Category: Self-Sufficiency

A Multiple Family Retreat — Lessons Learned The Hard Way

I have been a follower of your blog for a couple of years now and find it to be the best source of self-sufficiency information on the Web. You and your readers have provided me with a wealth of information that would have otherwise taken a lifetime to research on my own. –and for that, I thank you and all those who took the time to contribute. While the plethora of advice handed out on a daily basis is extremely helpful, the one thing that I have found to be sparse is the first hand accounts of failure. A wise …


Self-Sufficiency in England? Take the Gap

One of my readers sent me this news item from southwestern England: Announcing the Release of ‘Can Totnes and District Feed Itself?’. That got me thinking. Perhaps they can feed themselves. But if things fall apart, how can they feed the Golden Horde from Bristol, Bournemouth, Plymouth, Poole, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Bath, Exeter, Swindon, Torbay, and the other cities of southern England? And let’s not forget greater London. Most of those city dwellers will want to head for “the countryside”, but how many urban refugees can the small towns absorb? Parenthetically, I’ll mention that the Rawles family name originated from southwest …


Letter Re: Wringers for Hand Washing Clothes

JWR: For those who are planning to wash clothes in case of power outage or loss of delivered water I have two suggestions. First is the wringer to get excess water out of washed clothes. Use an industrial mop wringer, such as the kind available through Lowe’s stores. It is made of heavy duty industrial plastic, and, of course, is dual use. Wring out your mops or your clothes. It is less expensive than a traditional roller type wringer. Second, for washing clothes in small batches you might consider a foot moved (adapted to hand crank on rollers) drum cement …


Survey Results: Your Favorite Books on Preparedness, Self-Sufficiency, and Practical Skills

In descending order of frequency, the 78 readers that responded to my latest survey recommended the following non-fiction books on preparedness, self-sufficiency, and practical skills: The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (Far and away the most often-mentioned book. This book is an absolute “must” for every well-prepared family!) The Foxfire Book series (in 11 volumes, but IMHO, the first five are the best) Holy Bible Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook by James Talmage Stevens The “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course Crisis …


Net Producer-Net Consumer Equations for Self-Sufficiency: Getting Out of the Pit

In a recent phone conversation with one of my consulting clients, I was asked why I placed such a large emphasis on living in the country, at a relatively self-sufficient retreat. I’ve already discussed at length the security advantages of isolation from major population centers in the blog, but I realized that I’ve never fully articulated the importance of self-sufficiency, at a fundamental level. In a societal collapse, where you are in “You’re on Your Own” (YOYO) mode, it will be very important to be a net producer of water, food, and energy. This will mean the difference between being …


Three Rules for Persuading the Sheeple, by Tall Sally

This article could also be titled: “How to Convince Friends and Family to Prepare for Economic Collapse.” One of the greatest problems for the prepper is getting family and friends on board without alienating them or terrifying them into inaction. With this article, I hope to use my experience to show you how to gently and persuasively warn friends and family about the coming economic crisis. I have used this approach with several people and found it to be successful. I am writing this article now because I believe that now is the time to approach your sheeple about prepping …


Letter Re: Advice on Deep Water Wells in a Grid-Down Era

James, I know that I have seen posts about deep water wells, but when I search I really don’t see that many applicable posts. I am looking at a property where water [static level] is about 400 feet down. In a “grid-up” scenario, this isn’t really a problem, but I am looking for “grid-down” options for using a well at this depth. Not knowing much about the specifics of wells, I am not having much luck searching with Google, either. Would you be able to cover some deep well basics and some options for grid down/solar/backup pumping, specifically for deep …


Getting Started With Dairy Goats, by The Memsahib

Getting any dairy animals is a very big commitment. However, I believe that they are a valuable part of your livestock preparedness. Even more importantly I believe goats are the best dairy animals for the survivalist. Here are my reasons to recommend goats over cows for a survival situation: 1. A dairy goat is about one fifth the cost of a dairy cow. 2. Five goats can be fed one the same amount it takes to feed one cow. 3. If your your one cow dies you are out of luck. But the odds of losing all your goats is …


Letter Re: Growing Food on a City Lot

JWR: While we all dream that perfect place in the country it is important to emphasize how much that can be accomplished on a small city lot. My home sits on about 6,000 square feet of land, a small suburban house in a cookie-cutter neighborhood . The house and garage and drive way take up about half of the lot . Of what’s left, I’m slowly converting the ornamental landscape to organic food production. My current garden consists of 48 tomato plants (4 varieties) 2 beds of sweet corn, 2 rows of cucumbers staggered 2 month s apart for continuous …


Letter Re: Learning the Details of Self-Sufficiency

Jim, I’d like to add an additional perspective on the letter on “Learning the Details of Self-Sufficiency” — the conscious competence learning model. I’d like to pull back the shade a bit on why ‘just buying stuff’ and reading books isn’t going to cut it when the balloon goes up. Many folks are ‘buying things’, reading books, searching the internet with the thought that when the time comes, they will begin living the self-sufficient lifestyle in the country. The aforementioned letter points out the folly of this approach. I just want to take a step back and look at why …


Letter Re: Learning the Details of Self-Sufficiency

Jim, None of us here can know the hour when 1 Thessalonians 4:16 -17, will come to be. There are Prophesies that seem to indicate that that time approaches. But we don’t know. We are not Prophets ourselves. We can just know to be ready. But until that time comes, there are also many other possibilities for which to prepare. We are in the early stages of a world-wide economic meltdown. As that grows worse, it can lead to all sorts of interesting events. Unemployment will likely lead to increased crime and even food riots. That can lead to the …


Letter Re: Where to Find Quality-Made Hand Tools?

Hello, Let me tell you about an experience I had the other day and my frustration. I recently purchased some tools from Sears and got the “higher quality” Craftsman brand. One of the items purchases was a bow saw. I did not look closely at the quality of the item purchased because I thought to myself, “It is a Craftsman, they have a life time warranty.” Well, a few months later the saw broke because of bad construction. Some little nubs that were punched through the very thin sheet metal that held the saw blade in place. It does not …


Livestock for Survival, by Bobbi A.

With a cynical eye on the rapid downward spiral of events, it seems prudent to plan for a very long time of sustainable living. In this case survival depends not only on your stockpiled preps, but also in your ability to sustain food production past the end of your stored supply. Let’s assume, to begin with, that you have reasonably stocked retreat. I’m not talking a stock to the level described in “Patriots”, but rather one that includes a year (or more) of food, basic ammo, firearms, reliable water, heat and power source … the basics. Now it’s time to …


Ten Letters Re: 3-in-1 Home Workshop Machines

JWR: One of your readers asked: “I want to buy a 3 in 1 machine. Does anyone have any experience with them? Perhaps a brand to recommend or stay away from?” Having considered that choice extensively myself, my home shop amateur opinion is to recommend separate machines. Now that I see what a real mill table looks like, I realize there isn’t enough table space on the 3-in-1 to set up anything. Instead, get the cheapest lathe you can stand, and the best mill you can afford. If you still want a combo for space reasons, get one of the …


Depression Proof Jobs for a 20 Year Depression – Part 2: Developing a Home-Based Business

Yesterday, in Part1, I discussed the “safe” and counter-cyclical occupations for the unfolding economic depression. Today, I’d like to talk about one specific approach: self-employment with a home-based business. I posted most the following back in late 2005, but there are some important points that are worth repeating: The majority of SurvivalBlog readers that I talk with tell me that they live in cities or suburbs, but they would like to live full time at a retreat in a rural area. Their complaint is almost always the same: “…but I’m not self-employed. I can’t afford to live in the country …