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rockies
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 16:22
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There is a thread on here about "What would you do if the Fukushima Reactor blew?" I think a more practical exercise would be to assess your homesteading skills and abilities and make plans to improve them through workshops or reading.
I have noticed over the last several years that there is a growing "survivalist mentality" in North America and that all kinds of people are appearing on tv programs about "surviving the next catastrophe". It would appear, however, that each person only prepares for one type of disaster. One lady stockpiles medicine for the coming world plague, another guy stockpiles weapons and ammo for a "zombie invasion", while someone else waits for the economic collapse that will turn neighbors into ruthless killers. It's like only ONE thing could go wrong and that's all they've planned for. There's even a show about a guy building a medieval castle for his family to hide in.
Personally, I wonder about the sanity of people who prepare for the end of the world, and then go on tv to tell everyone who they are and where they live.
On the other side of the coin, if you had to survive for a time at your cabin without electricity or modern conveniences (either for a week or 6 months) do you know how to make bread? Could you purify water? Do you have enough food? A sustainable heat source? Could you catch a fish and clean/cook it?
This seems to be more realistic use of one's time and money. I started thinking about this after watching a tv show called "Alone in the Wilderness" on PBS. That guy went into the forest and built his cabin by hand, hunted and fished, planted a garden, and basically recycled and reused everything he needed. Of course, he wasn't completely alone since he had a friend bring supplies in every once in a while by sea plane, and his family helped out with things too, but he adapted and survived.
Could you?
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Sambo
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 16:39 - Edited by: Sambo
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I got skills I can't speak of
^lyric from Massive Attack's Flat of the Blade
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creeky
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 17:04
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i grew up camping and hiking and canoeing in the great white north. i think i would survive, with a bit of equipment to get me started.
i love fishing. i know a little bit about wild edibles. simple breads are easy. who can't mix water and flour? Tho. Salt does make it tastier. Some kind of fat or oil is nice. Gives the bread more stretch and chew. You could add a raising agent. And a little spice or herb doesn't hurt.
maybe I'll stick to a somewhat more civilized life.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 17:47
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I suspect that what will happen over the next 40 years or so is that the lower and middle classes will fall farther and farther backwards, by gradual degrees rather than by some huge catastrophe. There will still be food in the grocery store but it will cost far more as a proportion of your income than it does now. Same with medical expenses, maintaining cars, etc. So we will need to grow a portion of our own food, learn to live with ailments that can't be fixed for lack of money, do without cars etc. It's not about surviving in isolation in a post apocalyptic wasteland, but surviving in a landscape that resembles what you live in now except that everyone is poorer and the 'American Dream' of endless prosperity has been replaced with a more harsh reality than we would prefer.
So all the skills we learn and tools we accumulate building small cabins will become necessities rather than the luxuries they are now.
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Salty Craig
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 20:01
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I can ride a unicycle, chop wood, garden, build, weld, turn my eyelids inside out, shoot, fish, swim, run, jump, hide, stalk, boat, fish, row, sail, hunt, build fence, cook, clean, camp, barter, drink, pray, gather eggs, excavate, drive big rigs (CDL), wire, plumb, hang a door, stand on my head, swear at liberals, play ball, trap, read, write, type, count, throw stuff, fetch stuff that was thrown, hit golf balls, and read backwards. Hope I didn't go overboard. Did I mention that I can swim.......
Salty Craig wishing everyone a talented Christmas!!!!!!!
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 20:08 - Edited by: turkeyhunter
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this kind of sums it up...
as ole Hank Jr.says....
The preacher man says it's the end of time
And the Mississippi River she's a goin' dry
The interest is up and the Stock Markets down
And you only get mugged
If you go down town
I live back in the woods, you see
A woman and the kids, and the dogs and me
I got a shotgun rifle and a 4-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive
I can plow a field all day long
I can catch catfish from dusk till dawn
We make our own whiskey and our own smoke too
Ain't too many things these ole boys can't do
We grow good ole tomatoes and homemade wine
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive
Because you can't starve us out
And you cant makes us run
Cuz we're them old boys raised on shotgun
And we say grace and we say Ma'am
And if you ain't into that we don't give a damn
We came from the West Virginia coalmines
And the Rocky Mountains and the and the western skies
And we can skin a buck; we can run a trout line
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive
I had a good friend in New York City
He never called me by my name, just hillbilly
My grandpa taught me how to live off the land
And his taught him to be a businessman
He used to send me pictures of the Broadway nights
And I'd send him some homemade wine
But he was killed by a man with a switchblade knife
For 43 dollars my friend lost his life
Id love to spit some beechnut in that dudes eyes
And shoot him with my old 45
Cause a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive
Cause you can't starve us out and you can't make us run
Cuz we're them old boys raised on shotgun
And we say grace and we say Ma'am
And if you ain't into that we don't give a damn
We're from North California and south Alabam
And little towns all around this land
And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive
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bobrok
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 20:21
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^^^
love that song...
