How “The Poor Man’s Cow” Will Keep You Alive and Healthy

[Editor's Note: Keeping with the theme that stuff runs out, it's wise to build sustainable, resilient resources that transition easily from a pre to a post collapse scenario. If you have a little land, goats are an option to consider. Barbara Peterson is proving that "the poor man's cow" can keep you alive.]

A Goat Will Keep You Alive

by Barbara H. Peterson

Source: Farm Wars

When thinking about survival prepping, most think of collecting as many dried foods as possible to last for as many years as possible, along with whatever other supplies will be needed to take care of oneself and family without having to visit the supermarket, which, in most scenarios, will not be functioning in a post-crash world.

To this discussion, I would like to add something a bit out of the box. And that is – a goat will keep you alive. Yes, it’s true, and I have spent the last several weeks proving just that.

The survival system that I decided on was geared towards providing me and mine with fresh, whole food that is renewable and sustainable. So, I purchased two milking goats to go along with my garden. One is an Alpine cross whom I named Sunny, and the other a Mini Mancha (La Mancha and Nigerian Dwarf cross) who goes by the name of Fiona. They were pregnant when I bought them, and almost ready to kid.

I have to admit that I knew Alpines were good milkers, but had no idea what a Mini Mancha would do, and was delightfully surprised when it came time for milking at the amount that my little gal produces. For such a small individual, she is a powerhouse.

So, with these two ladies by my side, I began my journey into food freedom. Could my ladies actually keep me alive and healthy? I would soon find out.

The Experiment

The babies were born the first week of February, and I did not milk until I weaned them at 2 months of age. After that, I started milking twice per day and get 1 – 1 ½ gallons per day. Since my ladies started producing I haven’t eaten much of anything that doesn’t come from the ranch and/or local sources.

Why a goat?

My first thought was nutrition. Could I really get the nutrition I need from a diet of goat milk, veggies and fruit? So, I looked up a bit of nutritional information:

Nutrition

Goat milk is also a healthier alternative to cow milk. Why? Cow milk has to be homogenized to be more easily digested, which is a process where the fat globules are broken down. However, this is not necessary with goat milk because it is naturally homogenized. Therefore goat milk is much more easily digested than cow milk is.

Goat milk has more of the essential vitamins that we need. Goat milk has 13% more calcium, 25% percent more B6, 47% percent more vitamin A, and 27% more selenium. It also has more chloride, copper, manganese, potassium, and niacin than cow milk. It also produces more silicon and fluorine than any other dairy animal. Silicon and fluorine can help prevent diabetes.

Scientist are not sure why, but people who are lactose intolerant can often drink goat milk without having to worry about side effects. Goat milk does not cause phlegm like cow milk does, so you can drink goat milk even when you have a cold or bad allergy problems.

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issues/83/83-4/Daniel_Peterson.html

For a complete nutritional breakdown comparing goat milk to cow and human milk, go toFias Co Farm.

Ease of upkeep

The next concern was how easy are they to keep? It turns out that they are the best bet for the money when it comes to dairy critters. Goats are less time consuming, eat less, and are less labor intensive than cows, making them much more economical. They are also browsers and not grazers, meaning that they will eat stuff that cows simply will not touch, and can be used to clear weeds. If you turn them out on your property to browse, they will eat brush and weeds, leaving you with cleared, fertilized land, sans the heavy machinery and spendy store-bought fertilizers. Just be careful of the weeds that they eat as the taste will end up in your milk.

Often the dairy goat has been called the “poor man’s cow,” because good dairy goats do not cost near as much as good dairy cows do. You can raise more goats on a smaller amount of pasture than you can cows. While it takes an acre for a cow/calf, you can successfully raise six goats on one acre. Cows usually have only one calf per year, while goats have two kids (that’s what you call a young goat) after their second year. Pound for pound a good dairy goat will produce more milk than a cow will. Unlike a cow, a good dairy goat can produce up to 10% of its body weight in milk.

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issues/83/83-4/Daniel_Peterson.html

Choosing your goat

There are several breeds to choose from, and what is right for one, might not be right for another.

The most frequently asked question that people ask me about goats is, ”What is the difference in each breed’s milk taste, and how much milk do they average.” And that is always one of the hardest questions to answer, simply because there really aren’t any solid answers I can give! Each individual goat is going to have its own amount of milk it’s going to give, and it’s going to have its own taste. Think of it like a grab bag. You never know what you’re going to get.

But that sounds rather discouraging. How on earth is a body supposed to choose a goat breed if they’re hesitant about each one? Over the years, I’ve had the privilege to own almost all the dairy breeds out there, and then try the milk from countless of other goats. Through much experience (read: trial and error as we bought goats that gave horrid tasting milk!), I’ve gotten to know each breed’s quirks and histories, and I’ve come to realize that it actually is possible to give people an idea of what to expect from each breed.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/choosing-a-dairy-goat-breed.aspx#ixzz2TlWeV9xJ

Saanen, Alpine, Nubian, Toggenburg, Oberhaslis, La Mancha, Nigerian Dwarf, and combinations thereof are the main dairy breeds. I would rather not get hooked on buying a purebred since they are more expensive, and certain crosses yield excellent milk, in my opinion. My gals are both crosses and their milk is wonderful.

So, when you are looking for your milking goat, go with taste, volume, temperament, size of teats if you are hand milking, and orifice size. You can determine all of these things if you go to the place where you are considering purchasing your goat and observe the hands on experience. Watch the goats to see how they relate to each other, watch your prospect getting milked, ask questions, and taste her milk. I always recommend buying from a trusted source, and if in doubt, get a vet check before purchase.

Preparing for your goat

I asked the local goat-keeper what type of fencing my girls would need. He said that if I can make an enclosure that would hold water, I should be able to keep them in at all times…. Okay! A challenge. Well, I ended up with a 52” fence because I used large pallets. So far, it has worked. My friend uses 5’ high woven wire fencing. That is optimal, but since the pallets were free, that is what I chose.

The feeder is outside of the pen, allowing them to put their heads through the holes and eat without trampling it on the ground and soiling it. Hay nets are another option, but if your goat has horns, she can get them caught in the hay net.

Large dog houses are excellent shelters, but just about anything can be used such as a raised camper shell, a-frame structures, etc. Basically, your goats need to have some place dry and out of the elements to get to. A good straw bedding inside will keep them warm, dry and happy, and provide a good kidding area.

They will also need a good supply of fresh, clean water. Goats do not like dirty water, and if you live in freezing conditions you will need to get a water heater. I use 5 gallon buckets that are cleaned regularly.

Keeping your goat healthy

Feed

You will want to get a good supply of high quality hay for your girls. I let the babies browse the ranch, but the milking mamas get a controlled feed so that the taste of the milk can be regulated. As I stated before, whatever they eat affects the taste of the milk. If you cannot get feed for your girls, they can be turned out to forage in an emergency and will do just fine as long as there is plenty of grass and other vegetation. Click HERE for a list of edible and poisonous plants for goats.

Each goat needs 2 to 4 pounds of hay each day, although some of this need can be met by available pasture or other forage. Make it available free choice throughout the day when pasture is unavailable or feed twice a day when goats are also browsing.

You can feed alfalfa (and some grass hays) in pellet form if you don’t have storage or if you want to mix it with grain. The goats don’t waste so much alfalfa when it’s in pellets, and you can limit who gets it by combining it with their grain.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-to-feed-your-goats.html

I am currently feeding a free-choice oat/pea hay combination along with a non-GMO dairy goat pellet , whole oats, rolled barley, alfalfa pellets, timothy grass pellets, and molasses. They also get free-choice loose minerals and baking soda.

Worming

When it is time to worm, I mix food grade diatomaceous earth with their grain ration along with a bit of warm water and molasses to coat everything so that it all gets eaten. Here is some info about diatomaceous earth:

Food grade diatomaceous earth makes a very effective natural insecticide. The insecticidal quality of diatomaceous earth is due to the razor sharp edges of the diatom remains. When diatomaceous earth comes in contact with the insects, the sharp edges lacerate the bugs waxy exoskeleton and then the powdery diatomaceous earth absorbs the body fluids causing death from dehydration.

Food grade diatomaceous earth has been used for at least two decades as a natural wormer for livestock. Some believe diatomaceous earth scratches and dehydrates parasites. Some scientists believe that diatomaceous earth is a de-ionizer or de-energizer of worms or parasites. Regardless, people report definite control. To be most effective, food grade diatomaceous earth must be fed long enough to catch-all newly hatching eggs or cycling of the worms through the lungs and back to the stomach. A minimum of 60 days is suggested by many, 90 days is advised for lungworms.

