We are what we do | Meetup
If you find yourself with that small nagging feeling that all is not well, nor is it as it appears to be, welcome. The more rocks you overturn, the more you find rot, and more rocks.
Regarding your own research:
Take the blue pill, wake up and believe whatever you like, or:
Take the red pill, but "… you may not like how deep the rabbit hole goes…"
- Morpheus, in "The Matrix"
Expect to find some basic premises though:
100% taxation of all personal income would not cover government spending.
100% confiscation and foreign sale of all assets in the US would not cover government debt.
The US economy is a joke.
The value of a dollar is an illusion. I suspect that the dollar may soon plummet in value, wiping out paper cash, and any account denominated in some fixed amount of dollars (Savings accounts, insurance limits, cash, salaries, pensions, etc.)
At some point, enough people/companies/nations will realize the uselessness of the dollar. Think what happens when we can no longer buy foreign fuel, food, clothes, and all the other “stuff”.
Prior to that point we need individuals capable of not only surviving but thriving without dependence on an external supply grid. We need communities to have regenerated their local economy and life-support, such that they can sustain themselves.
Whatever is going on or about to happen, there are common steps you can take to prepare to deal with the harm to you, your family and friends, and mitigate the impact on your ability to continue in comfort relative to those still asleep.
The economy is not coming back. The economy has moved on, and the people asking if it's coming back are being left behind.
- Robert Kiyosaki, Author Rich Dad Poor Dad
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Air. To survive beyond three minutes.
Water. To survive beyond three days.
Food. To survive beyond three weeks.
Shelter. Exposure can kill faster than starvation or dehydration.
Safety/Security. If you cannot protect against a robber or killer, why bother with anything beyond a pleasant daydream.
PHYSICAL PRIORITY I - Air
Critical for survival much beyond 3 minutes.
Living away from likely sources or flows of contamination would seem to be the simplest option. In reality you CANNOT live away from the pollution.
"We're all breathing each other's air," says Daniel J. Jacob, a Harvard professor of atmospheric chemistry and one of the chief researchers in a recent multinational study of transcontinental air pollution. He traced a plume of dirty air from Asia to a point over New England, where samples revealed that chemicals in it had come from China.
There's not much you as an individual can do about “open-air” contamination, other than NOT produce it yourself. (Remember that “outside” is a relative term; the Earth itself is for all practical purposes a CLOSED container.) You need to be in a sealed container...suit, home, building, etc., with an appropriate combination of air volume, renewal (O2 / CO2), and purification capabilities.
Carbon Dioxide
We as a living animal inhale, use some of the oxygen from air, and exhale increased CO2 levels. Starting from less than 1% in "fresh" air, the upper "safe" CO2 level is around 3%. When the concentration exceeds 3%, even though there is still oxygen in the air, humans are adversely affected. An average person produces around .67 cubic ft. (5 gallon volume) per hour of CO2. Burning of course produces MUCH MORE CO2.
In a sealed container, starting with good outside air, a person can survive for about an hour for every 22.5 cubic feet of air (about 1 cubic yard, around 168 gallon). A 1200 sq.ft home, with 7 foot ceilings, should hold about 8400 cubic feet of air, or enough for a family of four for 3+ days.
Any steadily growing plant absorbs CO2. NASA experiments show that around one cubic meter of wheat, growing constantly under artificial light, can balance the CO2 for a single person. Other experiments show that approximately 8 gallons of well aerated algae does the same job.
Some plants such as cacti, aloe vera, etc. produce oxygen in the dark, vs the light. Note though, regardless of the oxygen generating plant, once parts of the plant starts to die, you MUST eliminate the dead portions from your sealed area, otherwise the decay organisms consuming the dead plant matter will re-release the CO2.
SEALING YOU HOME
Unfortunately many homes, in particular but not limited to wood frame structures, "leak". As part of an energy efficiency inspection, it is possible to have the extent of the air leaks in your home professionally determined. Short of this, locate all penetrations in your walls, ceiling, & floor, (including pipes, cables, electrical sockets, etc.) and measure for appropriate sealant means. Pre cut applicable plastic sheets (Think heavy clear plastic shower curtain), label where is goes, and keep them together by room. Keep in this kit not only enough liner feet of duct tape to "do the job", but a roll for each person likely to be present and engaged in the sealing process.
Compensating for Atmospheric Pressure Variation
An airtight home must have a flexible lung (see the Biosphere II project, north of Tucson) to allow internal and external air pressure to remain equal, without actual exchange of air. It can be as simple as a large trash bag on one end of a pipe that penetrates a wall. Typical atmospheric pressure changes do to weather may amount to 2% to 5% of the volume of the sealed container.
Assume there is nasty stuff in the outside air. If the atmospheric pressure goes down slightly, air will need to leak out of your sealed home. You are probably safe to let this happen. BUT, if the atmospheric pressure increases, now the nasty stuff outside if being forced INTO your supposedly sealed home.
