Topic: Social and Cultural Issues
Getting off the grid and other solutions Our country is bankrupt, untold thousands have lost their homes, food and gas prices continue to rise and the good news is?by Gwen Caldwell
(libertarian)
Friday, July 18, 2008
My energy feels depleted every time I read the news. I am more thankful than ever that I used the television for target practice...I'd probably be suicidal if I had to actually watch the news!
We live in times unlike this country has ever seen. Hope is dwindling in many areas of the country of ever recovering from the inevitable financial and credit collapse. It's not even a matter of if it will happen, in my humble opinion. It's a matter of when. I struggle to get my arms around what that will really mean to us in our day to day lives. Certainly, it will not afford us the current freedoms we enjoy. I see tell tale signs of martial law knocking on our doors. Chaos at best.
Like many other people I am very concerned, because I have a young child at home. I already struggle to keep food on the table and a roof over head. I know with certainty that it's going to get worse before it gets better. How do we adress cost reduction without compromising standard of living? How do we insure a food source? How do we cut safe on energy, heating and cooling bills.
Sustainable communities have sucessfully been transforming lives for decades. They create community, a food source and good health with organic gardening, small animal husbandry, cost effective, alternative, off the grid, alternative energy living environments. It's about making a committment to participate in your living enviroment. To merge into a total living system for sustainability.
There is just that kind of community currently forming on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It will serve as a model community and education center that can be duplicated anywhere, with very little money, a bit of hard work, committment to live a life that is not plugged into corporate America to maintain your standard of living.
People call and ask me about debt, the car they're still making payments on, etc. Get out from underneath your debt! Drive an older model car to reduce cost, insurance, etc. Cut up your credit cards. Consolidate them if possible on a zero percent interest rate. Move into a smaller house to reduce cost. Install a wood or pellet stove. Sell your excess. Use it to stock pile esstential food and living items, especially canned and dried meats, staples, dried fruits, nuts, pastas, beans, etc. I don't really recommend stockpiling canned foods, because they have no nutritional value, with the exception of canned tomatoes and beans. Guns, ammo, water and filters. Convert to solar or wind...make your own it's much cheaper. Make sure you have fishing and hunting supplies. If you're in the country get a few chickens, rabbits and goats. Buy heritage or non-hybrid seeds to grow your own food. Food will be your greatest asset! If you have a guns...get ammo..a lot of it, while you still can. If you don't have a gun., get one and a lot of ammo, while you still can. A bow and arrows, and traps will be useful. Learn to dry and can meat in the event that the grids are shut down, so it doesn't spoil.Canning supplies will be helpful.
Make a mental note of the day to day items you and your family currently use. Do an inventory of what you have for storage and canning supplies. What you don't have and will need buy first, then fill in the other non-essential and creature comforts. I would definitely advise you get a lot of hydrogen perioxide, apple cider and regular vinegar, lemon juice, honey, cayenne pepper, olive oil and cinnamon. All of these can be used medicinally for just about anything that ails you and then some!Aslo non-perfumed bleach to purify water. Vitamin, medicines, herbals and a good first aid kit.
Sh*t is going to hit the fan! Get ready! Your beautiful furniture and decor will not feed you, house you, nor will it keep you warm for the winter. Get rid of it! Buy vegetables when they are on sale and dehydrate them. Buy in bulk. Start a food co-op with your neighbors and share in the cost of buying bulk. Buy a book to learn about local edible plants and medicinal herbs that grow in your area. Learn them and use them for better health and to reduce food costs.
For more information visit www.freewebs.com/voiceofwomensustainabiltyproject
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The views expressed in this
article are those of Gwen Caldwell only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Gwen Caldwell is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Gwen, I would add an idea to your suggestions, while it might seem a bit over the top, I believe it will prove an indispensable in hard times.
I suggest that anyone interested in surviving the "hard-times" of economic and social disruption ensure they have plenty of caches. I personally have found that PVC pipe of various diameters, cut in lengths between 12" and 4' serve multiple purposes. I use PVC caps to enclose both ends of the cache pipes.
Trade goods will be essential in cases of monetary collapse; such trade goods include salt, pepper, spices, small bars of soap, medicines, razor blades, etc.
Additionally, these caches can be used to store survival bars, freeze-dried foods, fishing line and supplies, knives and tomahawks, guns and ammo, money [the real stuff], etc.
I usually drill a hole in the top cap knob on the PVC plug to string it along with three other caches for burying, making them easier to find by raking the top layer of soil for the nylon rope. When burying items prone to rust, always wrap those items with oiled cloth and include a bag of silica for moisture protection. Usually, however, the PVC glue used to attach the caps to the pipes is sufficient.
Such caches are particularly useful along "escape routes", burying them in inconspicuous places near "landmarks" which will be easy to remember along the way. Distances between caches should be within a day's walking and the closer you get to your "safe-destination" you will want to include items you would use to settle in and stabilize your position.
Considering the chaos that might ensue at such an economic catastrophe, I would advise any "escape-route" be far more inconspicuous, such as rail roads heading out and away from urban areas. It should also be noted that during such chaotic social disruptions you must hold your trust close at hand, avoid situations that might subject you to being in close quarters with strangers. Remember, urban areas will be particularly chaotic and violent.
Living in the city, it has been difficult getting off the grid, but I have done it. And now that I have done it, I am letting people know it is possible, and easy once you know how. Besides using solar and micro wind power for electricity and solar thermal for heating, I produce enough food for a family of 4 in a 10' long x 8' wide x 8' high area in a greenhouse. This is all our fruits and vegetables, meat and some grains. I use a stacked aeroponics system in the greenhouse to maximize growing area and to be able to produce 365 days a year. I raise tiger prawns and scallops in a wiskey barrel, and I keep 40 quail for eggs and meat in the greenhouse. I have dwarfed fruit trees and grow rice in the greenhouse as well. We have sectioned off a small area in the back yard so I can grow wheat which I use to make flour. The only food items my family buys are some condiments and milk as we cannot keep a cow or goat in the city. A goat would be nice however, as I would not have to mow the lawn! I think we need more people with simple guides to help those who want to get off the grid, but believe the propoganda governments and big business put out there. "It is too expensive", " it is too much work", "you can't live off the grid AND in a city." It is time we dispell those lies and help everyone live off the grid.
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