Site Status & Blog Questions
878 ViewsIf you’ve emailed me, but not received a reply, I probably didn’t receive it. I’m also have difficulties sending and receiving email, logging over 100 rejected messages in the last three days. All orders with valid email addresses receive a personal reply. You should have received a cart verification email and this additional reply to confirm I’ve received your order. This is the normal “notifications” everyone should receive.
The days of plenty (and cheap) food are now gone, we are all now subject to the wildly fluctuating marketplace. It’s extremely volatile right now, and doesn’t have any appearances of getting any better.
The canneries are struggling, doing the best they can, but they too are victims of the marketplace. If you’ve not ordered, I hope you know how to grow your own food, I can’t make it any plainer then this.
Alpine Aire remains the slowest of all — if you order AA products, please be patient, they’re very slow.
There’s been a huge upsurge in request to jump to the “head of the line” and “rush orders” and even pick products up here. Don’t bother asking, we do not do any of these things. Everyone is served the same, fairly and without any partiality. Rushing your order means we’re asking everyone else to wait (on you), we won’t do that.
You cannot come here and pick up products either, our warehouse isn’t public and never will be. The only customer pickup point is located in southern Idaho and must be arranged just like a regular shipment. Few seem to understand how real the threats are — we do.
Rumor has it that there is a law against food hoarding — if there is, I have not seen it. If anyone has a copy or a link or a solid reference, I’d like to see it.
Website prices are all current, but I cannot guarantee availability or prices. A global crisis has now commenced if you’ve been reading the news and is even affecting Americans. Huge profits are now being made in the commodities market, some of the reports I’ve seen are amazing. I don’t own a single stock and wouldn’t know what to do with it if I did, so I’m not one of the beneficiaries of this boom.
I’m going fast — and slow. The “rush” everyone expects is not here. I take weekends off now, after 12 years of 7 days a week. It’s kind of nice for a change. Spring is coming, the ice and snow is melting, although I’ve still got 6′ drifts piled up all over the place and the ice is dangerous as snot.
I’m seriously thinking of taking this blog in yet a new direction. It will never be what I want, the Internet itself is far too limited.
I am weighing some ‘decisions’ regarding the direction of this blog. Some time back, I elected to refocus on collapse versus sustainability. I felt that this was a necessary step since sustainability was no longer possible (and still isn’t). Not in the greater context of our out-of-control civilization.
Collapse was the event that would overwhelm all other efforts and attempts, both feeble and large. This is of course still true and looming closer for each and every one of us each day. In fact, collapse is already here for many parts of the world. In any case, this blog has focused on reporting various collapse events and signposts, the “dots” that create the mosaic that prove the collapse from news stories from around the world.
Yet I do not find this to be enough and never have. In fact, I find that this effort of documentation to (still) be near-pointless because of several factors. This blog only reaches a few thousand as far as I can tell. Of that number, only a handful are as dead-serious as I am about their collapse preparations. The rest are “part-timers”, no disrespect intended. This is because we are all stuck with one foot in this present system / world and one foot out. There is no “exit point” or departure gate in reality, we’re more or less stuck between what we need to do, and what we are still be forced to do (like make a living).
This blog receives very little support. Over it’s lifetime, there have been less then 20 donations, and these usually come from the same sources. In truth, I’m ok with that, because it was not setup to make money anyway, but it is rather revealing on who the blog is actually helping (Canada has the US beat by a mile). People put their money where their heart is, I’ve always said you can judge people better by what they do, not what they say. The food sales are just as representative of this fact. I’ve long said you’d be surprised at how few people really are doing anything about their future food security, it’s truly a tiny number.
And it is the “doing” that has caused me to ponder at great length what this blog is accomplishing. What is this blog “doing” besides documenting some collapse events? What is this blog actually accomplishing? Should it remain a documentary / commentary source of the collapse, or should it change into something else, something more meaningful? Is that even possible?
Some have suggested a forum, but I’ve already done that. There was a forum with a few thousand posts on it, which turned into far too much effort and trouble just to keep going. Forums are “unappreciated work”, whereas a few do all the work and everyone else benefits. In our case, it was really just two of us doing all the work and it got old, real fast. I left it up for about two years.
I shut it down to stop this and some of the other “abuse” we experienced, such as the drive-by shootings it was starting to attract. I’ve also shut down blog registration on this blog for the same reasons. New posters who are unfamiliar with this blog, it’s history, focus and current direction have attempted to interject their thoughts and commentary without having any appreciation or experience with its history. Worse, some believe it should become a playground for “drive-by shootings”, slinging mud whenever they can.
All of these dipshits are gone, forever banned from this entire site. I ban IP addresses permanently when this happens from the entire website, I never want to hear from such fools again. They can buy their food stores elsewhere or starve for all I care. I’m not insensitive — I’m just real. Time wasters aren’t helping anybody, now that collapse is here, food prices are spiraling clear out of site, time wasters will be deadly to you and I in the future. Dump ‘em and move on.
Blogs and forums are not the answer. They cannot possibly meet the needs that they reveal. This blog, above all others in my opinion, reveals the need for fundamental lifestyle changes. This blog also reveals that this will not happen on a wide-scale and is even near-impossible on a truly small scale.
What blogs and forums do not offer is cooperation. They offer the illusion of cooperation, but not the real thing. For example, I could most certainly use some help in designing a low-cost underground home, but I do not know anybody that will actually cooperate with me and assist with this effort. I can think of hundreds if not thousands of “things” I need to get done, where I need timely, accurate and honest information, but blogs and forums don’t really offer this type of service.
They don’t because of their public nature and because of their intents. Their intent is to be “participate if you want”, but not “participate because you must“. There is a huge and decided difference between these two points. Lackadaisical and part-time participation is exactly the problem that I’ve been trying to address for some years with near-zero success.
Therefore, I do not see blogs or forums as being any sort of a solution. As an organizational structure, they are absolutely terrible, and quite weak in many other areas. What’s missing and what I think is truly needed, is real support, but asking for this over the Internet or expecting this is actually kind of stupid. You’re setting yourself up for disappointment if you do.
Unfortunately, I have a huge wealth of experience in this area, spending many years organizing groups to be self-helping. I say unfortunate, because I discovered that face-to-face organization of real humans translated into exactly what I’ve seen occur online — a few do all the work, everyone else just stands around and watches (or complains). In other words, the lack of self-discipline is evident both online and offline and quickly becomes the burden that destroys most efforts. Other burdens are incompatibility, the lack of ‘localness’ and many other issues, such a belief systems, religion, finances, or differences of opinions that are so severe, they stop everything else.
Most groups that seek to extract themselves from the world systems for whatever reasons, fail, and they fail very, very often. The failure rate is very, very high, probably 85% - 100%. My own experience with this was downright dismal. But I did discover something that I’ve not actually found anywhere else, at least I’ve not read about it yet.
It is the “open door policy” that kills blogs, forums and groups. Not everybody should be allowed to participate, because this will in fact bring the effort down to the lowest common denominator, which is usually a squabbling troublemaker. This is why most forums degenerate into squabbling morasses of bickering petty theories and pet peeves, driving everybody off.
