Better: The Everyday Art of Sustainable Living

Live. Create. Sustain.

Provocative, practical and inspiring, Nicole Caldwell's Better will put a spring in your step as you head into your garden or community to become the artist of life we're all destined to be. —John D. Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist, co-authors, Homemade for Sale and Farmstead Chef.

Fundamentally, the book urges us to live mindfully and according to the best of our humanity, and ultimately to make the world a better place."
—Gene Baur, President and Co-Founder, Farm Sanctuary

One part memoir, one part theory, and one part DIY manual, Better shows how each of us can reinvent our lives to be our greatest artistic achievement. Presented in the context of the unique story of Better Farm—a sustainability education center originally established as an intentional community—this unusual guide blends theory with practical, hands-on, ideas to help you ignite your own creative adventures, including:

Upcycling trash into treasure
Turning your fish tank into a garden
Making your yard or balcony a work of art.

Better is a concrete application of the Better Theory, which views each experience—good or bad—as an opportunity for exponential personal growth. Packed with tips for making every lifestyle more sustainable, this unique book is a must-read for anyone who questions the purpose of the daily grind. It will inspire you to take less, give more, maximize creativity, and recognize each moment as an opportunity to be – quite simply – better.

Feeling stressed and trapped in a no-win world? Curl up with a cup of tea and this book and begin dreaming of a sustainable future in a better world. —Deborah Niemann, author, Homegrown and Handmade and Ecothrifty

I came away feeling expanded and hopeful — inspired by [Nicole’s] ability to communicate exuberance for new ideas and by her belief in our ability to change — especially her faith in the idea that we are “better together!”—Cecile Andrews, author, Living Room Revolution, Less Is More, Slow Is Beautiful , and Circle of Simplicity

Nicole Caldwell is the co-founder of Better Farm, a 65-acre sustainability campus, organic farm and artists’ colony serving as a blueprint for environmentally conscious living. Her writings have been featured in Mother Earth News, Reader's Digest, and Time