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mrsthrift's review
3.0
This is about a lifestyle, not an experiment. People who have spent years developing the practices, habits, stockpiles, and soil to be self-sufficient share their stories and advice. There are a lot of good ideas here, and some interesting anecdotes. It's not a memoir and there's not a plot. Chapters stand alone pretty well, so if you are only interested in water conservation & collection, you can zero in on that. FWIW, I enjoyed the gardening section a great deal. There wasn't a ton of new information, but there were some clever ideas for re-using items around the house, and valuable experience from many years of the yard-garden in Los Angeles. There's some good advice for the "lazy" or "passive" gardener, interesting ideas/experiences with compost piles, and some charming stories about backyard farm animals that become part of the family. There's a considerable focus on recycling, reusing, reducing impact, and just generally DIYing low-budget. This book is definitely not the definitive tome, but it's a great jumping off point, and I enjoyed the writing styles of Christopher & Delores.
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