A Self-Reliance Check List

My whole life it has seemed like the shit could hit the fan at any time due to the inherent instability of the consumer economy.

Looking back, one can see that the manure has hit the blades several times, often in spectacular fashion. 

Take the 2008 Greatest Recession, the year this blog was born. Have we forgot about that shit show already?

After any kind of crisis (manufactured or otherwise) the memory hole operation goes into effect right away.

Next, government reactions amounting to nothing more than kicking the can further down the road, 'save' us from doom yet again.

But you can't play that game forever. Eventually a critical mass of consumers figure it out, quit, and look for better ways to work and live.

Adopting simplicity now is a way for preparing for that eventual inevitability when things go seriously sideways and the system is unable to right itself. 

Indeed, our simple life prepared Linda and I for the insanity of the last 3 years rather nicely, and we avoided a lot of troubles because of it.

But what if things just keep collapsing around us with all government actions to stop it ending in failure (kind of like the past three years)?

In that event, a good dose of self-reliance is what is required.

Today I share a check list for self-reliance that was shared in the comment section of a blog I visit. 

The list says something about the value of living simply in order to be self-reliant and resilient. 

More importantly, it is a reminder of the  essentials required for life.

I don't endorse this list wholeheartedly, but share it in order to stimulate thinking about the unthinkable, and be prepared for the worst. 

Think bicycles instead of cars, and you will get the gist of it. 

Here it is.

A Self-Reliance Checklist

1. Occupancy of, or access to, 500+ square metres of fertile land per person in a temperate zone.

2. Access to fresh water via collection from a local [and permanent] pond/stream/well. Also, the ability to collect and store roof water. Equipment to filter water where necessary.

3. Systems for utilisation of ‘greywater’.

4. Good working knowledge of the life cycles of plants that produce food, and the ability to harvest and store seeds from one season to the next.

5. Fruit trees already planted and already producing fruit. Knowledge of pruning techniques and propagation.

6. Recycling systems for all organic materials and conversion into compost and soil conditioners.

7. Thermally efficient dwelling warmed by passive solar that can stand local temperature minima without additional heat.

8. Firewood within bicycle or handcart range for cooking on open fire as required.

9. A substantial store of canned and dried foods, plus vegetable oils.

10. Candles, oil lamps, LED lamps and batteries, mineral oils, solvents, paints etc.

11. At least one bicycle per person, plus spare tyres and spare brake pads and cables etc.

12. A good stock of durable clothing and footwear.

13. A substantial stock of toothpaste, washing powder, liquid detergents, bleach etc. And iodine (KI, KI2) for cuts and external infection and grazes etc. Iodine may also be potentially useful in event of limited nuclear war.

14. Good relations with local folks who have skills and equipment.

15. A healthy attitude towards government, i.e. zero confidence in any politicians or bureaucrat to ever be anything other than an obstacle to genuine progress. Zero expectation of assistance.

16. Not more than a few kilos above ideal weight (scientifically, mass). Physically fit.

17. Ability to survive without any electricity or petroleum products

18. A good range of hand tools and means to keep them sharp as required.

19. Knowledge of how to construct and use weapons when the time comes for such things.

20. A greenhouse and/or cold-frames to grow plants in cooler months.

So there it is. I might add a few things, and take at least one away.

I would want a root cellar for sure to store all that garden produce that would be grown. 

There is no use having a years worth of potatoes if you don't have somewhere to store a years worth of potatoes.

And chickens. I want chickens on my list.

Also, it would be nice to have some way to make electricity like micro-hydro, wind, solar, or some combo of all of these, and I would definitely want a wood stove for those cold nights and for cooking.

I would also like to see a well-stocked first aid kit, a medicinal herb garden, and a set of books on home remedies and basic medicine.

Finally, I am not big on weapons, so would probably take that item off the list. If you want something of mine, just ask nicely and I will see what I can do for you.

What would you add to the list to increase self-reliance? What might you remove?

