Earl Ransom · 2026 Launch price ends in --:--:-- Order →
Earl RansomAn Almanac

I heat, water, and feed my place off the grid

93 methods I've used on my own ridge, laid out plain. One reader burned a cord and a half less wood last winter. Another found $90 a month in bills he didn't need to pay.

93MOUNTAIN METHODS
13AREAS COVERED
40+YEARS ON RIDGE
7-DayRefund guarantee
Earl Ransom
I filmed my chores so my grandkids would have the how of itEarl Ransom · Boone NC
Water You Can Count On
01 · Water You Can Count On
Heat and Fire the Old Way
02 · Heat and Fire the Old Way
Cooking and Keeping Cold Off the Grid
03 · Cooking and Keeping Cold Off the Grid
Root Cellars and Long Keeping
04 · Root Cellars and Long Keeping
I.
The manual

Everything I know, in one book.

Learn the hands-on Appalachian skills the old-timers used to keep a household warm, watered, and fed without depending on the grid or the grocery store.

93numbered methods, each with the materials, the steps and an honest note
13areas covered, each with its own numbered methods, from water you can count on to old-time skills worth keeping
113pages. Read it on any phone or computer, or print it for the kitchen table
What you get for $47
The Appalachian Off-Grid Manual$47
30-Day Off-Grid Starter Road Map$29
Winter Prep Checklist and Cord Calculator$19
Salvage and Sourcing Sheet$21
Wild Food Safety Field Card$15
Total value$131
$47$75launch price
SEE THE MANUAL · $47
113 pages · Instant access · Lifetime updates · 7-day refund
II.
The math

What it costs you now — and after.

Before — a typical year
Wood or heating fuel$1,800
Water and pump power$480
Grocery produce$2,600
Household cleaners$240
Repairs and replacements$900
Recurring bills trimmed$1,080
Annual$7,100
After — running the methods
Wood or heating fuel$900
Water and pump power$120
Grocery produce$1,400
Household cleaners$40
Repairs and replacements$300
Recurring bills trimmed$0
Annual$2,760
$4,340Kept: about $4,340 a year, at these numbers.

These are Earl's own figures and a few readers', not promises. Your savings depend on your place, your climate, and how hard you work them.

III.
What's inside

Exactly what you get for $47.

93 numbered methods across 13 sections. Each one: the materials with current prices, the step-by-step, and an honest note on what it does and doesn't do. Pick the methods that fit your place — you don't have to do all of them.

Water You Can Count On — 8 methods

Find a spring, move it downhill, store it clean, no pump.

  1. 01Reading the Land for a Hidden Spring
  2. 02The Spring Box That Never Went Muddy
  3. 03Gravity-Fed Water With No Pump at All
  4. 04The Ram Pump That Runs on Falling Water
+ 4 more in the book
Heat and Fire the Old Way — 8 methods

Split less, burn hotter, wake up to coals every morning.

  1. 01Seasoning Firewood So It Burns Twice as Hot
  2. 02The Wood You Should Never Burn Indoors
  3. 03Banking a Fire to Wake Up to Coals
  4. 04Cleaning Your Own Chimney From the Roof
+ 4 more in the book
Cooking and Keeping Cold Off the Grid — 7 methods

Feed the house and keep food cold with no electric.

  1. 01The Spring House That Beats a Refrigerator
  2. 02The Zeer Pot Cooler for the Dry Weeks
  3. 03Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven Over Coals
  4. 04The Solar Cooker That Slow-Cooks a Roast
+ 3 more in the book
Root Cellars and Long Keeping — 8 methods

Dig a hole that holds a garden's worth till spring.

  1. 01Siting a Root Cellar That Stays 40 Degrees
  2. 02The Buried-Barrel Mini Cellar
  3. 03Two Kinds of Air a Cellar Must Have
  4. 04Which Crops Store, Which Ones Sulk
+ 4 more in the book
Wild Food From the Mountains — 7 methods

Free greens, nuts, and mushrooms, and what to never touch.

  1. 01The Three Spring Greens You Can't Mistake
  2. 02Harvesting Ramps So They Come Back Next Year
  3. 03Cracking a Winter's Worth of Black Walnuts
  4. 04The Two Safe Wild Mushrooms for Beginners
+ 3 more in the book
The Mountain Garden — 8 methods

Grow more on hill dirt with short seasons, no store inputs.

  1. 01Reading Your Dirt Without a Lab
  2. 02Building Beds on a Slope That Won't Wash
  3. 03The Three Sisters the Cherokee Way
  4. 04Saving Seed You Can Plant Again
+ 4 more in the book
Keeping Pests Off Without Chemicals — 6 methods

Turn deer and bugs back with what's already on hand.

  1. 01The Fence Height Deer Actually Respect
  2. 02Handmade Bug Spray From the Garden
  3. 03Chickens and Guineas as Tick Patrol
  4. 04Companion Planting That Confuses the Bugs
+ 2 more in the book
Cabin and Shelter Upkeep — 7 methods

Patch leaks, kill drafts, stay sound with hand tools.