If you have a 1200 ft. sq. home (above), the "lung" should be between 168 and 420 cubic feet. Given its size, a cube just under 8 foot on each side it may be something you want to locate outside, or in a non-sealed attic, crawl space, shed or garage, if it can be safely done.
This "lung" volume is just over 3,800 gallons. Considering a lawn "leaf bag" to be 30 gallons (avoiding over-inflation) it would be 128 of such bags.
PRESSURIZE WITH FILTERED AIR
If the nasty stuff outside is something that can be removed by a HEPA Filter, AND you have reliable power, then some or all of the home sealing & "lung" can be substituted by maintaining the air pressure inside the home slightly higher than outside.
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Pictured is a hepa filter, with a carbon pre-filter, in an attic. Not sure I’d want to suck-in attic air.
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Wouldn’t you rather have your filter in one of those cute decorative cupolas that go up on the outside of your roof?
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Inside the living area to be able to perform maintenance is a Fantech FX4 radon blower.
Radon blowers are designed to run 24/7/365 and this one's warranted lifetime is 5 years continuous operation. Coupled to the piping with rubber connectors the only thing you can hear is a slight airflow sound right at the HEPA filter. Seal the rubber connectors to the pipe and blower with 100% silicone RTV. The blower runs on 120VAC so you need a way to make power in an emergency. On the positive side, it only draws 17 Watts.
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This setup addresses a "pet peeve" of mine, every private fallout shelter I've seen puts the filter INSIDE the shelter. I would rather NOT have nasties accumulating inside where I live.
Short of this setup, you can consider a small fan, or even an aquarium pump, to force some small flow of air thru a filter.
Plants To Detox Interior Air
An airtight home and outgassing from items inside, leads to a need to detox your home. Things like upholstery, curtains, plywood, paper towels, carpets, and electrical equipment release harmful chemicals like trichloroethylene, formaldehyde and benzene. Studies by NASA have shown that plants in the home can reduce indoor air pollutants by up to 85%. Some plants are more effective than others.
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Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) - It produces more oxygen than the average plant, which helps to keep you alert and focussed. It also removes xylene and toluene from the air.
Snake Plant a.k.a. Mother-In-Law’s Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata) - The ideal bedroom plant. It is very unique in that it converts carbon dioxide to oxygen at night. Studies shave shown that higher oxygen levels promote deeper sleep. It also removes formaldehyde from the air. Please note that Snake Plants are toxic to cats and dogs when eaten and should be kept out of reach of children.
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Money Plant (Epipremnum aureum) - Is an all-round air-purifer. It can remove formaldehyde and a host of other volatile chemicals with its special filtering powers. It is also believed that it will bring the owner good luck, good fortune and good health. However as with the Snake Plant they are toxic to cats and dogs when eaten and should be kept out of reach of children.
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The number of house plants required depends on many factors such as how much time you spend in your home. NASA recommends than on average a 1800 sq ft house should have 15-18 large house plants.
For more indoor air plant cleaning information, see Dr. Bill Wolverton's book "How to Grow Fresh Air".
In addition to plants, the microbes in soil perform a great deal of the "work" transforming waste materials into productive life. The Biosphere II project used a “soil reactor” to clean the inside air, as does the author of the book "Soliva". The basic concept is simply forcing air to the interior thru several feet of healthy soil.
Sterilization
Ultraviolet light readily penetrates air, and even clouds. It, and ozone (ionized oxygen) are part of God's open-air germ control system. There may be lenses and surfaces which allow just ultraviolet light to be concentrated, and used for specific sterilization purposes. (TO BE DEVELOPED) If you have technology and power, readily available are u/v systems for desktop, portable, or installation in building vent systems, (and your water system) to keep levels of microorganisms down.
INDIVIDUAL AIR FILTRATION
When outside the security of your hepa filtered home you may need individual protection. For dust & airborne bacteria/virus, carrying around an "N-95" mask takes up less space than a folded handkerchief. Add swim goggles for eye protection.
A step up is a half-face respirator with something along the lines of organic vapor filters.
Make it a full face respirator, nitrile gloves, a tyvek coverall with all gaps duct-taped, and you're in a (weak) civilian haz-mat suit.
NOTE: The above air filtration methods DO NOT protect against a toxic gas, such as chlorine.
PHYSICAL PRIORITY II - Water
Critical for survival much beyond 3 days
In some areas water is simply not a concern. Where it is (and it rains) your home should contain a cistern (where it is not ILLEGAL to capture rainwater…) capable of holding at a minimum the survival (drinking, cooking, and minimal cleaning) water for your family for a year.
Examples of water use
For life-sustaining purposes, the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security puts human minimum daily intake at 3 liters. (Or call it a gallon)
For "living" purposes, expect more like:
20 gallon/day human cooking/consumption, bathing (5 min low flow shower)
(x365= 7300)
+105 gallon/day garden (adjusted for cleaning/bathing graywater use)
125
x365
45,625 Average annual water per person
Basis of personal 20 gallon water estimate. Five minute low-flow shower (2.5 gpm=12.5 gallon), up to several gallons per day drinking/cooking, and several gallons in misc. washing.
