What I am "prepping" for. How about you?

[nickdutch]

Just an overview:

Precisely what is it that you are prepping for and when do you think it will happen? Do you know? Have you thought about what stages society will go through as “it” starts to happen? Are you preparing for the stages that society will go through or are you just looking at the end game? What if your fears aren't met, but other eventualities that require preparations do happen?

These are the questions that one has to address (in my opinion only).

What I can envisage (also IMHO ONLY!!) is a time when living will cost a lot more then it is at the moment, when food will become very pricey for a healthy nutritionally balanced diet for an adult, when energy will be a luxury and water may be worse quality then it is now through lack of municipal investment or pollution.

These things I can envisage happening possibly in the coming 5 years or so. I don't believe that it is a state that the world can recover from what with the rising population. Maybe there will be fluctuations and dips in prices as a result of a particularly good harvest or some such thing. But the trend is towards the more expensive and difficult to obtain.

I am also “prepping” for short term inability to get either access to food (such as in a fuel crisis preventing the supermarkets stocking up, being medium probability in my humble estimation) or access to the shops (in the case of a bad winter, sprained ankle or a bad dose of the flu. All medium probability scenarios.)

I don't believe that my income will go up in line with rising costs. If it does then GREAT, but in case it doesn't, when the going is OK, I want to invest a small quantity of money to get the kit together then I will need to reduce costs.

I propose to do this through researching various cultures that have various solutions to various problems. The survivalist, self sufficiency and prepping cultures make good sources of ideas, motivation and inspiration. I enter these communities knowing that I am still my own man and I don't have to agree with a drop of what anyone says.

I propose to enter those communities using online media and ideally offline and face to face, make friends, bond with the community and see what I can both contribute and learn.

The things that I wish to learn:

Cutting down food costs using preservation and storage technologies including canning, bottling, pickling, dehydrating vacuum packing and the like (still improving skills but getting there with some of these, still waiting for my canner to come for me to start canning cheap chicken, pork, lamb and beef).

Cutting down the need for mains power in terms of replacing mains power with renewables, third world and off grid technologies through cheap equivalents that fits a high cash flow but low income (my career!) scenario.

Reduce the need for power to cook with using any means possible (modern or ancient) including dietary changes and technological innovation. Likewise with heating technologies for hot water.

Work out how to clean clothes without using anything man made so that I can reduce costs there (eventually if needed).

Things I want to give:
basic herbalist knowledge, assistance in agriculture / horticulture, counselling therapy and entertainment (always in need and as that's close to my current job anyway), advice and direction for alternative energy systems. Diet, nutritional and culinary help. Plus anything else that I am or know but hasn't come to the surface of my mind at this moment when I am writing this!!!

End game: Cost reduction, being less damaging to the environment if possible, and to lead towards off grid or self sufficiency. To be able to sufficiently function in an off grid community through trading knowledge or skills.

Method: small investments bit by bit over time plus practice with the same technology until I feel a level of proficiency. Online research and information sharing.

This isn't a business, if I tell you what I am doing, you wont be able to use it to get rich so I am gonna be reasonably free with what I think about technology etc.

Joining communities are important. A swordsman may be proficient in a different weapon than an archer, but both were essential in the armies of the past. A yoga practitioner can survive different conditions to a boxer, but both can help each other. A nurse can nurse, an amateur energy researcher can provide the energy for a field hospital.

[Brambles]

My reasons are much the same as youself, Nick. However........ I have my Canner and it gets it's inaugral work-out tomorrow!(not that I'm rubbing it in or anything )

[nickdutch]

My reasons are much the same as youself, Nick. However........ I have my Canner and it gets it's inaugral work-out tomorrow!(not that I'm rubbing it in or anything )

Mine is still flying over here according to what USPS is saying....

Looking forward to it