The Owner-Built Homestead | Gear And Review Board | Forums

The Owner-Built Homestead by Barbara and Ken Kern is an oldie but a VERY 'goodie'! Still available used on Amazon for a few buck$.

What I appreciate most about this book is that it covers so many topics in a very through manner, but not with over DIY details that bog down reading. It also is straight forward about homesteading being WORK and breaks down homestead life into 2 fundamental questions - 1) what will the land produce? and 2) what will it return to those who husband it. Definitions such as Subsistence is classified into pure subsistence (all essential earned from homestead): quasi subsistence (1/4 of one's work outside earned) & semisubsistence (1/2 earnings from outside sources).

Both authors grew up on homesteads (circa 1930s Great Depression) and their first hand knowledge is further enhanced by plenty of study on many subjects. (another book by Ken Ken is The Owner Built Home)

If you are lucky enough to have a library that has a copy of this classic, check it out!