Food grade diatomaceous earth works in a purely physical/mechanical manner, not “chemical” and thus has no chemical toxicity. Best yet, parasites don’t build up a tolerance/immunity to its chemical reaction, so rotation of wormers is unnecessary.

http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

Injury care

Goats are hardy creatures, so a bit of prevention goes a long way. I keep Povidone Iodine around for minor cuts, along with hydrogen peroxide and colloidal silver. My medical kit is stocked with sterile cotton, vet-wrap, sharp scissors, an enema bottle, small bottles of hydrogen peroxide, colloidal silver and Betadine, cotton swabs, thermometer, and small towels.

Trimming feet

Your milking stand can also be used to secure your goats for hoof trimming.

Comprehensive instructions along with pictures can be found by clickingHERE. Also, remember to keep a bottle of blood-stop powder handy just in case you trim a little too deep and draw blood. If this happens, simply sprinkle a bit on, and that will stop the bleeding.

To horn or not to horn

Most goat people will insist on disbudding the babies. I don’t. I know that this is a contentious subject, but clearly, goats are born with them and they serve a purpose. We disbud (remove) them for our own personal convenience, not theirs. The choice is yours, as I have already made mine. Here is an article that supports my belief:

Yes, horns get in the way. Yes, they can cause some damage. But did you know that in most countries, disbudding is considered akin to surgically removing a leg, or ears, or an udder? And  well it should be, in my book. That said, goat owners have to take their individual circumstances into consideration. Maybe, if I had a lot of little kids around, I might think differently. But I would probably just do what I did when my kids were little and there were sharp pointy goat horns around: put tennis balls, or some sort of rubber, squishy thing, on the end of the horns.Worked great. Goats didn’t care. No eyes got poked out.  If I had a bajillion goats in a small space, maybe I would disbud. If I was going to show my goats, I’d have to – it’s THE LAW. Hmmm. I’m not showing. In my particular case, I’m willing to make management changes in order to let my goats be goats.

http://dancingdogfarm.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/why-we-believe-goats-should-have-horns/

If you decide to disbud, click HERE for some instructions.

Milking

A happy goat is a good milking goat. At first arrival to a new home, your goat will take some time to get used to her surroundings. Since they are herd animals, they like company. So, a compatible goat buddy is better for your goat than being the lone stranger.

Goats can hold back their milk of they are unhappy, and if they are satisfied, can deliver it easily. It is really up to them. This means that developing a good relationship with them is paramount. When I started milking my mamas, I sang to them. Now that we are in a routine, and they love routines, I open the gate and they run to the milking stand. This took a bit of doing.

At first, Fiona didn’t want to get on. She hadn’t been milked on a stand before and would have none of it. I had to lift her up and place her on it. Well, that wasn’t going to last for long, so I started only giving them grain when they were on the stand. Problem solved.  They now associate the stand with grain, and the longer I milk, the more grain they get to eat, so they give me as much milk as possible.

Click HERE for detailed instructions on how to hand milk a goat. I like to use a mild solution of warm water and apple cider vinegar for an udder wash and teat dip.

Click HERE for detailed instructions on how to construct a milking stand.

If you have more than a couple of goats, and you will after kidding, you might want to invest in a milking machine. I invested in an aspirator purchased from an eBay seller for $109, some hose for $25, a couple of replacement batteries for $25, two fittings, a dosing syringe, and a gallon jar with lid that I had around the house. My friend had already made one, so she put the fittings and hose together for me, and showed me how to use it.

The main thing to remember about goat milk is that it will pick up the flavor of anything it comes in contact with. Therefore, cleanliness will yield the best tasting milk. Also, I don’t let my milk come in contact with plastic containers. I use a stainless steel bucket and glass jars. Immediately after milking, I strain the milk into a glass jar and place it in the fridge to cool. No “goaty” taste for me! People who taste my milk say it tastes like creamy, sweet cow’s milk. They can’t tell it’s from a goat.

Food  and other stuff

When I say that a goat will keep you alive, I mean it. Here is a typical day’s meal:

Breakfast:

Goat milk smoothie – goat milk, whatever fruit is handy and honey placed in a blender and blended until smooth and creamy, or goat milk and homemade granola made with oats, fruit and nuts.

Lunch:

Goat cheese and spinach salad.

Dinner:

Vegetable soup and homemade bread made with whey from the cheesemaking process.

Snack:

Goat ice-milk mixed with fruit, nuts, and any other flavors you like.

 

Here are pics of a couple of the cheeses that I make with stuff from the garden, goat milk and apple cider vinegar.

Walking Onion Goat Cheese

Wild Celery Goat Cheese

I also feed the whey and excess milk to the cats and chickens. It keeps them fat and healthy.

You can also make a very mild and gentle soap from goat milk.

<iframe width=”640″ height=”360″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/HuZxsdWUTI8?feature=player_embedded&#8221; frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>

Packing

Goats are also used for packing, and will leave a much more invisible footprint than other animals such as donkeys and horses.

Conclusion

The results of my experiment are that I am feeling strong, energetic, am definitely healthy, and do not feel one bit deprived. And what do I owe it to? My two milking mamas, fresh fruit, veggies, local honey and a penchant for independence. I am confident that if the store shelves run dry, I can still eat healthy, good tasting food and get the nutrition that I need. A goat will keep you alive.

©2013 Barbara H. Peterson

Author bio: Barbara Peterson, Writer/Activist, lives on a small ranch in Oregon where she raises geese, chickens, goats and horses. This rural lifestyle is under attack at the most basic level. Federal regulations and the corporate takeover of our food supply with Monsanto’s invasive GMO technology is designed to make it next to impossible to raise animals and organic food.

It is time to step up to the plate and fight or lose it all without a whimper. Choose to take a stand and fight. We can make a difference.

You may contact her on her site at FarmWars.com. 

Related articles

• Goat Milk Soap (zadroznypracticeblog.wordpress.com)

 

Who’s Your Influencer?

by Todd Walker

John C. Maxwell once said that leadership is influence. Having the position ‘leader’ means nothing. You’re only a leader if people are following you. Otherwise you’re just taking a long walk by yourself.

I’ve been there, done that, and got the lesson I deserved.

Position does not equal leadership. A wise leader must understand that he/she may hold the title of ‘leader’ in an organization, or group, or family – but not be the real leader. If you’re in that scenario, your job is to influence the influencer – their voice gets heard over positional leaders.

When times are rosy, this principle applies. After the SHTF, leadership becomes even more important.

Here’s why.

I’ve read leadership styles promoted within the prepper community. Many have said that it’s crucial that one person take control of their retreat group or prepping community. No ruling by committee. A single leader needs to micro manage everything.

The problem I have with this model is – what if that person is not the influencer? Force and coercion would be needed to make followers follow.

Pride in position blurs a leader’s vision. Misguided assumption #1 – I’m the appointed ‘leader’ so people should follow. If they don’t, I’ll make them. That’s coercion, pure and simple. A leader is a leader when people voluntarily follow. Swallowing your pride is the first step to being an effective leader.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.

We’ve all seen real life examples of top down leadership. Dictates come from the top and everyone below is expected to jump. Our military, corporate world, schools, churches, and even our government are models of this centralized system of control. Fear of reprisal keeps followers following. Forced association wins.

I have more questions than answers on leadership. Is our present model the cause of the mess we’re in now? Why do we need to be told what to do, what to think, and how to act? Can individuals practicing self-ownership thrive in a group? Who owns you? Can we really self-govern? Why do we clammer for a “leader?”

What I’ve unlearned from school history class (this has taken a lifetime) is that individual initiative is far superior to listening to dictates from a Dear Leader. Schools teach compliance. So does organized religion along with all the previously mentioned institutions.

Here’s a way to determine your follow-ability. Try this the next time you’re in a church service. When it comes time to bow your head, close your eyes, and pray, do the opposite. Keep you eyes open and look around while you pray. Pay attention to how you feel. Do you feel defiant? Does it seem ‘wrong’? Does God really care if you pray with your eyes open – in a church service?

Did you feel a creepy uneasiness crawl up you legs and spine? If so, ask yourself why? This doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s just a simple test to determine the level of your programming. To what degree do you feel programmed to comply?

