The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency: The Classic Guide for Realists and Dreamers

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Rye from the Water's Edge (1996). Rye: Academic Inn Books. (with illustrations by Connie Lindquist) John continued to write books celebrating all aspects of rural life. For most of the last two decades, he lived in County Wexford, Ireland, and, even though age started to take its toll, he still ran courses on such topics as milking cows or curing ham. Participants signed up from all over the world. Evenings were for storytelling, playing the harmonica and singing sailors' songs - John had the extraordinary memory of a man who refused to clutter his mind with television programmes, even if he loved presenting them.

Note that numbers are limited to 6 persons per course. For those coming with a spouse or partner there is a 20% discount for the second student. Topics covered in our residential courses include many of the activities described in The New Complete Book of Self Sufficiency. In 1964 the family moved to a farm near Newport, Pembrokeshire. The 1970s saw Seymour's publication rate reach its peak. In 1973 John and Sally wrote Self-Sufficiency and in 1976 The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency was published. Appearing shortly after the publication of E.F. Schumacher's Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered (1973) and The Good Life's first showing on British television (1975), the sales of the book exceeded all expectations. It was also set to establish the reputation of two young publishers, Christopher Dorling and Peter Kindersley who had commissioned and edited the work. In addition to self-sufficiency he wrote four guide books in the Companion Guide series. Poultry Management - the day to day routine, types of poultry run, protection from predators, prevention of disease, feeding rationsWhile we aren't all be able to move to the countryside, we can appreciate the importance of Seymour's message, as he shows us the value of living within our means and making the most of what we have to hand using skills that have been handed down through generations. John was as much at home in the humblest house on a hillside, as in the manor house of landed gentry. He was like a force of nature, always willing to listen, always interested in learning about new - or very old - ways of working the land. He was a one-man rebellion against modernism, and his absence will be felt by millions of readers the world over. John's primary concern was that we should not readily give up a world that had been so long in the making - a world of hunter-gatherers, small-scale farmers, sailors and foresters. Should we not think twice, he would say, before we launched head-long into a plastic, fossil-fuel powered, environmentally destructive age? Embrace off-grid green living with the bestselling classic guide to a more sustainable way of life, now with a brand new foreword from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. The bestselling classic guide to off-grid green living, now with a brand new foreword from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

John also made many television programmes: an early series followed the footsteps of George Borrow's Wild Wales (1862). In the early 1980s he spent three years making the BBC series Far From Paradise (with Herbert Girardet) which examined the history of human impact on the environment. Organic Gardening - basic principles of the organic cycle, improving your soil, creating a vibrant ecosystem, bringing in fertility, the role of the animals, the management of pests

He spent much time with Bushmen, whose assured hunter-gatherer lifestyle in a semi-desert environment profoundly influenced his thinking; he said that they took from nature only as much as they needed for survival. He came to realise that much of human knowledge and culture is an ancient inheritance, and not primarily the product of urban progress. To counter this rather depressing experience, we co-authored Blueprint For A Green Planet (1987), one of the first books emphasising the opportunities of green consumerism in countering environmental destruction. Sadly, the publishers refused to include a chapter linking personal responsibility and collective action. Pig Husbandry - basic principles of pig husbandry, methods of fencing, the design of the pig sty, the choice of breeds His stepfather's chewing-gum business held no interest as a career for John. Instead, he went to study agriculture at Wye College, Kent, after which, at the age of 20, he moved to South Africa, where he managed a sheep farm, worked in a copper mine and joined the government veterinary service. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.