Basis of garden water estimate. Every linear foot of "soaker hose" waters plants in the two square feet along its sides.
To water a 1,000 ft. sq. area of crops requires 500 linear feet of soaker hose. Soaker hose releases water at 1 gallon/minute/100 foot. 500 foot of soaker hose would release 5 gallons per minute.
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The area shown above had been cement-hard compacted desert soil when we arrived. With appropriate mulching, even in the hot summers of Yuma, Arizona, (plants exposed to direct sunlight) our garden survived with two 12 minute soaks per day. A subsistence garden should get by with 120 gallons per day (15 or so of which could be washing "gray water").
More precise watering (drip irrigation) of individual plants, or a buried reservoir with an airspace between the water and the soil above (semi-hydroponic - see the "Earthbox" or wicking beds) may lead to further reductions in crop water use.
COLLECTION AREA
Using the low typical rainfall for your area, calculate the collection area needed to meet your annual needs from rainfall. All rainwater not directly collected for controlled storage should be routed to a collection area for recharging the aquifer. If paving for walkways, patio's, etc. is not intended to be used to route rainwater for collection, where practical the surfaces should be porous to allow the water to soak into the ground.
Rain (in many places) may be the safest "natural" water available, and the least subject to human interference. (Flowing water, wells, pipelines, etc., are all of course subject to "blockages", or contamination, somewhere "upstream".) Even if living in a relatively isolated area, all of the water sources could be contaminated. In the case for example of groundwater, it may be decades after a "spill", that took place quite in the distance, before the effluent starts to contaminate the water.
Similarly, for upstream surface flowing water, abandoned sites may start to leak in the future.
Estimating 7 gallons per cubic foot, every inch of rainfall on a square foot is about 1/2 gallon that could be collected.
The percent of any given rainfall that actually reaches your cistern will vary depending on conditions present. A light sprinkle might soak into a built up tar roof, tile, etc. Even a metal roof will have some water adhere to it. If your roof is hot, you will lose water to evaporation. For ballpark loss estimates, use 5% for metal, 10% for built up tar, and 20% for gravel roof surfaces.
Assuming annual rainfall of 12 inches, and assuming personal direct one-time thru water use of around 20 gallons per day, a collection area of about 1042 sq. ft. (say a square 33 ft. per side) could provide for one person.
Add in one-time thru water use in a biointensive yet open-air garden, and per person you need to plan on a collection area of around 6500 sq.ft. (an area 80 ft. on a side) to provide around 45,000 gallons per year, which should meet the needs of an individual with comparably liberal water use. While collectors can be artificial surfaces, they can also be part of the landscape (i.e. rock hillsides).
A family of four would need a collection area 160 ft. on a side. A multigeneration homestead of 8 to 10 people would need a collection area of 52,000 to 65,000 sq.ft, or an area from 228 to 254 feet on a side.
I use the term "one-time thru" to prompt thinking of multiple / reuse of water. Consider for an "extreme" example the Biosphere II facility, where the same water has essentially been in enclosed re-use for several years. The Earth is, after all, just a big yet closed system.
See the Appropriate Technology Appendix of my "Sustainable Civilization" treatise for expanded discussion on obtaining and managing water, including atmospheric condensers, and application of other simple concepts useful to sustain a higher standard of living in the absence of our present high energy globally connected infrastructure.
Water Storage
Absent anything else, fill cleaned plastic soda bottles with chlorinated tap water and store them at the back of closets, behind pots & pans, wherever there is space to fit a bottle. A lot of disaster fiction mentions filling the tub at the first sign of trouble. Would you really want to drink water from your tub, or even wash with it? There are commercial tub liners, but consider keeping at the top of the medicine cabinet a spare heavy clear plastic shower curtain to line the tub & four magnets to hold it in place.
Re a long-term system, the size of the cistern you should have is dependent on the patterns of your water use, and rainfall collection. Too small, and your tank will overflow during a "good" rainfall. Too big, and you've wasted space and money. For example, if you rainfall and water needs are essentially the same month to moth, the largest tank you probably need is enough to hold 1/12 of the annual rainfall. If your rain all comes in one monsoon month, you need to be able to store the entire years supply.
If you cannot obtain or construct a true watertight tank, note that sand will store water about 50% of its bulk. In sand, it is possible to store water[i] without it evaporating. You can for example dig a hole, line it with plastic, and fill it up with sand. The water in between the sand grains is is less likely to evaporate than in an open air pond.
Water FILTRATION
Plan on the need to clean your water supply.
Probably the oldest water treatment method is filtering through 3 to 5 feet of sand, which will remove many microorganisms, most debris, and most radioactive fallout. (Consider what nature does in the soil, as water seeps downward toward your well.) As this filter ages, a gelatinous layer forms near the top. While this contains numerous good bacteria, the top of your filter needs to be cleaned off and replaced regularly.
