Our food system is dominated by industrial agriculture, and has become economically and environmentally unsustainable. The incidence of diet-related diseases including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and heart disease has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. Whether you have 40 acres and a mule or a condo with a balcony, you can do more than you think to safeguard your health, your money and the planet.

Homegrown and Handmade shows how making things from scratch and growing at least some of your own food can help you eliminate artificial ingredients from your diet, reduce your carbon footprint, and create a more authentic life. Whether your goal is increasing your self-reliance or becoming a full-fledged homesteader, it's packed with answers and solutions to help you:

• Take control of your food supply from seed to plate
• Raise small and medium livestock for fun, food and fiber
• Rediscover traditional skills to meet more of your family's needs than you ever thought possible.

This comprehensive guide to food and fiber from scratch proves that attitude and knowledge is more important than acreage. Written from the perspective of a successful, self-taught modern homesteader, this well-illustrated, practical and accessible manual will appeal to anyone who dreams of a simpler life.

Deborah Niemann is a homesteader, writer and self-sufficiency expert who presents extensively on skills for living a more self-reliant life. She has raised livestock for over 10 years and is the administrator of a popular online forum and social network focused on Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. She is the author of Homegrown and Handmade: A Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living, and Ecothrifty: Cheaper, Greener Choices for a Happier, Healthier Life. Deborah and her family produce all of their own meat, eggs and dairy products, while an organic garden and orchard provide fruit and vegetables.

Deborah Niemann's profile page