Preparing Your Organization for Disasters, by N.C.L.

Where will you be when the earthquake happens? The tornado? The riot? The terrorist strike? The (fill in the blank). If you work or go to school, you spend about 40 hours every week in a non-home environment. Probably more if you count commute time, shopping, recreation, library time, extra-curricular activity time, and so forth. Even if you are a serious prepper, that means about 25% or more of your time each week is spent in environments away from your primary support systems. That also means that there is about 1 chance in four that a disaster will happen while you are in one of these other environments. You will have access to what you have with you and what someone (employer, school, etc.) has put in place for you in such emergencies. Having been employed for 40 years and a student for 20+ years before that I can tell you these other environments have virtually nothing in place to provide for the survival, let alone comfort, of those on premises.

Other posts on SurvivalBlog have addressed the issue of what you should have with you (in a car, backpack, etc.) while away from home. I encourage you to read them and prepare accordingly. I will not re-visit those recommendations here. Rather, I will address the preparedness issue from the point of view of employers, employees, and students. These are environments where significant time is spent, but few resources are in place to deal with even minor inconveniences, let alone full-blown disasters.

For the Enlightened Employer:

Ask the average employer about “emergencies” on the job and they think no further than a first aid kit “somewhere in the cabinet over there”, a fire extinguisher on the wall, and maybe an evacuation plan. And none of these may have been looked at for years. Their thinking is one-dimensional: a cut requiring a band-aid; a slip-and-fall causing a sprain; a bad headache. Anything more serious – call the ambulance!
But what if the ambulance doesn’t come? Or the phones won’t work to even call the ambulance? And what if not just one person is injured, but several? And lots more are injured for as far as you can see in any direction? It’s time to enlighten organizations to possibilities not previously on their radar screen.

In a disaster, employees may not be able to leave a work site to get home, even if they live rather close. Employers need to face the possibility that a large number of their employees may need to shelter in place at the work site for at least a day or two. Normal transportation may be impossible, prohibited by authorities, or just plain too dangerous to attempt. Large numbers of injuries may be encountered, from minor to extremely serious. Everyday resources such as water, heat, and electricity, taken for granted under normal circumstances, likely will not work.

What should an enlightened employer do to provide some protection to employees following a disaster?
First, recognize you have a moral duty beyond the one-dimensional level of a normal workday to provide some extended level of support to those who work for you. Provisions do not have to be elaborate or expensive. Start thinking outside the box. You do not have to drop everything and put all the resources in place at once. As a starting place, consider the following:

  1. Let your employees know you are interested in putting some disaster resources in place, and why. Many of the employees will get on board with the idea, and will help identify ideas. Be honest. If you have a limited budget, say so. Maybe provide a specific amount each month to devote to the plan. You can tell them implementation may take several months, maybe a couple of years, but be prepared to implement at least some of the good ideas. If employees don’t see progress, the philosophical “buy-in” will disappear.
  2. Don’t re-invent the wheel. Assess the skills and resources already in place. Review the backgrounds of current employees. Identify those who have genuine first aid training, fire fighting skills, law enforcement background, etc. Existing, but unused water storage capability? Electrical generating capacity? You may well find significant assets already available and waiting to be recognized.
  3. If adequate skills are not present, consider providing one, or a few employees the chance to take an appropriate course (which you will pay for) at a local community college or other facility. The cost of the course is minimal, and sometimes free. You can reward employees who acquire these skills through recognition, and maybe something tangible like a gift certificate or ball game tickets. Think of this as a type of insurance policy. By the way, it’s deductible.
  4. Form an employee committee. Ask them to discuss the preparedness issue among themselves and as many other employees as feasible. Perhaps once a month (or whatever works) publish a work site preparedness news letter. It can be as simple as a typed sheet in simple outline form. Communicate ideas and decisions. If some are left out of the information loop make sure it’s their choice and not your fault.
  5. Talk to other employers. At least a few may have already addressed the issue. Some of the work may have been done for you by other businesses, at least identifying what works and what doesn’t. Civic clubs (Rotary, Lions, etc.) are a good place to start.

For the Enlightened Employee:

If you are already a prepper and/or read this blog, chances are you don’t have to be convinced of the necessity of preparedness. There is a chance though that you have never thought extensively, about the possibility of being caught by surprise in a disaster while you are away from and unable to get to your primary support systems, which is probably your home. Without some serious planning on your part you are going to be at the mercy of what other people have, or more likely haven’t done, to provide for your safety and survival. Realize you may have to remain at a work site for an extended period of time. Injury, legal restrictions, or plain common sense may keep you from leaving for a more desirable location.

So what should an enlightened employee do help themselves and others who may never have thought of disaster prep even at home, let alone their work site?

First, think the problem through – thoroughly. Start slow. Don’t rush to your employer and suggest in a frenzied fashion what you think they should be doing. There are some things you need in your corner before you “go public”.