As a sample slow sand filter, the large clay pot used for the filter is 32 to 34 inches tall. A hole is made for the pipe in the side of the tall pot, the bottom of the hole must be 20 inches above the ground.
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A single piece of stiff flexible pipe 30 inches long, 1 inch in diameter, and with no splits in it, is fitted through the hole with one end inside the pot, touching the bottom. It is put in place and the hole around the pipe is made water tight using cement.
Potato size washed stones are placed in a single layer one stone deep at the bottom of the filter The gaps between them form channels for the water to flow easily into the pipe.
Small washed stones are placed on top filling the gaps between the potato size stones. Enough should be placed to prevent the next layer of gravel from falling through and blocking the gaps under the potato sized stones or clogging up the pipe.
A thin layer of washed bean size gravel is then spread to form a level surface over the small stones.
A thin layer of washed, seed size gravel is then spread to form a level surface over the bean size gravel.
These drainage layers must not exceed 4 inches in total thickness or there will not be enough room for the main material, the sand. Washed sand is then added to a level 5 inches below the level where the pipe goes through the side of the pot.
The water carrying clay pot is taken and a single hole is drilled in it using a 3 or 4 inch nail with a right angle bend in it to form a handle. At first this is difficult work but after a few minutes the hole is made without the need to hit it through with a hammer.
Most screw drivers make holes that are too large, so a nail is better. The hole should be on the bottom of the pot about 4 inches to one side so as not to get blocked too frequently by debris settling in the pot. The pot is then tied in place on top of the large pot with the hole in the water carrying pot in line with the pipe coming out of the filter.
A stone is wedged between the source pot and filter so that the hole in the source can be seen to notice if the hole becomes blocked. String must be used to fix the source in place in order to protect the good microbes in the filter from being disturbed by hands or other foreign entry.
A cloth is tied over the mouth of the clean water storage pot in such a way that the cloth is over the protruding pipe. The water should not be flowing onto the cloth at all, as this would re-contaminate the clean water. The source pot can also be covered in thin cloth to screen out debris.
If you have concerns still about bacteria or virus contamination, commercial filters are available that remove down to .02 microns, which will remove even a Hepatitis A virus.
Water Pasteurization
Pasteurization occurs when water is brought to 65°C (150°F) for 6 minutes. A Water pasteurization Indicator (WAPI) is a transparent tube which contains wax. The wax melts and drops to the bottom of the tube when it reaches 150°F (65°C) for 6 minutes indicating that the water has been pasteurized and is now safe to drink.
WATER STERILIZATION
1-pound of calcium hypochlorite “pool shock” in granular form will treat up to 10,000 gallons of drinking water which is enough for a family of four for some six or seven years at a gallon per day per person.
Only use the dry granular calcium hypochlorite you need since once it is made into a liquid solution it will begin to degrade and eventually become useless as a disinfecting agent. This also means you should make your treated drinking water in small batches, for example enough for a few weeks at a time at most.
General guidance to make a stock of chlorine solution (do not drink this!) is dissolve 1 heaping teaspoon (call it 1.5 teaspoon, or 7.4 ml) of granular calcium hypochlorite for to make two gallons (eight liters) of solution. To disinfect your drinking water add one part of the chlorine solution to 100 parts water to be treated, this would be two teaspoon (9.9 ml) of chloride solution per liter. Let the mixture sit for at least one-half hour before drinking.
The Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security puts human minimum daily intake at 3 liters. A 72 hour rescue wait therefore represents 9 liters of water to be sanitized, which requires 90 ml (call it 3 oz or 15 teaspoon) of solution. How about in your 72 hour bag a 3 oz bottle with a tiny scoop of powder amounting to .09 ml.
At three liter per day a year of water sanitized represents 1095 liters, which requires 10.95 liter of solution. Let's call it that you need 1 liter of solution per month. (Each liter is around 33 ounce) The quantity of powder to make a liter of solution is a scoop amounting to .9 ml. (1/5 tsp)
To create a liter of solution per month for a year requires around 11 ml of powder, or just over two tsp of powder.
SOLAR STILL
This can be a hole in the ground, with a cup at the center, covered with clear plastic, & a rock making the plastic slope such that water drips into the cup.
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Using standard plumbing parts, glass, etc., it should be possible to assemble a solar still that would provide pure, distilled water for the long term. To avoid opening the still to get water, run a tube to the collecting cup. (Consider a thin fish tank air-tube.)
Silver Ions
Ancient wisdom, supported by microbiological studies, is that silver ions kill microorganisms. Simply storing silver in water helps. Running a small DC current (i.e. from a cheap solar battery charger) through two silver electrodes submerged in the water distributes the ions and is said to make the water a disinfectant.
PHYSICAL PRIORITY III - Food
Critical for survival much beyond 3 weeks
If the grocery store shelves are empty, you can’t get there, or you can’t afford to make a purchase, what’s in your garden? Do you think that you can afford NOT to have one?
