Category: Retreat Groups

Letter Re: Choosing Between Roughly Comparable Retreat Locations

Jim. To follow up on your response E.G. in the southeast who has such good neighbors. This reminds me of the small town in Maine where I grew up. Back in the day[s of early pioneer settlement]. this community, like so many agricultural ones in the region, hosted homesteads that were spread out much like E.G.’s friends in the southeast. At the time, raids by indian parties were the norm as relations fluctuated between harmonious and deadly. As it was more than obvious that a homestead family alone could never hope to hold out against a band of forty warriors …


Letter Re: Choosing Between Roughly Comparable Retreat Locations

Dear Jim, Thank you for the web site, it has been a great source of info. I first read your novel [“Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”] in the 4th quarter of 1999. It was very helpful for preparedness for Y2K. I read it again 1st quarter 2008 and am now re-reading with the high lighter and pen. For the folks who have not read your book, they are missing one of the best preparedness manuals out there. I have never been a Boy Scout, but my personal creed has always been to be prepared. If you have any skills at …


Letter Re: The SurvivalistBooks.com Groups Match-Up Page is Back On-Line

Hi James! Happy New Year and a belated Merry Christmas! I’ve just returned from a ‘holiday’ working on my retreat and found that over the holiday break my e-mail server fell over. I have added those messages I could recover to my Groups Listing page – but I know I have lost at least a couple of postings . As a significant number of people access this page [from the link at the Finding Like-Minded People in Your Area page] at your site, [I’d like to] explain what has happened and ask anyone who doesn’t see their listing to resend …


A Farmer’s Perspective on Combating Crime in South Africa, by Joe Ordinary Voortrekker

Although we in South Africa do not live in a TEOTWAWKI situation, we routinely have to deal with constant attempts to appropriate life, possessions, and freedom that could be good training for a TEOTWAWKI situation. The following are some real life insights as to what and how we handle these regular attempts at property liberation on our homesteads and surrounds. We are fortunate to live well outside of South Africa’s largest city, our community is isolated and not visible from any main road. To a point where people that live in nearby areas do not know where our entry road …


The “Prepper-Lawyer” by The Fourth Whirlwind

I have been deeply perplexed ever since first beginning to read SurvivalBlog. Every night, while the wife and new baby daughter slept in peace, I have thought about my lack of tangible knowledge. Sure, I have many skills over a variety of useful tasks in our everyday lives, and even some that would help my family survive in a bad situation. But, when we have to be brutally honest with ourselves, self-doubt can get the best of us. I say this now because it was reading the highly useful SurvivalBlog that brought on this doubt for me. I wanted to …


Charity, Civility, Community, and Hope

Whilst pondering the various possibilities for the future, it is easy to get caught up in the minutiae of radio frequencies, milligram dosages, microns of filtration, calibers, and calories per ounce. (You” read plenty of those details in SurvivalBlog. But in doing so we can easily lose sight of bigger, far more important issues such as charity, civility, community, and hope. Charity Most of you reading this are the heads of households that are far better prepared than your neighbors. Your deep larder, expansive fuel storage, advanced skills, and wide range of useful tools will put you in a distinctly …


Letter Re: Long Haul Voice and Data Communications in a Post-Collapse Environment

Mr. Rawles; In the event of total meltdown, have you thought about using bulletin board systems (BBSes) as a means of communicating? If, and that could be a big if, the phone land lines were still operating, but ISPs were down, then a BBS would be a excellent way to keep folks informed. Pre-Internet I ran BBSes with multiple phone lines with great success. Just an idea. Also, while on that topic, has there been any discussion as to shortwave frequencies that you may support? Is there/are base stations set up for relays of news and information? A survival Net …