  1. If possible, and very delicately, find one or more co-workers with the same mindset as yours. Unless you are certain of a positive outcome, do not approach your employer about this yet. Remember, your employer may be oblivious to the issue and dismiss you as some kind of nut case. Consider getting one or two pieces of the Survivalblog gear (coffee mug, hat, etc.) and let it be seen casually around the work site. You may find friends you didn’t know were there.
  2. If you are convinced there are no like-minded co-workers available consider finding prepper friends who work in other businesses. Find out if any of their employers have established a disaster prep plan. Compare notes. Employers are always impressed by what works at other employers, especially their competitors.
  3. Write it down. Put all your ideas in writing. Your first draft will be very rough. Don’t worry. You don’t have to show it to anybody. Over time, revise and improve it. Revise it again. If you are not a good writer, admit it to yourself and get some help. A well written plan will impress an employer much more than a sloppy one.
  4. Enlist the aid of a trusted co-worker. Preferably someone that other employees like, look up to, and consider professional. Ask their advice and share your ideas. Don’t push. Let your ideas simmer a while.
  5. Get the ball rolling. Consider forming a casual group of co-workers outside of work to discuss preparedness issues . Start by addressing home and family settings. After a few discussions chances are school/work site issues will surface. If they don’t, introduce the possibilities yourself.

For The Enlightened Student:

If you are a student in Junior High School or High School, your approach will be similar, but not quite the same, as that of an employee. You also face a different environment. Schools can be “locked down” by municipal or school authorities. In instances where this has happened the lock down has been for a few hours at most and municipal services (water, heat, light, etc) were not interrupted. That’s a real advantage in maintaining the morale of those on site. Now imagine the same location but with multiple, maybe hundreds, of injuries, no municipal services, and no ready help.

So what should an enlightened student do?

First, realize that you are going to have to enlist adult support. No matter how many fellow students you have on your side, if that’s all you have, you will get no more than brief attention from school authorities, and even less action. Take it from one who has “been there – done that!” Consider the following course of action.

  1. Don’t despair. You can win this battle if you approach it in a professional manner and realize you have to win small battles one at a time to win the war. It won’t happen all at once.
  2. Draw up a written plan. It need not be elaborate, and in fact it’s better if it isn’t. You are going to need adult and official buy-in. Let them think a lot of the plan is their idea. If your school has a PTA, look for support there.
  3. Look for an elected municipal or county official willing to listen and help you. A mayor, county Sheriff, city councilman, or state representative are all good choices. Ask for their opinions – and listen! They will be skeptical at first. After all, you are 16 years old and they figure that by next Saturday night your attention span will have faded to a hundred other things. Through repeated, (and I must add, very professional contacts – don’t storm their office with a dozen students) they will begin to see you and others are serious. Each time you contact them, show them you have in some way acted on their suggestions from the previous meeting; it strokes their ego. They also realize that in 1 or 2 years all of you will be voters. But do not mention this. They will interpret it as a threat. Believe me, they already know it.
  4. Once an elected official (preferably more than one) is in your corner, arrange a meeting with your school officials. Do your best to include at least one of the elected officials. Elected officials are scared of voters and school officials are scared of elected officials. School officials may still not believe in your cause, but they will be faced with the fact that you, and some powerful allies, do.
  5. Contact other schools that have made some progress on this. Ask an English or Journalism teacher to help your group write a series of short news stories on the subject and your school’s progress (even if minimal) for the local paper. Keep it positive and praise the school officials for “seeing the need”. Principals, teachers, school boards , and especially parents love that kind of stuff.
  6. As long as you keep it professional, you are on the road to prepping your school site. Remember, don’t set out to win big victories. Build the fort one block at a time. Keep the contacts going and expand them.

Letter Re: “Patriots” Has Changed My Understanding

Mr. Rawles,
I just finished your novel “Patriots” a few days ago and I was compelled to send you a note. Your writing has changed my whole view of the “survivalist/ militia” culture and beliefs. You have truly opened my eyes and provided some answers to many questions I have had for years now.

First you opened my eyes to how fragile our world truly is. The parallels to what is happening today in our society will certainly force me to take personal action for my family and close friends. I will be having both my son and daughter, as well as their spouses read your book. As well I will be recommending it to as many friends as I possibly can. At 52 years of age, I hope I am not too late, for my children’s sake.

I appreciate the technical detail and references you have provided. Who knows some of it may save one or more lives in the future.

I have always been a believer in our Second Amendment rights in America and your book has just solidified the understanding of why this should be so important to us, and most importantly our children. Thank you for providing an inspirational and thought provoking look into what we may face in the future. I do so hope you will land your screenplay sale and “Patriots” goes to the big screen. If it does please make sure to maintain the message you send to all Americans. I will make sure I am one of the first to see the film if it does come out.

Thank you again sir, from my heart, I say “Thank you,” – Rodney W., Beaverton, Oregon

Letter Re: The Disaster Field Bakery

Jim:
I am not sure bread is a food that is best prepared after a TEOTWAWKI situation. I consider it a luxury item. In a survival situation it all boils down to decisions. I am not saying charity should not happen but we need to get the biggest bang for our supplies. Bannock, cornbread, biscuits and tortillas take less effort and energy to produce and travel better than bread. We also need to consider OPSEC, since baking bread has to have a bigger signature than the baking of other breads. – Curtis

Economics and Investing:

Top U.K. Economist Dumas: Euro Will Collapse. (Thanks to GG for the link.)