I Heart Potatoes

I found a special spud among my potatoes. It reminded me of how much I heart potatoes.

First of all, the are easy to grow, and easy to store. 

They are also nutritious, and delicious. Even better, you can do a million things with the lowly potato. I particularly like them mashed with bean broth gravy, and scalloped. 

One medium potato (skin on) has about 110 calories, and three grams of protein. It is an excellent source of potassium and 27 milligrams of Vitamin C, which is almost a half of daily requirements.

The top potato growers are China, India, Russia, Ukraine, and the USA. 

However, they grow well in many soil types and locations, which makes them perfect for growing in your survival garden.

Let's hope we don't have to, but if we did, a person could actually live off potatoes. It's science! 

Pair with a serving of milk and/or butter and we're talking about a near-perfect, humble, easy to grow and store survival food.

What's not to like?

I heart potatoes.

Consumer Confidence Cratering

Stick a fork in them they're done. 

In yet another sign that the desire and/or ability to shop is waning, "consumer confidence" has reached the lowest point since record keeping began in the US 56 years ago. It is the same in other consumer nations.

That is a record low, folks. Like everything else, consumerism is falling apart, as it had to eventually. You can't live 2-planet lifestyles forever when you only have one planet.

Consumers are tapped out, and have been for a long time. The only thing that kept the shopping going was gorging on credit (also at record levels), and it should have been known that the whole credit thing wouldn't end well either.

First we were called workers, then citizens, and finally, consumers. 

Now we are being forced into a new category - "survivors". 

It doesn't matter how good the sales are on things we don't need, there isn't enough money left over after essentials are bought. 

Maybe not enough money for essentials either. 

They would pick up pennies... if there still were pennies.

Good bye consumerism. 

Hello to whatever replaces it.

Walden 2.0 perhaps.

Forgiveness

There is a lot of anger and frustration today. We can turn it into peace in one simple way. How? 

The answer is forgiveness, something basic to life that is taught to us from an early age. 

But being taught it, and practicing it are two different things. In practice it is difficult, especially in a self righteous punishment based society that attempts to use our anger to divide and conquer.

I, like many, was raised on "forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing". 

And that is right. Do any of us know? We do not. 

Omniscience, or the ability to know everything, is a skill we normally attribute to the gods. No human possesses it.

If we could understand everything, we would forgive anything. 

But because we can never know the complete picture, we should refrain from passing judgement, and practice kindness and understanding instead.

Jesus taught his followers to forgive infinitely, to love infinitely. He didn't just teach it. More powerfully, he lived it right to the end.  

Buddha did not directly address forgiveness, but asked us to let go of anger because holding on to it is like "grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned". 

To rid ourselves of anger and hate, forgiveness is the way. Forgiving others, and forgiving ourselves.

We have to let it go, for our own health, and the health of our world.

Instead of dividing, the act of forgiveness and ridding ourselves of anger brings us together, and together is the only way we will ever survive as a species.

It is the only way to turn anger into peace.

"Bye Bye" to Buy Buy Buy

During the last 18 months many former consumers have said "Bye-Bye" to Buy, Buy, Buy. 

Either by choice, or by force, or both, many are joining the ranks of anti-consumer survivors across the globe.

If the power brokers ever succeed in "restarting the economy", many of those former consumers will never say "Hello" to consumerism again. 

They are finished.

Many can see that it may be prudent at this juncture in history to switch from being a consumer to being a survivor. 

Unless you are very rich, you can't be both. 

When you leave consumption as a way of life behind you, it is possible to see the way forward more clearly.

Survivors are focused on growing a garden and raising their own food. They are busy investing in social capital and their local community and economy.

Survivors look for ways of circumventing the negative effects of corporate and government control of our lives. 

They make changes that allow them to operate outside of the matrix.

Making a conscious choice to become self-reliant and resilient as a family, group, or community means becoming active survivors rather than continuing on as passive, dependent consumers.