Not everyone is qualified or mature enough to be a part of an effort, even a tiny, mediocre effort, but probably more importantly then “qualifications” is not everyone is willing to make a contribution, and thereby increase the overall effort and the benefit to the participants. They’re not willing in many cases because they cannot see the benefit for themselves.
When talking or dealing with the issues of collapse and climate change, this is a key problem. People do not see the benefit to themselves when asked or expected to change. Oftentimes, they have no experience with the fundamentals of the question either, and so expecting anything from them is already doomed for failure and your disappointment.
Many blogs for example, do not allow commentary for these reasons. It’s just too much trouble. There are a lot of private, invitation-only forums too for the same reason. Either contribute and add something, or don’t bother us. Unfortunately, this is a situation that is becoming more and more necessary. The workload involved in keeping everyone up-to-date or informed on the latest developments is significant. And it’s unpaid work, unappreciated work that takes up a lot of your time, time that could be spent doing more productive things like figuring out your own collapse preparations.
A lot of people don’t participate for this very reason. It’s a “drag”, not just in a negative sense, but it slows them down on what they are trying to do on their own. It’s not that they couldn’t use some help of their own, but like me, have discovered that there really isn’t any good help out there. It’s part-time at best, inadequate or troublesome at worst and takes up gigantic portions of your daily life just having to deal with all of it.
Is it worth it? In a word, no. It’s impossible to weigh it’s dubious and undefinable benefits against spending your “entire life” online and finding out whether or not it’s really made any difference. Only those who have done this can seem to understand this truth, I’m afraid.
The point being to all of this is now follows. Blogs and forums and even groups with real people can only benefit themselves (if there really is to be any benefit at all and not just time-wasting, wheel-spinning effort) if they establish set goals and everyone participates towards those ends. Even “part-timers” would benefit from this.
This is the “give and take” we all know. It’s a two-way street. One way traffic sends everything out and away, but something has to come back to make it all work. This is what drains most efforts over time, killing them off slowly and permanently.
So I have some blog questions for my readers. Those who are not registered can simply email me privately (registration will not be turned on) if they like.
Ready? Here goes:
a) What do you need? If you’re like most people, you’re probably working almost entirely alone, without support, without any help and without any assistance of any kind (including moral or financial support). Most of us would change this if we could - but we can’t.
We have somehow failed to convey the urgency of the hour, the need to make preparations and to refocus / redirect our lives in the direction that will enhance our chances of survival (or just hit the immutable brick wall of denial). I am deeply familiar with this thought — and many of you have told me the same things. Therefore, what is it you need? More information on this question might help all of us in this situation to figure out how to solve this. I’m not sure, but I’m willing to float this question and see if there might be some benefit from group input.
b) If you had what you need, what would you do? Would you really step outside the system and set about getting your personal preparations in order for example? Or would you really keep on “part-timing” your plans, hoping the collapse doesn’t hit you too soon?
Unfortunately, I can’t ask enough questions on what would you do, so will just throw a few of these type of questions out there. Would you liquidate your unnecessary assets and move into tangible goods? Would you organize a group, preparing for the collapse? Would you leave the country and get far, far away from fascist USA? Or would you just sit and wait? Most importantly, what should you be doing right now, if you could?
c) Driving the above questions is something I can’t just “ask” without laying some preliminary thoughts in your head and that is this — what is holding you back, right now? I’m truly stunned at the daily diet of news doom I’m reading and the deep, deep denial of what this means for all of us, and the lack of personal preparations that I’m personally witnessing and being made aware of. It’s truly shocking how tiny few are taking these events seriously and truly trying their damnedest to make ready as best they can.
Moreover, they’re being forced by circumstances to do this alone, which poses a huge risk to them. All of their plans and preparations are going to be inadequate (in all likelihood) since they are alone in their efforts — but they won’t be alone when those same plans and preparations are needed by everyone else. Then they will be everyone’s best friend - or worst enemy.
Public plans are dangerous plans. It’s not wise to reveal too much. But this need to be quiet also hurts your own efforts and makes others suspicious of you, your plans and your intentions. Which is kind of awkward and weird, but there it is. We’ve all learned that not everyone can or should be trusted. This is just a sad state of the reality we have to deal with.
Ok then, here’s where this is all leading up to: How are you really going to endure the collapse? Are you really going to be able to do this alone? Are you really going to be able to gather enough preparations? Or enough skills? Or stay safe? For how long? When will you depart this present system and say “enough, I’m outta here”?
These are not particulars I want to know, so don’t tell me - but particulars that I believe you need to know. What I’m interested in finding out is if you are going to stand a chance of success or not and here’s why — because this is exactly what I’ve been trying to convey on this blog. It is the reason for this blog’s existence and refocus “on collapse”. By posing these questions and asking you to think about their answers, I’m trying to gauge whether or not this blog has really been a help to you in ways that are truly meaningful (to you — not to me).
In time, I will shut this blog down. But I want to “leave it up” (if I can) with enough content and information knowing that it really was truly helpful. Since it is not a forum and it can only contain a limited amount of information, my goal here is to help you think these things through, enough so that when we “meet” in the real world of collapse survival, it will have helped enable you to be as prepared as you can be.
It’s “just a blog” and it will never meet the real needs of dealing with the real world of a collapsing civilization. I know that, most of you do too. But can it be more then that in some small way? Can this blog touch on the subjects and questions that nobody is willing to ask? Or the topics nobody has bothered to discuss?
I’ve long believed that an underground network of collapse survivors is necessary because I also believe that a fascist police-state will be the result of a collapse society. This cannot happen in advance — it’s far too dangerous to try (so don’t). It will be dangerous enough when it all falls apart, but that is when you will discover (if you do not already know) who’s word is their bond and who does what they say they will do. When their life or their freedom or their future is at stake — you will know them by their fruits.
Right now, words are almost meaningless — because there are no consequences, but that is fast changing. Collapse survivors will need to know who is what, and what is who. Working with your neighbors right now for example, is nearly impossible because “they don’t get it” despite your best efforts (or spouse or friends or children). This creates inordinate hardships, mostly on you, as you try to plow forward but keep being pulled back. I know — I’ve been there.
So cutting through this b.s. is going to be necessary — but that’s not any guarantee it’s possible. For myself, I’m plowing ahead and trying to let my actions speak far louder then my words. I’m attempting make them convey what I can’t seem to make clear in words — it’s time to get truly serious about finding ways to survive this generational process. I’ve said before and I’ll say it again — the collapse is really a process, not an event, and it will last a long, long time because it will take a long time for us to refocus our surviving civilization on how to deal with a depleted future.
I’m expecting this to last at least one entire generation (40 years) or more. How do you prepare for that? Well, you try. You solve each step as it comes up, if you can. You don’t let the naysayers and wanna-be’s and troublemakers hold you back. You keep pressing forward and clean the slate if you have to.
