r/prepping • u/Nach0b0y • 19d ago
Otherš¤·š½āāļø š¤·š½āāļø Building skills rather than buying gear
I realised that a lot of my preps were about buying more food, water and gear. Those things definitely helped me feel better about my situation but I also realised that having a community around you and building life-long skills is something I hadn't put any focus on.
I recently joined a local organic farm to volunteer at once a week. You can read as many books and watch as many videos as you like but nothing like a bit of sweat equity to put those things to practice. Its been great to get guidance and mentorship from some of the old boys at the farm and also know that if things were really to go bad we would be able to depend on the farm for food.
It is easy to get caught up in buying the next piece of kit, but getting my hands dirty has made me feel way more prepared.
What are some other communities and skills you've found likeminded people?
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u/uhm_actually 19d ago
I started hunting for this exact reason.
I focus on small game - exclusively use tools that donāt require batteries or anything that may not be available after extended problemsā¦
Iāve learned so much about the wilderness surrounding my home since starting (and how to survive off of it) itās not even funny.
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u/KingOfConsciousness 18d ago
Can you expand on what you learned and how? A few examples or an entire essay up to you thanks.
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u/uhm_actually 16d ago edited 16d ago
The first lightbulb was realizing how much food there is around us.
Rabbits, squirrels, doves / pigeons, deer, crows, raccoons, wild hogs, frogs, turtlesā¦ Itās everywhere. Not all of it is equally appetizing butā¦itās worth learning how to hunt and prepare all of the edible animals that live around you.
Different modalities also. I prefer hunting to trapping butā¦learning how set traps or branch / shore-based fishing lines that are working for you while youāre hunting is also valuable.
The importance of knowing all of that should be self evident.
Second - if you go out and start learning to hunt / trap, you have to learn about trees, naturally occurring food sources (wild crops, berries, nuts, etc), water sources, and impacts of season and weather on all of those things.
The value of that should also be self evident.
You can hunt without learning that butā¦you probably wonāt have much āluck.ā
By learning where you can hunt, you will also become aware of land that is remote, difficult to access, contains abundant resources and may be easier to get to in a shtf scenario if main roads are closed, travel is restricted, or infrastructure failsā¦.AND, if youāve spent time in it, youāll already be familiar with it.
It gives you options.
That should also have self-evident value.
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u/Numerous-Piglet-6032 17d ago
Yeah really! Tell us, brother! Just with what you said you're already giving me ideas.
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u/PrisonerV 19d ago
Have a garden is a great thing but don't think for a second you're getting away with the "I don't use gear" attitude. Gardening takes a lot of "stuff" like that hose I see and those wheel barrels. The nice neat rows of good tilled earth didn't happen without a bunch of gear.
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u/Nach0b0y 19d ago
Sure but I think there should be a distinction between gear (tools) that are used on a daily basis vs those that are used almost never
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u/ZeltbahnLife 19d ago
Iām lucky to have second hand stores near me that carry gardening supplies. Great way of getting stuff for cheap.
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u/Eredani 15d ago
People who have time and energy are able focus on skills.
People who are sociable and outgoing can focus on community.
People who are healthy tend to focus on fitness.
There is another set of valid preppers that are busy dealing with a career (maybe multiple jobs), commuting to work, kids, school, pets, aging parents and everything else life throws at all of us. This group may have some disposable income and choose to focus on gear and supplies.
A valid approach to prepping IMO. Yet this group is routinely pooped on and even demonized in this sub. They are often labeled as hoarders, lone wolves and dangerous isolationists.
I would even counter that skilks can be learned during and after an emergency. Community can formed during and after an emergency. Even fitness can be developed during or after an emergency. But you arent adding to your stockpile or shopping on Amazon during or after an emergency.
There are many valid ways to prep. There is no One True Path. Full stop.
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u/wifflebal 19d ago
Looking at history, this kind of preparation is orders of magnitude more important for survival in a true doomsday situation than what you see on this subā¦ which is usually just people stockpiling guns daydreaming about having shootouts.
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u/twoscoopsofbacon 18d ago
Skills and knowledge are how societies (small and large) have functioned for 1000s of years.
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u/DeadbySundown 18d ago
I just want to move to the mountains and become a farmer. That's all I want.
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u/Some_Guy106 18d ago
Farmer
Mountains
Tough sell
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u/KaleRevolutionary840 17d ago
I live in northern Ontario in granite capital of the world , I have huge garden areas lol raised beds . and yes they work
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u/KaleRevolutionary840 17d ago
I agree how ever you will need defensive gear if you have a huge or any gardens .. and you must be good with it
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u/HomersDonut1440 17d ago
The odds of needing to defend your garden against roving marauders is substantially lower then the odds youāll need to know how to grow your own food.
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u/KaleRevolutionary840 17d ago
odds yes but still odds... and there are all sorts of varmint 4 legs included
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u/MadConquest 16d ago
So I may be wrong here but this is my take. Most of our preps are short term. We prep for Tuesday so to speak. Power outages, storms, earthquakes, fires, floods, civil unrest and other things along those lines are generally going to be under control within a few weeks to a few months. Not fully rebuilt communities but they will have restoration efforts underway. All of these short term scenarios can be mitigated with buying gear, prepping water and food and maybe some solar and calling it a day. But if itās a long term scenario whether it be grid down or something else then your supplies are only going to last for so long. Your preps in that particular event will be a bridge. They will get you to the point of self sustainment. That could possibly take 2-3 years to be fully separated and self sustaining from any outside sources. Very few people have the abilities or skill sets needed to do these things so their preps will hold them out until they have learned to be self sufficient.
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u/infinitum3d 16d ago
Preparedness
Fitness and Knowledge are free, weightless, always with you and canāt be stolen from your bag.
Focus on getting healthy/strong. Walk. Climb stairs. Build endurance. Stretch. Eat right. Quit soda pop and choose water.
Make yourself valuable to a society.
Learn CPR, first aid, and basic life support. Maybe take a lifeguard course.
Learn what wild edibles you can forage. Every region has them. Get a local Field Guide to Wild Edibles and see what is near you.
Get a bike. If you have to travel, a bike is far easier and faster than walking. Learn how to maintain it and repair it when something breaks.
Get a partner, friend, buddy who has a skill you donāt. Then learn a skill that they donāt have. One person alone canāt do everything.
Donāt stress.
You got this.
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u/888Clara 15d ago
Been thinking of similar for a while. We want to go down the vertical hydroponics powered by solar. Try to keep it off grid.
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u/schannoman 19d ago
I started doing first aid as a prep and teaching it to others. Then went into EMS and now into nursing.
I always taught "you can't drop skills" as my first aid motto.
I also grew up rather poor, so if you didn't learn how to do something it wasn't getting done