Here’s another experiment. When they pass out the donation card during a job luncheon or faculty meeting to raise money for the United Way or Relay for Life or other charity, to give your company or school bragging rights for meeting the fundraising goal – sign the card and write why you are not giving across the top of the card. Don’t give because you’re expected to give. If you choose to give, give anonymously where no one can give you credit. It saves a lot of chest thumping.

Not participating in this public display of giving may have made you uneasy. Why? The unease is planted in you by the collective to influence you to “fill in the blank” and comply. The goal is to destroy your ability to provide for yourself and your family.

You might be shocked to find one or two others that don’t participate in compliance rituals. You’ve just discovered that some people reject mass compliance and think for themselves. Connect with these people. They are unconventional, independent thinkers, and good influencers.

Finding your influencers

Below I’ve compiled a list of non-compliant influencers that have helped me on my journey to self-sufficiency, liberty, and freedom.

Lew Rockwell - The most viewed libertarian site on the planet. Coming from a lifetime R voter, I highly recommend you read this site at least once a week. Daily is better.

Mark Sisson - The godfather of the primal/paleo lifestyle movement. He changed my lifestyle and attitude towards food, personal responsibility, and primal prepping.

John Taylor Gatto - He’s responsible for confirming what I’ve always thought about our public school system. Whether you like schooling or not, you’ll enjoy his poetic skill with words.

James Wesley Rawles - I discovered SurvivalBlog 6 years ago and have applied many concepts from his blog and books – even though I’m not moving to an unknown Western state.

Durable Faith - DF is someone I respect highly for his lifestyle of no-compromise and his pursuit to wake up the institutional church. He’s the guy you’d see ramming a whaling ship with a dingy if he was in GreenPeace.

Daisy Luther - A frequent contributor to this blog, Daisy is an activist prepper I hold in high regard. Love her style!

Claire Wolfe - Not only great at preparedness stuff, she’s Freedom Outlaw worth your time.

Gaye Levy - Practical prepping advice without all the hype.

Brain Clark is responsible for waking me up to the realization that there really is no box to get outside of. He’s the founder and CEO of Copyblogger Media. While I don’t advertise on my site, I’ve found his copywriting principles have improved my writing – at least in my mind.

You – my Sherpa community

Dirt Road Girl – I saved her for last. She inspires me. Y’all should see her write. Maybe she’ll listen to your request to share stuff on this blog. I’m still trying to convince her to start posting here.

Your turn. Who has influenced your lifestyle of preparedness, self-reliance, and liberty? Please let us know in the comments.

 

 

 

 

50 Ways to Build Resilient Wealth Before and After a Collapse

by Todd Walker

“Lordy, we’s got to have a doctor! I don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin babies!”

That’s when Scarlett says, “You told me you knew everything!”

“I don’t know why I lied!”

Does this famous scene from “Gone With The Wind” sum up how you feel sometimes? You feel you don’t know nothing about escaping the caged wheel inside your cubicle.

That may be true, but you do know enough to turn your knowledge and skills into extra income.

The best place to succeed is where you are with what you have ~ Charles Schwab

Conventional prepper wisdom tells us to get our beans, bullets, and Band Aids in order. This strategy, which I embrace, begs the question(s): What then? What do you do after you have squirreled away this consumable stuff? Is it enough? How long before your stuff runs out? How long before the rubber seals on your buckets deteriorate?

These questions nag you like a loose tooth.

Once you come to the un-Pollyannic conclusion that your survival cache will run out,  you have to ask the main question, “Is survival enough?” Maybe it is – for the short-term.

Survival skills and stuff are necessary after any disaster. Merely surviving is not what I signed up for in my preparedness contract. You probably didn’t either. You’d like to have your post-SHTF coffee and drink it too – with heavy whipping cream! Could I do without? Sure, for short periods of time.

This requires an outside-the-bunker mindset (unless you enjoy bunker living). If you plan is to hunker down in a remote, hidden hole somewhere, you’ll have to eventually come up for air where the zombies and biker gangs rome. Stuff runs out.

Adopting a non-survivalist mentality may fit the bunker-less among us – present company included. What’s that mean? This is the Survival Sherpa blog, right? Correct. But there’s more to us than mere survival. We promote a lifestyle that would be worth living both now and after economic collapse.

I’ve read that during the Great Depression, the deficit was 40% of our total US GDP. Today it’s 105%. I’m on the tail end of the baby boomer generation. I don’t have plans to retire. I’m not dreaming of eating crumbs from the Social Security Ponzi scheme.

What’s our strategy? Build resilience physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. This is our long-term strategy. It takes time. But it’s worth the effort and investment.

When our fiat dollars become useful only in the outhouse and fireplace, you’ll be ahead of the herd. The key to producing resilient wealth now and after a collapse is to find a way to add value and improve the quality of life for others.

Here’s a few ideas that will help you build resilient skills that produce wealth before and possible after the illusion explodes.

[I've designated each with 'Pre', 'Post', or 'Both'. The transfer of some 'Pre' items to a post-collapse world will be dependent on things like technology and available resources like electricity or the internet. Make use of these modern conveniences while we've got them. Many on my list will transfer to 'Post' seamlessly. I hope 'Both' is self-explanatory.]

1. Pre: Write an e-book and self-publish.

2. Pre: Publish instructional videos and tutorials.

3. Both: Nanny for kids and elderly

4. Both: Food buyers club. The relationships you build with food producers would carry over into a post collapse environment.

5. Pre: Freelance writing

6. Both: Blacksmithing and metal work

7. Both: Seamstress

8. Both: Carpentry

9. Both: Plumbing/Electrical – especially for installing alternative energy systems.

10. Both: Cooking. People have to eat. We enjoy good food. Market your recipes. Tess Pennington over at Ready Nutrition has done just that with her new book, “The Prepper’s Cookbook.”

11. Both: Medical skills. After the SHTF, the free market will determine who’s capable in the field of medicine – not a framed piece of paper on an office wall.

12. Both: Wild food foraging. Learn more on this here.

13. Both: Education/tutoring service

14. Both: Musician/Entertainer

15. Both: Build a barter network

16. Both: Animal husbandry

17. Both: Gardening/permaculture

18. Both: Gunsmith

19: Both: Mechanic for diesel and gas engines

20. Both: Biodiesel production

21. Both: Well boring. Having the equipment to bore water wells makes you a valuable asset.

22. Both: Portable sawmill. People will always want and need lumber. In a post collapse world, energy to run a mill might be a challenge. Explore steam power and biodiesel as alternative fuel.

23. Both: Draft animal trainer. This skill might be more valuable in a post world.

24. Both: Timber frame construction. In the past, raising a barn or home with primitive tools within a community was common place. Having the skills and tools to do so would ensure place you at the top of the producer list in your group.

25: Both: Alternative energy expert – solar, hydro, wood gasification, etc.

26: Both: Make charcoal. It’s mainly a hobby in our pre world. I can see it being value adder after a collapse.

27: Both: Heavy equipment operator. Barter with the guy making biodiesel to keep the machines running.

28. Both: Lumberjack. Post world lumberjack tools will look much different from today. Axes, crosscut saws, draft animals and sleds, files, wedges, and sledgehammers come to mind.

29. Both: Preserving food – smoking, pickling, canning, etc. Practicing more primitive techniques now would be useful in a post world.

30. Both: Building chicken coops/tractors for backyard poultry.

31. Both: Unconventional housing – cob, bail, rammed earth, earth homes, etc.

32. Both: Mobil butcher and meat processor. Instead of hauling livestock to a distant location, this local option might be welcomed by farmers. This would bridge a gap from farm to dinner plate.

33. Both: Marketing and distribution of products. This service bridges the gap between the producers and the consumers. Start small and keep it local. Look for bigger opportunities to grow your business. It’s a win-win-win for the producer, consumer, and you.

34. Both: Distilling spirits. If you don’t think alcohol will be in demand after TSHTF, think again. Its role won’t be just consumption either. Think medicinal and sanitation.

35. Both: Water purification. Essential to life.

36. Both: Appliance repair man/woman. Fixing stuff that breaks is a skill worth knowing.

37. Both: Dumpster diving. A friend of mine rescues ‘trash’ that he finds in dumps. His most recent find was a 18 volt Dewalt drill. He tinkered with it and now uses it in his construction business. Trash into treasure.

38. Both: Soap and candle maker. Handmade soaps and candles are very popular now. Could you become one of these local artisans?

39. Both: Shoe repair/leather work. My mama has the shoe lass that her daddy used to make and repair shoes for her and her nine siblings during the Great Depression.

