Category: Retreat Groups

Mutual Assistance Group Planning – Part 2, by Survivormann99

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Post-SHTF, a survival group will be dealing with issues that are certainly more important than occasional potholes. What happens if individuals within the group begin dragging their feet and refuse to help with group projects or refuse to spend time on security and common defense? From a pure expediency perspective, what can actually be done about people in a group who don’t help with projects or participate in security and defense efforts? Should a group sit idly by and allow a gang of marauders to loot the recalcitrant member’s home nestled in …


Mutual Assistance Group Planning – Part 1, by Survivormann99

I have been involved in the preparedness movement, at least to some degree, for a very long time. I became involved in preparedness when all like-minded people were classified as “survivalists,” although there was never a universally accepted definition of exactly what a survivalist is. There still isn’t. When that term became tainted because of certain bad actors, many of us were then classified as “preppers.” It sounded less threatening, less “Unabomber cabin.” Again, there was no universally accepted definition of exactly what a prepper is. There still isn’t. The television series Doomsday Preppers almost always seemed bent on finding …


On Growing Older – Part 3, by A.E.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Adding families into the social mix of the hunting group made socializing more complex. Basically it meant there were three levels: the men who could and did get along, the women who might get along, and the kids who would usually get along with a little parental supervision. There were exceptions. There was the woman who I’m sure had vinegar instead of blood in her veins, another woman looked for things to complain about and make an issue of, and the woman who would drag a hapless family member into their tent …


Low-Cost and No-Cost Preparedness

Many SurvivalBlog readers have contacted me, lamenting that they don’t have enough money to prepare.  My response? Re-prioritize how you spend your time and money. The following suggestions are primarily based on my own experience. Avalanche Lily and I do our best to live a frugal life. Please prayerfully consider and implement some or most of these suggestions, as new year’s resolutions. Here are some suggestions for spending less money: Pray. Prayer costs nothing, and it helps focus your mind on your priorities. Chief among these should be your family, friends, fellow church congregants, neighbors, and co-workers. Study. Used books …


An Illustrative Family Reunion Camping Trip, by MacHam

Editor’s Introductory Note: The following article illustrates the difficulties of what I often label “group dynamics.” Anyone who plans to operate a post-Schumer retreat with more than just two families should pay close attention! – JWR I have just returned from a four-day family reunion and here are my observations. To set the stage I arranged for a four-day family reunion with several families of men, women and children. The time was end of July and into August 2022. The place was a much coveted remote Forest Service Group Site that could hold up to 200 people. The site was …


Update: In-Town Versus Isolated Retreats

This feature article is an update to a SurvivalBlog article that I wrote back in August of 2005: — There are two distinct modes of fixed location survival retreats: ”In Town” and “Isolated.” The former depends on some local infrastructure while the latter is designed to be almost entirely self-sufficient and self-contained. Isolated retreats are also often termed “remote” retreats. Not everyone is suited to tackling the tasks required for self-sufficiency at an isolated retreat. Advanced age — with the inevitable loss of muscle mass — physical handicaps, lack of trustworthy family or friends, or chronic health conditions could rule …


Why Do We Prepare?, by Todd X.

I am a prepper. As a child, I remember my grandmother’s stories of living with scarcity during the Great Depression and her life lessons about the necessity of being prepared. As a teenager, my father was a senior operations officer at the Strategic Air Command (SAC) headquarters. He believed he would have an early warning about any incoming nuclear attacks. Consequently, he devised a code phrase. If he called and said: “I have some bad news: Grandpa fell and broke his hip” then we were to grab our bug-out bags and quickly head to our well-stocked cabin in the woods …


A Home Perimeter and Defense Model For The Prepared, by P.F.