Also from GG comes some grim news from Forbes: The Global Debt Bomb: “If 2008 was the year of the subprime meltdown, 2010 will be the year entire nations start going broke.”

Trent flagged this: Why Americans should care about the debt crisis in Greece

Items from The Economatrix:

Identifying Sure Signs of the Final Economic Plunge

Banks Pull Another $1 Billion from Small Business Lending

One Million Americans Give Up on Job Searches

Chevron to Shrink Refining Business

Ship Engine Maker Warstila to Lay Off 1,500 Globally

Stocks Slide as Obama Calls for Tougher Bank Rules

Oil Tumbles as Stock Market Stumbles

Odds ‘n Sods:

Bill S. mentioned this article from a Dallas newspaper: Stockpiling food, water in case of emergency is smart, not paranoid

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Nanci wrote to tell me that Dolly Freed, the author of the recently re-released book Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money, has launched her own blog, also called Possum Living.

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Sri sent me a link to an interesting older article at Bill St. Clair’s site by Mike Vanderboegh that predates my launch of SurvivalBlog in 2005: What Good Can a Handgun Do Against an Army…..?

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Damon was the first of several readers that sent us this, by way of The Drudge Report: Sewage runs, garbage piles up at Haiti quake camps

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“In the Middle Ages, the average human life expectancy did not reach into the teen years, not only because of the extremely high perinatal mortality that heavily skewed the data, but also because Europeans (and much of the world during this time) lived in an unhealthy milieu of filth, poor hygiene, and nearly non-existent sanitation. Superstition and ignorance, along with pestilential diseases and vermin infestation, were rampant. Epidemic and endemic diseases such as the bubonic plague, typhus, variola (smallpox), and the White Death of tuberculosis (consumption) took a heavy toll on the population, both young and old.” – Miguel A. Faria, Jr., MD

A Brief Critique of the Movie “The Road”

Introductory Note: I recently wrote this critique for British newspaper. For the benefit of my readers in the US, I’m posting it to my blog. – JWR

The recently released movie The Road, based on the same-titled novel by award-winning writer Cormac McCarthy illustrated some classic blunders in bushcraft and tactical movement. Doubtless, many of these gaffes were intentional–I suspect for the sake of drama, or to provide enough light for the night scenes.

Here is a short list:

1.) Following main arterial roads.  In a post-collapse environment, major roads will become linear ambush zones.  To avoid trouble, “The Man” and “The Boy” should have traveled overland, or on only the smallest roads and trails.

2.) Lighting large campfires.  Large campfires were repeatedly lit at night, under circumstances where it was very important to avoid detection. “Cold camps” or at least using small tin can stoves would have been much more appropriate!

I don’t want to reveal any “spoilers”, but suffice it to say, in the highly inimical circumstances depicted in the movie, the last thing that “The Man” should have done was to light up a big “Here I am” beacon each night!

3.) No security precautions when sleeping.  With not enough manpower to provide a night watch, they would have very likely “woken up dead”. Some intrusion detection systems are very low tech or even “no tech.”  For example, they could have easily set up trip wires attached to empty tin cans to provide a noise-making perimeter security for their campsites.

Better yet, they should have teamed up with at least one more adult, so that they could have taken turns at keeping watch.

4.) Ignoring basic camouflage. By wearing clothing in relatively bright colors, they greatly increased their chances of being detected.  Their outer layers should have been all earth tones.  They also left their bare faces showing.   In the cold weather depicted, they should have been wearing earth-tone balaclavas.  This would have provided both warmth and better camouflage.

5.) Failure to provide adequate rain protection.  A couple of lightweight tarps at night, and earth tone ponchos worn during the day would have kept “The Man” and “The Boy” much dryer and warmer.

6.) Not making improvised weapons. “The Man” was depicted as having a revolver with only a very few cartridges. Yet, he did nothing to provide other weapons for self-defense. Even a sharpened stick with its point hardened in a fire would have been better than nothing.

7.) Leaving a safe well-stocked  shelter prematurely. Again, I don’t want to reveal a “spoiler”, but suffice it to say, at one point “The Man” and “The Boy” are ensconced in a dry, safe, and well-stocked shelter.  Leaving that shelter when they did was a mistake.  They left behind many useful supplies. They should have foraged in the vicinity longer, and put on more weight before resuming their journey.

Despite these gaffes, the film is still worth seeing, and I even more highly recommend reading McCarthy’s novel.

Letter Re: Marksmanship Training

Sir:
My name is Kent, I’m an 11 year veteran of the Active Army and National Guard, and I’m currently serving my third overseas tour, in Iraq. I have been in the Infantry for the entire time in the military, and I’ve taken it upon myself to seek outside training where available. I have been reading your blog off and on for the past year.