40. Both: Herbalist. Healing with herbs and homeopathic methods.

41. Both: Luxury items. Even in a post collapse world, we will want our creature comforts to make life seem more normal. Small things like chocolate or a steaming cup of coffee would brighten things up.

42. Pre: Sell stuff on eBay, Craigslist, and other online sites.

43. Pre: Blogging. The vast majority of blogs don’t make big money. Successful sites make lots of money. The conventional approach is to produce great content which draws high traffic. You would then sell advertising on your site. I made a decision to not use advertising on this blog. I’m getting lots of requests from vendors to advertise here. But I want to stick with my no advertising policy.

44. Pre: Photography. Sell your stock photos online.

45. Both: Own land. They don’t make anymore of this stuff. Productive farmland has doubled in price since last year. Even with small acreage, people are able to produce supplemental income. Our local farmers market has several vendors that use limited space to grow and sell organic vegetables.

46. Both: Lease your skills. Offer your knowledge through classes. Build authority in your field and teach others the skills you’ve honed for a fee.

47. Both: Sell seeds. We take for granted that we can run to the garden center and buy seeds for our garden. Heirloom, open-pollenated varieties are hard to come by locally. You could start a seed swap if your area doesn’t have a community of seed savers. Here’s a rare seed company you might be interested in checking out.

48. Consulting. This list alone could go on for pages. For our intent here, we’ll stick to the realm of sustainability, survival, prepping, and resilience: Water, energy, security, food, etc. There are few limits to the list. Be creative. Build authority. Add value.

49. Pre. Retreat and relocation service. Survival Blog has several examples of everyday folks who have developed niche markets to serve Mr. Rawles’ vision of moving to sparsely populated areas. He has promoted the American Redoubt on his site for people wanting to and are able to relocate. You can read Pastor Chuck Baldwin’s reasons for moving to Montana here. A son of Mr. Rawles operates SurvivalRealty.com aimed at helping find survival retreats. Todd Savage started Survival Retreat Consulting to help serve this niche market.

50. Both: Midwifery. How valuable would it be if Prissy possessed these skills? I don’t know nothing about birthing babies. Do you?

This is a simple list to get you thinking. More came to my mind when compiling this list. But I figured 50 was a good, round number to get us started. What would you add? Add yours in the comment section.

Keep doing the stuff,

Todd

P.S.

Please feel free to use this anyway you wish. Sharing part or all of this post is fine with me. Simply include a link to this website giving credit to the author.

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This One Step is Guaranteed to Continually Improve Your Preps

by Todd Walker

You want to improve your preps.

I know this because you’re reading Survival Sherpa. Our motto here is, “Helping each other on the climb to self-reliance and preparedness…the Survival Sherpa way…One step at a time.”

I also realize that you are afraid of change. You’d like things to stay the same. But you also feel the tsunami coming and want to head to high ground. You’re worried that all the boats will sink. You don’t have enough time, energy, and resources to get there.

Here a truth that set me free. Preparedness is a journey, not a destination. You’ll never arrive! But what if you only had to change one thing to be better prepared, you’d think I was crazy, right?

Headlines often promise more than they deliver. But this one simple step really will increase your level of preparedness, self-sufficiency, and resilience.

What’s the one step?

Prepping Kaizen!

What’s Kaizen? Breaking the word down, “kai” means change/make better, “zen” means good. Apply the word to prepping and it means “continuous improvement.”

Kaizen was practiced here in the U.S. during the great depression and later to help rebuild Japan after WW II. Once it took root, it helped this war-torn country bounce back and become a dominate economic power. I own one of their success stories – a Toyota Forerunner. It just turned over 235,000 miles. I’d say it’s middle-aged now, thanks to kaizen – and regular maintenance.

Preparing for the coming chaos may look like a cooked elephant sitting on your table, so add a little Prepping Kaizen to help clean your plate.

That’s the purpose of this article – to help you bounce back from whatever gets thrown at you… without being overwhelmed. If you’re new to prepping, you may feel like throwing your hands up in despair. You’ve  managed to click away from a well-meaning, self-proclaimed expert prepper blog extolling you to get ready for the zombie apocalypse. Anxiety grips your mind and emotions.

“You mean I’ve got to have 10,000 thousands rounds of ammo, one years worth of food storage, and live off grid – by next month!?!”

None of these are bad if that’s you goal. But for those newly initiated to preparedness, this is a blueprint for burnout.

This is where Prepper Kaizen comes in handy.

You see, you don’t need to have to have it all. You never will anyway. But what you do need is the ability to see the whole picture and take the small, simple steps, master these, and look back at how much you’ve improved and accomplished. Those weekly Buy-One-Get-One deals at the grocery store start to accumulate. You notice that your pantry mysteriously grew from a three-day supply to a three-week supply.

The key to lasting success is lasting.

Micro manage your preps

Prepping Kaizen is a strategy that takes your focus off the size of the tsunami and helps you do the little stuff (micro) to get you to safety. This approach is like taking your first step as an infant.

You learned locomotion one step at a time. You didn’t crawl up on the sofa arm and run sprints in diapers. You mastered walking first.

Most of you aren’t building a multi-million dollar corporation. But you can benefit from the kaizen model that rebuilt Japan.

Here’s how to get your Prepping Kaizen on.

• Step 1: Start

Sometimes a tiny step is all it takes to build momentum and confidence for your journey. If all you see is the approaching tsunami, you’ll be tempted to just bend over and kiss it all good-bye. 

Stacy (new to prepping) drives home this point in her recent comment to me, “I feel more like I’m in a whirlpool!” She’s not alone. 

She and her husband have made the first step on their journey to self-reliance. They started with emergency water containers. Now she’s working on food storage. Her husband wants to know how to get 6 months of food storage. Simple answer: One bite at a time. Start buying extras of what you already eat. Before long, you’ll need to find creative ways to stash all this food – under beds, furniture, and other unlikely pantry spaces. 

• Step 2: Stick to it

Now that you’ve taken the first step, pick an area you feel is most important and break it down into smaller steps. This is a very personalized process. Priorities are dependent on your individual scenario. If you live on property with fresh water springs, water storage won’t be as important to you as the family living in an arid climate.

With that being said, pick one area to improve and focus your energy and resources for one month on that priority prep. If it’s food storage, take conscious steps each week to improve this area. Having spent a month dedicated to the process of storing food, the remaining 11 months will become routine. You fix the kinks and streamline the process. This discipline will easily transfer to your next area of focus.

• Step 3: Pick the low hanging fruit

This is how smart preppers apply Prepping Kaizen. Smart people pick the easy stuff first. The stuff that’s free, inexpensive, or readily available.

• Buy an extra case of bottled water for 4 bucks
• Do some bodyweight exercises – no expensive gym membership needed
• Buy a 50 cent box of table salt
• Read free ebooks on prepping and survival – knowledge weighs nothing
• Never pass on Buy-One-Get-One deals
• Save your pocket change in a jar to buy more preps – don’t trade in your nickels though
• Become a yard sale junkie – chew on the hay and spit out the sticks.

Easy pickins give you immediate, tangible results. The foggy path to preparedness begins to clear and you grow more confident. So does your knowledge and skills. Build off this new-found confidence and pick the next area of improvement. How hard can it be?

• Step 4: Ask why with an axe in your hand

Mistakes are not a sign to quit. They’re markers of what not to repeat. Even if you’ve been prepping for years, you make mistakes – sometimes stupid ones. I’ve made my share. Mistakes improve the process if we ask… why, why, why, why, why. 

Part of kaizen is asking 5 whys. There is always one root cause to every problem. Some issues won’t take 5 whys. Other may take more. Instead of dealing with the symptom, the 5 why method digs until you find the root. This forces you to stop the hurried Do-Do cycle and fix the real problem.

Try this. You notice the bottom of your tomatoes are developing brown, rotting spots on their bottoms:

1. Identify the problem. That’s easy. The spots are visible. You’re green-thumbed neighbor tells you it’s blossom end rot.
2. Identify the cause by asking, ‘why did this happen?’ Brainstorm all the possible causes.
3. Write it down on paper. Insufficient calcium, not enough water, too much water, soil PH, etc.
4. Ask why for each of the causes you’ve just identified. Ask 5 times per possible cause.
5. Once you’ve identified the root cause – use your axe.

Was it the soil, minerals, or watering that’s destroying your fruit? Whatever it is, this process will help you lay an axe on the root cause. Armed with this knowledge and experience, you’ll make continual improvements to bear more fruit next growing season.