It is my intention that this blog convey that “try” and these questions in ways which will be meaningful to you. I’ve long since given up on writing a “blueprint” or “how to” manual on how to survive the collapse, I think such efforts are too canned and too limited to be particularly helpful. The best preparations you can make are all mental preparations - learning how to think, how to act and how to react if you must to situations that are particular to you.
Collapse will be your event, a personal event that will come “visit” you one day soon. I may already be long gone, or you may “go” before I do. Being able to deal with your collapse is a truly hard goal to deal with on this blog, but that indeed has been a big part of my focus. By helping you, if I can, I have already helped myself in some ways because it has helped me to think about the issues we’re all facing.
Unfortunately, I readily admit that there are many, many issues that I’ve yet to address. Most of these are on purpose, because it’s terribly unsafe for me to discuss them. The others are because I’ve not come across them yet, but maybe you have. There are no “canned answers” out there, or sure-fired solutions of any sort. Unless you’re the Empire, you’re pretty much on your own and your situation / solutions are unique to you. But what we do have in common and the reasons why I get verbose and rhetorical and go on like this, is our common need to think about how we might change and adjust to collapse events.
In many ways, our response to collapse will be “common”. Just like our response to consumerism is “common” or democracy or any other widely perceived and responded theme in life. But I dare say that I think we all need something uncommon and even unrecognized if we hope to survive. I think this is true because it is the wildcard that will keep many of us alive in the days ahead. That which cannot be regulated, or outlawed, or suppressed or stamped out because it simply cannot be controlled like everything else.
If it is the System which is failing — then why continue to operate within the system? Survival will only come to those who have discovered how to operate outside the system or in spite of the system. And why not? It is the system which has created the collapse conditions in the first place!
Can you walk away from the system? Why not? If not, what can you do? Our dependency is our weakness and for many of us, it will be our death sentence. Because we are quite unable to care for ourselves, we will die with the system when it dies. This is already occurring in many parts of the world as countries go dark, one by one. Jobs are lost, people go hungry, breadlines begin and international food shipments are started — for now. But the dependency of these people on the system remains — they are still quite unable to take care of themselves when the system fails. And that is exactly what collapse is — the system is failing to adapt to the catastrophic changes occurring in the world.
It is our dependency and inflexibility and lack of knowledge, awareness and experience that will kill most of us. Our world is changing — we must change with it. Learning to live outside of the system will be a big part of it. Interfacing with the system will in my opinion, become increasingly dangerous as it ratchets it way up to a full-blown police state. You will be expected to participate in this — will you? If not, what do you truly intend to do? Can you survive on your own without “interfacing” or not?
I realize these are hard thoughts and hard questions again — but the point of this blog is to spread these concepts and thoughts around if it’s going to be any good to you or anyone else. We must think about these things and prepare accordingly. I just wish that the natives of eras gone by had done the same thing (and maybe they did) when the invaders came to their lands and they were faced with annihilation and their way of life. We have the dubious “benefit” of knowing what their worst intentions probably are — because we are already witnesses to them in other countries we’ve brought “democracy” to. But we don’t even have a real clue what this means yet to our way of life.
My collapse prep articles are written with these thoughts in mind. I hope it all turns out better then I fear, but I doubt it very much. Each news article that comes out makes is pretty clear to me anyway that nobody is actually going far enough to prepare for what is coming our way, and there’s another reason for this long blog entry. I’m trying as it were, to cover all the bases that a blog permits. Beyond that, forget about it. Those that are asking for a forum — forget it. Been there, done that and it’s not worth it to me anymore. They can be useful, but frankly, I think they’re terribly inadequate too.
If you’ve been online long enough to know, anything online is inadequate. It’s like sex without the pleasure (or the consequences), so please, nobody argue it’s “making a difference”, ’cause it’s not. Information is not preparation — or experience. It’s just head knowledge and it’s lacking in the real world experience we all need. I’m not trying to make this blog into something that it’s not, believe me, I know it’s limitations. But I am trying to figure out within those limitations if it can be something more then it already is.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Thanks for the post.
Anyone who reads this and thinks that you are being melodramatic MUST READ THIS:
http://tinyurl.com/2k4xdx
“THE world is only ten weeks away from running out of wheat supplies after stocks fell to their lowest levels for 50 years.
The crisis has pushed prices to an all-time high and could lead to further hikes in the price of bread, beer, biscuits and other basic foods…
…The crisis comes after two successive years of disastrous wheat harvests, which saw production fall from 624m to 600m tonnes, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation.”
If we had a “doom alert”, the colour would now be RED.
I’m definitely one of the ones who is playing with fire, waiting until the last moment before jumping ship. I’m in a somewhat different position than most, being able to make a decent amount of money in a short space of time. I’ve already made purchases, and will be making more in THE NEAR FUTURE.
I am aware that nothing that I do will be remotely enough to meet the future - not that that’s an excuse not to try.
If you’re lucky enough to have land, even if it’s suburban, start growing food NOW.
As a forum owner, I can agree with your statements; mine is done for fun - I don’t think any of my posters would pretend that we’re changing the world.
Agreed that there should be zero tolerance for disruptive trolls and idiots - there just isn’t time for that nonsense anymore.
In a previous post you mentioned two bottlenecks - two die-offs. A reasonably prepared person could hope to survive the first, the second would occur later, and be a much more daunting prospect. I believe this idea has merit.
Most of the population is so lacking in any preparation (mental, spiritual, financial, material) that I am light years ahead of them. I don’t see much of a challenge in out-running a population of SUV dependent diabetics doped on prozac.
It’s what comes later that worries me.
February 25th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
I cannot agree more.
I read your blog because it is indeed lonely out here. People think me insane because I, and others, are actually preparing. They understand the problems coming up, but they are in a disconnect and, by their lack of action, they show that they do not really believe that this will affect them.
I tell them that even with the best of preparation, they should assume trials, perhaps failure even unto death. Failing to prepare makes their futures problematic at best.
I am in the last semester of a masters program and am considering simply dropping out. Completing the program will not add real value to my skill sets and will only take away valuable time. While I would love to pretend that the emergency will pass me by because I am such a nice guy, I cannot snow myself that thoroughly.
Tonight I attempted to inform someone about the upcoming crisis and he essentially told me that the scientists he read all said that we have fifty more years of oil, that climate change was a crock, and that we would soon move into space and collect asteroids in order to mine them for materiel. I attempted to show him some fact-based sites, but he would have none of it.
Willful ignorance makes my blood boil.
I see real breakdowns by September. By summer of 2009, all bets are off.
Yup. It’s lonely. I hope I’m not deluded.
February 26th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Jeff,
I thank you for listing links to more and more information. If anyone hear has not started preparing for the shortages a long time ago, it is probably too late to start.
I do not know how long the dry food that I have stored will last, hopefully ten years for six people. What worries me the most is what do I tell friends that I have been warning about what to expect in the very near future, to bug off because I did not store any food for their family and friends. How do you tell someone that is starving to go home and die?
