Category: Contest

An Outdoor Brick Oven, by 3AD Scout

Outdoor ovens have a very long history of use, compared to the modern gas and electric indoor ovens of today. The fuel for outdoor ovens is practically endless (depending upon where you live) so for those preparing to survive the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI), an outdoor oven is a perfect addition to the retreat or homestead. In England in the early 1600s, wealthy landlords would have ovens built and would sometimes charge the peasants to use the ovens. It was common in history for bread ovens to be shared by a community. We need to …


Fix Bayonets!, by SwampFox

Bayonets have been part of warfare for more than 400 years. Likely first invented in France and named after the town of Bayonne, soldiers have found uses for something long and sharp at the end of a rifle or musket. While the days of single-shot weapons are long past and even some militaries are giving up teaching the use of the bayonet, it is an important tool that you should have. Since the early days of black powder warfare, soldiers have been taught the basics of fencing one-on-one with bayonets, as well as swarming an enemy position as a group …


Some Ramblings on Preparedness, by Jed

The following are really ramblings and they will be all over the place. I lost my teeth several years ago and dentures didn’t work. With no teeth, the amount and kind of food became greatly reduced. I lost weight for sure but also lost muscle and energy. The big surprise was how must my brain depended on food. My thought processes slowly became diminished. Figuring out problems, making plans, being creative, making poor decisions, and that sort of thing is worrisome. The lack of all those things in an austere environment could be bad if not deadly. Food is needed …


Third World Living: Austerity Lessons, by T.S.

When I was a younger and more idealistic man, I had the opportunity to spend a year “nation building” in a Third World country. Although I now think those aid dollars would have been better spent at home, I did learn some lessons that could help in a dire situation. After all, there’s no better teacher to prepare you for SHTF than people who have been living in austere off-grid conditions for their entire lives. After some reflection, I organized the lessons I learned into four major categories: Power, Communications, Climate Control, and Food. Power None of the villages in …


A Power Outage Experience – Part 2, by Big D.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes teh article.) DURING THE POWER OUTAGE Fortunately, my cell phone service remained on during the entire event. That allowed me to directly access the internet from my phone or connect the phone to my computer and smarty TV for outside access. After the first day the electric company updated the “outages” page on their web site and showed the extensive outages that they were dealing with. The system had both “grid” issues of downed power poles and system components as well as individual properties and businesses who had service lines damaged or disconnected on …


A Recent Power Outage Experience – Part 1, by Big D.

INTRODUCTION I am writing this within a few days after a power outage on June 18, 2023, so that I will remember the details. I am a 74-year-old and somewhat handicapped grandpa who lives alone in the country. I still get around okay but a lot of physical effort wears me out rather quickly. Sometimes I think that I still have the physical capabilities of the athlete that I was as a younger man. Mentally, yes. Physically, not so much! I was awakened just after midnight on Sunday morning by the sounds of a storm with very high winds buffeting …


Bugging Out: Some Realities, by Mr. Zipph

I recently relocated from a rural suburb in a purple state to a much smaller community in a very red state. I had long-term plans to make this move, but an unexpected career change enabled me to move sooner than expected. While my new home is not a compound deep in the woods, it does provide me with more security, more privacy, the ability to expand my gardening efforts, the option of raising some chickens and/or rabbits in the future, abundant wildlife, and a smaller community where people go to church and value their freedom. When making our relocation decision, …


Fitness and Preparedness – Part 3, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Getting started: Red flags, Resources, and Equipment Let’s assume if you’re reading Part 3 that you actually want to get started laying in a supply of fitness alongside your beans, bullets, and band-aids. Good. It’s one of the most neglected aspects of preparing in a society where well over 40% of us are obese. Not overweight. Obese. Less than 25% do regular exercise. You adding a daily exercise routine will put you ahead of people who don’t, simple as that. Adding daily exercise bumps you to a “C”. Not great but not …


Fitness and Preparedness – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1.) Goals and principles A real-world example: The Shaolin monks The origin story of the acrobatic kung fu the Shaolin monks practice is that it was developed for two reasons: Self-defense and general health. Meditation is a sedentary pursuit and the acrobatic kung fu allowed (and allows) them to pack in the flexibility, power, and cardiovascular training they needed to maintain health in a smaller frame of time. This is very much what we in the developed west face: a generally sedentary lifestyle that needs to be balanced with enough exercise to keep our general health up. …


Fitness and Preparedness – Part 1, by N.C.

It was only when I was dealing with the Covid crisis that I understood that fitness is a resource. Far from being a happy insight, I only realized it was a resource because I was rapidly running out of it. It was sort of like realizing your car runs on gasoline because the Low Gas Light came on; somewhat less than an ideal situation. Great time to start working out, yes? Well. Yes and No. Exercise damages your body initially, it’s the recovery that builds you back stronger. Sticking with the analogy, that’s like your gas light coming on while …


A Woman’s Role in Church Security, by Hollyberry

My husband was approached by our pastor about 4 or 5 years ago to start up a security team for our church. My husband is ex-military and due to various career experience, he is well suited for this role. I was surprised but glad that our pastor thought of a security team. In today’s world. there is no guarantee of safety anywhere. The security team was loosely assembled and consisted of all men. Discussions were held about areas of coverage and although I am not a security team member, I gave my husband my opinions and suggestions. He really had …


Cows and Chickens and Goats, Oh My!, by Elli O.

In this article, I compare different livestock – Start-up costs, Continuation costs, Profits, and Contradictions. I was not raised on a farm but when we purchased 20 acres I knew that we needed to put the land to good use. Thankfully, I have a husband who is almost as adventurous as I am so we jumped into the farm and homesteading life with both feet. God was gracious and we landed well- not very gracefully but we are surviving and even thriving in most areas! This article will compare the different animals that we have tried to raise on our …


Solo Road Travel, by Hollyberry

THE PLANNING STAGE I live in Maine, and my mom lives in New Jersey. The drive, one way, is 550 miles. Depending on weather conditions and traffic, the drive will take 9-10 hours. I have been making this trip several times a year for about 19 years now. Due to mom’s declining health I have been required to travel more frequently. We have some animals/livestock that need attending to so my husband stays home on “homestead duty”. I wish my dogs were car dogs but they would make that 10-hour drive even longer so I go by myself. Over the …


Road Trip Navigation, by R.T.

This is about our cross-country road trip; not about where we went, what we saw or what we did, but about how we got there and how we found our way back. Why should this journey be of interest to you? Because someday you might have to make a road trip that doesn’t go as planned, or maybe not even planned at all and with little or no technological help. My wife and I are occasional long-distance travelers. The long-distance road trips we have made have been primarily to the same destination for family events via variations of the same …


Practical PV Power, by Graton

Even though I have been dabbling in solar power since about 2008 I hesitated to share my experiences because I felt totally incompetent about the subject. I still feel that way in large part, even though my “knowledge” has increased dramatically. One of my first projects was setting up a solar-powered well for a friend’s cattle where obtaining grid power would have been financially prohibitive. The equipment included a Grundfos 11 SQ-Flex 2 pump, 6 solar panels, Midnite Solar 60 charge controller, golf cart 48-volt battery bank, etc. You may have noticed that there is no mention of an inverter …