One of the things that firearms proponents and enthusiast fail to mention a lot of is alternate shooting positions. Something I learned in Sniper school (even though I did not pass the course) is that the lower to the ground one gets, the more steady the shot will be. However, in an up close and personal gunfight, mobility is more of an issue than stability. Moving to cover, between cover, advancing, retreating, all of these are issues that the sniper rarely has to deal with, but most cops and civilians will. In the Army, I learned a “special walk” to use to enable one to move and shoot at the same time. However, this takes into account that the soldier is wearing body armor. If body armor is on, then by all means, advance so as to present the armored portion of the body to the enemy. If body armor is not worn, then just walk. One NCO describes it as a careful hurry. As Hock Hocheim likes to say, “We’ve been walking for years, nothing could be more natural.” Don’t over-think it.

Drawing the weapon is another subject that is often overlooked. Many people have expounded on the wisdom of bringing a knife to a gunfight. The knife, however large or small, has incredibly deadly potential if the person being attacked does not already have their weapon drawn and at the ready. As such, location and ease of access for pistols and rifles should be of the utmost concern. If you can’t bring the greatest weapon into play, it ain’t doing you any good. Many people start their ranges with the assumption that they already have their firearm of choice already out. While I realize there are a multitude of courses that teach about quick draws and presenting the weapon, few of them that I’ve seen have dealt with trying to draw a pistol while on the ground. Or, even worse, trying to unsling a rifle while on the ground. Gunfights in a space the size of a closet do not seem to be taught that often either. A firearm will not always be at the ready, no matter how vigilant a person is. Unslinging a rifle and bringing it to bear on the target should be a large part of everyone’s training doctrine. Learning to recognize when an attacker is reaching for a weapon is also an important part of drawing and firing. In addition, weapons retention should be included for all those serious about firearms training. An enormous percentage of police officers are killed with their own guns every year. When the SHTF, that could easily be an enormous amount of civilians trying to survive. Slings and lanyards are one way to combat this problem, but also simple martial arts techniques of strikes and eye gouges can help in weapons retention.

“Teacher’s Pet” mentions Airsoft, of which I am a huge fan for training purposes. Nothing better replicates the feel of getting a shot at while trying to draw. The low cost, $20, battery operated Airsoft pistols are good for this. The velocities of the pellets are relatively low, though eye protection is still required, and a hit will sting a bit. Many otherwise dangerous scenarios can be replicated with Airsoft pistols. Examples are gunfights around cars, multiple attackers, being grappled from behind while shooting someone to the front, room-to-room clearing, and a host of others. Pellets are cheap, batteries are cheap. The training and experience provided are invaluable.

Just thought I’d throw in a couple things, I hope it helps. – Kent

Eight Letters Re: Earthquake Aftermath in Haiti

Dear Jim,
Thank you for the blog. It has helped my family and I to be more prepared than we had ever imagined. I found this Fox News article and thought you might be interested. There are a few things here that have been discussed at length in SurvivalBlog and in your books, but it is good to look at them [actually coming to pass] in real world situations. These include: 1) The police chief can get less than half of his force out. That is probably because they are trying to fend for themselves. 2) They are asking “what is taking the foreigners so long?” Why aren’t they dependant on themselves? 3) Half of the aid coming into their country is from the US Army. If this scenario happened here, who would be bringing aid here? 4) The ones who seem to be doing the best are the ones who live in the hills and who blocked access to their area with cars. 5) Don’t count on the government. That is one young man’s take on things. 6) When the grid goes down, what happens with the criminals in the prisons? Blessings and I hope you enjoy. – Bill H.

Mr. Rawles,
My wife and I were so sorry for your loss and your family has been in our prayers. Our family believes like you that the thin veneer is very real. I thought this article proves your point about the “Golden Horde” and staying away from “Channelized Areas” (aka “Refugee Lines of Drift”).

We were very fortunate to escape a “luxury community in South Texas” and return to the Northwest, purchase our retreat as well as continue our preparations. We took advantage of your “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course and free book offer and have been pleasantly surprised (even though we are preppers there was still an abundance of info that we gleaned from it and it changed a little of our pantry storage process). Regards, – Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot

Greetings Jim,
About a year ago, I submitted a piece on some lessons learned from Hurricane Iniki that struck the island of Kauai in 1992. There were three points from that article that I believe are relevant to what we see in Haiti. One is the problems encountered when rescuers attempt to squeeze a large number of aircraft into one airport. There are monumental challenges with off-loading and moving supplies and equipment in a timely and orderly manner. The second is the need for armed security at distribution points to control the crowds. Most troubling, is the ratio of relief workers to island residents. On Kauai, at the peak of the relief effort, there was one relief worker for every 10 island residents. To achieve that 1:10 ratio on Haiti would require 200,000 to 300,000 relief workers and security forces to assist and protect 2 to 3 million displaced Haitians. That kind of support is unlikely to materialize. We can expect more violence in the days ahead. – Bill in Honolulu

Mr. Rawles,
A few items from Haiti. Ham radio operators trying to help were fired upon, apparently by escaped convicts. I also read that prisoners broke from prison after the quake, stripped weapons from the guards, including assault rifles, and the descended on the rubble of the Justice Ministry to destroy all records of their prior crimes. Obviously, the prison break maps very closely to some of the scenarios you’ve discussed on SurvivalBlog and in your books. People who believe they do not need to be armed when facing a collapse event should read these articles more closely. Best wishes to you and your family. Keep your powder dry. I fear we’re all going to need ours soon. – Dave R.

