The idea for this blog started with my dissatisfaction with the current trends in the prepper community. Tactical subjects are covered in endless detail while food production, power generation and other important subjects are only given lip service. Living in a cave and eating MRE’s is no way to live. Even the pioneers had their luxuries, spartan as they would seem to us.
Buying a years supply of freeze dried or dehydrated foods has several problems associated with it. Most of these packs rely heavily on carbohydrates to supply calories. Americans eat too many carbs now as indicated by the prevalence of obese people in our country. Adding more carbs to a diet would be a health problem for most people and a death sentence for diabetics. More protein and less carbohydrates should be emphasized in food storage. Growing these foods and using home preserving methods such as canning and smoking would be a good first step.
Another concern is that in certain disasters a years worth of food would not be enough. our power grid is outdated and on the verge of failure. EMP from a solar flare could render it inoperable or at least two to three years according to industry experts.
Another current trend is to stockpile everything. Some stockpiling is certainly needed but more thought should be put into what happens when this supply runs out. Some items have a limited shelf life (i.e. gasoline) while others can be too costly to buy in bulk. The answer is to stockpile the items that can not be replaced and learn to grow/build/make those that can be replaced. If an item can not be reproduced, a substitute should be found.
I intend to discus rational, real life answers to these problems. We will be discussing my adventures trying to build a more self-suficient homestead. We will be discussing raising chickens, aquaponics, hydroponics, alternative energy including solar, and much more. Please join me.
Please feel free to add to the conversation. Multiple viewpoints are often needed to arrive at a workable solution.