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 20:45
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If you read between the lines or read the posts from the people that are on some of the survivalist web sites you will find that many of the people are trying to survive their own personal SHTF issues. They find comfort with other people going through difficult times.
If you can weed out the personal SHTF people and the nutty Doomsday preppers there is some good advice.
The property we own has everything one would need to survive long term. Shelter,game,fish, wood and clean water. I could survive there and be very happy doing so. I have survived many different things in my life(all is excellent now) that would bring others to their knees.
At this point in my life I am surviving being a female OTR truck driver. There are many men drivers that don't like seeing me out here driving for whatever lame reason. I really have to watch my back. I also have to deal with some awful drivers out here. Just last week I had another truck try to run me off the road on purpose. If I can survive out here than I can survive anywhere.
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Sambo
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 21:00 - Edited by: Sambo
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On the road a lot of people project their negativity on to others. I try my best deal with the facts on the road, less so the emotion. One thing I miss about the big city.... generally speaking big city drivers are too busy to mess around on the road
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Just
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 22:25
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It's our skills in the modern world that has given us the ability to have a small cabin . most of us pay for them by working hard in the city or at least away from the cabin, but we are a creative lot and if need be I think we would have a step up on the average survivor . JUST saying
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bobrok
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 22:47
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Once again, not meaning to hijack:
quoting silverwaterlady:
At this point in my life I am surviving being a female OTR truck driver. There are many, out here driving for whatever lame reason. I really have to watch my back. I also have to deal with some awful drivers out here. Just last week I had another truck try to run me off the road on purpose.
As a 4-wheeler driver who never travels anywhere w/o CH-19 tuned in, are you serious that another 18-wheel driver actually attempted this ON PURPOSE? I know there are some a$$h0l3s on the roads, but actually ON PURPOSE tried to cause you to run off the road? If you don't mind my asking, on what route did this happen?
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 06:57 - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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This was in AR on the I-40 W outside of Little Rock.
You're surprised that this would happen? It's not the first time and probably won't be the last.
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PatrickH
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 10:29 - Edited by: PatrickH
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I have been working on some of these skills people have mentioned they have. I started planting fruit trees 5 years ago and have yet been able to harvest enough fruit to feed my family of 5, we always need to buy from the store. I have blueberries/raseberries and grapes the grapes are tough and have tons of seeds the bluberries need several years to mature to actually produce enough fruit. I have a large strawberry patch 10x20 we get lots of fruit from that and freeze them and eat during the winter. I have also tried planting several types of corn, there is a huge differance. i can plant stuff from seed packs but I really dont know how to properly reproduce the plants without the seed packs. I have also sat and fished for hours and hours without catching anything and sometimes I wont even see a bird the entire weekend when Im up north. I have also built my own place mostly solo with very little power. After doing all these things and actively pursuing my dream of becoming as free a person as possible I think most people under estimate the reality of what it takes to live without any outside influance. The solitude alone would be too much for alot of people. I am schooled in Machining,auto mechanics and Industrial Building Engineering I am a Master ase mechanic,Chrysler Certified transmission specialist,EPA certified universal technician,Have a MN state boilers license and I dont know how to can anything and If I did how long does it last?I can sit at this computer and say how I can do this or that but when if it really came down to it ,Im not sure. Im working on it ,but right now I dont know .I think if it happened tomorrow we might be screwed. It was a high of -1 yesterday. P.S. I love run on sentences!
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Salty Craig
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 11:32
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PatrickH
Just because you are willing to give things a try, I don't have a doubt that in a bad situation you will be fine. You have grit. A lot don't. God bless.
Salty Craig
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rmak
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 14:55
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There was another PBS series some time ago which had as its premise families living like people did in pioneer times. All the families quit the effort except one. The one family survived by making sellable products to other people. The families that failed all lost tremendous amounts of weight, became sickly and acquired a number of health problems including exhaustion. I don't hold out much hope for the majority if a sudden event throws us back in time.
I do agree with the person who said things will go into a general decline. There's hope in that regard, since most of us can learn to adapt.
We have 9 acres, about 5 of it is a dormant farm field we could use to to grow things,. I have an old tractor, plow, disk and tiller. My wife does know how to can, although we have gotten lazy in our older years.. I was in the infantry in the service so I can and will shoot what I need to. I did do survival training with the Rangers when I was in the service as well. We burn a lot of wood, have a generator (I know, I can't make gasoline ) I'm making the cabin we built on our property as self sustaining as possible. If I can keep working I hope to do the same to our home in time.