Live as though there is no tomorrow,
but farm as though you will live forever.
- North African Bedouin proverb
COMMERCIAL FoodS PANtRY
The present, relative abundance of food, and secure supplies, is a hollow shell, which will collapse when foreign farmers refuse worthless dollars, or oil ceases to support it. When you are once again dependent on your own garden, or local farms, crop failure can literally mean starvation if you can not daily pick the 2,000 calories needed.
Until your garden is fully producing you will need to live on food stored in your pantry.
A example from the web of a homegrown food storage to provide around 730,000 calories per person is:
325 lb. Grain (whole wheat, pasta, oats, rice, barley, several years)
80 lb. Legumes (various beans, peas, lentils, seeds, etc., 5 to 10 years)
50 lb. Milk/dairy/eggs (dried, 5 years)
20 lb. Meats (dried, 18 months)
10 to 30 lb. Fruit/vegetables (dried, 2 to 3 years)
60 lb. Sweeteners (sugar, honey, syrups, etc., indefinite)
40 lb. Fats/oils (butter, nut butters, natural cooking oils, etc. Note: Hydrogenated processed oils are Not nutritive, 2 to 3 years)
20 lb. Sprout seeds (alfalfa, all whole grains, beans, lentils, cabbage, radish, broccoli, etc., 2 to 3 years)
1 lb. Leavenings (yeast, culture samples can be kept reproducing indefinitely)
5 lb. Salt (despite its OVERUSE in present society, it becomes critical in the absence of processed foods, indefinite)
Residents of "First World" nations have become accustomed to minimal physical work, and high calorie intake. While both of these are ending, it may not necessarily be all bad-news. Studies have shown that low calorie diets, IF the food is otherwise high in vitamin/nutrient content, can result in a longer and healthier lifespan.
If you have the money, high-tech (high cost) freeze dried foods are available, with shelf lives of 20 years or so. Good backup for a crash induced emergency, and there are distinct short term advantages for concealment by avoiding the need to garden, but when they are gone, they are gone.If you are considering the MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) option, they come in boxes of 12 meals, (H,W,D) 9 1/4" x 11 x 16 1/2. For a year for each person you're looking at 92 boxes, a stack 16" deep, 5 foot high, 16 foot wide. If you put your stack against an outer wall, it will provide additional insulation, which, if you will permit an opinion from someone who has eaten MRE's, (and not cared for them) insulation may be their best use. To store enough for a multi generation family home, you need a room 14' x 16'.
If you prefer working up a food storage program around food your family normally eats, look up in nutrition (diet) guides the calories per pound, and volume per pound for your selected food items, and run you own calculations on how much you need to store. Some examples of calories of "common" food items are in the "FACTOID" appendix of my treatise.
Most foods can be safely and adequately stored using sun powered drying. If you have air-tight containers (even clay) an additional layer of protection is afforded by vacuum packaging.
"Old time" food storage was in root cellars, or covered pits, in which food remained fresh for months, if not years. When without all else, dig a hole, line it with dry grass, twigs, leaves, etc., and stack you food inside such that air can circulate around it. Then seal the top.
When your power fails, you may have in the form of your old fridge or freezer a pre-made container to bury, cover with insulation material, for an instant "root cellar".
If you are doing fermentation, such as for alcohol, consider bubbling the CO2 into the food storage container.
Keep expired food. It may just be future compost, it may be the diversion for thieves that saves you, or it may be your emergency meal.
Protein Needs
The human diet needs 53 to 58 grams of protein per day (.47 gram per kilogram, or .213 gram per lb., of body weight) consisting of 22 essential amino acids. 8 of these cannot be manufactured by the human body, and must be present in the right[ii] proportions.
A diet incomplete in protein leads to various physical infirmities (think of the photos of third world children, skin and bone, but with gas bloated abdomens). Regardless of a surplus of any given amino, the ability of the body to utilize the proteins is limited by the absence of any of the 8 that is not present in sufficient quantity. The excess are utilized by the body as mere carbohydrates.
Eggs are essentially complete. Most meats are complete, and animals such as chickens, cows, goats[1], etc. can feed on forage, turning unused/compost material into essential protein. (Ruminants, such as cows, don't need the protein and grains in their diets that they are fed in feedlots. They do however need nitrogen materials, which they convert to protein.)
Appropriate combinations of plant materials can result in a meal that has a complete protein matrix.
Soybean and Mung, and some peanuts approximate meat in completeness. (Please note the other nutritional factors for these)
Per one dry cup:
Product Protein Calorie Carb
Mung 49 gram 718 130
Soybean 68 gram 774 56
Peanut raw 38 gram 828 24
Sunflower 33 gram 821 27
Sunflower seeds contain greater growth promotion nutrition than does meat.
Rice is missing Isoleucine & Lysine, but if served in combination with cheese, or most beans, becomes a complete protein.