Two Letters Re: Getting Your Loved Ones on Board with Preparedness

Dear Mr. Rawles, I am new to your blog (a real treasure chest!) and happened to read your post concerning the Pollys in our lives. I have also spent many of my days what seems like shouting out of the bottom of a barrel to raise people’s awareness of the potential issues that surround us. I did note that you mentioned [the television series] Jericho as a means of raising people’s awareness concerning survival, etc. Our family has been able to share our DVDs almost like a lending library all summer and had many, many friends and even acquaintances not …


The Foundation of Basic Preparedness, by Doc Gary

Much has been written on The Blog concerning the 4 G’s, getting right with God, Ground, Grub and Guns. I believe that another “G” exists for most, if not all, of us and that is “Group”. The family unit is the original group and the most basic. This is not to say that individuals cannot go it alone. Man, however, is a social creature and survives best (biology aside) with others. We have faced the challenge of preparedness as a family. The issues are, of course, the same as for anyone like-minded. Most issues have to do with mind-set, some …


Two Letters Re: Adapt to Survive, by Elizabeth B.

Mr. Rawles, I can understand Mrs. B’s reasoning from a long term standpoint. But, what I believe she is missing is that most of what is trying to be conveyed to people on this site is to stock up on articles such as food stuffs, hygiene supplies, bartering goods and such for the period of time that will exist from the point that the realization of a SHTF time and the time when all the skills and knowledge will be needed to sustain life. For an example, lets say that it’s October or November and everything has just fallen apart. …


Letter Re: When Unprepared Folks Show Up on Your Doorstep

Mr. Rawles; With the current state of the country more and more people have been stepping up their preparedness. The question I get asked most is what to do with the people who say they will be over when everything falls apart. I know you have addressed this in the past, but it is something people need to think through with the current state we are in. With my preparedness consulting I have had story after story from preparing people of family, friends and people who know they are preparing, but do not prepare themselves saying they will be there …


Letter Re: Finding a Like-Minded Spouse

JWR – I have read through all of your archives, and your Finding Like-Minded People in Your Area [static page]. From a recent personal experience, I thought maybe it might help to note that the site www.FarmersOnly.com is an online dating-type site that caters to: “Farmers, Ranchers, Ag Students and all of Agriculture Horse, Livestock Owners and all Animal Lovers Cowboys, Cowgirls, Rodeo Fans and Country Wannabes” I recently signed up and, unlike the mainstream sites, they give you a three day “try it before you buy it” period. Also, unlike the mainstream sites, their membership fees are reasonable for …


Letter Re: Getting Adult Family Members Home in Times of Crisis

Greetings, Mr. Rawles, I need advice and I trust you implicitly in survival matters. Here’s my issue: I live in the country north of Tampa, Florida. Good dirt, well water (and well bucket), dogs, garden, silver coins stashed away. We are ready for whatever happens. My 27 year old daughter lives in Austin, Texas. We have discussed her bugging out to come home, or to her grandmother’s home in Southwestern Alabama. She is preparing her bugout pack today, and waiting to hear from me to tell her to come home. My question is this: At what point do I tell …


Sometimes We Actually Get Through to Our Family Members

Jim – I got this letter from my little sister: “I used to think that you were so off the wall on your beliefs and how this country was falling apart. I would make little jokes because I had no idea what you had seen or done while you were in the military, but you thought that this world was coming to an end. Well, I am no longer laughing at you and it goes to show to not always think that because someone else’s ideas or a little extreme that they are crazy because they might turn out to …


Replace Your FUD with Preparedness Action–a Pre-Crash “D” List

All of the recent economic news may be overwhelming to some. This has left many people virtually petrified by Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD). Don’t be a proverbial “deer in the headlights.” I strongly encourage you get past your anxiety uncertainty and instead of sitting around glued to CNN, wringing your hands and saying “ain’t it awful”. Replace that angst with action. Get busy preparing. Here is my suggested Crash Countdown “D” List, for folks that are already fairly well-prepared: 1.) De-Hummelize Sell off any collectibles that are not family heirlooms. The worst offenders here are the mass produced “limited …