I grew up fishing, camping, shooting, horse riding and boy scouting. Unfortunately, my three sons showed no interest in that regard. My one son has a philosophy degree, which won't help him out much if things hit the fan. But they are young, strong and healthy and if we all pull together, maybe we can make it.
I have a big concern about government taking thing from us if trouble happens. I'm not anti government, but as a student of history I realize that in real hard times those in power take what they want/need. That's a constant.
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rockies
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 16:00
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There was a British series called "Victorian Farm" where a bunch of people recreated life in rural England during the 1850's. It was amazing to see the stuff the Victorians invented in order to do farm labor, and all the things to run a household that were made by hand. I hope if things are a "gradual decline over several decades" that people will begin to learn about heirloom seeds, bread making, how to make yogurt,cheese, butter, etc, as well as preserve food and other "basic skills". It's surprising, though, how so many people who long to live on the land (or who already have a place) still bring everything out from the city. They don't even have a garden, and if their electricity failed they would be in the same boat as everyone else. At least own a manual can-opener!
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Kudzu
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 16:30
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I can shoot a rifle better than average and I own land, nuff said.
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OwenChristensen
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 21:09
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I'm not sure. I'm sure a lot of us can adjust. I would depends on what we can get or what we've lost. If I can get diesel, I could garden easy. Yes, I could hunt, but taking game weekly might start to deplete the opportunities in the future. firewood will last, I have a big woods. It would be nice to have a cash crop of some kind, so maybe we could buy some staples.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 21:22
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Prepper light here. I have loads of skills, tools, supplies. If you had a prepper community, who would you add? They have to be able to contribute. I'm one of those guys that can contribute lots.
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Sambo
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 21:51 - Edited by: Sambo
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People are going to help each other more than be divided, especially away from big city centers. Now if vegetation and water were affected by contaminants or organisms to the point of waste or uselessness ...I'd imagine few people if any will survive.
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Borrego
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 22:33
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Water will be the key....now if you had a place in the middle of nowhere with an endless supply of pure water, you'd be set. But you'd have to be able to get there in the event of a crisis....... Oh, and you'll need ammo to protect it....
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hattie
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 23:47 - Edited by: hattie
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Bob can hunt and build things and fix pretty much anything I manage to break.
We both garden and I preserve our fruit and veggies. I also cook a lot (grouse and rabbit included) and make bread (no yeast needed for sour dough bread).
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MJW
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# Posted: 9 Dec 2013 10:19
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Quoting: rockies Personally, I wonder about the sanity of people who prepare for the end of the world, and then go on tv to tell everyone who they are and where they live.
Exactly! I have always said this myself.
A big part of prepping, in my mind, anyway, is to be discreet about it. If everyone knows you have a stockpile, where do you think they are heading if the shtf?
While not a hard-core prepper, I do have some fear of the direction the world is heading. I guess if I were to speculate, I would say that I figure the scenario would most likely be something between a total shtf event and the scenario bldginsp described.
I also agree with silverwaterlady on gathering info from prepper sites and differentiating between the actual common sense people and the obsessed doomsdayers.
My wife and I had been wanting to have our own place away from the city for a while and what I tried to do was create a balance between something that would be able to sustain us if the worst happened while not being some bugout type compound.
I think we accomplished that as well as possible while still being reasonable.
We have 14 acres. Enough to grow what we need and support enough livestock for those needs. There is enough firewood on it to supply us on an ongoing basis.
We are 3+ hours from major cities.
While we are rural, we are relatively close to major highways.
We have a well with above ground water storage and are installing solar now.
We have a propane stove now but have a small cookstove in storage in case it is ever needed.
I am not a master carpenter by any means but I have alot more building skills than I have ever had before.
My wife and I both were raised in families that grow gardens. We had a very small one this year and are planning a much larger one next year. We are acquiring the tools we need for a large garden and are focusing on hand tools as I realize that gas powered tools will be useless in the case of a shtf scenario.
She has considerable canning knowledge and canned several things this year and currently preserves and bakes.
She is an extreme couponer and while I am not in charge of the inventory, I would guess that at any time we have a minimum 6 month supply of food in the house and in storage.
We have just about completed our firearm collection and are now building our ammo supply. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find 22 ammo around here.
I would have described myself as another "prepper light" but after reading this post...damn...it looks like I am dangerously close to falling in with the doomsday folk. 
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cottonpicker
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# Posted: 9 Dec 2013 10:22
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I have no doubt that I could survive an off grid, wilderness type environment.
I feel that I am better equipped, skills wise, than the average person.
