and poultry: sheep, goats, pigs, dairy cows, working horses, beekeeping, fish farming.

Harvests: Preserving, bottling, freezing, drying. Baking. Beverages, home brew, wine making. Curing and smoking incl building a smoke house. Dairy products.

Skills and crafts: Outdoor cooking. Dyeing; spinning; weaving; basketry; candle making; decorative painting; rope and twine; paper making; soap; household recipes; cosmetics; preserving flowers and their scent; pottery. Wood working and metal working with projects and diagrams.

Recreation: Family pastimes. Enjoying the outdoors. Bushwalking Camping Canoeing and kayaking Horseriding Rock climbing and abseiling Swimming and surfing Fishing Cross-country skiing Large hardback, 1997, 464pages, good condition

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