Skills for Simple Living

Alice Kidd is an editor with The New Catalyst editorial collective in
Lillooet, B.C.

The Smallholder was a marvelous monthly journal well-known by many who
wanted to rethink their way of life. It was a truly grassroots
publication, connecting individuals, spreading valuable “how-to”
information, and giving people in small communities a forum in which to
state their minds and/or passions.

This lovely book, compiled and edited from The Smallholder by Betty
Tillotson, is full of attractive and useful graphics. The articles range
in size from a few column inches to many pages, covering useful tips for
everything from crafts and gardening to kitchen lore and tool use and
manufacture. Since much of this information was once common knowledge
and is now disappearing along with other oral wisdom, it is timely to
have it preserved in book form. Leafing through it from cover to cover,
I continually found new delights. Although this book will be most
valuable to anyone now living on a small holding, many others, urban and
rural alike, will find useful suggestions for common household
situations.