Letter Re: Resources for Preppers in South Africa

Dear Editor:
This letter is a primer for new preppers in South Africa. The reason for this is simple, we don’t have the equivalent of a SurvivalBlog in South Africa and our family and confidants have had to find out the hard way where and what to buy. (Subtle hint to a South Africa-based prepper looking for a home business)

That said, this is not to be considered a definitive resource for the South Africa prepper, it is a list of known suppliers to us that we have purchased from, specifically for reasons of preparing. We have never had a hassle with these suppliers. Most suppliers are in the Gauteng area, but there are a number that are national, you will need to maintain your own OPSEC, as none of these suppliers knowingly supply the local ‘prepper movement’. We typically use reasons of self-sustainability, Camping/off-road trips, farm security or one of our own businesses if the situation/reason fits, if any direct questions are asked. We find giving an impression of ….. (choose one of the above) without outright lying is best, people make up their own stories. Lets jump into the list. This is in no particular order, as it flows. All of these suppliers will ship to you if you cannot find a local supplier.

Plastic Food Grade Containers.
Trim Plastics supplies a whole range of food grade plastic buckets. We have found the rectangular 10 and 20 litre containers to be perfect for storage as they can stack higher (7 high for 20 Lt and 12 high for 10 Lt.) They use less space in storage and seal really well. I think it’s the corners that assists with the strength. Unlike elsewhere in the world we do not have the luxury of free buckets, as they are typically scrounged by staff working in a ‘free bucket’ environment. (Cash or EFT)

Glass ‘canning jars’.
Consol jars are similar to the Mason jars in the US and Canada. Consol jars are often free for the taking in many older homes. It’s the seals that are hugely expensive. We have found the most cost effective solution is to standardise on a single size jar (Cross & Blackwell Mayo jars for example, get your friends to collect for you) and then purchase a few boxes of single use lids from www.bonpak.co.za the lids are 1/20th the cost of Consol seals. These can often be reused if the seal is still perfect. Note: We have not used these for pressure canning. Stick to Consol Jars and lids for that. (Cash EFT and Cards)

Your Local Fresh Produce Market is a great place to get bargains on in-season veggies for a canning exercise. We use AppleQueens at the JHB Fresh Produce Market. We plan a trip in once every second month and all spend part of the weekend processing at a fraction of the cost of buying elsewhere. Don’t go to the trouble of getting a buying card, the prices are not much different from the market floor or a wholesaler. Fresh produce markets also have a host of supporting businesses (for farmers) where you can get bulk packaging, bulk catering items and growing resources like seedling trays, ties, bulk seed (Hybrid) and irrigation systems. etc, so take your time and see what is available. (Most stores are Cash Only)

Grains.
Find your local Co-Op and purchase your bulk grains like wheat and whole mielies (Corn) there. Typically sold as Boer Koring or just plain Wheat, you will be paying about R200 per 50 Kgs. The same goes for mielies  but you are almost certain to get GMO Corn, unless you grow your own. (Depends on the store) Your Co-Op is also a great place to get veterinary medication at a good price. They also sell disposable syringes, gloves, needles and multi-use ‘sharps’. I have tried the multi-use sharps (B Co injection) it’s a bit more painful than the single use needles, but they work.

Dry Ice, find your local Ice-cream factory and buy from there.

Heirloom seeds
Contact the guys at www.livingseeds.co.za. We have had great service from these guys, all their seed is grown in South Africa and it’s a good local business to support. There is also a lot of useful info on keeping your seed pure from season to season and generally being self-sustainable. (EFT and credit card)

Beans and Lentils
Akhalwaya’s is a great place to buy bulk storage beans, lentils and spices. If you are outside of Gauteng then do a google for your local spice wholesaler. Spices, oils, beans, wheat, rice and the like are available there. I always leave with more than I planned to buy. (Cash and EFT)

Oils and Chemicals
Rebound Chemicals. These two ladies provide a great service and supply a wide range of chemicals at rock bottom prices. Food grade oils (Coconut, olive etc) and chemicals for making soaps and detergents, they will even supply you with recipes if you would like to start a home based soap making business. (Cash and EFT)

Another edible oil supplier is Pridon, they also have no web site, just e-mail Graham at pridon@isat.co.za (016 365 6073) they supply in bulk and are a good place to lay in your edible oils or Pomace olive oil for soap making. (Cash and EFT)