Mr. Rawles,
I’ve been reading your new “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” book. I like it. I was reminded of something I read there in the sanitation chapter about dealing with dead bodies when I saw this article from the BBC. I also found the Management of Dead Bodies Field Guide the article referenced. The manual can be downloaded. Thank you for all your work. I pray your family is doing well since your loss. God bless. – JG

Dear Jim:
The recent earthquake in Haiti is a perfect example of why disaster planning and preparations are so important. While the most technologically advanced nations on earth try and get aid to the region, they are hindered by a broken port and single poorly equipped airport. Rioting has begun and aid workers are being shot at and mobbed.

This is not a unique situation. This is a mirror for past, present and future disasters. Los Angeles riots, Hurricane Katrina, ice storms, heat waves, tidal waves, etc. all cause an immense amount of death and suffering for the first few weeks simply because folks are not prepared with the basics and the ‘government’ is lucky to be able to find its shoes in the dark with both hands.

Beans, Band-Aids and Bullets. Or to be more precise, water, medical supplies, fuel, shelter, and the means to defend one’s family.

CNN shows the displaced under tarps on main street next to decaying bodies. A military helicopter dropping supplies was mobbed so badly that debris was being thrown up into the rotor blades. After the supplies were all gone, in a few seconds, the crowd began to fight over the empty cardboard boxes! Haitian police just opened fire on a looting mob. This is not a drill.

I have vowed not be forced into that type of situation. I have prepared my immediate family (now numbering ten! what happened?) to be able to ride out at least thirty days of hardship and could well do more if we restrict intake and no one is hurt. We will have our stores and we will be able to defend it. No Katrina/Superdome type fiasco for us thank you very much, hopefully we will hole up here at the house but if need be we can bug out to a campsite away from the maddening crowd.

I know this is preaching to the choir but Haiti is not an anomaly. It is what happens in real life when folks miss only three meals. Bless you and your staff. – Cactus Jim

Hi James,
Wanted to point out this article as an example of your prediction of the “golden hoard” coming true. I can’t even imagine the carnage when 1 million people realize they have to, and can’t, wait for food to grow where they are headed. I’ve read “Patriots” and with this many people heading into the countryside, do you seriously think holding the fort is possible? It seems the only viable option will be to bug out and keep ahead of the hoard. – Kevin in Honolulu

JWR,
Here’s a story about a U.S. Compassion International worker in Haiti who was trapped by the earthquake. – Jerry

Three Letters Re: The Disaster Field Bakery

James,
In reference to the article on SurvivalBlog.com – The Disaster Field Bakery, by JIR, here is a free downloadable PDF copy of the Manual for Army Bakers from 1917 from Google.

It contains over a hundred pages of old fashioned “how to” baking wisdom in a reliable military format. It’s contains detailed instruction on bread baking, including yeast and yeast recipes, and bread ingredients and recipes. The manual also includes a description of the equipment used by a field bakery company. This would be a good manual for a church, charity, or large group who have wheat stored and can no longer rely on buying Wonder Bread at the supermarket. – Jack V.

Mr. Editor:
We are preparing a summer kitchen behind the casa. We purchased a Montgomery Wards wood-burning cookstove the other day, which has four burners, and a grill. Quite fancy! It also has a large oven. Along with a pizza oven and smoker, we can cook large meals. Also we give eggs as tithes to those who are in need. Charity starts in the home and the heart. God Bless, – Maggie

Mr. Rawles,
I just discovered your blog site and have been reading furiously to catch up. I am a physician with a good deal of third world experience and an “end of the world” medical kit in my closet, and am confidant that I could run a decent post-disaster trauma clinic. I am also studying and growing medicinal herbs and preparations for longer term needs. I have been slightly dismayed at how far behind I am in all the other non-medical areas of preparation, but am working to close that gap as well. On to the topic at hand:

Just a thought on post-disaster baking. In most of the third world, you will not find a true oven and hence true “bread” as we know it, because ovens as we know them are a luxury reserved for the wealthy. You can look to some of those cultures for ways to deal with raw materials such as grains. What comes to mind immediately are tortillas and steamed buns.
Tortillas require only a hot flat surface (a rock will do in a pinch), corn prepared as masa and water. Recipes abound (I am a huge fan of Alton Brown and would recommend his recipes for simplicity as well as for beginning from raw ingredients rather than packaged.) We live in an area where field corn is a huge crop and would be abundant, for a while at least, pretty much any time of year. With that in mind, it is very important in a TEOTWAWKI situation to remember what happened to Europeans who adopted corn as a primary grain without nixtamalization (a topic for another time). Hint: Look up pellagra and kwashiorkor!