I base this on the following factors;
I was born in 1936 on a farm in the Mississippi Delta flat lands.
I helped to plant, grow & harvest & preserve garden vegatables, field crops, fruit orchard & nut groves.
We caught, by various methods, prepared & consumed fish & turtles from the River on our farm.
From our fields & woods we harvested, prepared & consumed such animals such as deer, rabbit, squirrell & raccoon.
We raised our own hog meat.
We gathered & consumed wild fruits & nuts & "Borrowed" wild honey from wild bees.
We preserved by canning, smoking & salting enough food to help us survive until the next growing season.
I got to be an expert shot & to miss a shot at wild game was almost embarressing! LOL
At age 18 I joined the Military for a 20 year hitch including Vietnam, 69-70. I shot both Expert & Sharpshooter & still have the certificates.
I learned a lot about survival while growing up & I learned a lot more since.
I am 77 years old & working full time for Civil Service at the local Air Force Base.
I would liquidate & move into the off grid wilderness type life in a minute but my Wife strongly vetos the idea.
SOOOO, I have pipe dreams of what could be. LOL
Cottonpicker
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 9 Dec 2013 12:27
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I've got skills that I've spent a lifetime aquiring. Grandpa came over on the boat and while back in England was at the top of his trade started at the bottom in the US. He had to make due.
Dad was raise during the depression and was taught by his father how to make due
Dad had five sons. We were all taught electrical, plumbing, mechanical, construction, how to live in and off the land. I was a boy scout where all my leaders were WWII vets and we camp in the dead of upstate winter all of the time. I mountain climbed in my younger years. On the mountain you need to be able to take care of yourself. I have sewn myself back up as there is no urgent care when you are hanging off a rock face. I do have advanced first aid skills and I'm a certified Red Cross trainer. My brother was a medic during Vietnam.
I alway keep in my cabin and house provisions so if I had to live there for a period, I could. Simple things like rice, flour, salt and various goods that will keep long term. I even have a supply of MREs.
I live in an urban environment. When Rodney King outrage struck I had a mob marching down my street. So those of you that think the SHTF doesn't happen well it can for many reasons both natural and otherwise but I don't live in fear.
BE PREPARED for whatever even if it's just being snowed in and without power for weeks. My family and I will be on the surivived side because of these skills and mentality.
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ErinsMom
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# Posted: 9 Dec 2013 20:39
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Common sense!
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TheWildMan
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2013 08:56
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those shows are all about sensationalism, they rely on a hatchet job of the footage to make people look crazy and stupid so the show gets better ratings, they also trump up the drama.
that said, I have lived most of my life in extreme poverty, for only 2 of the last 30 years did I have running water (the 2 years were because of college dorm water, but that was 8 years ago). I relied only on wood heat, and lived without electric. I scavenged, gardened, hunted, trapped, fished and foraged to make a living.
I live year round in a tiny off grid cabin and spend a lot of my time growing field crops with hand tools, cutting wood and making/repairing tools. I grow most of my own food and turn fields with a Pulaski tool (can't afford a fancy tiller, plow or horse). plant by hand, harvest, and preserve the harvest, saving seed for the next season.
most of those shows are overblown and pander to middle class suburb types like a circus. most of the doomsday scenarios are extremely unlikely and most of those folks wouldn't make it. that said humanity has faced severe breakdowns in the past. after rome fell the people just stayed local and lived off local resources and farming. in the depression the cities suffered greatly, the dust bowl affected a lot of farms, but small rural farmers and the poor rode it out like nothing had changed.
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Sustainusfarm
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2013 13:16
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I know a little bit about a lot of different subjects...I also like to learn new skills....I have made bread, canned produce etc. but what about remembering how to make bread or the canning times of all those different items?? A lot of us have all these links saved to our computers so we can go back and learn when we have time...however, should the power go down that would be all lost! I have made it a habit now of printing off things that I think I will need to know and putting them into a binder under catagories so they are easily searchable....that way I don't have to make bread everyday to remember how to do it....or remember how many minutes a certain veggie needs to process in the canner...
Gardening is second nature to me...that I know really well! I can graft apples, grapes or reproduce plants to make more for sale.
I have chickens in the city so I can learn how to take care of them...they are fun too!
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Rossman
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2013 13:33 - Edited by: Rossman
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Quoting: Sustainusfarm A lot of us have all these links saved to our computers so we can go back and learn when we have time...however, should the power go down that would be all lost!
I bought this to help with that! Worst case scenario, at least I have all of wikipedia on hand!
TheWildMan - it's incredible to me that you don't have running water, but, you do still have the internet!
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Sustainusfarm
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2013 14:05
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Rossman, that is great! But, it still requires power...
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