One of the dilemmas we all face from time to time is deciding when is it worth it to buy something instead of making it from scratch. As preppers, the…
How many times have you experienced a setback in your life and felt angry, lost, disoriented and worse? From personal experience, I can tell you that the stress of it…
In recent months I have found myself shrugging in disgust as I browse the web and read the latest headlines. I mumble the words I used to say in the…
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about using worms to create compost. The official term for this is “Vermicomposting” and the great thing about it is that it is…
As cliche as it sounds, skills will always trump stuff. Here are five useful survival skills you may not have thought of.
The concept of a meal in a pouch is not new. For years, military organizations have contracted to have “Meals Ready to Eat” (or MREs) made for distribution to hungry soldiers in the field when a mess kitchen was unavailable.
The evolution of military grade MREs from the 1960’s era to now has resulted in light weight pouches that contain a complete meal sealed into a tidy packet. A typical MRE contains a main course, side dish, bread, dessert, and flameless ration heater. There will also be a napkin, eating utensil and condiments such as salt and pepper. True U.S. military MREs are well marked with the designation “U.S. Government Property, Commercial Resale is Unlawful” although this is a misnomer since there are no laws that forbid the resale of MREs.
FJ Bohan, the author of Barbed Wire, Barricades, and Bunkers: The Free Citizen’s Guide to Fortifying the Home Retreat, answers questions from the Survival Woman plus offers a book giveaway to one lucky reader.
Today I share the first author interview in the Backdoor Survival Winter Book Festival. Charlie Palmer, the author of The Prepper Next Door, shares his answers to my questions and is also providing one of my readers with a free copy of his book.
Just maybe preppers are not that crazy after all. Gaye share’s Michael Snyder’s 50 Best Prepper Websites and Blogs along with her own view as to why we prep.
Today I speculate that recent events are part of a larger master plan for government control of its citizens. True or not, it is something to consider. Don’t let the issue of gun control distract you from the truth about our government’s actions and the push toward tyranny.
When I first started prepping, I was befuddled about wheat. I just simply did not understand why the heck anyone would want to store wheat for survival purposes. After all, you don’t eat it in its raw form? Or do you? And what about cooking with it? Being a bit naïve at the time, I assumed that you had to turn the wheat berries into flour and then the flour in to baked goods. It sure sounded like a lot of work to me..
Today we talk about growing, grinding and cooking wheat.
Joe Nobody, the author of The Home Schooled Shootist, answers questions from the Survival Woman plus offers a book giveaway to one lucky reader.
With all of the publicity given to the California ballot initiative on GMO labeling, I have seen little if nothing mentioned about an initiative in my little community that would ban GMO crops on our island county. And the truth is, while there are few places in the world that could remain effectively GMO-free, the San Juan Islands in Washington State is one of them.
If passed in November, an initiative measure in our county will prohibit the cultivation of crops, livestock and other organisms that have had genes intentionally modified in a way that did not occur by mating or natural recombination. We would essentially become a safe zone for non-GMO crops which in term will preserve our ability to grow and control our food supply for years to come.
So why is this important and why is this being shared on a website that promotes prepping?
As I do each month, I would like to begin month ten with a little pep-talk on preparedness. As the recent power outages, wildfires, and storms have proven, a disaster can happen anywhere at anytime. Although FEMA, the Red Cross and local agencies are going to do their best to mobilize and help you, there are a lot of people out there that will need assistance. Wouldn’t it be better to rely on your own resources instead?
Being an optimist, I can only assume that if you made it this far, you are well on your way to being self-sufficient in an emergency. And based upon the emails that I have been receiving, I know positively that a number of you are following along each month. As with the previous months, month ten is not overly difficult but it will take some time and it will take some effort.
More specifically, this month we are going to take a break from purchasing gear and supplies. Instead we are going to focus on disaster readiness and more specifically, earthquake preparedness and and an actual practice drill so you can anticipate what happens when you go off grid.
One the major components on any serious prepping effort is having adequate facilities for cooking outdoors. In my case, I have a fancy stainless steel gas grill but that was not going to do much good if there was no propane or the fuel line that delivers our propane was destroyed. I also have a cook-ready fire pit that utilizes wood but that is large an bulky (even though it looks very cool in my back yard).
The practical answer was something portable that could burn charcoal briquettes or, in a pinch, kindling, twigs or other pieces of wood found out and around the wilderness. After doing some research, I set my sights on the Volcano II Collapsible Stove and purchase once directly from Emergency Essentials. It arrived in three days even though I ordered the standard shipping. I was impressed. But alas, with other obligations, I did have have a chance to use it until this week.
Here is the scoop.
The Volcano II is collapsible. And when I say collapsible, I mean it. It measures about 5” high and 13” across in its collapsed state. The whole thing fits nicely in an included pouch that appears to be very sturdy and although this is a heavy sucker, it is completely transportable.
The complete kit includes:
The Grill
Two grates: and upper grate for grilling and a lower grate for charcoal
Heat Deflector Plate
User manual
Carrying case
There is also an option as well as a kit that includes a propane attachment but since my intent was to use this as a survival grill, I did not bother with the extra expense.
As difficult as it may be to fathom, the current lousy economy may not be the worst case scenario. All I have to do is look around and be observant…