Self-reliance Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Survival infection control

By Joseph Alton, M.D. Issue #151 • January/February, 2015 For several months now, news regarding the devastation that the Ebola virus is causing in West Africa has been in the headlines. A disease once found only...

Shopping to beat inflation

By Darlene Campbell Issue #85 • January/February, 2004 Most of us who read BHM agree that self sufficient living can be debt free, but we also worry about inflation. The word inflation is used to describe...

Dollar Store to the Rescue

By Jeffrey R. Yago, P.E. Summer 2019, Self-Reliance I have talked with emergency responders who have traveled all over the country to volunteer their rescue efforts at disasters like the recent flooding in Texas. While much...

Tips for finding your affordable home

By Dave Cournoyer Website Exclusive • February, 2008 If you haven't yet made the move to the country, here is helpful information about the cost and availability of land in the U.S. One factor that is important...

An easier way to cut firewood By Larry LaVan

By Larry LaVan  Issue #159 • May/June, 2016 I've heated with firewood for nearly 50 years. In doing so, I knew my aging back would need...

Brood X

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Website Exclusive • March, 2004 Over the past couple of decades Generation X has seen plenty of mention among the different branches of the regular mass media. This year however the really...

Seed art — It’s fun to collect the seeds and create these unusual pictures

By Alice B. Yeager Issue #42 • November/December, 1996 Seed art is an old craft going back to long, long ago. Where the art of turning seeds into pictures first began is obscured by time, and...

Homeschooling through high school

By Janet Leake Issue #65 • September/October, 2000 Why not? Whether you're experienced or inexperienced, whatever your situation, you already know why you want to homeschool your kids through high school. Now, what about how? We have...

Bugging out in place

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #163 • January/February, 2017 Some emergency situations require quick evacuation. You barely have time to grab your bug-out bag, gather the family, and run out the door. Most of us are ready...

Saving money on the homestead

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #148 • July/August, 2014 I come from a "penny-pinching-and-proud-of-it" family background and I learned the importance of saving a buck at an early age. Throughout my journey toward a self-reliant lifestyle, I've...

Swedish log candle

By Nick Weston Issue #138 • November/December, 2012 At my Hunter-Gatherer school, we are constantly experimenting with different methods of outdoor cookery, from underground ovens (umu or hangi) to smoke roast tipis and run-of-the-mill fire pits....

Bath herbs

By Cynthia Andal Issue #86 • March/April, 2004 The visceral pleasure to be gained from drinking wild herbal teas that you have harvested yourself pales in comparison to lying in a steaming tub, scented with rose...

Here’s how to make a musical bamboo flute

By Robert E. Kramer Issue #42 • November/December, 1996 Materials 1 propane or butane torch or campfire to heat up metal rod. 1 steel rod at least 1/2" diameter 1 oven mitt or heavy cloth 1...

What to do when there’s no doctor

By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S. Issue #75 • May/June, 2002 We are used to being able to see a doctor at any time for any reason, no matter how small. Will this always be the case?...

Emergency planning beyond the bug-out bag

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #157 • January/February, 2016 In many emergency situations, simply staying home can be your most sensible choice. After all, most of us have stocked up on a good supply of food in...

Simplifying simplicity

By Claire Wolfe Issue #117 • May/June, 2009 In the bustling 19th century, Henry David Thoreau urged us to "simplify, simplify, simplify." In the even more hectic 20th and 21st centuries, writer, philosopher, and frugalista Wendy McElroy...