Homesteading: A Review

Homesteading by Abigail R Gehring is a guide book of sorts that briefs the reader on a whole assortment of sustainable-living practices. And when I say a whole sort, I am serious..... this book covers how-to's on gardening, food preservation, keeping animals (like chickens and goats), construction of small structures, candle and soap making, herbal health, massage, basketweaving..... you name it. There is even a really cool section of alternative energy options and how to create your own.
So, my thoughts on this book are that it is a great introduction to living off the land and introduces the reader to a whole host of skills (all of which I wish I knew how to do, by the way). If you were proficient in all of the skills in this book, you would either be a pioneer or my idol. However, most of the skills in this book can't be learned from a written paragraph.... For example, there are a few sentences about how to spin wool. Spinning wool is a great skill to know. In fact, I have taken a class in wool spinning. And I still suck at it. It's hard. It takes practice and I'm not really sure how much a person can actually learn about spinning wool from the 4-step instructions listed in this book. The same goes for building your own solar panels, building a barn, or installing an ecoroof. These are all great goals and wonderful skills, but these types of skills can't be learned from a few sentences. One would need to read a book (or several) dedicated specifically to each particular subject, or learn from watching and helping someone else.
I do admit that this book is a nice introduction to all of these skills, but I feel like some of the more complex ones should be alluded to without giving a set of instructions that no one is going to use. I mean, if you are going to build your own wind turbine, are you really going to breeze through the 3 pages in this guide book and jump into it or are you going to get online, ask professionals, and search out more detailed information? I appreciate the fact that this book likely gets people thinking about things they might not have otherwise considered, and it makes big tasks (like building your own wind turbine) seem do-able. That said, maybe it would be better to say exactly that: explain wind energy and say that it is possible to build your own turbine to create energy for your home. Go to the library and read up on it. Next topic. However, for some of the more manageable tasks (like rolling your own beeswax candles, say) I think the 2 pages this book dedicates are just fine and dandy (and something that I would even like to try!).
So, in short, I think some of the topics in this book are covered in enough detail to actually be of use, but many of them are just simply too complex to be learned in a few pages. So, think of this book as an introduction of homesteading topics. As I was reading it, I was sort of imagining it as my to-learn list of things that I would love to do at some point in my life, and that was really inspiring. But, I never considered that this book would be the guide book to teach me these skills. So, the inspiration to raise and sheer angora goats- yes! The book I would turn to when I needed to actually put those skills into practice-- not a chance.
Take from it what you will. I think this book is worth a check out from your local library to see if any of the topics spark your interest... Or to use as a checklist on how to live more sustainably. Even though I won't be building my own wind turbine anytime soon, it's something I would consider if we ever had enough land to do so. Pin It Now!