• Step 5: Take Curly’s advice

If you’ve made it this far, you want to be better prepared. Keep in mind that you don’t have to ‘get there’ immediately. Making sweeping changes to your lifestyle is not a prerequisite to being more resilient, self-sufficient, or whatever it’s called these days.

Remember the scene from the movie City Slickers when Curly (Jack Palance) gives Mitch (Billy Crystal) his simple version of the meaning of life?

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?

Curly: This [as he holds up one finger]

Mitch: Your finger?

Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit.

Mitch: But what is the ‘one thing?’

Curly: That’s what you have to find out. (smiles)

Figuring out your one thing is up to you. I don’t assume to know what you need. I’ll leave that to a fictitious cowboy. Curly wisdom maybe right in the movie…

But, if you want to be better prepared to face uncertain times, you have to do more than one thing. Lots of things actually – without freaking out.

You have to take that first step. Then another, and another, and another.

Maybe you’ve already gotten your fundamental preps in order. Congrats! Now take the next step and apply Prepping Kaizen through out your journey. You’ll notice steady improvement in quality and quantity over time.

You’ll be more prepared tomorrow than you are today.

Keep doing the stuff – one step at a time,

Todd

P.S. 

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10 Ways to Sow Revolution in Your Back Yard

[Editor's Note] This was originally published by Daisy Luther on her site The Organic Prepper. Daisy has been a friend to our site and offered lots of valuable advice and articles over the past year. She knocks another one out of the park here. Please share it with family and friends. Check out her bio at the end of this article.

 

Our Sherpa garden

Garden Rebels: 10 Ways to Sow Revolution in Your Back Yard

Sometimes I think that the next Revolutionary War will take place in a vegetable garden.

Instead of bullets, there will be seeds.  Instead of chemical warfare, there will be rainwater, carefully collected from the gutters of the house. Instead of soldiers in body armor and helmets, there will be back yard rebels, with bare feet, cut-off jean shorts, and wide-brimmed hats.  Instead of death, there will be life, sustained by a harvest of home-grown produce.  Children will be witness to these battles, but instead of being traumatized, they will be happy, grimy, and healthy, as they learn about the miracles that take place in a little plot of land or pot of dirt.

Every day, the United Nations and the Powers That Be take steps towards food totalitarianism.  They do so flying a standard of “sustainability” but what they are actually trying to sustain is NOT our natural resources, but their control.

This morning I came across one of the most inspiring, beautifully written articles that I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long time.  Julian Rose, a farmer, actor, activist, and writer, wrote an article called Civil Disobedience or Death by Design and it is a “must read” for anyone who believes in the importance of natural food sources:

“From now on, unless we cut free of obeisance to the centralised, totalitarian regimes whose takeover of our planet is almost complete, we will have only ourselves to blame. For we are complicit in allowing ourselves to become slaves of the Corporate State and its cyborg enforcement army. That is, if we continue to remain hypnotized by their antics instead of taking our destinies into our own hands and blocking or refusing to comply with their death warrants. This ‘refusal’ is possible. But it will only have the desired effect when, and if, it is contemporaneous with the birthing of the Divine warrior who sleeps in us all. The warrior who sleeps-on, like the besotted Rip Van Winkle in the Catskill mountains.”

Does it sound dramatic to state that if things continue on their current path of “sustainability” that we are all going to die?  If you think I’m overstating this, read on.  The case is clear that we are going to soon be “sustained” right into starvation via Agenda 21.

• The European Union is in the process of criminalizing all seeds that are not “registered”.  This means that the centuries-old practice of saving seeds from one year to the next may soon be illegal.
• Collecting rainwater is illegal in many states, and regulated in other states.  The United Nations, waving their overworked banner of “sustainability” is scheming to take over control of every drop of water on the globe.  In some countries people who own wells are now being taxed and billed on the water coming from those sources.  Nestle has admitted that they believe all water should be privatized so that everyone has to pay for the life-giving liquid.
•  Codex Alimentarius (Latin for “food code”) is a global set of standards created by the CA Commission, a body established by a branch or the United Nations back in 1963. As with all globally stated agendas, however, CA’s darker purpose is shielded by the feel-good words.  As the US begins to fall in line with the “standards” laid out by CA, healthful, nutritious food will be something that can only be purchased via some kind of black market of organically produced food.
• Regulations abound in the 1200 page Food Safety Modernization Act that will put many small farmers out of business, while leaving us reliant on irradiated, chemically treated, genetically-modified “food”.

In the face of this attack on the agrarian way of life, the single, most meaningful act of resistance that any individual can perform is to use the old methods and grow his or her own food.

Growing your own food wields many weapons.

• You are preserving your intelligence by refusing to ingest toxic ingredients.  Many of these ingredients (and the pesticides sprayed on them) have been proven to lop off IQ points.
• You are nourishing your body by feeding yourself real food.  Real food, unpasteurized, un-irradiated, with all of the nutrients intact, will provide you with a strong immune system and lower your risk of many chronic diseases.  As well, you won’t be eating the toxic additives that affect your body detrimentally.
• You are not participating in funding Big Food, Big Agri, and Big Pharma when you grow your own food.  Every bite of food that is NOT purchased via the grocery store is representative of money that does NOT go into the pockets of these companies who are interested only in their bottom lines.  Those industries would be delighted if everyone was completely reliant on them.
• You are not susceptible to the control mechanisms and threats.  If you are able to provide for yourself, you need give no quarter to those who would hold the specter of hunger over your head.  You don’t have to rely on anyone else to feed your family.

Consider every bite of food that you grow for your family to be an act of rebellion.

1. If you live in the suburbs, plant every square inch of your yard.  Grow things vertically.  Use square foot gardening methods.  Make lovely beds of vegetables in the front yard.  Extend your growing seasons by using greenhouses and coldframes.  This way you can grow more than one crop per year in a limited amount of space.   Use raised bed gardening techniques like lasagna gardening to create rich soil.  If you have problems with your local government or HOA, go to the alternative media and plead your case in front of millions of readers.  We’ve got your back!
2. If you live in the city or in an apartment, look into ways to adapt to your situation.  Grow a container garden on a sunny balcony, and don’t forget hanging baskets.  Grow herbs and lettuce in a bright window.  Set up a hydroponics system in a spare room (but look out for the SWAT team – they like to come after indoor tomato growers!)  Go even further and look into aquaponics. Create a little greenhouse with a grow light for year round veggies.  Sprout seeds and legumes for a healthy addition to salads.
3. If you live in the country, go crazy.  Don’t just plant a garden – plant fields!  Grow vegetables and grains.  Grow herbs, both culinary and medicinal.  Learn to forage if you have forests nearby.  Learn to use old-fashioned methods of composting, cover crops and natural amendments to create a thriving system.
4. Raise micro-livestock.  This option may not work for everyone, but if you can, provide for some of your protein needs this way.  Raise chickens, small goats, and rabbits, for meat, eggs and dairy.  If you are not a vegetarian, this is one of the most humane and ethical ways to provide these things for your family.  Be sure to care well for your animals and allow them freedom and natural food sources – this is far better than the horrible, nightmare-inducing lives that they live on factory farms.
5. Save your seeds.  Learn the art of saving seeds from one season to the next.  Different seeds have different harvesting and storage requirements.
6. Go organic.  Learn to use natural soil enhancers and non-toxic methods of getting rid of pests.  Plan it so that your garden is inviting to natural pollinators like bees and butterflies.  If you wouldn’t apply poison to your food while cooking it, don’t apply it to your food while growing it.
7. Be prepared for backlash.  The day may come when you face some issues from your municipal government.  Be prepared for this by understanding your local laws and doing your best to work within that framework. If you cannot work within the framework, know what your rights are and refuse to be bullied.  Call up on those in the alternative media who will sound the alarm.  Every single garden that comes under siege is worth defending.
8. Learn about permaculture.  Instead of buying pretty flowering plants for your yard, landscape with fruit trees (espalliering is a technique that works will in small spaces), berry bushes, and nut trees.  These can provide long-term food sources for your family.
9. For the things you can’t grow yourself, buy local.  Especially if space is limited, you may not be able to grow every bite you eat by yourself.  For everything else, buy local!  Buy shares in a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Visit your farmer’s market.  Shop at roadside stands.  Join a farming co-op.  Support the agriculture in your region to help keep local farms in business.  (One note about farmer’s markets:  Some farmers markets allow people to sell produce that originates at the same wholesalers from which the grocery stores buy their produce.  I always try to develop a relationship with the farmers from whom I buy, and I like to know that what I’m buying actually came from their fields and not a warehouse.)  Find a local market or farm HERE.
10. Learn to preserve your food.  Again, go back to the old ways and learn to save your harvest for the winter.  Water bath canning, pressure canning, dehydrating, and root cellaring are all low-tech methods of feeding your family year round. Not only can you preserve your own harvest, but you can buy bushels of produce at the farmer’s market for a reduced price and preserve that too.