The only good info. I can add to this sight, you really need to check out and get kerosene lamps. They are a remarkable invention. Besides producing light, they produce heat (2,500 BTU Hr.), and they are great for cooking. I have stocked over thirty-year supply of fuel called (Klean-heat), no order when burned. Aladdin makes the best lamps they produce white light. (60 Wat.) I have enough wicks, chimneys, and mantels that should last as long as the kerosene,
I built a metal stand that the lamp sits below where pots and pans of all types sit on top of the stand. I have cooked several different types of meals from homemade soup, pot-roast, to grilled cheese sandwiches. The lamps are also good for pancakes and brewing coffee and tea. People that live in colder climates will really appreciate the heat from them, and no smoke so others will know that you are there. Keeping a very low profile will be a must, and watch your trash by taking it someplace else to dump. This will be a (dead) giveaway that you have stuff. Let nature take over the landscape and leave the spider webs where they are. Do not sweep the porch etc. Remember, your not there.
Still would like to hear about what to tell people who show up at my door that you know?
Best
February 26th, 2008 at 5:41 am
I have thought about this a lot, and basically have the same core questions. While I have a lifetime of skills and experiences that can be adapted to my “imagined solutions”, this business of framing the solutions is a process as you say, and nothing is ever really finally answered or solved, there is only the answering process and the ongoing design of solutions. It’s really iterative, just like any other kind of engineering. That is how I see it.
When I was young, I would imagine that somewhere there existed solutions that were pretty durable. The shift off to “solutioning” and “answering” freed me up. There is some liberation in this because you never really fail or succeed, you have a way of thinking about the process, and you keep plodding ahead.
Now for your questions:
A) What do I need. I am not sure I know. There are a few parts of that question. Long ago I read a book called “The Universal Traveler” and it really made very clear what I had felt intuitively. It breaks out the process of problem solving, creativity, and design better than any other book I have ever seen. What it has done for me is help me deconstruct (chunk up) any challenges I face and take them on methodically.
I am at the beginning of my journey as a designer of my sustainable world. Here are a few things I need. I need an interactive forum to toss around ideas about problems I am working on. I need a decent reading and resource list to inform those efforts. Basically I am taking apart many challenges and designing responses to them. I would like the leverage of finding the best resources recommended by people who are on the same path. The bottom line for me is that I don’t see hoarding as a solution, it only buys time. I need to “build toward solutions” that will replace the hoard.
b) If I had what I needed, I would do what I am doing. I am on it, and I mean really on it. No part timing about it. The emerging world is very real to me. I am locating tools and putting solutions in place. I will never be done with this, but I am on it big time.
c)What is holding me back? Nothing really except occasionally not being disciplined enough to break down my goals into doable chunks. Overwhelm is fighting the feeling that all the problems must be solved at once. I think this is the ugly step child of consumerism’s instant gratification (solution) meme. People become overwhelmed because they are not “designers”, they are “consumers” and “subscribers”. Unless we re-frame culture to become design and creation centered, rather than consumption centered, the game is lost for them. I think this can be overcome, but I think it requires many different approaches.
How to overcome overwhelm? Tools for one. I need to know on a very basic level which tools solve which problems (as they arise). That was the genius of the Whole Earth Catalog. I still look at mine now and then. We need it more than ever and I wish it would be redone.
I am working on a website concept that will document my journey and lay out my solutions and resources. It will be my way of taking notes, and building resources. Some of this is very nuts-and-bolts, like Lonewolf’s referral to a Canadian pump company for a decent hand-powered water transfer pump (that can be repaired). Now this may not seem like a big deal, but finding decent hand-powered stuff is a big deal and it is very time consuming.
I would like plans for a decent hobo stove that I can cook on in the warm seasons. One that would use twigs and yard junk basically costing nothing to operate. Looks to me that I may have to design it. A charcoal starter is a good beginning, and I think I will cut a fueling hole in the side near the top and rig up some kind of surface for the pans. This would be sustainable cooking without petroleum, coal, or electricity.
The journey to self-sufficiency is about skills and resources and doing what you can do in your living space. It is being opportunistic, doing an asset survey. It is thinking the way a permaculturist thinks.
Here is an example of what I am working on. I am building raised garden units with cow fencing panels and hardware cloth to retain the soil. The panels give my crops protection from all the wildlife, and a decent trellis system. I can adapt them a lot of different ways according to crop and season. I am completing design on 4 cold frames built with these materials for 12 month gardening. These are pretty inexpensive, allows me to do square foot gardening, and I can have total control over my soils. Anybody could do this even if they had to garden on top of an apartment building.
In my garden I plant flowers to attract pollinators. I am planting flowering vines around the perimeter of the garden space this year. We have hummingbirds like flies, and with the right attractions, I can attract the area bees. The ascetic appeal is great, but the pollinators are money. This is my hedge against colony collapse disorder.
Another example. I am doing a survey of crops and plants. Some of dual purpose like amaranth (a plant god), which provides both grain and edible leaves (better than spinach). Drought resistant, amaranth is basically a weed I can sow damn near everywhere. Everyone should be eating it, and best of all, its not wheat or corn or oats, and nobody seems to know it exists for all practical purposes.
I am focused on perennial plants as well as my annuals. I am assuming climate creep so I am making sure my plants will thrive in zone 7 and even 8 as things heat up. I live on the border between zone 6 and 7, at 2,200ft, probably zone 6b.
Well I am blathering a bit. It it time for me go get busy planting sprouted rhubarb and tomato seeds. Did you know rhubarb is also eaten as a savory vegetable? I didn’t until a month or two ago. I am planting 15 hills of it.
So anyway, not much is holding me back. I think this is about solving problems. We need to know what needs to be done, and how to find the tools and strategies to get it done in the broadest sense of the word. Community support is nice if it is the doers. But the onlookers are potential doers and they will get busy when it gets worse.
There is a continuum of doers=>dabblers=>watchers=>clueless. I think we have to be concerned about getting as many people on board as possible some how. This is in our self interest. The more who are working on any measure of self-sufficiency, the fewer will be doing what they have to do to eat when it gets real bad. I am certain it will be ugly at best.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Michael - really, a traditional wok is a great hobo stove. It’s meant to be run on twigs and such, poke ‘em in thru’ the holes in the base/support.
What’s holding me back is debt and husband. Lots of debt, tho’ I’ve reduced it by chunk over the past 18 months. Husband is a cornucopian about doom, feeling that technology will save us … but a doomer about moving away from this area, feeling that will doom his business.
With less/no debt, I’d get a bit of land at or near the retreat and start building up the soil. The retreat itself is ‘junk land’ in appearance - wooded steep (for east coast) mountain with reliable stream.
I’m working on debt, working on the husband, working on accumulating tool at garage sales, working on storage food,have the spawn studying water power (the Poconos is a great area for that, and that’s where the retreat is), etc. This month I had all of $25 to spend, and got 50 pounds each of feed corn and wheat. Not triple cleaned, by any means, but it’s all I could afford.
Next month, maybe rice and I might dry carrots and celery! Whoo hoo! And, of course, work more on the garden. And maybe more chickens will be offered on Freecycle!
February 26th, 2008 at 10:01 am
@ Cherenkov: I have a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering as well as a Bachelor’s in another engineering discipline, but I would swap them both for 4-5 years of military training instead, which remains a great regret of mine.
