Category: Traditional Skills/Fieldcraft

Survival Insights of an American Genius, by Wayne M. Thomas

Many people remember the book Walden as the story of a hermit living in a hut who survived on twigs and berries in the Concord, Massachusetts woods. Its author, Henry David Thoreau, was no hermit, but a survivalist and philosopher who personified the best of American values of self-reliance, simplicity, love of the land, individualism and defense of personal liberty against governmental overreaching. He lived simply on Walden Pond from 1845-1847 without a GPS, iPod, iPhone, laptop or wi-fi.. Long before we developed a dependence on electronic devices, Thoreau defined some first principles for personal autonomy and survival. We find …


Learning From Extreme Missionaries, by Chuck Holton

As an international war correspondent, my work takes me to more than a dozen far-flung war zones every year. In my travels, I am often reminded just how thin the veneer of civilization really is, and get to meet many families caught in crisis and see the different ways they manage to survive. A recent trip to Africa brought one of the most powerful examples, where I met a family of missionaries who have built their lives in one of the most harsh and inhospitable corners of the planet. While for most survivalists, prepping for “TEOTWAWKI” is a “what if” …


How the Average American Can Prepare for the Coming Collapse, by R.M.

It is very difficult for the average middle class American to prepare for the coming collapse; those that recognize the need still see it as maybe too late to do anything or there is too much to buy and prepare to be completely prepared.  Unless you are independently wealthy, that may be true, it is nearly impossible to be 100% completely prepared for all eventualities. The first thing you need to do is to prepare your soul and your family, they have to understand and be on board.  Your family and yourself must first get right with God if you …


Profitable Homesteading: How to Thrive in a TEOTWAWKI World, by Dusty

The idea of homesteading is not a new one.  As a species, we humans have mastered the art of living off the land better than any other species, learning along the way to capture fire, clothe ourselves and even preserve food that we grew to later nourish us. We weren’t content to stop there though.  Mankind “evolved” to reassemble natural materials into unnatural materials such as plastic and combine countless ingredients produced or grown by man into processed foods such as Twinkies, which we figured we might as well wrap in plastic.  Although the modern age has brought many possibilities, …


You May Not Get a Second Chance to Prepare, by Larry E.

I have been guilty for years of talking about preparing verses actually putting forth the effort and taking the necessary steps to prepare for my family.  I began my prep life back pre-2000 Y-2K bug times.  I began to read about the potential time bomb that was ticking as it pertained to the technology crash back in 1995.  I had subscribed to a homesteaders magazine called Countryside (highly recommended) and began to study what impending danger that our nation and world was faced with.  As did many, I did not want to face the facts that this could actually happen …


Self-Sufficient Farming in East Prussia in the 1930s and 1940s, by Mrs. Icebear

Please keep in mind that English is not my mother tongue, and that these recollections are from the perspective of a young girl, now in advanced years. My mother-in-law grew up in what was then called East Prussia (Ostpreussen) – now Poland. She was born 1929 – got twice evacuated – the first time at the age of 14. The beautiful area is called “die Mazurische Seenplatte” and  “die Mazuren” and is today developed for tourism. I´ve picked her brains to learn as much as I can, and here are some of the things she remembers of life on the …


The Year I Accidentally Grew Wheat, by Gonzo In Virginia

I’d like to share a recent adventure in practical survival skills that I stumbled upon by accident. Luckily for me this was not a disaster that forced this, but instead the natural friction that occurs between man and wife. In the course of a year I grew a crop of wheat, harvested, processed, and made a loaf of bread. The adventure was that I did not start out to do any of those things! In the course of this learning experience I found out that things “everyone knows” are not, in fact, easy to find out. The adventure started innocently …


Keeping Chickens in a Backyard Flock, by Nightshade

In a SHTF scenario, already having a small flock of laying chickens will be of great benefit for everyone from an urban backyard to a rural, backwoods bunker setting. They are easy to care for, provide eggs and eventually, can grace your stewpot once they have stopped laying. Given the opportunity, they are also resourceful, and will scavenge for insects, grubs, and their favorite greenery. Be warned, they absolutely adore strawberries and kale, and will eat it right out of your garden! A laying hen reaches maturity and begins laying eggs at around 4-6 months of age. She will lay …


Individual Movement in Escape and Evasion Situations, by A.E.

What follows is a collection of tips, tricks and strategies that I have personally tested/evaluated and passed on to students within my capacity as a survival and tracking instructor working with responsible civilians, military and law enforcement. Some of this has been around for years, some of it is very recent wisdom, most of it is just common sense. This is not an exhaustive study in any way, but rather a useful primer designed to inspire creative solutions while adhering to time worn tactical truisms. Note also, we are not covering SERE, as survival and resistance are truly separate topics. …


Weapon Use, Slings, Web Gear, and Associated Weapon Equipment, by Racker

Thanks to Jim Rawles and those who participate in SurvivalBlog–such a great source of material. It has been a real pleasure to review the material on this site and note the obvious amount of knowledge available as resources for others in proper disaster planning. When you see nation changing events happening around the world, it is nice to see a level of common people thinking about such things, preparing for such events, and sharing.   I have read other’s ideas on weapons related gear and I agree with many of their thoughts. My personal training comes from the Marine Corps …


Candle Making For Preppers, by Jennifer L.

So, you think anyone can make candles.  Well, now that I’ve made a hundred and have tried to teach my friends, I’m not so sure!   I decided a month ago that I wasn’t going to wait for a TEOTWAWKI situation to figure out how to make them!  I’m making them now and thought I would share my “lessons learned” with you.  I know that all of us have plenty of flashlights, batteries, oil lamps and kerosene lanterns packed away.  But if the poles shift and batteries don’t work, if you run out of oil and kerosene…. then candles might just …


The TEOTWAWKI Tool Guy, by K.D.C.

I have been prepping for over two decades now, although some would say I have been prepping my whole life. Both sets of grandparents instilled into my parents the need to be prepared, and in turn they did the same for my siblings and me. I am the only one of my siblings who has taken it to this high a point, even though they are probably more prepared for a major event then 99% of the rest of America. My definition of prepping is, I think, a little different than most. I define my families prepping as being prepared …


Survival Fishing 101, by Captain T.

Many of us have, within our Bug Out Bag some kind of basic survival fishing rig (like those sold at Ready Made Resources or Camping Survival) be it a simple hook, line, and sinker tucked away in a plastic case, in the handle of a survival knife, a pill bottle, plastic pack or metal tin, or a slightly more elaborate setup that might include a small fishing reel and telescopic rod or a small Yo-Yo fishing reel.  Regardless of what rig you possess at the time TSHTF, it is important to have some general knowledge and ability in order to …


Wildcrafting Healing, by Peggy S.

When TEOTWAWKI comes, there isn’t going to be a CVS or Walgreen’s pharmacy open and stocked for very long afterward. So, what to do when you get a nasty cut, burn or some other infection? First, as common sense tells us, wash it off with soap and water or use some stashed vodka to kill any possible germs or even the old time remedy of kerosene. The kerosene was also an old time remedy to keep fleas off your dogs, just pour a thin line of it down their backs like you do with modern flea drops. Just remember to …


Letter Re: Keeping Honey Bees for Survival

I just read the SurvivalBlog writing contest article on keeping honeybees.  It was an excellent primer for someone to read and get started working with honeybees.  I have a few tidbits of information from my experience keeping bees.  We have had bees at our home for three years now, and it’s been one of the most amazing things I have ever done.  We got started with a local supplier, and stood up two full size langstroth hives, and then brought the two “nucs” home (driving with 30,000 bees in a minivan for an hour and a half is exhilarating to say the …