Chemical Fertilizer Gardening
I include this under "food storage" because I consider it just as temporary and unsustainable of a measure as storing from the abundance of chemically grown food.
Readily available and cheap (at the moment) are the typical plastic "kitchen" garbage bags, I think they're something like 14 gallon bags. I suggest 2,000 bags and enough fertilizer for 2,000 plants for one season. "Miracle Grow" (tradename) and other chemical fertilizers are also cheap for the moment.
Put bluntly, dig a hole, line it with the trash bag, backfill with local soil, bio waste, etc., and fertilize per instructions on the container. You're NOT creating a sustainable food bed, but you will grow an emergency crop. (Add your daily humanure if you're inclined and have determined the safety.)
Vegetable Yield - Per Person Planning
A primary concern is an ongoing source of sufficient calories. A short analysis of calorie crops:
- Corn. Per ear, around 600 kernels, 80 calories, 3 g protein, 18 g carb. Yield per 100 sq. ft. around 50 ears over an average 80 day growing period, or around 50 calories per day. Growing constantly it would take 4000 sq. ft. to feed a person, who would have to eat 25 ears per day.
- Rice: Growing constantly it would take 1350 sq. ft. to feed a person, who would have to eat 1.2 lbs. per day.
- Potatoes: Growing constantly it would take 900 sq. ft. to feed a person, who would have to eat 5.9 lbs. per day. For optimal yields, an equal amount of sunlight and darkness/day is necessary. Potatoes typically have 50% more waste than edible yield produced.
- Sweet Potatoes: Growing constantly it would take 400 sq. ft. to feed a person, and in that it has edible tubers and leaves, the person would eat 0.5 lb. of cooked leaves and 2.6 lb. of tubers per day. For optimal yields, an equal amount of sunlight and darkness/day is necessary.
- Amaranthus: From data on the web, growing constantly is appears that yield per 100 sq. ft would be around 50 lbs, over a 40 day growing period, or 1.25 lb. per day, which appears to match the daily food calorie needs of a person, who would have to eat 1.17 lbs. per day. Reported to thrive in hot dry weather.
Of the above potentials, in Yuma I’ve only had success with sweet potatoes. A reasonable expected yield of sweet potato in backyard gardens ranges from 49.1 lb. to 73.7 lb. per 100 ft. sq. growing area of roots, with foliage production from 8.8 lb. to 12.2 lb per 100 ft. sq. The root can be a source of other nutritionally important dietary factors, such as vitamin A, ascorbic acid, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin.
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Carbohydrates generally make up between 80 to 90 % of the dry weight of sweet potato roots, however the uncooked starch of the sweet potatoes is very resistant to the hydrolysis by amylase. When cooked, their susceptibility to the enzyme increases. Thus after cooking the easily hydrolysable starch fraction of sweet potato increases from 4% to 55%. Vines have a lower carbohydrate content but are higher in fibre and protein and so their principal nutritive value is as a source of vitamins and protein.
Sweet potatoes are considered to be somewhere between the sixth and the ninth most important food crop in the world.
Thought to originate in southern Mexico or Central America. A true 'poor man's crop', with most of the production done on a small or subsistence level. It is well suited to survive infertile tropical soils and to produce for farmers without fertilizers, irrigation, machinery or improved propagation stock. Sweet potato is an excellent dual-purpose food crop because its leaves are nutritious and are widely eaten. Though often grown as an annual, sweet potatoes are a perennial vine that can produce edible tubers and leaves for up to six years without replanting in tropical climates. In a system where the both the leaves and tubers are well managed for good yield, sweet potatoes can probably produce more nutrients per acre than other typical calorie crops. They have one of the highest returns of nutrients, relative to the time and effort expended, of any crop.
Tuber Per lb: 640 cal, 9.5 protein, 149 carb
Tuber Yield per 100 sq. ft. 82 lbs. over a 119 day growing period, or .68 lb. per day. Growing constantly it would take 450 sq. ft. to feed a person, who would have to eat 3.12 lb.+ per day.
Vine Per lb: 558 cal, 12.2 protein, ___ carb.
Vine Yield per 100 sq. ft. 14.68 lbs over the same 119 day period, or .12 lb. per day. Growing constantly it would take 3000 sq. ft. to feed a person, who would have to eat 3.6 lb. per day. Can be grown in the same location for up to 6 years. VERY cold sensitive. Leaf and root MUST be cooked.
If calories are covered, consider next vitamins to maintain essential body systems.
Consider the tree Moringa. (Moringa oleifera or Moringa stenopetala) The tree rated really well as a “multivitamin” source, in particular the leaves are high in sulfur-contained amino acids methionine & cystine, often in short supply, and missing from yam leaves and vines (which are edible when cooked, unlike potato plants which are not). If I had to bug-out with just two plants to restart somewhere as a primary food source, it would be cuttings of yam and moringa.