There is a food revolution brewing.  People who are educating themselves about Big Food, Big Agri, and the food safety sell-outs at the FDA are disgusted by what is going on. We are refusing to tolerate these attacks on our health and our lifestyles. We are refusing to be held subect to Agenda 21′s version of “sustainability”.

Firing a volley in this war doesn’t have to be bloody.  Resistance can begin as easily a planting one seed in a pot.

 

Arthor bio: Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor.  Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca – See more at: http://www.theorganicprepper.ca/garden-rebels-10-ways-to-sow-revolution-in-your-back-yard-05072013#sthash.4C5R1Lux.dpuf

 

Building Self-Reliance in Children Through Free Play

by Todd Walker

I dare you!

Who hasn’t been dared to do something totally stupid growing up? Like when we dared my younger bother to climb the tree over our swimming hole.

“Bet you can’t climb further than Henry! Chicken?”

Life was a huge adventure and he took the risk to beat Henry’s mark. No one had eclipsed Henry’s monkey-like ability. Ever.

“He won’t do it,” Henry said as we watched from the safety of earth.

“Yep, there he goes.”

To this day, my brave crazy little brother holds the record for reaching the summit of that old Georgia pine. The youngest of our tribe of four, he constantly had to prove his worth. After reaching the outer limits of where no kid had ever gone before, perched on a wrist-sized branch, he gloated. We cheered. The bow gave way and he tumbled, in what seemed like slow motion, back first into the shallow water with a thud.

We pulled him to shore. He regained his breath and we never told our parents. This true story may be hard to believe for helicopter parents.

We never had adult supervision on our day-long explorations down the ‘big’ creek. Or a warning sign in all caps that read “TURN BACK NOW!” Every bend in the creek reveled a new challenge or new vine swing or new critter to catch. We were denied no hazards. All the while being too young by today’s risk-averse style of parenting.

That was a past time of pure, unadulterated play. We weighed risks, took chances, learned how to cooperate, negotiate conflicts, attend to the wounded, respect each other, depend on each other, and eventually, to run our own lives – without adult hovering. Adults were avoided. They took the fun out of play.

“There’s no such thing as pirates in those woods,” would quickly kill our fantasy.

For the record, our parents were trusting, not negligent. Granted, growing up in the 60′s and 70′s was different from today. It’s likely that my parents would have had several visits from child protective services if they had to raise us in our stuck-indoors-safely litigating society.

The war on play

Our perceived fears of all the possible dangers to our children handicaps them in the playground of life. The anxiety is crippling. It’s hard not to buy into the myth of safety being peddled in mainstream media, schools, and even churches. Stranger danger! When the Amber Alert breaks into our regularly scheduled programming, parents call the kids in from their backyard and lock the doors – even in ‘safe’ neighborhoods.

We’ve become a nation of soccer mommy’s boys – and girls. Every moment of free time is filled with organized, adult supervised and sponsored busyness. Left alone, kids get creative and entertain themselves. They make up the rules for a pick up game of “Balls and Grounders” in the vacant lot or field. Self-regulated fair play happens with out official umpires or refs. If someone is found cheating, the others will expose the misdeed. Kids learn to govern themselves in free play to discourage players from taking their ball and going home. End of game. That’s no fun.

One of the greatest infringements upon free play is found in our system of public schooling. Recess has been outlawed. We educators have come to the distorted view that play time is a waste. We need to use those extra 30 minutes to teach to the high-stakes exam and make them even more unhappy. This is the highest priority in schools today. We need scores to compare students with each other, other schools, other states, and other nations. We then rank and pigeon-hole accordingly. We believe free play has lost its role in education. Plus, we can’t chance a lawsuit by allowing kids on those dangerous monkey bars, now can we?

What are the consequences of the war on play?

According to Peter Gray, Ph.D., a research professor at Boston University and author of “Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life“, the decline in children’s freedom to play points to psychological disorders.

He cites research that shows that the rate of suicide for children under the age of 15 has quadrupled since 1950.

“These increases seem to have nothing to do with realistic dangers and uncertainties in the larger world. The changes do not correlate with economic cycles, wars, or any of the other kinds of national or world events … affecting young people’s mental states. Rates of anxiety and depression among children and adolescents were far lower during the Great Depression, during the Cold War, and during the turbulent 1960s and early ’70s than they are today.”

The changes have more to do with children’s perception of the world than with the way the world really is. “Anxiety and depression correlate strongly with people’s sense of control or lack of control over their own lives.” When one moves from a belief of having the ability to exercise control of one’s own life to being controlled by circumstances outside of the person, a dramatic shift in mental health occurs. From 1960 to 2002, children between the age of nine to 14 showed a linear increase in the lack of personal control.

Why try? We’re doomed. Not if we allow our children time and freedom to use their powerful instincts of survival.

We do a great disservice to this generation by hovering over and controlling children’s desire to educate themselves and follow their interests. As prepper parents, we should find ways to allow our young to exercise these instincts of self-reliance. Here’s a couple of suggestions.

• Trust children to follow their passions. Here’s an inspiring story of parents that encouraged their children to follow their passions. 
• Get over the myth of safety. It doesn’t exist in nature or your backyard.
• Allow children to free-range without going nuts. 
• Quit believing that your children are in constant danger of abduction or other unlikely events. Prioritize your threats and let your kids live the adventure.
• Go outdoors. Loosen the safety harness. Let your kids be kids.

Life is an adventure. Having freedom and time to play is the first step to building self-reliance in your children.

And no, they probable won’t put out their eye.

What’s your story? Do you agree or disagree? What suggestions do you have to help children develop self-reliance and resilience? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

If you’ve found this helpful, please consider sharing it with your family, friends and social network. I double-dog dare you!

Keep doing the stuff,

Todd

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3 Habits that Should be ‘Automatic for the Prepper’

by Todd Walker

“Could I get some collard greens with that?”

“Automatic!” answers owner Dexter Weaver.

“Automatic for the people” means you get what you want at his diner.

Via: flagpole.com

The phrase became more than a slogan when R.E.M.’s “Automatic for the People” album was released in 1992. The band borrowed the line from Weaver’s hole-in-the-wall eatery and the rest is history. Rock-n-roll groupies from around the world journey here to eat home cooking and hear “Automatic!” from across the counter.

What if you could make prepping automatic?

Automatic for the Prepper

In the prepping habit loop, preparedness becomes habitual. Your preps go on autopilot. Things become automatic for you. Brushing your teeth is a habit. So is smoking. The mechanics of walking are too. Imagine what it’d be like to relearn how to walk after a stroke or injury.

Good or bad, habits are formed to free up our brains to handle more complicated issues. They help us conserve mental energy. You don’t have to stop and analyse the simple act of tying your boots. You probably have the same daily routine in the shower which frees your mind to create an invention to save the world while you butcher that song stuck in your head.

What I mean is…

• You don’t have to spend mental energy thinking about whether to carry your concealed sidearm and other everyday carry items. They automatically have a home on your body or purse. You feel naked without them. 
• Kitchen scraps get tossed into the compost container on the counter without any real thought.
• Buying ‘extra’ food no longer seems odd or expensive.
• Taking the stairs to the third floor while your co-workers wait for the elevator is your new normal.
• Spotting what you once called a nuisance weed in your yard is now viewed as a source of healing and nutrition. And you see them everywhere now!  
• You don’t even notice how functionally fit you’ve become from tending your garden.
• ‘Hoarding’ is no longer a nasty term. You call it redundancy.
• You hardly use your Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving anymore. You’ve canning is on autopilot.
• Prayer or meditation stops being a duty. It has become a normal part of your daily practice.
• You can make your morning pot of coffee with your eyes closed – which is usually the case anyhow.

Given enough time, habits become automatic for the prepper. Warning: They cut both ways though. They can lead to your survival or demise.

I’m not going into depth on the Habit Loop today. If you want to learn more about Habit Loops (cue – routine – reward), read my previous article here. For now, let’s look at 3 habits that should be automatic for every prepared person.

Automatic Habit #1 - Build Knowledge

As Crunchy Mama reminded us recently, “Knowledge weighs nothing.” Make a habit of studying preparedness, survival, and self-sufficiency information. In the spirit of “Automatic for the Prepper,” here’s some resources I’ve found helpful on my journey to preparedness and self-reliance.