Steamed buns are a little more complicated in the preparation, but closer to what we think of as “bread.” Here again, many recipes are out there. My favorite came from Momofuku, but there are many. Major advantage to having a steamer in your kitchen is that it is a huge multitasker (can double as a sterilizer in a pinch!), and any heat source will run the beast. The buns steam in only 10 min and can be eaten immediately.
While there may be reasons to have a true Western style oven in your preparations, I tend to think more along the lines of biggest bang for the buck/bulk/weight, and in those terms it just doesn’t pass muster. – Chris A., MD

Economics and Investing:

Flavio sent us this: Foreclosures Up 14% in December. Flavio’s comment: “I can tell you as a real estate broker for the past seven years that things are getting worse, not better. I began to notice years ago that the media is usually about 4 – 6 months behind in reporting what myself and associates are experiencing in the now. So judging by the how quiet the phones have become, and how quiet they remain the last couple months, I would say the ‘second leg down’ has already begun. It is no longer a matter of if anymore. I give it until August for an all out real estate panic to set in among the public and our political leaders.”

Russia diversifies into Canadian dollars. (Thanks to GG for the link.)

Also from GG: Obama to Nationalize Student Lending with Pending Budget Bill

Items from The Economatrix:

US Homebuilder Confidence Drops

Citi Loses $7.8 Billion in Fourth Quarter

Japan Airlines Files for Bankruptcy

The Housing Timebomb

No Genuine Economic Recovery Happening

Odds ‘n Sods:

Luddite Jean recommended the Aquagear water filter, available in the U.K. She commented “I have used these, and have drunk some very dodgy-looking creek water with no ill-effects after being filtered through this bottle. Best of all, it’s instantaneous. It’s not meant for large-scale water purification, but as a back up, and for G.O.O.D. situations, it will save carrying potable water. I have one per family member at the moment, and will be buying extra the next time I see them at show prices.”

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Also from Luddite Jean comes this from The Daily Mail, Wife went to buy Christmas turkey, got stuck in the snow, returns home a month later.

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 26 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Luger, 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $249 value.

Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 26 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Disaster Field Bakery, by JIR

I can’t agree with you more on the subject of charity. Watching people starve is not in the cards for me if I can help it. In a TEOTWAWKI situation, you won’t be able to help very much, but for a lesser catastrophe, most of your readers could really help a lot of people by working with local authorities or church groups to feed people until help can arrive. Water is an even more urgent need, but I would like to describe my own preparations for setting up a field bakery and soup kitchen. Maybe I can help inspire others to do the same.

Unfortunately, most modern Americans don’t have the slightest clue what to do with a bucket of wheat. They don’t have the tools, skills or other ingredients to make it into anything but boiled wheat berries. Even that might be beyond a group of refugees on foot. Handing them unprocessed foods like grain and beans is not going to be much good.

Instead, you can set up a bakery and soup kitchen. Of course, you will need help. A local church can supply manpower and probably manage most of the grunt-work once you get them organized. You will probably need to supply all the equipment except for tables and chairs. You will also need to supply the recipe and know-how and possibly some of the basic ingredients. Wheat, yeast, milk powder, oil, and salt. Also, don’t forget the wood for fuel.

Here is a very interesting link that describes a WWI army field bakery.

That is sort of what I am talking about. Using the listed equipment, a six man section could supposedly produce 2,250 pounds of bread per day. The recipes they use are not that great, but you get the idea. Each run takes about 2 hours to bake (and you have two more runs rising at the same time). You don’t have to get this ambitious. You can scale this down to whatever level you are able to handle. Even if you can only bake a couple of dozen loaves a day, you could really help a lot of people waiting for FEMA to show up and save them.

An outdoor wood-fired oven with enough capacity to feed a lot of people is a good thing to own. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything for sale commercially that fit the bill. Using the old army model as a rough pattern, I designed and built my own.

My Bread Oven

First, I really need to admit that my oven is hideously ugly. The level of workmanship that went into it was terrible. Most of your readers can probably do better. For tools I used a hand drill, pop riveter, pliers, tin snips and a jigsaw with metal cutting blades.

My complete oven stands close to 6 feet tall counting the legs and maybe 2 feet wide and thick. It’s a large rectangle with two oven doors on opposite sides and it stands about 16 inches above the ground on metal tubing legs. It’s heated using a large hobo-stove (made from a gas cylinder) that sits underneath it. It can bake six large loaves of delicious bread at a time, and the hobo-stove uses about 10 pounds of hard wood per hour at baking temperatures.

The whole oven weighs about 80 pounds and can by carried by one man. A lot of the weight comes from the layer of tile I use to distribute heat (see below) and can be removed for transport. If you remove the legs as well, you can fit this oven into the back seat of a large sedan.

My design is really simple. It’s basically two sheet metal boxes attached inside a larger sheet metal box. The inner boxes form the bread ovens (two of them). They both have doors cut through the outer box to the outside and hinged doors, also made of sheet metal. The bottom is open and a separate brazier or hobo stove is burned underneath. The hot air and smoke rises up through the open bottom, circulates around both inner boxes and exits through a hole at the top. Simple. If you make it tight enough, the smoke never touches the bread, so you can burn almost anything for fuel. (Mine leaks a tiny bit of smoke, so I have to stick with burning hard wood or untreated lumber).

