The Modern Homestead Manual - Softcover

Skip Thomsen; Et Al

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0962596078 ISBN 13: 9780962596070

Publisher: Oregon Wordworks, 1998

Synopsis

What it really takes to succeed beyond the sidewalks and power lines. Discover the tried-and-true secrets from those who have made wilderness living a success. This is the rest of the story: the information you don't see in most "homesteading" publications! The Modern Homestead Manual builds hope and confidence, dispels myths, and tells it like it is.

About this title

About the Author

The authors started from scratch on some forest land 16 miles from the nearest town in North Central Oregon. Within a few years, they had completed their home, huge shop and other outbuildings, had designed and built their own electrical power-system and were fully self-sufficient. Over the next ten years, they carefully observed and documented the successes (few) and failures (many) of others who were attempting the homestead life. The Modern Homestead Manual is the result of this experience and is as relevant for those who are already doing it as it is for those in the contemplation stages. Skip Thomsen has written and published several books and many magazine articles on the subject of homesteading an wilderness-home living.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Introduction: Many of us dream about moving back to the land, of going back to a simpler, more self-sufficient lifestyle. To too many of us, a dream is all it ever is. Of those who actually take the big step and leave the city behind to try and make a go of it out in the woods, only a few manage to pull it off with any degree of success. Why? Why is the simple life so difficult to attain?

When we set off for a picnic with the family, we have to make certain preparations if the event is to be a success. At the very least, we ought to take along the food, right? If we were to set sail across the ocean, our preparations would be a lot more involved and very much more important. The success of the trip, even our likelihood of survival, would clearly depend on careful planning. Embarking on a successful adventure into homesteading requires even more planning than a sailing voyage, but many folks treat it like a picnic. While a sailing trip requires fairly extensive and very careful preparation, it is all pretty specific. Much of the information needed can be taken directly from the many how-to books on the subject. Sailboats, regardless of size or rigging, have lots of things in common. Sailing hasn't changed much over the last few hundred years, and the rules, once learned, always apply. Homesteading isn't nearly so specific. Since every individual's idea of "homestead" is unique and each person's experience with it will be different, there are few rules in homesteading. The requirements for "sailing" each are unique. What we will discuss in "The Modern Homestead Manual" are the common threads that run through the fabric of all homesteading. These "basic rules" are few in number but enormous in importance. They are mostly born of common sense. All of the folks we know who became disillusioned with their homesteading adventures had one thing in common: they had either not known or had simply ignored the basic rules. We always feel a personal loss when a family or individual tosses it in and heads back to the very environment they sought to escape. Over the years, we have learned a lot from these folks, and from our own experiences, as well. "The Modern Homestead Manual" is our effort to share that knowledge hoping that it will encourage those who are contemplating the homestead adventure, and will help those others who are already experiencing it, to do so to their ultimate satisfaction. Homesteading can provide the most wonderful times of your life. The statistics are clearly biased toward failure, however. We believe that we can help change those statistics. "The Modern Homestead Manual" focuses on two main areas vital to successful homesteading. First, we need to define reality for those folks who are asking themselves, "Can we make this work?" Just what is it they want to do? Second, we offer a nuts-and-bolts approach to homesteading. We show how to gain competence in the many skills that are essential to a self-sufficient lifestyle. Both the awareness of the new reality and the competence to achieve it are essential.

In addition to the philosophical aspects of making it work, we will cover in some detail the more tangible topics: alternative electrical and water systems, vehicles and equipment, heating alternatives, homestead business opportunities, and lots more. A successful adventure in homesteading requires knowledge in many areas. Knowledge, not expertise. Expertise comes with time. "Self- sufficient" means just that: whatever comes up, a homesteader can take care of it herself. She doesn't (even if she could afford to) call the plumber when a faucet needs to be repaired. He doesn't need an electrician to wire in a new outlet or repair a broken appliance. A homesteader fixes cars, overhauls water pumps, builds houses, lays bricks, raises poultry, administers first aid as required, cooks, sews, gardens, cans, builds fences, repairs tractors, solders, welds, is familiar with the capabilities and the safety requirements of power tools, and much, much more. And of course, all of these skills are in addition to those required for earning a living. Earning a living? Whatever happened to living off the land? Read on; we'll cover it thoroughly. Why a "modern" homestead manual? Countless magazine articles and lots of books have been written on the subject of homesteading. Over the last hundred years or so, the term "homesteading" has evolved to a new meaning, and there are about as many interpretations as there are homesteaders. To us, the modern homesteader is someone who strives for autonomy; to become as self-sufficient and self-confident as possible. We don't mean by this that all folks calling themselves homesteaders are automatically enrolled in some sort of world-wide self-sufficiency contest, either. Each person has to decide just how far he or she wishes to take self-sufficiency. To some, self-sufficiency is nothing less than the ability to raise all of one's food, create buildings, clothes and furniture from salvaged materials, and to live with no electricity. To others, the meaning is far less strict, but no less meaningful. To us, "homesteader" might be the antithesis to "consumer." Consumer implies that we only consume. We continually buy, use up, and buy more. We give nothing back to the planet in return. A homesteader creates, nourishes, and nurtures. A homesteader is a worthy steward to the Earth. A modern homesteader includes all of these things, and more. A person need not consider himself a "sell-out" because he chooses to make use of some of the better technology available to us all. One can operate in a world of high-tech and still be as conscious of environmental concerns as someone living in a tent. We're all in this together, and sharing our ideas and experiences can be a world of help to all of us. ["The Modern Homestead Manual"] is the basis for a solid foundation, the source for a successful voyage, in your very own homesteading adventure.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oregon Wordworks
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0962596078
• ISBN 13: 9780962596070
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 217