I will admit it; I’m slightly paranoid, especially these days I’m more suspicious than ever. However, I take comfort in knowing that I’m in good company.  Some degree of paranoia is probably good, like the fight-or-flight survival mechanism, since without it our prehistoric ancestors would have become dinosaur appetizers. So, viewed in a positive light, slight paranoia is a survival and coping mechanism. I am also an Eagle Scout and so I’ve lived the “Be Prepared” mindset since my early teenage years.  My second adult career is as a remodeling contractor, so I am a bit handy with most things in …


Readying Your Family: Count The Costs

As I’ve mentioned in previous essays, I believe that We Are Living In The Age of Deception and Betrayal (WALITAODAB). Looking back on the trauma and drama of 2020 and 2021, please consider some of the questions that you must ask yourself and the choices that you may have to make in the next few years: 1.) First and foremost, are you right with God? If not, then repent and commit your life to Christ Jesus. (Yeshua, the Messiah.) Salvation in Christ is there for the asking, but you must be saved. 2.) Are you living in a truly safe …


WTSHTF: What Will the Police Do?, by Gramthar’s Hammer

Full disclosure: I am one of them. Or I was one of them, to be more accurate. I’m retired now, so I spend my days watching the lawn grow and pondering various “what-ifs”. One of these gedankenexperiments is: “What if the wheels come off the wagon and the police are no longer guardians of peace. What would the police do if they became hungry and angry, just like the masses.” My wife thinks I should get a hobby, to which I answer I already have one: prepping. For 27 years I worked in law enforcement for several agencies. Most of …


On Leadership, by Old Bobbert

Editor’s Introductory Note:  This is the 30th article written by Old Bobbert that has been posted in SurvivalBlog.  In all, he’s written more than 97,000 words for SurvivalBlog, and we are grateful! — True leadership is a status conferred by knowledgeable persons whose choices reflect their recognition of ability, experience, integrity, character, and a full commitment to a common cause or endeavor. Being chosen as a leader generally is a result of a decision that they will be supported and enabled by the leader to be successful and secure in the common group efforts. Often the new group members have …


Realistic Team Training Events, by Joe Dolio

When talking about survival in a Without Rule of Law (WROL) situation, you are going to need a team. This can be a dedicated preparedness group, your family, a collection of friends, or whomever. But you absolutely need a team to survive in the coming chaos. This team needs to train together in order to be effective. The problem is that most training events go something like this: On Friday night, everyone meets at the location, has a big BBQ dinner and hangs out around the campfire. Tents and shelters are placed in a wide-open area, spread out over a …


The Honeypot Survivalist, by Gnorizon

Surviving virtually any event largely comes down to resource availability, planning, groups and perhaps most critically thinking. Thinking is the one innate ability that separates humanity from the wild and, arguably, from other humans unable or unwilling to adjust to new events; history, particularly noted in war, is replete with such examples ranging from the macro level down to the individual. The ability to leverage thinking can compensate for a weakness in resource availability, planning and groups – such as cohesion of individuals in the group, its longevity and so on. The purpose of this article is to present information …


Tips for Moving to the Country, by The Novice

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Civil unrest has rocked many American cities. Looting, arson, assault and murder are common. As a result, a growing flood of refugees is fleeing the cities and their surrounding suburbs in order to seek safety in more rural settings. For those of you who may be voting with your feet in this way, I have gathered some tips regarding moving to the country. These tips deal primarily with unfamiliar things you may experience in a rural setting, and how to best respond to them. SurvivalBlog readers with experience living in the country are encouraged to supplement my list in the …


OPSEC Problems for Preppers, by The Lone Canadian

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The Problem The biggest problem that I see for preppers is that we talk a good game, and we know what needs to be done, but it goes against our basic nature. Now, before you all jump on me, hear me out. I’m not talking about stockpiling “The Three Bs” (Beans, Bullets, and Band-Aids.) We all know that in the event that TEOTWAWKI comes to pass that we will need to band together in groups for survival. The “lone wolf” has been much written about, but we all know that it’s not possible for one person, or even a couple, …