•  Survival News Online
• Survival Blog
• Prepper Website
• Lew Rockwell
• Mark’s Daily Apple
• The Organic Prepper

Since starting this blog over a year ago, I’ve learned a lot by researching articles, following rabbit holes on the net, and connecting with others with similar life themes. One source of exceptional knowledge I’ve discovered is from you, those that comment and offer advice in comments and emails. You may not run a high-profile blog or be a best-selling author but your insight and common sense transcends ‘experts’ more times than not. We are truly thankful your here!

With that being said, what websites, books, resources, or people have helped your climb?

Automatic Habit #2 - Build Skills

Now put that knowledge to work with some hands-on skills. Yes. You have to practice for these to become automatic.

• Making fire with many methods
• Purifying water
• Storing food properly
• Defense, protection, and situational awareness
• Building community – comes in handy when bartering and borrowing
• Growing your own food (plants and animals)
• Do it Yourself skills – how hard could it be attitude
• Hunting and gathering and eating without poisoning yourself
• Preserving the harvest
• Critical thinking – applying creative solutions – my daddy called it rigging stuff
• Producing stuff

Automatic Habit #3 – Question Everything

My experience in the prepper community has been very positive for the most part. Preparedness minded folk are willing to help no matter where you are on your journey.

Prepping has only recently come into vogue in our modern society. Sure, there has always been hardcore prepping going on. Not so long ago preserving food and growing chickens in the yard was not just a hobby, but the difference between feeding your family or going hungry. There weren’t any super-sized box stores you could jet over to and pick up tonight’s garlic roasted yard-bird in a box.

When I lived in Siberia just after the fall of communism, a good Russian friend there had just returned from visiting America. She asked me, “Why is everything super? The stores, the drinks, everything is so super.” I thought it was a strange question at first. She just saw the ‘greatest country on earth’ and her main take away was that things were labeled ‘super’ when they really weren’t super at all. Then I got it.

From her point of view, one that I have since adopted, super isn’t always super. In her culture, the word carried a real meaning. Super in Russia actually meant of high quality or extreme. It wasn’t tacked on a cup of soda unless it was a superior drink. The word still held its basic meaning.

Not so much here. We’ve overused and misused the meaning of ‘super’ to sell stuff. The preparedness community is not immune to Madison Avenue’s influence. Buyer’s remorse happens in our ranks too.

Remember hearing any of these as a kid or adult?

• Get good grades, go to college, build your credit, be loyal to your company, get a gold watch, and live happily ever after
• “Don’t rock the boat” – put on your happy face and go along to get along
• The ‘Civil War’ was fought to end slavery
• Relocating to remote wilderness is the only strategy to survive TEOTWAWKI
• Eating a low-fat diet is healthy
• We’re from the government and here to help
• The classic – “Be careful! You’ll put your eye out”
• Stay in school or you’ll be a ditch digger for life
• You can live off the land and be a lone wolf survivor
• Dial 911 and wait for the authorities
• Have gun – will survive
• Follow doctor’s orders

The problem with making #3 an automatic habit is that it is so much easier to just accept what others tell us is true. The challenging part comes when we wake up to the fact that these myths are myths and, if exposed, there’s a personal cost we must pay in pursuit of truth.

Seeing the truth is not enough. I call it The Window Shopping Syndrome. We walk past a beautiful dress in the window of our favorite store. We stop. We want it. We return the next day to look. It’s still there. Our desire begins to burn. We crave the dress. The color is perfect. We repeat the this pattern several days. It becomes a habit. We go out of our way to pass the window. We want it so badly. Our desire hasn’t changed. But…

We’re not willing to pay the price.

The price is too high. So we settle.

These are the 3 habits that should be automatic for every prepper. You got any suggestions? Let us know in the comment section if you like.

Ready? 21 Emergency Blogs That Could Save Your Family

Editor’s Note: I was contacted by Hannah with an article I thought you might find useful. If your house caught fire in the middle of the night, is your plan of escape “get out the best way you can?” It would be wise to prepare a plan before the event. That’s what we do, right? Don’t overlook the practical stuff. 

Hannah’s article was originally posted

21 Blogs with Advice on How to Create an Emergency Plan for Your Family

By Hannah Anderson

You never know when an emergency situation may arise; however, you can take certain steps to ensure that you are as prepared as possible for if and when one occurs. Start by preparing an emergency plan for a fire.  You will need to determine at least two ways to get out of every room and pick a safe meeting spot that is away from the house. Practicing your evacuation route with your family will help everyone remain calm in the event of an emergency. Stocking up on nonperishable foods and emergency supplies will help you ride out a storm if severe weather strikes. Preparing an emergency preparedness kit and locating a safe place to ride out the storm are essential steps in getting your family ready for any severe weather – expected or unexpected. Take a look at these 21 blog posts for details on how you can be better prepared for the next emergency your family encounters.

Fire

In the event of a fire, you want to make sure that each family member knows exactly how to respond and what to do.  How are you going to get out of the house and where are you going to meet up with the rest of the family? Is there somewhere you can go to use the telephone to call the fire department?  Do the kids know what to do if a fire breaks out while you are not home?  Make sure that everyone knows how to use the fire extinguisher and that you have enough of them in the house.  Keep fresh batteries in your smoke detectors.  You can read these tips and more in these seven blog entries.

• Tips for Creating an Emergency Fire Plan for Your Family Find out what items you should keep at home and what you need to teach your family about fire safety.
• Formulating an Emergency Escape Plan Create at least two escape routes out of your home in case of a fire and make sure that doors and windows can be opened by everyone.
• Five Ways to Prepare Your Children for a Fire Emergency By teaching your kids what their address is and how to use a fire ladder you could save their life.
• Making a Family Emergency Plan Draw a floor plan of your house, find ways to exit safely, decide on a meeting place and practice your plan.
• Fire, Fire!  Getting Your Kids Involved in Your Home’s Fire Plan! Educate yourself by reading through these myths and then make a fire plan for your family together.
• Do You Have a Home Emergency Plan How to create a basic emergency plan with your family.
• Add Safety to Your Spring “To Do” List Go over several different scenarios with your family regarding fires, falls and other emergencies.

Storm

Severe weather can mean anything from a tornado to a hurricane to flooding. Having a plan in place can make these types of disasters a little less scary. It’s important to have a safe place to go in your home when severe weather strikes. Check out these seven blogs for more tips on preparing an emergency plan for severe weather.

• How to Educate Your Children About Severe Weather Learn how to create an emergency plan for storms with your children.
• Hurricane Sandy: A Reminder to Plan for Emergencies and Our Pets Your pets are part of your family, so don’t forget them when you are creating your emergency plan.
• Macomb Offers Tips for Severe Weather Awareness Week Make a plan and know where you should go in your home to wait out severe weather.
• Family Preparedness Follow this check list for getting your family prepared for a disaster.
• How to Create an Emergency Preparedness Plan Learn the basics on creating a plan for surviving at home for a few days.
• How to Create a Severe Weather Emergency Plan for Your Family This blogger has the good idea of taking a video of all of your belongings and keeping it safe should something happen to your home.
• Final 2013 Severe Weather Preparedness Week Tips Take a look at this thorough list of what to consider when preparing for severe weather.

Emergency Preparedness Kit

After you create an emergency plan, you should create an emergency preparedness kit.  Make sure that you have food for at least three days, plenty of bottled water and a way to stay warm and safe.  Flashlights and batteries are necessities in your emergency preparedness kit.  To create your own kit, look at these seven blogs.

• Create an Emergency Preparedness Kit Watch this video to learn what you should put in an emergency kit.
• Emergency Preparedness—Week 1 Storage Learn the best way to store your rations and other stuff you will need for your kit.
• Emergency Preparedness: Make a Plan & Create a Long-Term Storage Kit Here are ideas for several kits that you might need, like one for your car or office.
• Create an Emergency Preparedness Kit This video details what items you should put in your kit for weather emergencies.
• Create a Home Emergency Preparedness Kit Take a look at this list, as it is a complete list of things that you may need.
• Customizing Your Emergency Preparedness Kit Study this blog article for smart tips on making sure you have the things you need in your kit.
• Emergency Preparedness Survival Kits Tips for emergencies can be found in this post, as well as a list of things to include in your kit.

Author bio: Hannah Anderson is a freelance writer, she loves writing on various subjects. She is having a hobby of writing articles on emergency. You can reach her at “hannah.anderson355ATgmail.com“. This article was originally posted on Full-Time Nanny and reprinted here with the author’s permission.