I have a wire shelf just below the bottom oven that I cover with 4 inches of ceramic tiles to hold heat and insulate the bottom oven. This makes the oven easier to use and keeps the temperature in both ovens closer to the same. It works without the tiles, but it’s harder to regulate the heat from the hobo stove. The object is to put some mass between the fire and the bottom oven. I use tile because I have it, but a pan of sand would work too.

The whole thing is assembled using pop-rivets. I used two largish rectangular trash bins for the outer oven casing. This can be almost any fireproof container as long as it is open at the bottom, large enough to contain the oven boxes with about 2-4 inches air space on 3 sides. A single metal box would have been better, but I found two stainless steel trash bins and simply riveted them together.

I made the bread ovens (the inner boxes) out of about 14 large cookie sheets. (Any sheet metal will do the trick. The heavier the better.) If I were doing it over, I would use pre-made boxes of some kind for the inner ovens. Building sheet metal boxes is harder than I thought it would be. If you can spot-weld, this chore is easier, but I had to use rivets, so my boxes leak a little smoke.

The inner boxes are riveted to the outer box, 4 inches above the bottom ceramic shelf, the top one about 6 inches above the bottom one. They are staggered so that the heat has to flow over both of them. The doors are on opposite sides of the oven to help with heat distribution. This gives you two smaller ovens, the top one about 50 degrees cooler than the bottom one. This works fine and gives you a lot of versatility, but it was a lot of trouble to make. If I were doing it over, I might make one large oven box. Try not to let your bread pans sit directly on the bottom, or your bread will burn. I used some little metal wire racks to keep mine about an inch above the bottom of the oven.

My oven legs are metal tubing scavenged from thrown away furniture, but I could have more easily used angle iron. They should be sturdy and hold the oven just above the hobo stove. This lets you tend the fire easily or remove it entirely. The stronger your shell and legs are, the better. More weight will help even out the heat, so heavier is better. Also, if your stove and legs are sturdy enough, you can set pots on top of the stove to heat water.

If your outer shell is large enough, you might consider building the fire-box into the oven body, like a real stove. I chose the separate hobo-stove for versatility, ease of cleanup and transportability. I made my hobo stove out of a disposable helium cylinder from a party balloon kit. Any metal cylinder with an open top will work fine. A bucket would probably work just as well. Cut one side of the container so you can add fuel from the side and several large air holes. Insulate the bottom with gravel or sand and you are finished. (A wire handle and a grate on top of the stove are nice touches, but not needed for this project.) Hobo stoves burn wood very efficiently because they form a strong draft from the bottom, so a long tube is more efficient than a short one and you need plenty of air holes. Regulate temperature by adding fuel, not by cutting off air flow. These stoves work best running hot and fast, so it’s better to burn smaller amounts
of fuel fast and add more as needed. If you are doing it right, you will have very little smoke.

For fuel, I burn seasoned scrub oak sawed into 6 inch lengths and split about an inch or two wide. I have also used chopped up pine lumber and brush and dead limbs out of my yard. All of them seem to work about the same. To use this oven, simply light the hobo stove and let the oven heat up (about 10 minutes). Pop your loaves in the ovens and keep the fire burning at low to medium. (My hobo-stove is maybe 10 inches wide and can put out a lot of heat. It will overheat this oven if I get too happy throwing on wood. I think I could have gotten by using a coffee can for a hobo stove and making the stove legs shorter.)

Old School Field Baking

I am not going to insult anyone’s intelligence by explaining how to bake bread, but I have some tips for doing it outdoors on a larger scale, that might be useful.

Be organized so you can quickly pass off the simple chore of baking to others. Once you get things running, there is no need for a highly-skilled survivor-type to stand there and baby-sit it. You are more valuable than that. Keep everything simple. When you set up your bakery operation, write your recipe and instructions in magic marker on whatever table you are using. That way anyone can take over and keep the bread coming while you do other useful work.

You need a good water supply. If you are carrying water from far away, you are wrong. It’s much easier to carry finished bread than water. You will need lots of clean water to mix in the dough, but even more water for washing pans and bowls and utensils. You need several big water containers and a larger container for washing. (Army immersion heaters would probably work really well for washing up, but I don’t have one, so I cheat and wash up inside at my kitchen sink right now. I have a large bushel size wash tub, but I have never used it for this.) Set up your washing station nearby so you can use it between batches. Bring lots of latex gloves [and non-latex for those that are allergic] and make all your helpers use them. Nuff said.

You will also need a hand-washing station wherever you are planning to feed people. Don’t forget soap and paper towels. Food borne illness is a big killer after a disaster. You may save more lives with your washing point than with your bread. I recommend having disposable cups for soup and no other implements. Make them drink the soup. Washing up bowls and spoons is very labor intensive and not as sanitary as plastic cups. (You will need several hundred a day plus about 4 rolls of paper towels. Liquid soap is better than bar soap for hand washing.