Other names for it include horseradish tree and drumstick tree (India) and benzolive (Haiti). Moringa exemplifies the power and potential to be found among overlooked veggies. An extremely fast growing tree, it produces leaves like spinach and pods that look like giant green beans and taste like asparagus. Its seeds yield an excellent cooking oil. The seeds are also good for clarifying turbidity and making water fit for drinking.
Leaves are detoxifying. Strengthen immune system. Reduce blood pressure. Level out blood sugar. Mild antibiotic and fungicide (Pterygospermin). Aqueous seed extract as effective on Staphylococcus aureus as Neomycin. Ground roots as topical anti-inflamatory. Root bark contains alkaloid moringinine which acts as a cardiac stimulant and increases blood pressure. Aqueous extract of stem bark in low concentrations increases heart rate yet DECREASES the rate at high concentrations, with the effect of lowering blood pressure.
As a ballpark figure, 100 gram (3.52 ounce) of fresh leaves can be considered as a multivitamin. (Provided of course the trees are being grown in a medium with complete micronutrients.) This 3.52 ounce serving would also provide around 9.4g of “complete” protein. (21oz required if sole protein source). When the leaves are dried they retain most of the vitamin & protein benefits, now concentrated at around 3:1 due to water mass loss, meaning DRIED leaf doses would be 1.1oz for vitamins & around 7 ounce for protein.
WARNING – NOT A PRETTY THOUGHT: Envision a wicking bed growing box, 8’ x 8’, divided into four squares 4’ x 4’. Three moringa trees in three of the squares, and a toilet in the fourth. Consider this as a primary processing point for humanure.
Per lb. pods 118 cal, 11 protein, 16.8 carb
Yield per 100 sq. ft. yearly production 200 lbs. or .55 lb. per day, Growing constantly as a calorie crop it would take 3100 sq. ft. to feed a person, who would have to eat 17 lb. per day.
Per lb. leaves 418 cal, 30 protein, 61 carb
Yield per 100 sq. ft. yearly production 245lbs. or .67 lb. (10.72oz. or 303g) per day, Growing constantly as a calorie crop it would take 715 sq. ft. to feed a person, who would have to eat 4.8 lb. per day. To provide the 3.52 ounce (.22 lb.) would require a growing area of only around 32 sq. ft.
To propagate by cutting, allow stem cuttings (2nd+ year wood) to dry in a shaded area 3 days before inserting in growing medium.
SEEDS
One of the most valuable projects you might undertake could be collection and preservation of seeds. Hybrid crops will not do well without the chemical fertilizers and pesticide protection, and they generally WILL NOT breed true, that is you cannot keep seeds from your hybrid crops and expect the plants next season to be the same. (I read it takes six generations of back breeding for a new trait to stabilize.
Find the sources for open pollinated crops that fit your needs, and get the seeds now. If you're not growing now (why not) rotate your storage seeds. Keep the seeds dry, cool, and of course secure from pests.
Crop selection
Perennial crops offer no-till (do you like digging?) growth of food. Do your research now as to "native" or other crops appropriate for your climate for edible landscaping, and for your garden, containers, greenhouse, or more, depending on your resources.
Despite farming's focus on a limited number of crops, there are thousands of edible plants. See as a good resource for plant listings.
See also The Land Institute:
, which is doing significant work on perennial food crops, eliminating tilling.
Check with your state master gardener folks for whatever plants are applicable for your local climate. Nationwide locater
For an overview of potential crops for your area outside of what is normally considered, the folks at Plants for a Future point out that "...Just twenty plants provide the majority of food eaten, yet there are thousands of other useful plants which have not reached mainstream attention. You can find details of many of them by a search of the database here...."
The folks at Leaf for Life indicate, "...Over 1000 species of plants bear leaves that are eaten, to some extent by humans. We've chosen 16 of these as "our favorites" and 50 others as "honorable mention." Our favorites are plants that we feel have, by virtue of their botany and history, shown great potential for providing food for humans in a sustainable way..."
My overall gardening notes.
Biointensive Gardening
An excellent intensive gardening resource is John Jeavons, and Ecology Action. Their presentation of the "biointensive" bed system projecting feeding a person out of 1,000 sq.ft., is among the best commercially available. (The Biosphere II project officially had about 1300 ft.sq. of garden per each of the 8 scientists, but they also had the entire 3+ acre dome.)
For the full benefit, the entire Ecology Action "system" must be used. While the biointensive beds create among the most efficient natural growth mediums, the necessary time (years for the miniature ecology to mature) and energy investment (i.e. for the double digging) means you should initiate work on this valuable long-term asset immediately.
Note, in a 2002 personal discussion with a member of Running on Empty (), Mr. Jeavons commented that a larger area may be needed, perhaps up to 4,000 sq.ft. if conditions are not carefully monitored and controlled. (See MESS appendix)
You need to investigate crops that are appropriate for your specific area, needs, and tastes, with a general goal is to grow the largest amount of calories and nutrition in the smallest area / smallest use of resources.