@ Admin: 100% agree re the futility of trying to form any networks now. They will be targetted, infiltrated and compromised at the highest level. The emphasis always has to be on the individual making personal preparations and then hoping (perhaps) that he or she will be in a position to band with others of like inclination at the appropriate moment. That said, my experiences of humanity lead me ever more to expect the worst on that front also. And once the police state kicks in, a lot of us are going to see just how useful our erstwhile contacts are.
PS - please let us know when your email is back on again.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Also, thanks for the post.What this has done for me is made me realize,like nothing else has, just how little time is left to prepare. Hence, I now spend at least 12 hours a day every day on my preparations.I am learning what it takes to survive,not just physically, but by reading books such as “Deep Survival”, how to survive mentally and spiritually. Though I am planning on using my boat as an escape pod when things get really bad, I am not foolish enough to think I can just sail off into the sunset and live happily ever after. So yes, I do need a land base, but it has to be remote enough and difficult enough to get to so as to increase the chances of it not being discovered.This is my number one priority. Then I think what is important is figuring out what to stockpile for tradable goods.As for community.No matter what microcosm of humanity it is, I have always found that 5% of the people do 95% of all the work.I don’t know why that is, but it has been my experience that this is so. So where do you draw the line? How many people can fit in your fallout shelter that you dug yourself while everyone else thought you foolish. Anyway. Thank y7ou for this blog and all I have learned on it. Everyone has a different situation, but I believe everyone who post on this blog has the same attitude. I will not give up without a fight.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Micheal,
Have you heard of Ianto Evan’s Rocket Stove or Approvechos Institutional barrel stove? Both are super efficient and can use twigs and branches to cook with. I plan to build a rocket stove (with thermal battery cob bench) into my earth bermed house this fall.
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com/rostforcobbu.html
http://www.aprovecho.org/web-content/media/inst_stove/p1.htm
February 26th, 2008 at 11:19 am
What I need:
More allies or fewer potential enemies.
If you’ve stored food, medicine and fuel, and/or have real skills, then you can be my friend. If you have done nothing, watch tv in your spare time, etc., then you will eventually become a neighborhood liability, and an enemy.
I need to either:
Pre-emptively eliminate my neighbors, or,
move to someplace very isolated with near-zero population, or,
move where unprepared people can plant a garden and get results in a hurry, or,
move to Southern Utah and join the LDS church & marry the 3 ugliest girls in town, and teach them to shoot…
Those are the only options I can see.
February 26th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
I’m definitely a part timer here. And I admit my preparations have almost purely mental to this point. But this is a key point that everyone needs to understand. The mental aspect of survival is the difference between living and dying. I’m a former U.S. Air Force Survival Instructor. I taught for 2 summers in the Rockies in Colorado. We taught that even the seemingly easiest survival situation could be fatal without the mental desire to live. There are stories of people laying down and dying while a road or a stream was only yards away.
So, I know you don’t want to hear this counter-argument, but playing through the survival situations through information gleaned from this blog really is useful. You can develop the attitude that no matter what, I can make it. For me, this blog has been an invaluable source of information and mental preparation. I’ve donated a couple of times. I prepared a shopping cart of the food a couple of months ago, but had to set the buying aside because I literally lost my job right before Christmas. I needed the money to live on, what can I say.
Now that I’m gainfully employed again, I should be able to make some purchases. I’m preparing in other ways that I can’t publicly talk about here, but even though I have one foot in and one foot out, like another poster said here, “I won’t go down without a fight.”
February 26th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I am finally able to look into this site again. Admin, I appreciate and acknowledge your effort to inform us on what is coming and an idea of what to do. Over the past three years, I have been preparing to the best of my ability for my family. From food storage, hand powered tools, and learning trades, I have invested. In August of 2007, my two year old son was diagnosed with a rather rare kind of leukemia. He is now in remission and God has blessed us as a family. He will need 2 ½ years more of treatment. He is quite the fighter as it seems to be a strong family trait. Sometimes no matter how hard you think you have accomplished in preparing for the lights to turn off, anything can happen. I will definitely continue reading this blog. Thank you.
February 26th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
First the questions…
1. What do I need? Primarily to hone my skills at id’ing wild edibles, and skill at using a firestick, plus time for playacting various unplannned scenarios.
2. I had what we needed, what would we do? We would have a first practice run, then another, then another, each time perfecting skills, and correcting problems, and also learning from those unpredictables.
3. What is holding me back now? Time. I’m so busy planting seedlings now for spring, and rebuilding garden fence, finishing maple tapping season, etc., that it always seems there’s never enough time.
We have a very small group of like-minded friends, including gays, a radical priest, and others who have discussed a collapse situation on more than one occasion. Each would have much to offer in differing skills and knowledge, however none that I know of is preparing in any way, in particular food storage. We have even discussed whose land would make the best place for a tribal community, each of us of course thinking “mine” would be the most easily defended, best soil, most available drinking water, etc. We have never come to a consensus on whose land we would settle and maybe that will work itself out in its own way.
I’m buying books and hand tools now, but know that the tools will break and one needs to know how to fashion something usable from scratch–just like hunter gatherers did.
One thing I think is wise: don’t store all your food in one place. Another is that it might not be such a good idea to have any light leaks at night. Can someone see your lamplight from outside at 100 yards? From any distance?
It might even be a good idea to cook all meals in daylight, so as to make one less light for wanderers to see. Further, it might be a good idea to eat meals at some distance from your sleeping quarters.
Possibly none of these is really viable, but on paper they sound plausible.
So much to think about and I do get ideas from this blog and do appreciate it.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
My sincere heartfelt best to you and your son Driver. Bless.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
This blog has helped me in my preparations for collapse with its up to date information and the good advise of admin. I am the only person in my immediate circle who is preparing, include my parents. They believe all is well and that the good times will continue.
I will start my intense journey of indepence this spring when the snow melts. I will be raising my first flock of chicken, cows and gardening for the first time since I lived with my parents. I am excited about this and nervous at the same time.
I would like advice on gardening and chickens. I would also like good reference material on wilderness living skills. A survival/collapse type “club” would be nice but I have been involved in far too many were I did all the work. However my time will be limited this year as I begin my preparations in earnest and hopefully I didn’t wait too long to begin.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Get “Backyard Livestock”, it’s a great book and covers pretty much everything you need to know on raising various critters on the ’stead. My Amazon affiliate page has it listed about 3/4 of the way down. I think its a great reference and very practical. I used this to build both my rabbit cages and setup my chickens. Like you, it had been some years since I had done this.
February 26th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Individual preparations are necessary, but not in any way sufficient. I doubt that any of us will survive what is coming without an entire community to watch our backs.
….and as mentioned above, the community is lacking.
We need to know.. how do we mobilize communities to do odd, thankless preparations BEFORE most of the community’s individuals feel any necessity or urgency around the tasks.
Working with stated goals of local economic revitalization(vs. collapse), has allowed us to start constructing some of the social networks we will need, but without the in- your-face collapse motivation, it is a hollowed out husk of what we will really need.