  1. 01Finding the Draft That's Costing You Wood
  2. 02Chinking Logs the Way They Still Hold
  3. 03Patching a Metal Roof Before It Rots the Deck
  4. 04The Cheap Way to Insulate a Cabin Floor
+ 3 more in the book
Working the Woodlot and Land — 6 methods

Get the most heat and lumber off your own acres.

  1. 01Marking Which Trees to Cut and Which to Leave
  2. 02Felling a Tree So It Lands Where You Want
  3. 03Sharpening a Chainsaw Chain by Hand
  4. 04Snaking Logs Out Without a Tractor
+ 2 more in the book
Getting Ready for Winter — 7 methods

The fall push that gets you stocked before the freeze.

  1. 01The Cord Count That Gets You Through
  2. 02Winterizing the Water System in a Weekend
  3. 03The Two-Week Food Buffer Every Homestead Keeps
  4. 04Getting the Livestock Ready for Cold
+ 3 more in the book
Small Livestock the Frugal Way — 6 methods

Eggs, meat, and milk without a big feed bill.

  1. 01The Chicken Coop That Cleans Itself
  2. 02Feeding Hens Off Kitchen and Garden Scraps
  3. 03Raising Meat Rabbits in a Small Space
  4. 04Two Goats for Milk Without a Barn
+ 2 more in the book
Living Well on Little — 8 methods

Cut the bills that buy a homestead nothing.

  1. 01The Household Bill Audit That Frees Up Cash
  2. 02Bartering the Mountain Way
  3. 03Making Your Own Soap From Fat and Ash
  4. 04Home-Brewed Cleaners That Actually Work
+ 4 more in the book
Old-Time Skills Worth Keeping — 7 methods

Sharpen, cure, smoke, and fix the way the mountains ran.

  1. 01Putting a Real Edge on Any Blade
  2. 02Splicing and Whipping Rope That Holds
  3. 03Smoking Meat in a Barrel Smoker
  4. 04Salt-Curing Pork the Old Way
+ 3 more in the book
IV.
Reader results

What people did with it.

★★★★★
Built the spring box out of method two last spring. Haven't run the well pump for the garden since, and I stopped hauling water in July for the first time in nine years.
— Dwight R., Johnson City, TN
★★★★★
The deer fence chapter alone saved my whole bean patch. I'd lost it three summers running. This year I canned forty quarts.
— Carla M., Berea, KY
★★★★★
Seasoned my wood the way Earl says and I burned about a cord and a half less this winter. That's real money in my part of the mountains.
Earl Ransom
V.
About the author

Earl Ransom

I grew up in a hollow outside Boone, North Carolina, where my granddad kept a spring house, a root cellar in the hillside, and a woodstove that ran all winter. I ran heavy equipment thirty-odd years, then bought forty acres of ridge ground, cut my own road in, and built a cabin I still heat with wood I split myself. I've buried water lines by hand in January, lost a garden to deer, and canned enough green beans to fill a wall. I started filming my chores for my grandkids. Folks kept asking me to slow down and explain. This book is me doing that.

VI.
Order

$47 once. No subscription. Yours forever.

You get a 7-day window. Read it, try a method, and if it's not for you, tell me and I'll refund your $47. The skills you picked up are yours to keep.

🔒 Secure checkout · Visa · Mastercard · PayPal · 7-day refund

What you get for $47
The Appalachian Off-Grid Manual$47
30-Day Off-Grid Starter Road Map$29
Winter Prep Checklist and Cord Calculator$19
Salvage and Sourcing Sheet$21
Wild Food Safety Field Card$15
Total value$131
$47$75launch price
SEE THE MANUAL · $47
113 pages · Instant access · Lifetime updates · 7-day refund
VII.
Questions

Before you decide.

I'm not fully off-grid. Is this still for me?

Yes. Most folks who use it are on the grid and just want to lean on it less, cut a bill or two, and know they'd be alright if the power went out for a spell. Every method works whether you're off-grid or just want to be more self-reliant.

Do I need land or a lot of tools to start?

No. Plenty of the methods work on a small lot or even a rental, like the zeer pot cooler, the buried-barrel cellar, and the homemade cleaners. Earl points out which projects need acreage and which don't.

Is this book region-specific to Appalachia?

It's rooted in Appalachian and Southern practice, so the plants and weather examples lean that way, but the skills for water, heat, storage, and frugal living carry to any rural spot in the country.

Is it beginner-friendly, or do I need experience?

It's written plain for beginners. Earl explains the how, the materials, and the common mistake for each method, and tells on himself where he learned the hard way.

How is the book delivered?

It's a digital ebook you download and read on any phone, tablet, or computer, or print at home. You get it and the bonuses right after checkout.

Does the book promise I'll make or save a set amount of money?

No. Earl shares the methods and honest examples of what they've done for him and others. What you save depends on your place, your climate, and how much you put the methods to work.

Last call

The launch run is closing

Get the manual and all six bonuses for $47 before the introductory price ends. Same 7-day window if it's not for you.

SEE THE MANUAL · $47