The Legacy Of John Seymour | General Homesteading Discussion | Forums

An interesting read

Forty years ago a new book offered city dwellers a way to escape the rat-race and go back to the land. The author of the "bible" of self-sufficiency, John Seymour, convinced thousands to change their lives.

"I have met people who said my father ruined them," says Anne Sears.

Anne's father, John Seymour, was an author and idealist known as one of the fathers of self-sufficiency. His books published in the 1960s and 1970s urged readers to return to a more traditional way of life and be less reliant on the outside world. He believed this would free people from their dependence on a damaging industrial society.

"It is going forward to a new and better sort of life, a life which is more fun than the over-specialised round of office or factory, a life that brings challenge and the use of daily initiative back to work," he wrote.

Seymour had put his principles into practice and set up a farm on rented land in Suffolk, driving a horse and cart instead of a car. His books and articles, which are thought to have helped inspire the BBC sitcom The Good Life, urged others to follow his lead.

His message met a receptive audience. A global oil crisis and striking coal-miners in Britain had made the public realise how reliant they were on fossil fuels to heat and light their homes. The environmental movement of the 1970s had also made them more conscious of green issues.

People were so inspired by Seymour they would turn up on his doorstep.

"One woman turned up who had left her husband and children after reading the book. She wanted to help out and live in our stable. My parents let her but later my mother persuaded her to go back and sort herself out," Anne says.

During the 60s and 70s dozens of alternative communities sprang up around Britain. However, many who tried self-sufficiency found the labour-intensive way of life too tough.

"People sold up but then couldn't make it work. It was probably harder than they thought it was going to be," Anne says.

more http://www.bbc.com/n.....e-35945417