Probably the other thing we need as a group is learning how to be at ease working without hope of results, and how to stay motivated amongst ourselves so that we see the odds clearly and do the work anyway.
Also, once there is general awareness, how do we know who is safe to bring into our communities and when?
February 26th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Re the low-cost, underground home, there’s a guy who has written a number of articles about his first, second, and possibly third underground homes. If my memory serves me correctly, his name is something like Michael Oersted or Orsted, and he eventually put all this information in book form. I’m thinking I read about his underground shelters in either Countryside or Backwoods Home, or possibly the older Mother Earth News, but certainly not the newer and high-tech M.E.N. All of these articles seemed to be in the past 5-20 years.
Re the hobo stove, I made one once in about 15 minutes from a vegetable can. Get one of those larger-than-family-size cans, probably a gallon size like you see pork ‘n beans or potato salad in. Even if you don’t want what’s in it, it’s worth it just to buy the can and empty it. Then use a can opener to remove either top or bottom. Then, along the side of the can, up near the top (unopened end), cut a vent hole or two, but not very big. I punched a hole with a can opener. Now down at the bottom of the can, make a “door”, and it looks just like a little door but instead of having a hinge, you just bend the “door” out, after you have cut the side and top of the door. This is where you insert the wood on the ground. If the door is big enough you can even build a little tipi of sticks, etc., but if it’s too big, the stove will fall over, so be careful here.
When not in use, a small pan can be wrapped in a dishtowel, and all can be stuffed inside stove for easy carring.
One day not too long after making it, we had a power outage in late afternoon, so I set up the hobo stove and in a few minutes had a fire going, put a pan of rice on, and when it was mostly done, added diced onion, peppers, and dried tomatoes. When done, I sprinkled feta cheese and added olive oil. The whole thing didn’t take any more time than it would have indoors, maybe 20 minutes.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:24 am
Lynda and Redalert — Thanks for the suggestions on the hobo stoves. This is the kind of nuts and bolts things I hope to do on my site. It will include a survey of what I imagine would be good basic tools.
On building community supports. I worked for a lot of years in community organizing in urban neighborhoods, so I know something about it. The key is creating transactions and reinforcing shared self-interest. There are as many ways of doing this as you might imagine.
I do many things here that set the table for whatever might come including the collapse. Here are a few things:
1. Barter relationships for animal care when we are away.
2. Odd gifts of excess produce.
3. Phone calls to discuss strategies to solve problems in the area and around my little farm.
4. Looking in on elderly neighbors to make sure they are OK and helping out some.
5. Always having time to talk. The kind of over the fence talk that builds community. This is one of Arkansas’s greatest resources, face to face talking is a big deal here. Everyone has time, and everyone has a story.
6. Soliciting advice from local folks. This validates their knowledge and has made it clear I respect them. I am way more educated than the average around here, but they know a lot more about self-reliance. This is a gold mine.
7. Annual Christmas gifts of cookies and cakes delivered with visits.
8. Attendance at charity auctions for our rural fire department.
9. Tool sharing and labor assistance.
10. Anticipating and talking out problems when they arise, like a recent dog attack on my chickens by the neighbors hunting dog. If handled right, it deepens our mutual respect, if wrong, creates enemies.
11. Occasional gifts of homemade bread, free-range eggs, and surplus chicks.
12. Car pooling and picking up stuff for one another on trips to town.
13. We share alerts about neighborhood problems.
14. If there is a problem bear around, or if the neighbor shoots a rabid animal, everyone knows.
15. We watch each others property when they are away. We know who should be in our neighborhood, and who are outsiders. This is pretty easy in a rural area.
16. Virtually everyone around here is armed because you can’t live here without a gun. I pity any group who might try to come around here and steal food in a collapse scenario. We could easily harden our perimeter.
etc, etc.
You get the drill. Communities are about transactions. I don’t think there is a need to build one premised on agreement about the collapse. I think once you have the community channels organized, it is multi-purpose, and everyone sees it as a resource based on shared self-interest here and now. As the collapse unfolds, the here and now changes, and the community will shift with it, and find ways to respond to it as new challenges arise.
Real community building is about true human scale. When you add a degree of separation, you are in a situation where there are hundreds of potential resources to draw on. My hardware guy knows everybody and helps me find local resources of known value.
This is a bitch in suburban areas because America has a toxic individuality meme that blocks interdependency. In the inner cities, and in the rural areas, networks of relationships exist that can be built upon.
I make no requirement of my neighbors that they agree with my certainty about collapse, although I discuss it with them now and then. Most are at some stage of denial, but more than a few see things going bad, they just don’t know how far it will go. They know how to live with hard times. There are plenty of people around here who are living in the great depression and always have. They have many of the core skills needed to survive.
Our community could not be more diverse. There are people as varied as my Sufi-carpenter neighbor, a midwife, a millionaire (you would never know), an 90 old legally blind bachelor who raises his food), a few young redneck families, many middle aged farmers, gays, back to the lander hippies, etc. Everyone gets along fine, and everyone respects one another. We work as a community.
When we first visited NW Arkansas we were smitten first by the people and then by the environs. It is a great place to live and has most of the right characteristics to position it for the collapse. Anyone looking to relocate should check it out. I would be glad to share what I know and suggest some places to look. This is a wonderful place and generally not known to the outside world (another plus).
MD
February 27th, 2008 at 6:30 am
a) Need? I need more info. That’s why I surf the web for countless hours. I need info on the threat, so I can plan accordingly. I need info on self-sufficiency, and community-building. But mostly, I need to know where the safest place to live will be in the next 40 years of my life, and the next 100 years for my kids and grandkids. I have Skousen’s book, and I have Rawles’ guide. Both great info, but maybe not the final answer. Maybe Arkansas is better…
I rely on this blog for info and an additional perspective. I just bought the Peterson guide to edible wild plants through admin’s book list, great book, and one more piece of the puzzle.
b) What would I do? I’d relocate! Actually, I’ve been thinking about this for five years. I’ve already sold the house and live in a rental. So I’m one of the few actually looking cheerfully towards a drop in the real estate market. A big thanks to MD for his blog entry above, it reaffirms my hope that rural folk will accept newcomers, but you need to become a member of the community, and respect it.
c) Holding me back? I’d like to say money. But probably have enough for a crashstead already. Family does not believe in this, so that is a limiting factor also. But mainly, I believe there is still time. I know Admin does not agree. I take a big risk living here near DC, but a few more years will enable me to collect a decent retirement paycheck, which will make a big difference in my resources when I do relocate. I agree there is an inherent risk that any retirement check may not still exist in 10+ years. But given my overall assessment that the crash will be drawn out over decades, I think this is the safer bet. For example, I just read a link from LATOC on Carolyn Baker’s website about the Willamette Valley in Oregon. They are the world’s leading producer of ornamental grass seed, but are looking to start switching over to food crops. This is just one example how our nation will change what we produce as the crash arrives. It will not stop the crash, but it will stretch out the final conclusion (which is worst case, I agree).
