Self-reliance Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Bartering for bad times

By John Silveira Issue #138 • November/December, 2012 Bartering may not be a part of your life, right now, but if there's a deepening of the recession, or it becomes a depression, or we enter a...

Buy your country place from the government

By Dorothy Cady Issue #54 • November/December, 1998 While looking for your place in the country, you've probably been researching real estate books, newspaper ads, and maybe even using the Internet. You may have even considered...

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...

Jackie’s tips for hardcore homesteading

By Jackie Clay Issue #62 Many of us have a garden and enjoy fresh vegetables during the summer and fall. Maybe we even have a few chickens for eggs and meat. But many of us may...

Making a great rug from the rag bag

By Lois A. Adams Issue #18 • November/December, 1992 Recycling makes a lot of sense in these days of dwindling landfill space and non-renewable resources. But I can remember practicing recycling in my home when I...

Food security 101: part 2

By Rowena Aldridge Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Last issue we talked about some things you can do to stretch your food budget and make great use of every bit of food...

Build a holz hausen to dry firewood

By Doug Fluckiger Issue #132 • November/December, 2011 My secret passion is tall, dark, and handsome. I may find her lying luxuriantly among a dark grove of firs. She may be standing proudly on a sunny...

Gee-Whiz: From Paper to Canning

By John Silveira (aka O.E. MacDougal) May/June 2017 Backwoods Home The greatest inventions in history are the ones we now take for granted. Fire and the wheel-axle combination are among them. If we weren’t taught in...

Cast iron

By Jackie Clay Issue #118 • July/August, 2009 My very favorite cookware is old. Some of it very old. It's nonstick, is equally at home in the kitchen or wilderness camp, is the ultimate slow-cooker, and...

Survival firebuilding skills

By Corcceigh Green Issue #97 • January/February, 2006 Firebuilding skills are essential for those who may find themselves in survival situations. As a testimony to this idea, Americans in the Gulf Coast States experienced a string...

Moving on: A small town can be a haven during a depression

By Claire Wolfe Website Exclusive • September, 2010 One day last summer, I departed Last-Chance Gulch and the high desert, a U-Haul trailer bobbing behind. I aimed for my beloved Pacific Northwest where a friend had...

For safety’s sake, homestead fuel storage must be handled properly

By Emory Warner Issue #43 • January/February, 1997 Home storage of fuel is a necessity for homesteaders. Even if you are still on the grid, your truck, tractor, standby generator, etc. will still require fuel. I...

The fire wick fire starter

By Len McDougall Issue #114 • November/December, 2008 When my hunting buddy Dar met me for lunch at our rendezvous point, he said he doubted we could make a small cookfire on the wet, snow-covered ground....

Annie on Everfree Farm, Part I

By Annie Tuttle Issue #145 • January/February, 2014 So here we are. Truth be told, it was a complete accident that we found our farm. We weren't even looking for it. We...

Defeating debt

By Don Chance Issue #82 • July/August, 2003 "Money does not solve money problems." — Dr. Phil McGraw For many, if not most, people yearning for the self-reliant life, a heavy personal debt load is the single...

Circle of friends

By Claire Wolfe Issue #111 • May/June, 2008 Hardcore survivalists cherish what I call the "George Romero Scenario." It goes like this: The proverbial poop has hit the propeller. Cities collapse into chaos. But we, the...