“Be the change you wish to see in the world”
-Gandhi

Rainsource Press is a self-publishing endeavor of Brad Lancaster. The purpose of Rainsource Press is to spread information that can help readers become beneficial stewards of the land and communities where they live. This information has been learned from living it through direct observation, hands-on experience, and studying the good work of others.

Our publications:

More info >>	More info >>	More info >>

The Process

Our books have evolved over a 9-year process. Their production has been largely self-financed through my work teaching, consulting, and designing — and by having a very low cost of living. Many of the strategies discussed in our books have made this possible. As described in Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 1, I live and work in a small house purchased with my brother. It was very rundown and cheap when we got it, and we set out from the beginning to make sure the cost of living there would also be cheap. We harvest over 100,000 gallons of rainwater per year on our property and adjoinging right-of-way. Water-harvesting earthworks support a landscape that helps passively cool our home in summer and heat it in winter. Solar panels on the roof provide us with our electricity. A solar water heater heats the water. And much of our food is produced on site (irrigated with rainwater and/or greywater) or gleaned within the community. I have sought to support my community directly by primarily hiring other self-employed people and using locally-owned businesses in my community to help produce these books. This cycles money in the local economy, much the way I promote cycling water within the landscape. Knowledge is also cycled since everyone working on the project has also shared their own knowledge of striving to live more sustainably in their own way — a bonus to their great skills in editing, design, and illustrations.

If we want clean water we must have clean air and soil. For this reason Rainsource Press prints on minimum 50% post consumer recycled paper in order to reduce the destruction of forests and the watersheds they protect. The only Rainsource Press vehicle is a bicycle, which produces just a fraction of the pollutants generated by motorized vehicles. The bike riding also works great to clear my head, while negating the need to ever have a gym membership.

And finally, we have contracted with Chelsea Green Publishing Company to distribute our books in North America because they also strive to spread the seeds that can create a better world by living it.

Rainsource Press
813 N. 9th Ave.
Tucson, Arizona 85705
USA