I have already accepted the fact that I may be completely wrong and will suffer accordingly. I used to lose a lot of sleep over this, but just accept it as my fate. What keeps me going is the faith that my preparations will help someone in the future, if not my kids, then someone else that is deserving.
I think your blog does make a difference,
Slow-thinker (or just stinker, for some)
February 27th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Michael, I enjoyed your input. I read this blog all the time and am always curious where people live. It puts things in perspective for me. Some people are already planting their gardens and some are waiting for the snow to melt. It was fun to read about life in Arkansas. Thanks.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:29 am
“What I need”, updated:
Forget what I wrote earlier. This issue with climate is far and away the most important issue.
I need to figure out where on Earth the climate will be minimally impacted, and then move my ass to that location. Climate instability is going to be the greatest challenge, period. It might be unsurmountable.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:31 am
I have enjoyed this blog since i first discovered it. Many sleepless nights. Thanks. My preparations are mostly skills and survival training. I have lived off the grid for so long that now i can’t get a job to save my life. (i don’t have my paaapers)
the underground economy seems to have dried up.
I have the plan, skills, knowledge, desire and intelligence to survive. But boy is it going to be lonely.
It seems to me that a lot of the preparations i am reading about are attempts to preserve the current way of life without oil.
It is my belief that we are witnessing the final days of civilization in all aspects. Doing the math wherein 80% (minimum) of Amerikans live in the cities I think that is a good starting point to figure the first die-off. Most will die within one month of power and food distribution cessation. They panicked in Florida this week when the power went off during the day- for only a few hours-
What will ‘they’ do when it is permanent?
What do I need? Can’t think of anything. I live one step away from how i will live after the collapse. (the system demands that i not shoot wild game out of season.) Food is the biggest issue for me. I watch my dearest friends and loved ones ignore the coming peril and know they have only days worth of food. They have the money and i have the knowledge and i hoped that combo would prepare all of us. Not going to happen.
I think the direction you are taking this blog, admin is fine. It has evovled since i started reading and i see that it is still evoving to where it needs to be.
Recently, having read about the underground railroad during the slave days, i too have pondered something like that. I think it will evovlve over post-collapse time and the wanderers like myself will be able to make contact and set up a ’system’ that will benefit the crashsteaders as well.
One more thing regarding this blog. You stated recently that you feel like a news monger just redistributing the news. We can get that all over the web. What we cannot get is your unique and valued opinions. The comments from ‘your’ highly informed and intelligent readers are also very important in my ongoing research towards surviving that which is here.
What a great combo.
Take Care everyone and good luck. I believe we have months not years.
February 27th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
What do you need?
The snow to melt so I can buy some land and build.
How are you really going to endure the collapse?
Earth bermed house in Maine/NH with a 4 season garden. Well/Rainwater collection system. South facing windows. Solar panels for power.
Are you really going to be able to do this alone?
So far, yes. I have high self-efficacy. My gf likes my plan.
Are you really going to be able to gather enough preparations?
I’ve spent over 10k on preps so far and have enough money to buy 5 acres land and start the earth berm project
Or enough skills?
Young, healthy, studying/applying/setting skill goals from my survivalist library
Or stay safe?
Shotgun, dogs, want to get a glock/rifle
For how long?
I dont plan on leaving
When will you depart this present system and say “enough, I’m outta here”?
Fall 08 is the goal to leave my apt and move in, Spr 09 if not ready.
Will you participate in the police state?
I’ll try to stay off their radar.
February 27th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
On relocation: Michael is right about northern Arkansas, at least the little we know about it. We have friends in Newton County and knowing the kind of people they are, and from what they say about the area, if we had to relocate, my first choice would be somewhere in that area, although have not discussed this with hubby.
February 27th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
For me your site has been outstanding compared to the handful I’ve found to be moderately helpful over the years I’ve been trying to prepare for collapse. How you distinguish yourself (again for me) is that you put words to just about everything I think, but do not have anyone who will listen; you and those who post here provide a bedrock of sanity for me when I get bonkers in my very small world and want to run, screaming, insane. I am grateful that you are willing to put your thoughts out there; I am grateful to find I’m not the only one thinking them.
What I feel I need is to build tribe. I don’t mean locally; I’ve given that up and actually feel better (safer??) keeping a low profile…what I mean is to connect now, to share ideas, experiences, and trials and tribulations with others of like mind.
I have taken in that we cannot or should not be as candid as we (or I) might like on this site, and I am also very mindful of your warnings that groups fail…I myself have never been part of one that hasn’t. But I’m willing to volunteer to pull those of us who want to, together, to share as I mentioned above. I don’t know how to go about doing that and I am mindful of everyone’s privacy but I’m willing to go out on a limb and either talk or even meet others who are willing as well. Thoughts solicited regarding this!
That said, what are anyone’s thoughts on RVs? For some reason the idea has been knocking at my consciousness lately in thinking if I had to leave my home, I could have another (mini) one prepared to go. I’m fully cognizant of the fact that I might not have more than one tank of gas available and would have to have a navigable remote place already in mind, with a stream and my guard dogs and gun and food and a small solar generator …input, please!
And thank ALL of you.
February 27th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I can think of dozens of reasons why RV’s are a bad idea. They do not offer you someplace to be. They have too little storage. They require fuel. Roads can be jammed or roadblocked. They are difficult to navigate in congested or tight areas. They breakdown and on and on.
I’m pretty much against “tech solutions” of all types, because they are dependent upon too many things we can no longer count on. While I’m not really clear what you really intended to do with an RV, they’re pretty limited in a very tech sort of way (and they’re also targets).
What would you rather stop if you were a roving band of hungry homeless? A Fiat or a Road Warrior?
Anyway, I don’t mean to shoot from the hip here. One thing collapse means is “what you have with you is ALL you will have”.
The idea that survivors are going to be lugging around their worldly assets is ridiculous, that’s not what happens. It’s bare bones, knuckles survival. Get to your place, stay there, stay put and get it stocked up now while you still can.
Or learn to live off the land, no one single approach is “right” for everyone, but the common things are all still true and applicable for us all.
a) we need someplace to be. Stay right where you are if you must and if it’s best.
b) you can’t take everything with you, don’t bother trying.
c) going it alone will very hard no matter what you do.
d) don’t depend on what you know can let you down and often does - friends, family, neighbors, roads, power, fuel, technology, etc.
e) a multi-layered planned approach is best for flexibility, expect to discard even this when collapse hits you.
I’m too tired to think of anything else right now.
February 28th, 2008 at 7:46 am
What do I need?
a) To know I’m not alone. That other people out there can see disturbing undercurrents in world events, that the pressures on our Western way of life are building and the cracks are beginning to show. That it might just be foolish to continue on the full-steam-ahead, business-as-usual and winner-takes-all path. Confirmation of my gut instinct that now is the time to step further out of the mainstream. Thank you for providing this!
b) More land. Living on a small and overcrowded island, land is extremely expensive, especially down here on the South coast, where all my family ties are.
