Category: Retreat Groups

One Retreat’s Rules, by T.N.P.

The following is a document that I have developed for our retreat. Obviously your mileage may vary. These guidelines are based on our area, family connections, our previous preparations and many other factors. Feel free to use them as a starting place for drafting rules for your own group. Retreat Rules It is not the goal to have a burdensome and complicated set of rules. However, there must be some rules so that everyone is on the same page. In the event of “Retreat Activation”, the survival of any one of us depends on the survival of the rest of …


Letter Re: Firsthand Experience in Doubling Up

Mr. Rawles, In your novel “Patriots” and in many articles of SurvivalBlog, people discuss what to do when TEOTWAWKI comes. The one thing common in most of the situations is doubling up at a retreat. My wife and I have some experience in this and I want to pass some information on to help people prepare for the situation they may be facing.       My wife and I moved in with her parents about 13 months ago due to financial hardships. We were living in Arizona and struggling to make ends meet. I was working a job that covered …


Spreading the Word–Working Toward a Community Food Reserve, by Rex C.

“No man is an island…” – John Donne Readers of SurvivalBlog.com tend to have an independent streak, and our attitudes toward preparedness and degrees of readiness vary accordingly. Some of us have unplugged from the grid and are completely self-reliant, many have dreams of doing so at some point, while some of us are a little behind the curve and playing catch-up. Others are new to the field and are making what preparations they can in their current circumstances. Whatever our individual temperament, most of us are members of a community–a church, a neighborhood, an extended family–and we need to …


Do They Walk The Walk?, by Michael M.

I’ve been an Emergency Prepper/Survivalist for many years. I’ve participated and am a member in a number of various forums on preparedness. I go back to the old BBS days. I work with my community Emergency Management in the city I work for and county I live in. I am active on various online communities today. I’ve a close knit group of friends that are like minded and we have formed a close bond. This has taken much time, energy, discussion, introspection and prayer. This was necessary for me to learn and earn the trust and faith needed to form …


Social Networking for the Survivor, by Joshua R.

Social Networking for the Survivor, by Joshua R. It used to be called a ‘couple of buddies’, a ‘circle of friends’, a ‘community’, a ‘neighborhood’…now we have a ‘social network’.  But whatever you call it, we humans are social creatures and surrounding yourself with like minded individuals is enriching to every aspect of life.  As preppers or survivalists (or whatever term helps you feel cozy), we seem to constantly buck the trends of our naïve society and end up feeling a bit lone wolfish.  Through the last two years, as my mentality shifted to one of preparedness and sustainability, I’ve …


A Christmas Gift for the Unprepared — The Starter Prep Kit, by Sean F.

Christmas isn’t what the television commercials would have you believe. It’s not about diamond jewelry, new cars or power tools. It’s not about trinkets and treasures and toys. It’s not about online shopping and last minute bargains. It’s about love. Not love of possessions or material wealth, but love for friends and family. And because you love them, you naturally want them to be happy and safe. In easy times, this isn’t a problem. But what if the Schumer really does Hit The Fan? Will the ones you love be able to sustain themselves and survive? If your family is …


Where’s the Bad Guys? — Morality When the SHTF, by Kelly A.

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You don’t have to read many gun blogs before you are faced with discussion regarding Bad Guys (“BG’s”). The BG shorthand is the current forum-speak for “Bad Guy”. In these discussions you’ll find that BG’s are always in desperate need of having an end put to their pathetic lives, and that they are nothing really but a target waiting to be acquired. But does reality reflect forum logic? Does every BG have an angry scowl and use someone’s beautiful daughter as a human shield? Life, unlike some forum discussions, is chuck-full of gray areas, shadowy concealment, and moral dilemmas where right and …


The Relational Dimension of Survival, by Gene B.

One of the more unsettling observations that I’ve increasingly noticed in the current talking circles of the internet catastrophe/ end-times web-sites is the lack of agreement on whether or not a manmade scenario or an earth caused event hits us first. The preparations for either are complex, the preparations for both at the same time may be so much so, as to leave holes in our efforts. It might be prudent therefore to consider the strength and synergism of developing a team of like minded individuals or families to fill in these holes that may be unseen in our preparations …


Six Letters Re: Preppers as Foster Parents

JWR, My family and I signed up to be foster parents in Arizona and went through the initial home review, interview and application.  The social worker made some recommendations about adding a door to our loft.  I did not feel that her walk-through was invasive at all but we never made it to the official state inspection.  We had to enter a lot of data into the State’s foster care web site and that bothered me a little.  I have actually thought about logging back in to erase everything.  What we found was that as the economy was changing more and more …


Retreating: A Minority Perspective, by Alex B.

There are all the “normal” things a person who has decided that a TSHTF or even a TEOTWAWKI event is possible in the near future thinks about, and then there is the fact that  some of us are ethnic minorities and our current plans may be to retreat to areas that are overwhelmingly Americans of European descent.  The reality is that many of these areas are also the best suited to survive a TSHTF event or the (hopefully) unlikely TEOTWAWKI.  Thus the quandary: retreat to areas that are highly ethnically diverse, but less prepared, or retreat to areas that are …


Taking the Next Step, by Eli T.

It has been interesting to watch “prepping” go mainstream. From when the U.S. DHS first advocated a three day supply of food and water to Sunset magazine running an article on a “fire season” bug out bag last month, ideas that were once considered outcast and questionable are now accepted as prudent and normal. It has also been interesting to watch off grid living and homesteading be accepted and embraced by both the “survival mindset” crowd and the “reduce your carbon footprint-local food” crowd. This is a great opportunity for us. A large majority of the country seems to be …


Welcome to the Promised Land, by Rod E.

Over the years, many people have told us that WTSHTF, they are coming to our place in the country. When people say things like this, we hear, “…so that you can take care of me.” This document is presented as a source of information for those who might need a realignment of their expectations, a clarification of ours or both. It should serve as a harsh wake up call for anyone who plans to flee to someone else’s survival retreat should the need arise. If you have neglected, failed or refused to complete your plans for survival, here are things …


Tactical Training for the Modern Family, by Jeff F.

In discussions with other members of the preparedness world one thing becomes abundantly clear. Training is secondary to supplies and generally is handled exclusively by the head of the household. I have found that being a former Marine, and a gun enthusiast, as well as the director of my family’s survival plan that many conversations with others all end up at the same spot on the map. The question I pose to the other males leading the charge is, “what happens when the SHTF and you go down early by brick/bullet or from a tap on the shoulder from Murphy?” …


Cross-Training for TEOTWAWKI Preparedness, by Beau F.

I’ve been preparing for a number of years now and found a great way to prepare others in your group as well. I realized a long time ago that I could not survive alone. Now that I have a family, and close like minded friends, I realize that I don’t have to. A couple of years ago I really started stockpiling my “tactical” gear. I would buy a lot of ammo, good mags, the right tactical clothing, and so on. I started reading up on certain things that would be helpful in a TEOTWAWKI situation and would start to practice …


Lessons Learned From a Suburbanite, by Battle Ax

I am your typical thirty-something suburbanite that lives in a cookie cutter house (on the grid of course) in a nice little subdivision, with a wife, 2.6 kids, a dog, and two cats.  I have a steady job, pay my taxes, keep my lawn manicured, and chat with the neighbors out front.  I try to keep up with current events, and I believe things are going to get worse before they get better.  Not being pessimistic, but realistic. My roots in preparedness go back to my childhood where my step-father was a military man, and subtly assigned each one in …