The only comprehensive, illustrated, step-by-step guide to building with earthbags. Over seventy percent of Americans cannot afford to own a code-enforced, contractor-built home. This has led to widespread interest in using natural materials-straw, cob, and earth-for building homes and other buildings that are inexpensive, and that rely largely on labor rather than expensive and often environmentally-damaging outsourced materials. Earthbag Building...

An energy auditor's guide to using less, saving more, and choosing appliances and systems that will make your home healthier and more efficient. Many homeowners are beginning to examine the energy efficiency of their own homes, asking questions about where energy comes from and how much it costs, how to choose new appliances, and what options exist for renewable energy. The Home Energy Diet answers all these questions and more while helping readers...

A complete guide to modern pedaled-powered, treadled, and hand-cranked devices for the home. What if I could harness this energy? An unusual question for anyone putting in a long stint on a treadmill perhaps, and yet human power is a very old, practical and empowering alternative to fossil fuels. Replacing motors with muscles can be considered a political act-an act of self-sufficiency that gains you independence. The Human-Powered Home is a one-of-a-kind...

A guide to saving a fortune while saving the Earth, from the author of Homegrown & Handmade. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. Our grandmothers knew the importance of responsible, thrifty choices. But somewhere along the way we lost our way and succumbed to the belief that we can get everything for next to nothing, have it shipped halfway around the world and then-more often than not-just throw it away. This consumer binge is taking...

The author of Sweet Remedies offers a straightforward, empowering guide to homegrown herbal remedies for illness injuries, and preventative health. Most of us understand the value of eating and buying local. Taking back our food, goods, and services from multinational corporations and sourcing them from small growers, producers, artisans, and entrepreneurs benefits our families, our environment, and our communities. Heal Local argues that "100-mile...

A complete hands-on guide to making cheese and other fermented dairy products from scratch, geared toward helping the novice cheesemaker to develop the intuition and abilities to position them for success, especially in the real world of the home kitchen. This well-illustrated and clearly written practical guide assumes no prior experience on the part of the aspiring cheesemaker.