You need some working space. Set up at least one large picnic table for counter space. Two is better. That will allow you to use one for cleanup and the other for dough prep. Spread a table-cloth or sheet of plastic. Keep a small pail of soapy water and a sponge nearby to wipe up flour and your area will stay clean. Lay out a cookie sheet on the table to lay utensils on so they never touch anything dirty. The ingredients should never touch anything except the utensils, mixing bowls and the bread pans. (After the bread comes out, you will need something to wrap it with after it cools a little, but odds are, the bread won’t last very long!) The utensils should always sit on the cookie sheet and should be thoroughly washed between batches. Keeping everything clean outdoors is hard, but organization can really help. So can paper towels if you have them.

Mix your dough in a large metal container and don’t try to knead it by the loaf. (I make six loaves at a time, which is still small enough to stir by hand). Don’t knead the dough with your hands. Stir it instead with a sturdy spoon or spatula. A 16 inch length of 1×2 pine board works really well for this. Just keep it clean. For containers, stock pots work great. (You will need about six of them. It’s hard to have too many.) Mix all your ingredients, stir it for about 5-10 minutes, put a lid on the pot and put it someplace warm for about an hour. (The top of your stove will be WAY too hot, but you can probably put it near the fire at the base. Another warm place is inside a car sitting in the sun). At the end on an hour, mix up another batch, punch down the first batch and transfer it into baking pans and lay these in a clean, warm place to rise again. (Clean as you go.)

Rising dough needs a clean warm place. Clean, warm place? That’s the biggest problem you may face. If it’s cold out, you can’t use a car for a solar oven to warm your dough. Another good solution is to use a cooler. If you line the bottom with ceramic tile or gravel, you can heat up a rock or piece of metal and lay it inside the cooler to heat the air inside. I use 3 chunks of rebar and rotate them in the fire to keep the whole cooler between 80 and 100 degrees. If it’s too cold for any of these methods, you are probably better off using baking soda instead of yeast for leavening. It’s almost as good when you are hungry, and much easier to deal with in cold weather.

At the end of the second hour, pop your pans in the hot ovens, make another batch and fill some more pans. After this point, you will be producing one batch of bread every hour or so. My oven bakes bread in 45 minutes using my pans. Yours will be different, so you have to experiment. Remember, if you use my stove design, the top stove is cooler than the bottom stove. Let it cook a few minutes longer.

My stove body is very sturdy and the top has a single 6 inch hole for a vent. The whole top gets hot (probably 350 to 400 degrees at least. This allows me to put a stock pot and a couple of smaller pots directly on top of the stove to heat water. It will even boil small pots of water if you put them over the vent (You have to make sure you don’t block the air flow). A big stock pot gets hot enough for soup. If you put a big pot of water up top, it will heat up to about 150 degrees in an hour. That allows you to add instant soup mix and serve soup with your bread for very little additional trouble and no extra fuel.

Normal bread pans can be used if you build your oven to the right dimensions. I was stupid and didn’t do that, so I had to make my own pans to efficiently use the oven space available.

Every run of my oven requires about 15 pounds of flour, 2 pounds of dry milk, 4 cups of sugar, 8 cups of oil and a generous handful of salt. Figure 10 runs a day minimum at 150 pounds of flour. (60 big loaves a day is a lot of food). You will have to try your own system out once or twice using your pans and recipes to see how much it’s going to cost you in supplies.

Your group can probably get flour or grain (popcorn, rice, wheat, barley or even millet) from somewhere locally to help you out. Even birdseed with un-hulled sunflower and rape seeds is usable if you grind it very coarsely at first and use a colander to get rid of the big hulls. (You can also float them away). Mix and match different flours in an emergency. You are not cooking for a 5 star restaurant and “It’s all good.” (Birdseed mix is not very good for bread, so mix it with wheat flour and cut down the oil you add by half.) Your life will be better if you have a flour sifter. A sifter or a course colander can also get rid of trash from dirty feed wheat. Otherwise, your finished flour will have hulls and such in it.

Flour is much easier to work with than buckets of wheat! You will need some way to grind it. I strongly recommend getting a good grain mill like the Country Living Mill and motorizing it. Even a car inverter (a big one) can run an electric grain mill. You are going to have to provide over 15 pounds of flour every hour! That’s a lot different from grinding 2 cups of flour for some muffins. Grinding wheat by hand is soul-destroying work, so do anything you can to avoid having to do it the hard way!

If you are facing serious hunger and you need to add more solid food to your kitchen, rice is the natural choice. It cooks fast, stores well and is pretty filling. Simple white rice is very boring and may not be eaten by some Americans, even in a crisis. Even adding a few beans can make it more palatable. Rice and beans are probably acceptable to most Americans, but beware, beans take a long time to cook and lots of fuel. You won’t be able to use a insulated cooker unless you have a lot of pots and patience. Waiting for the beans to come off might cause a riot.

Remember, any solid foods you serve are going to require clean utensils and containers.

If you store white flour, odds are, you will need to rotate a lot of it when a disaster strikes. Use it first. The extra nutrition provided by whole wheat is not that important for a healthy population. If they were well fed yesterday, they are in no danger of getting rickets or pellagra. They just need calories. You might even be able to claim it on your income taxes.