Essential Oils

www.essentialoils.co.za a great range and one of the most cost effective suppliers. We have been using them for years. (Credit card and EFT)

Off grid power. We use two sites/suppliers www.sustainable.co.za and www.redrhino.co.za  They stock all one needs, the service and prices are by far the best we have found. A self-installed solar geyser (hot water system) from Red Rhino is cheaper than taking advantage of the Eskom rebate with a more expensive dealer installed system, as long as you are handy and can do-it-yourself. (Cash, EFT and credit card)

Solar water pumping. www.allpower.co.za this is a great locally made solar (PV) pump that can be repaired by most handymen. It uses commonly available spares in most motor spares shops. Proprietary parts are freely available from the manufacturer at a low cost. Well worth the investment. Get a spare controller board in case of a lightning strike, as well as extra diaphragms. (The system comes with a free set, replace every 12-24 months). I really like the fact that this system is user serviceable, important in a SHTF scenario. We used their Gauteng based dealer www.sunlec.co.za and are extremely happy with their service, they delivered onsite (120+km) and even supplied couplings that were not charged for to suit our unique installation. (Cash and EFT)

Security, we use a number of suppliers here. Oh, I’d give an eyetooth to be able to shop in the States but we need to maintain OPSEC locally and work with what we have. Maybe the Dollar will crash one day soon and we can get it on the cheap…)

For Mil Spec gear to drool over http://www.msequipment.co.za prepare to flatten your wallet, this site can hurt. (Cash and EFT)

Mil Spec Clothing and tents www.armystores.co.za they do postal orders which is cool. (Cash, credit card and EFT) Another option which we are exploring is to purchase a bolt of Mil Spec Camo material to make clothes on patterns. We are waiting for our first order to be delivered. Just find your largest haberdashery and say you need it for a bush camp that you are setting up…. Mmmm could very well be true, depending on how you interpret it.

Second-hand reloading kit at reasonable prices (New as well)  Try Craig at the Blunderbuss Tel 011 867 0370 Fax :  011 867 0369 E-mail : blunderbuss@telkomsa.net  (Sorry they have no web site) they also stock a range of militaria, however we have found their Military clothing to be a bit steep on price, but they do have some really cool original WWII stuff. They are a great resource for spare mags and additional (old and new) Mil Spec kit. If you need something rare or unusual they should be your first stop. (EFT, Cash and credit card)

Pick up brass at your local range or purchase brass from their shop depending on the range. We pick up everything that we can lay our hands on and put it in storage, you never know when its barter value will go through the roof. Also lay on some extra dies in common calibres and make sure you keep loading data for all of them.

As an aside, most larger gun shops have a large collection of spares for firearms. (They break-down and/or weld-up most of the weapons handed in by gun owners that did not want to go through the hassle of the new Firearms Control Act) You can often sort through crates of spares and mags looking for the peaches.

Reloading Components.
Contact www.questbullets.com for limited range of superb quality locally made rifle bullets at a good price. Don’t phone Oom (Uncle) Petrus, he prefers email. For any other components buy them cash from your local gun shops in staggered amounts and please stick to the law. (Credit card and EFT)

OTC Medical supplies.
We get some from www.dischem.co.za and some from www.clicks.co.za. Both of these national pharmacies require a verbal ID (Name, address and ID number) when ordering basic over the counter (OTC) medications. Create a pseudonym that you can easily remember, they don’t ask for a visual ID. Don’t buy your first aid kit supplies here, rather check out one or both sites that are mentioned below.

Online suppliers for medical kit and hardware that we have used with great success are. www.yms.co.za (They also supply security related products) and www.myomed.co.za

Hand powered equipment and antique tools.
Find your local smallholders’ livestock auction. Typically held on a Saturday in rural / Peri-urban areas. These auctions most often have a flea market attached to them that sell all manner of things. Get there early and browse the flea market. We have found some real gems like hand powered grain grinders, scythes and old wood working tools.

For anything else keep a watch on www.gumtree.co.za, at www.bidorbuy.co.za and at www.junkmail.co.za those three sites will often turn up an item that you are looking for. If it’s not urgent and the price seems a bit steep, the seller will often re-list at a lower price, if it’s up for three weeks you could probably negotiate quite nicely. Regards, – Joe Ordinary Voortrekker