Author(s): Robyn Paterson

New Zealand Non Fiction

Those of us living in the so-called Western World have looked at life a little differently lately. Turns out those hippies were right - building a society based on buying stuff then chucking it out hasn't left us in a great place. The planet's prognosis doesn't sound too rosy, a few men in suits have ended up with all the money, and most of our favourite foods are turning out to be toxic. Nana told us this would happen - "Waste not, want not" she said, knowingly. She also gave us strange homemade things in jars sealed with tartan material and a rubber band. We didn't pay much attention to that either. But now, we're starting to wonder just what was in those jars and how she made it. We're looking sideways at the apple tree in the park, thinking maybe I don't need supermarket baby food after all. We're wishing we didn't have to buy a card for more than the present cost, or pay someone to take our waste away then go out and buy it back as compost. Surely I could do that myself, we cry, if only I knew how!! Tips from your Nana is a book designed to help you take the power back, with a minimum of effort. It will help you save the environment, it will help you save society, and better yet - let's face it, we're children of our time - it will help you save money. Hidden in pockets of our world are people who still know how to do stuff. Some of them remember the Great Depression, or a few of the not-so-great ones since. Some of them were original greenies back in the day. Some of them are bright young Gen-Y types who realised self-sufficiency was cool again before the rest of us did. Some of them grew up in countries where 'supermarkets' and 'supplies' are foreign concepts. A whole lot of them have been brought together in this book to show you how to do a huge range of basic things in a really easy way - without complicated equipment or ingredients. From growing organic veges to turning them into preserves and throwing the scraps to your happy backyard chickens - YOU can do it!