Eventually we will all need to reject the mindless waste of the Buy, Buy, Buy propaganda we have been subjected to for far too long.

Bye-bye.

Preppers Learn From The Lockdown

If you got to the store and it looked like this, you waited too long to prepare.

In a piece I read over the weekend, a group of particularly prepared people known as preppers were asked about how the pandemic lockdown made them feel about their readiness. As it turns out, not all of them were prepped as much as they would have liked.

These planners observations can be useful for what is likely to be further disruption, because what isn't being disrupted these days? People are predicting a Greater Depression by mid-decade, not to be depressing.

Something we will need to get used to is the fact that we are all preppers now, Greater Depression or not.

We usually prepare for things that we don't want to happen, rather than for things we do. That is why it's called emergency preparedness and not recreational preparedness. It is essential if one wishes to survive, which in nature, is never a sure thing. 

We can improve our odds of surviving, and even thriving, by learning from each other. The following are are a few observations that 75 "official" preppers interviewed shared about what they learned during the lockdown.


Things Preppers Learned From The Pandemic Lockdown

"I was very surprised at how strongly the isolation hit me." 

"I learned my plan of being stocked up and shopping only for replacements is a great system. For example I have 3 jars of mayo on the shelf, when I open one I put it on the list to purchase next time and replenish." 

"I underestimated how short in supply durable consumer goods would be."

"Desiccants, oxygen absorbers, Mylar bags, food grade buckets, canning lids, canning jars, and food saver bags are all likely to become harder to obtain as food prices rise and more people become aware of how to grow and preserve foods."

"I learned that my preparations allowed me some measure of peace and calm that others didn’t have. It allowed me to enjoy family time at home." 

"Mental and emotional resilience is what got us through when we realized this was a marathon and not a sprint."

The most important ones I read were probably:

"That things happen really fast. If you act when things happen it is too late. Act now."

and

"I learned not to ignore that nagging little feeling of “Something’s coming”. 

And the one I related to most was:

"It was surprising to learn how few times I truly need to go anywhere ever."

In our house, the thing we learned is that we have a long way to go in our preparedness program. Having said that, we have also celebrated the steps we have taken over the years that have made riding out this pandemic comparatively painless.

We have changed how we buy our food and how we stock our pantry, something I hope to share in another post on this topic.

What have you learned over the past few months about your emergency preparedness? 

How are you doing things differently now that you are officially a prepper?

You Are The One

As crisis after crisis piles up, and our crazy world slowly goes to hell, we turn our focus to each other. In this crisis "old fashioned" values that we ditched for selfies of our souls, are returning.

Neighbourliness is being practiced regularly across the land as we look out for one another through small acts of kindness.

Now, with The Virus threatening us all with death, many are wondering, "Who do I want to spend my last moments on Earth with?" just in case.

I know who I want to be with when the "shit house goes up in flames".


"You Are The One"

Written by John Mark Nelson & Dan Wilson
Performed by John Mark Nelson & The Quarantine Chorale ( a choir of internet strangers, singing together about love and the end of the world)

Cello by Dan Lawonn Animation by Sarah Nelson

Even if the world we know crumbles at our feet Even if it comes to war and riots in the street Even if the government can't save us from ourselves And we watch the world while it slowly goes to hell You are the one I wanna watch it all burn down with You are the one I'd say I love you with my final breath You are the one If I could only have one last wish When this life's done, we'll share another one after death Even if we boil away the ice caps and the snow Even if this fragile earth decides we have to go Even if our shining cities sink into the mud And no one's there to save us from the flood You are the one I wanna watch it all go down with You are the one I'd say I love you with my final breath You are the one If I could only have one last wish When this life's done, we'll share another one after death You are the one I wanna watch it all burn down with You are the one I'd say I love you with my final breath You are the one If I could only have one last wish When this life's done, we'll share another one after death


Let's watch it together. Better yet, let's save it from going down.

Together.