Category: Reader-Written Contributed Article

Jerusalem Artichokes for TEOTWAWKI Gardening – Part 1, by Soli Deo Gloria

A lot has been written on this blog and elsewhere about the importance of gardening in order to grow your own food in a post-TEOTWAWKI world. When you think about a survival garden, the first question you need to ask is “What should I grow?” I’d like to suggest that most people are missing some important factors when they try to answer that question. I’m going to walk you through some serious ideas to consider when it comes to survival gardening. If you are new to the whole idea, I hope this will get you started in the right direction. …


Sanitation for Survivalists, by Tunnel Rabbit

This article is an introduction to hygiene and sanitation for families, small groups, and communities. During early wars, dysentery was by far the cause of most of the combat ineffectiveness in the field. It can debilitate armies. Second to dysentery, were trench foot and frostbite. Sanitation begins with personal hygiene, and is important regardless of group size. Individual habits contribute to the health of others. We do not need to be spreading disease among ourselves and becoming sick and inffective. The broader issue of sanitation must be addressed and practiced at the group level. Having lived in austere conditions for …


An Ultralight Get Home Bag – Part 5, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) Seasonal Considerations One of the problems with planning any kind of self-contained outdoor survival kit for New England is that you have to be able to handle a wide range of weather conditions, including really cold and wet winters. Things like thunder snowstorms, freezing rain, blizzards and sub-zero temperatures aren’t uncommon, and if you’re not prepared for the worse than you’ll probably fail (translation: die). I don’t want to get into too much detail on the background for my decisions, but if you’d like to read more I had another article published …


An Ultralight Get Home Bag – Part 4, by J.M.

(Continued From Part 3.) Information/References I firmly believe that one of the keys to surviving almost any situation is having the right information, so I tried to include enough of the right information sources to get her through her journey. Fortunately, she has a decent cell phone in a rugged case, so she can use that in most scenarios. Here’s what I recommended: Rand McNally maps (2.5 oz./ea., 5.0 oz. per trip) – These are hardcopy state-level plastic coated maps. They’re not as detailed as topo or Delorme Atlas and Gazetter maps, but they’re a lot lighter and more compact …


An Ultralight Get Home Bag – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued From Part 1.) Shelter/Warmth The next area involves protecting her core body temperature, especially while sleeping at night. One important thing to keep in mind is that in New England it gets down into the lower 60s or upper 50s at night, even in the summertime, and since you can get hypothermia at temperatures as high as 60 degrees you need to make sure you can stay warm and dry year-round. While there are various commercial and public buildings along most of her get-home routes that she could seek shelter in, I didn’t want to assume that would I’ll …


An Ultralight Get Home Bag – Part 1, by J.M.

A few months ago I was approached by a friend of a friend who asked me for some help. She’s a medical device service technician and her job takes her around most of New England visiting hospitals and other healthcare facilities to do service work on medical equipment. She lives in New Hampshire, and she and her husband have a nice spread with chickens, goats and a large vegetable garden and greenhouse. We’ve had talked several times about preparedness in general and how she would home after a disaster if she were on the road, and she finally decided it …


Surviving Virginia’s New Year’s Snowstorm, by K.A.A.

Unlike many of you, I am an average suburbanite, not a hardcore prepper living on a homestead in the country. My family needs to stay where we are because of my husband’s work. So we are making the best of living a short distance from Washington, DC. We are generally well-prepared for the typical emergencies experienced in northern Virginia, such as severe thunderstorms and hurricanes. But we were caught mostly unprepared for the unusually severe snowstorm that we had in early January, 2022. This storm delivered 14-inches of snow where I live and stranded hundreds of drivers, including one of …


Using a Dankoff Solar Powered Water Pump – Part 5, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) Spare Electric Motor The motors used in the Dankoff slow pumps are of the highest quality and would not need service except for brushes. However, it would be nice to have a spare motor just in case an armature fails, or a bearing fails, or if the original motor is lost to theft. If the spare pump motor was stored in an alternate location with a spare pump head and coupler, then we could eventually fabricate the missing parts.  A recent quote from the owner, Kenny at Dankoff Solar Pumps: $539 for …


Using a Dankoff Solar Powered Water Pump – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3.) Delivery Line Pressure Specifications Water pressure per foot of head, in the Dankoff chart indicates 60 PSI static pressure at 140 feet.  When water is pumped, if my gauge is accurate, 60 PSI was reached at about 100 feet. Note that 60psi is the maximum pressure rating of most 1/2″ drip irrigation that is the least expensive black poly pipe. As a quick reference when designing a system, download the PDF of this chart.  To save money, you can use inexpensive black poly pipe rated for 100 or 160 PSI for lifts above 120 feet. To …


Using a Dankoff Solar Powered Water Pump – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.) If a 100-watt panel is used, the voltage could be 17.5 to 19 volts at its peak amperage, which is too high for long-term operation. As tested, I use two 100-watt panels, that have one cell covered with duct tape to reduce the voltage at the pump. Voltage is confirmed using a multimeter, and output measured with a one-gallon container, and a tachometer confirms that the pump head is turning at less than 1,725 rpm. Output should be slightly less 2.50 gallons per minute (GPM) if the Dankoff Model #1303 is used, and slightly less than …


Using a Dankoff Solar Powered Water Pump – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) There are clear advantages with the addition of electronics, and a battery-based pump system.  However reliable they may, or may not be, both of these options can fail at a future date.  As it is, if there are not the microchips to produce it today, so I would not expect it to be available during or after TEOTWAWKI. If we know how to work around a complex device normally used to run solar pumps, then we can also avoid the expense of either the pump controller or perhaps even a PV system altogether. Simplicity is better …


Using a Dankoff Solar Powered Water Pump – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

The Mission: To “Survive and Thrive” In my opinion, the ability to irrigate crops is not covered adequately.  Few have a plan, or the ability pump water for decades without electricity from the grid.  And fewer still have a contingency plan that includes relocating with this critical ability. Not only is our currency at risk, at the same time, so is our food supply and the ability to grow it.  Famine could soon be in the land. What is occurring in the world today has no equal in modern history books, but has been foretold in the Book of Revelation. …


You Need to Train, by Joe Dolio

I think that the biggest gap and blind spot that we have in preparedness circles is training. A quick look at social media will confirm this. You’ll find discussions and photos of all the latest whiz-bang gadgetry we buy, photos of our food stockpiles, photos of guns and ammo, but not a lot of discussion on the training we do. Now, I‘m not really a fan of discussing anything on social media, which I’ll get into in a second, but most people narrative their lives on it, and the lack of discussion is proof that training isn’t happening for most. …


Actionable Information on COVID 19 – Part 3, by J.B.H.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Despite the unclear science, there are several other things that I think one can do of practical value in this environment. This is very important, since, as previously noted, coronavirus may have always been a bigger issue than the flu that everyone has been talking about for decades. And it may continue to be a bigger issue. First, stay flexible and keep a close eye on the vaccine situation. Watch the current vaccines. Look for new vaccines. Collect what data you can including data from personal friends on their safety and effectiveness. …


Actionable Information on COVID 19 – Part 2, by J.B.H.

(Continued from Part 1.) The Viral Distribution of Influenza-Like Illnesses This subject has received little attention in the press that I have seen. I started thinking about this in response to various comments and memes talking about the lack of influenza cases in the last year. Many noted that in most years you have 10s of millions of flu cases estimated/recorded but this past year nearly none. Many viewed this as evidence that the COVID pandemic was nonsense, and perhaps they are right. However I went in different direction in my mind that I saw no one else going. What …