What would I do, if I had all that I need? Plant an orchard, a nuttery and a bigger kitchen garden, permaculture-style. Increase my flock of laying hens and add in some breeders. Get my little business, using entirely reclaimed/recyled textiles & human-powered machines, producing things that people really need and will barter for, up & running. Ensure that we could work, cook & clean independently of extraneous power sources, and access & store clean water. If we had running water, I’d build a fishpond, too, unless we’re close to the sea.
What’s stopping me? The fact that my nearest & dearest thinks this is all pie-in-the-sky, that there’s no need to worry, that’s what governments are for, that someone, somewhere will look after us in the unlikely event of any real trouble, as long as we don’t go & live somewhere too far away from all the facilities we might need one day. And, of course, as long as we do what we’re told… We have one child left in school and settled, and elderly parents to keep an eye on, who we can’t move too far away from. Also my two eldest kids, nearing independence, are hooked right into the consumer way of life, which is all they’ve been educated to even see. I am frightened for them; mind you, I think they’re frightened for me!
When will I depart this present system? As soon as I can. We could be a lot worse off than we are; we’ve been part of a great litle community for 15 years, but that’s beginning to change as city folk move out here and more & more building goes on. I want out now; I may have to hang on another couple of years until our youngest son leaves school but every instinct is screaming to go as soon as possible, even if it means going in the opposite direction to my nearest & dearest. And thus, of course, halving our combined assets, but I’m not going to be able to get him on board until the sky falls. Even then, he’ll be perfectly happy as long as he knows who to blame…
So please keep up the good work. Even those of us who in reality are fairly powerless to do very much appreciate knowing that we’re not alone. Thank you!
February 28th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Lynda, I live in Newton County. It is pretty cheap still to buy here, and perhaps getting a bit cheaper at least. There is a lot of federal park land and very low population density. Plenty of springs. Worth having a look at, especially when real estate prices bottom out.
Oddly, Arkansas seems to have been exempted somewhat from real estate bubble. This is not the east and west coast where prices were so absurdly high. For example, our 2,000 square foot home backing up to the park on 21.6 acres cost us $245K. Property and other taxes are very low. I would say we bought at the top of the market, and were it not for our adjacent line with the park, we could have got in here under $200, certainly today for sure. Nearby is comparable land and homes further from Harrison that is less expensive. Where we came from land was set at $15,000 an acre. We could not afford this home in Illinois.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Hi Michael, great posts lately. I hope to meet you at some point as we are near enough to neighbors. I’m not sure you saw my previous response to your NW Ark PR campaign here:http://survivalacres.com/wordpress/?p=1224#comments #12. Email me sometime: ryanstones02 # yahoo c o m
March 1st, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Report on USDA ‘mandatory’ 2007 Census of Agriculture
Not sure if anyone else here received this and reacted the way I did, but here is a description of the captioned and how I am choosing to handle it.
This census is conducted every five years and a response from ‘everyone who got a form’ is mandatory. The penalty for not responding is $100 and for providing false information $500. Nonresponders get sent 5 mailings, receive phone calls, and visits (where the county has a low (<75%) response rate.) There is buzz on blogs concerning jail time and asset seizure not borne out by past history but likely slipped into some signing statement or presidential directive or another given the known planned upcoming famine.
The following information is ‘required’ if ‘you farmed in 2007:’
- report number of acres owned, rented or leased,
- whether it is irrigated and how
- whether it is covered by insurance
- acres harvested, total quantity, again whether irrigated, double cropped, interplanted, or skip row planted
- an entire table for reporting what was harvested: barley, corn, cotton, oats, peanuts, WHEAT, etc. how many acres and quantity harvested
- grain storage capacity
- hay and forage and how much
- woodland crops and maple syrup
- another table demanding nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, sod, mushrooms, vegetable seeds and propagative materials, value of sales
- another table for vegetables, potatoes, and melons. List by code, tell how many acres harvested for fresh market and for processing
- same for fruit and nuts
- same for berries
- page for cattle: how many beef cows, milk cows, other. How many were sold or moved, how many in feedlot
- sheep and lambs: number owned, number sold, wool shorn in pounds
- poultry: layers for eggs, layers for replacement, broilers, turkey, ducks, emus, geese, ostriches, peasants, pigeons or squab, quail, other and HOW MANY HATCHED. Number as of 12/31/07, how many sold or moved in 2007
- hogs and pigs - how many used for breeding, gone to market (this little piggie went to market, a bit of levity for a brief moment)
- acquaculture: what you have, number sold or moved, $ amount of sales
- bee colonies-number owned, number sold, honey collected in lbs.
- other: horses, mules, milk goats, angora goats, meat goats, alpacas, llamas, bison, deer, elk, rabbits, mink. How many you have and how many you sold.
- pounds of mohair clipped
- other: semen, embryos, worm castings, manure sold
- value of sales (a page containing everything)
- organic page - whether you are certified, how many acres, what crops were harvested, how many acres of pastureland, value of sales, how many acres you are in the process of converting
- an income page like a tax return, another page for each for production expenses, farm labor, fertilizers and chemicals applied, market value of land buildings, machinery, and equipment (itemized)
- pracitces: DO YOU HAVE HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACCESS, USE MORE THAN 5,000 GALLONS OF WATER IN ANY ONE DAY, GENERATE ENERGY USING WIND OR SOLAR TECHNOLOGY, USE CONSERVATION METHODS, PRACTICE ROTATIONAL GRAZING, HAVE A BARN THAT WAS BUILT PRIOR TO 1960…
So that we may best place your farm in the proper order for seizure.
_______________________________________
My research indicates that responses that have been ‘accepted’ include 1) answering N/A to everything, and 2) returning the empty 24 page booklet with a cover letter stating that the cover letter is the response.
I have only had a farm for four years and thus had never seen one of these documents. My imagining is exactly what I expressed above: ve vant this knowledge, the better to seize you with, my dear. My mantra in response to any demand made by this illegitimate, selected government is a phrase borrowed (and probably mangled) from Gandhi: you can have my dead body, but never my concurrence.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Holy COW!!! I think I will not ‘farm’, now.
:(
Tree
March 3rd, 2008 at 6:21 am
I used to work for the USDA. This survey is hardly new, and really has not changed much in at least 20 years. It serves, for all intents a purposes, the same function that the standard population census does (note that censuses are specifically permitted by the US Constitution, one of the few powers it explicitly grants). Nothing to worry about, and if your farm is not a “business” (i.e. you have no business liscense, you do not sell or declare the sale of your farm products, use barter, etc), then you are unlikely to ever even see the form, much less need to fill it out.
These agricultural censuses evolved during the Dust Bowl days and WW2, when the need to feed the country and food rationing were key. They hung around during the Cold War years for similar reasons. In my USDA days (1990’s), these served as a means of collecting and compiling useful agricultural information on crop types, yields, methods, economic viability, farm size, etc. Remember than in the last couple of decades there have been monumental changes in US farming, millions of small farms have either gone bankrupt, sold out, or been consolidated, crop types have changed immensely, agricultural techniques have changed (monocropping, cash cropping, green revolution, heavy mechanization, influx of GM-ed crops, etc). What good would the USDA be if it had no idea what state US agriculture was in, and what trends were driving it?