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The Art of Persuasion: Present One Improved Unit at a Time

by Todd Walker

Two teenagers went to high school together. These two young men were very much alike. They played on the same sports teams, got good grades, graduated together, dreamed of the future, and went off to college.

On a warm July night, after 30 years of not seeing each other, they reconnected at their high school reunion.

Their lives had turned out very similar. They were happily married, had children, and both men, it turns out, had become teachers. But that’s where the similarities stopped. One resembled his school picture. The other did not.

What made the difference?

All those years, 4 kids, and 100 + pounds later, I didn’t recognize my once close friend. Then his voice boomed…

“What’s up, Spanky!”

“OMG, that’s you!?” I almost said out loud, as we spent time catching up and toasted our high school antics.

Have you ever wondered, like I did that night, what makes two people with similar backgrounds, intelligence, and dreams turn out differently? It wasn’t that my buddy didn’t understand what was causing his weight to explode. He’s a very smart guy. The difference for all of us is not knowledge, but how we apply what we know.

My friend had changed physically. So had I. I use to have hair on my head. But physically, I’m at my high school football weight. I actually feel I’m in better shape than when I was 18. And no, it’s not because I have superior genes or a high fat-burning metabolism. It’s just that I started taking responsibility for went into my mouth.

Before you think I’m lowering the boom on my good friend, stop. I know the place he’s in. Just three years ago, I was 50 pounds over my high school weight. My joints ached. I suffered from IBS, battled constant heart burn, and had very little energy. How did I turn that crappy life into a health optimizing lifestyle?

I improved the only unit I had control over – ME.

You are the only unit you can improve. Your body, your happiness, your health, your preparedness, your career, your skills, your knowledge, your dreams, your passions… are YOURS. Your responsible. In our blame-someone-or-something-else culture, scapegoats are easily found – for any and all scenarios.

Saying the unsayable

“It’s not my fault” are the last words of losers. Harsh words, I know. But someone has to say the unsayable.

Is it really your spouse/significant other that’s holding you back from living your dream?

Is it your responsibility to convince loved ones, friends, and co-workers of anything – especially prepping? Maybe not. Surely you’re not suggesting that we take this non-direct approach when trying to persuade others on the importance of preparedness and self-sufficiency, do you? That’s exactly what I’m saying.

In an earlier post, I asked for real life experiences with persuading friends and loved to join you in your journey to preparedness. You can read the response in the comment section here. The main theme I got from y’all was to live by example. This may be your best option.

We’ve all got our own reasons for living as prepared as possible. However, I’ve begun to look at it in a different way completely. I’ll share my approach at the end of this article. But first…

Let’s evaluate the effectiveness of direct approaches of persuasion. 

1.) Stab ‘em with a harpoon. In this method, you stand on the deck of your ark and throw a harpoon into the school of fish swimming by in the sea of ignorance. With luck and spear chucking skills, you’ll real one into to safety. Miss and they all swim by and are lost forever.

How’s the harpoon method been going for you?

2.) You had me at hello. This approach works for folks who don’t need a lot of convincing. They already know and trust you. Or you were referred to them by someone they respect. When I invested in real estate, my mentor always said, “If people like you, they’ll listen to you. If they trust you, they’ll do business with you.”

It’s an easy “sell.” They buy on your first conversation. But when they dig deeper and weight the costs, they sometimes run away.

3.) The yellow highlighter. I know. You can’t even read the word “yellow” when its yellow. But you’ve all seen this method in ads for merchandise or political flyers. This letter is sent out to as many people as possible in hopes of converting a small percentage. The yellow letters detail the important stuff on why you should buy. The problem with this traditional method is it’s traditional. People are smarter than they look sometimes. Savvy folks need more than the fancy color your using. These guys and gals respond to logic and reason.

Do what the sign on your truck says

Millions of people are starting to wake up to their need to prepare and build self-sufficiency into their lives. But when your spouse, parent, or child looks at you as if you have three heads when the subject of prepping comes up, it may be time to try a new strategy.

Here’s what I mean.

In practical terms, be the change you want to see. If the sign on your truck reads “Sherpa’s Plumbing and Heating”, do what your sign says. If you’re a writer, write. If you’re a prepper, prep. Plumbers plumb – writers write – preppers prep.

In other words, talk is cheap. If all you do is talk about being prepared, you influence no one. You’re not leading. You’re just taking a long walk by yourself. You look back and nobody is following.

Those closest to you will see your improved life (health and fitness, self-reliance, resilience, etc.) and will either choose to change or not. Your job is to be there if they show interest. Hitting them over the head with The Encyclopedia of Country Living doesn’t work. They want the real deal in living color.

When we boil all this down to simplest form, all we can do to change anyone’s attitude is to present one improved unit.

That unit is you.

What’s your approach? Let us know in the comment section.

Related articles

• The Persuasive Prepper: Convincing Loved Ones to Prepare (real-agenda.com)
• Ability Is A Poor Prepper’s Wealth (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)
• Life Learners: Unschooling the Prepper Community (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)
• Real-Life Help Requested for Research on Persuasion (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)
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Off Grid: 9 Years of Self-Sufficiency (and lovin’ every minute of it)

Ever want to really unplug? Not just leaving your cell phone behind on your weekend camping trip. I mean cutting the electrical umbilical cord and all the trappings of our modern societal construct.

If so, you’ll be inspired by this story of one couple’s journey to off grid living, resilience, and freedom.

I’ve been following Barbara Peterson’s blog for some time now. I asked her if I could share this story with you. She gladly said yes. It was originally published on her site, Farm Wars. 

Off Grid and Lovin’ It

Barbara H. Peterson

Farm Wars

Most of us have wondered what it would be like to pack bag and baggage, move to a remote area of the country, be able to cut all ties to the outside world if necessary and live off-grid. Quite a daunting task, and a bit scary. But it can be done, as evidenced by Bud and Judy who did just that around 9 years ago, and are thriving today because of it.

I asked Bud what their motivation was, and he said: “We just wanted to do things on our own.” Well, they are doing just that. Isolated from the artificial existence of city life, cocooned in the warm glow of self-sufficiency and ready to cut the ties to civilization at any moment, Bud and Judy are living a life that most of us only dream about, and I was about to get a peek at their hideaway…

The Road to Paradise

It was a nice day, and the sun was shining. I could hardly wait to see what Bud and Judy had created. From all accounts, this was a little piece of paradise, right here in the southernmost hills of Oregon. Would it be like I had imagined?

When my friend Linda and I entered the road going to the homestead I couldn’t help but notice the peaceful quiet surrounding me like a soft glove, caressing my senses and pulling me into its wonder. Water is abundant here, flowing out of the mountain and filling ponds, homes, and reservoirs. No well pumps here, just free gravity flow all year-round.

Sometimes the Road is Rocky

The sides of the road were lined in rock. Rocks cover a good portion of the land, and this required a bit of clearing. So, what do you do with the rock that you clear off your land? Why, build a fence, of course!

Permanent and beautiful, rock fences are also practical, especially when the building material is free. We were almost to the house, and the anticipation was growing minute by minute.

Down on the Ranch

When we arrived, it was like the veil was lifted to another place in time. A time when factory farms didn’t exist and pollution wasn’t a concern. The thought ran through my head that I could live here for the rest of my life, never see the city again and it wouldn’t bother me one little bit.

The house is surrounded by critters, green grass, herbs, flowers, and life as it was meant to be. Water flows from the mountain to the house, over a small rock waterfall and down to a small pond above the garden area.

Gardener’s Delight

I asked Judy why everything stayed so green. She attributed it to the water and lots of horse manure. She plants in raised garden beds filled with manure and compost. She says that this is the best way to get the soil nice and rich for gardening.

 

Covers over the beds when necessary extend the growing season.

 

Every Goat’s Dream

Off to the right are the milking goats. Bud has built them individual homes with ramps, platforms, and cozy sleeping quarters.

Read the rest of their journey here

Author bio: Barbara Peterson, Writer/Activist, lives on a small ranch in Oregon where she raises geese, chickens, goats and horses. This rural lifestyle is under attack at the most basic level. Federal regulations and the corporate takeover of our food supply with Monsanto’s invasive GMO technology is designed to make it next to impossible to raise animals and organic food.

It is time to step up to the plate and fight or lose it all without a whimper. Choose to take a stand and fight. We can make a difference.

You may contact her on her site at FarmWars.com. 

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