Review: Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century

I got this book - along with another one - from a buddy of mine recently. It has diligently stood the test of time beside my middle-floor toilet and I've learned a TON from it.

 

It's written by two guys who appear quite often in the high-gloss photos within the book. One older, one younger, they really seem to know what they're talking about. They are often pictured participating in the activities they describe, which is a nice change from the typical 'do what I say'  mentality behind self sufficiency books.

I literally can not list all of the topics this book covers. They take a shotgun approach by writing on many topics briefly - allowing the reader to more fully research the topics that interest them. From breadmaking to blacksmithing, these guys seem to have a little knowledge on just about every aspect of living 'off the grid' - something I think many people strive to do.

There's a lot of very useful information in this book. Some of it isn't as practical for some - keeping pigs and butchering cows is a far cry from city life. That said, it's stuff you should take in all the same. You never know.

For myself, I found the pages regarding gardening the most valuable. From building flatbeds to methods of composting, I took in quite a bit of information about inner-city gardening. What I like most about their approach is the fact that they're not just telling you how to build a garden, they're showing you pictures of the gardens they've built to exemplify the methods they publish.

Some hardcore 'off grid' folks will surely scoff at this book but it serves two important purposes; it introduces method and philosophy to the 'non believers' and furthers the understanding of those already on board. 

Have an opinion? Let our FORUM members know...

Prepping as a hobby

A couple of times now, I've seen 'prepping' described as a hobby by some people online.

What an awesome thing to explore!

In many ways, the things we do as 'preppers' often cross-over to our everyday lives. The most simple example of this is the inclusion of your EDC gear into your standard 'getting ready' procedure in the morning. For most people, their every day gear consists of little more than a wallet, a watch and maybe a USB key. However, some people have a finely tuned system that hopefully enables them to solve real-life problems on the fly. More people than you might imagine have an EDC system - they just don't call it that. We all carry tools to help us, some more than others.

Just in our EDC, most guys take countless hours researching each tool as it applies to their overall system. In doing so, they learn all sort of things about flashlights, knives, load bearing kit, shoes, clothes, technology and more. In my humble opinion - this learned information trumps celebrity trivia outright. Not to say that one man's hobby is any more important than the next, but I do believe in a type of gradient when it comes to knowledge. Some information is just more important than the rest.


Reading reviews, conducting field trials and developing cheaper and better ways to do things is another huge aspect of the hobby-based prepper mindset. For some, it's really fun to get new gear and bring it into the middle of the bush. This is one aspect of preparedness that really interests me. I like to actually get out and use the gear I've purchased. That said, I'm not huge on stockpiling multiples of my gear... which can be another aspect of hobby-prepping. Some guys like to have a clean closet with, again, a system for stacking cans and gear.

There are multiple ways that people start living a more prepared and self sufficient lifestyle - and that's what it is, a lifestyle. I've found that for most, it's through treating preparedness as a hobby. Sure, there's the lunatic fringe that begin getting into it as a means of fuelling their own irrational psychoses, but more often than not I've found that people are usually just more interested in creating a safe environment for their loved ones during a crisis. That's an important way to look at it as well - it put's it back in your lap. You're creating the life you want to live, regardless of the external influences shaping the world around you.

So hobby-on preppers... and don't forget to drop by our FORUM.

Wilson - Prepper Philosophy

A guy from a few boards I keep up with has recently given me permission to relay some of his idea's on here, unless he specifically writes an article for us - you'll see posts related to his writing with the tag 'wilson'.

Here, I found a comment from a forum we frequent regarding Emergency Preparedness Week here in Canada. An interesting view for sure - and very good to consider this week.

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Most people simply believe that nothing bad will ever happen to them. That is the mindset of the perpetually unprepared, don't even waste your time with those. Trust me, I've tried.

There are two primary groups of potential converts to the "prepper" lifestyle:

A) Unacquainted | This is the largest group of potential preppers, people who have the capability and capacity for prepping but have yet to be introduced to the mindset (that's where YOU come in!).

B) Misinformed | These ones are difficult, as they associate prepping with the survivalist movement of the cold war and post cold war period (the tin foil hat wearing, bunker building obsessives). References to the impending zombie apocalypse will only reaffirm this negative association and works against our cause - avoid it when you can, as non-preppers do not view discourse on "zombies" as an analogy for the all-inclusive prepping some of us partake in.

If you want to bring someone on board, you have to be able to relate to them in some way. Start at their level, not ours. You must appear normal, even hip, in order to gain traction early on. Come on slowly and allow their interest to build over time.

Where you need to live to AVOID natural disasters

I found this article from LifeHacker - a DIY blog that I follow. It's definitely geared towards our American cousins, but a good reference altogether. See link above to get the full scoop - but here's a slice... sorry for the food metaphors, haven't had dinner yet.

More than 300 people were killed last week by monstrous storms that swept through the South. Flattened communities resembled scenes from war zones. “I have never seen devastation like this,” President Obama said Friday after visiting a neighborhood blown apart by a tornado in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Unnerved by those violent storms? Or the prospect of an earthquake rumbling through California with the force of the one that devastated Japan? Or a hurricane as deadly as Katrinain 2005 battering an American coastline again?