A detailed discussion of optimal growing conditions and crop planning is in the appendix "Micro Environment Sustainability System" (MESS).
Aquaponics
This is a combination of a fish tank/pond and a garden. The tank water is circulated through the garden, which fertilizes the garden, and cleans the water for collection and pumping back to the fish. (See reports from the "New Alchemy Institute" from back in the 1970's.)
Growing tilapia in a tank of about 640 cubic feet (4166 gallon), which weighs around 33.332 pounds (don't put it on the roof without a LOT of reinforcement) should be capable of providing a protein aspect for a homestead of 10 people. (See further details in the neighborhood chapter, and the MESS appendix.)
Aeroponics
NASA funded research (i.e. aeroponics - roots suspended in a mist of nutrients), has implications of feeding a person from 22.5 sq. Meters (about 16' on a side or 256 ft. sq.) Their research though has focused on special crops tailored for a narrow range of closely controlled living conditions.
Their high-tech approach makes reliance in a crisis situation questionable, but provides insight into what is possible. If adapted to readily repairable & reproducible appropriate technology and used with hardier crops it would be a very valuable art. (Consider if you replaced the roof area of a "typical" home with such a garden, which could feed a family of four living below.)
Container gardening
The commercial product "Earthbox" (registered tradename) claims significant improvement over random soil or mere containers, perhaps offering production between biointensive, and the NASA approach.
Their patented container appears to be nearly identical to non-circulating methods shown in various technical and non-technical[2] hydroponics and aeroponics books, which is to provide the plant roots with unlimited access to water, nutrients, and air, without drowning or suffocating them.
The earlier textbooks show 1" to 3" of soil held on a grid, over a 1/2" to 3" air space, over water maintained in steady depth of 1" to 3".
The water depth must be carefully maintained. While plant roots CAN grow into water, if left exposed to the air, these roots not only dry out, but in 1 to 3 days, change, irreversibly, from water absorbing to air breathing roots. After the change, if re-submerged, the root drowns, and kills the plant.
There are various approaches which appear to offer benefits similar to still water hydroponics[3] on a larger scale. Consider a waterproof layer, covered with a wicking material, then 3" to 6" of compost (not soil, for lighter weight, and better nutrition). A method such as an upside down jar of water is used to keep the wick wet. These beds could be put on a flat roof, or layer of concrete.
Pit or Underground Greenhouse
Earth sheltering provides a more stable climate for human habitation and for your garden. You may even go as far as an underground greenhouse, which provides you greatly enhanced ability to control the growing conditions.
Relatively recent developments in natural lighting provide an opportunity to bring natural light into spaces not practical before. Examine "Solartubes" (mentioned later also), which can route sunlight thru a relatively small opening. Some versions have flexible tubing for the light, lending it to bends / curves for routing thru even thick shielding materials. It should be possible, for example, to route the tubes from the roof of a single story home, down to the basement.
Short of a high-tech greenhouse buried in the basement, a simple pit, covered with an appropriate clear or translucent material, can serve to provide area for growing food well into freezing weather.
Foraging
If you don’t (yet) have a garden, perhaps you are tempted to go grazing. Be certain of what you're doing, as a small bite of certain plants is enough to kill an adult. Also though, consider this as potential protection for your food crop. If it doesn't look like a garden, and doesn't look like normal vegetables, perhaps anyone encountering it will leave it alone. Hunter/forager societies are estimated to have required a square mile to support each individual.
Leaf and Grass Concentrate
There are many leaves, (grasses, vines, bushes, and trees) that can be used to produce an edible product when the excess fiber is removed. You can even use dried leaves, making this a valuable survival art.
- Dried Leaves. When leaves are brittle, remove coarse stems and grind to a fine powder. Dried leaves can be easily ground in a variety of ways. Make sure leaves are very dry or they will clog the grinders. About 20% of the flour in most recipes can be replaced with leaf powder.
- Fresh Grass / Leaves. Making Leaf Concentrate at Home[iii]. Wash and cut leaves into pieces 2 - 3" long, use only fresh green leaves known to be edible, such as alfalfa, Swiss chard, lambsquarters, blackeye peas, wheat, mustard, kale, or collards. Grind the leaves to a pulp to rupture the cell walls of the leaves liberating protein and other nutrients.
Press as much juice as possible from the pulped leaves, and pour the pulped leaves into a sheer nylon or polyester cloth of the type used for curtains. Squeeze out as much juice as possible. You should not be able to squeeze any juice out of a handful of this pulp when you are done.
Heat the juice rapidly to the boiling point, stir very gently to prevent burning and remove from heat as soon as the leaf juice boils. A green curd should float to the top. Separate the curd that forms in the heated juice in a closely woven cloth. When this wet curd has cooled, squeeze the "whey" out of the curd. It should be dry enough to crumble.
You may want to make a press to apply more pressure than you can with just your hands. This can be used for pressing the juice from the pulped leaves as well.
What remains in the cloth is leaf concentrate. 10 lbs. of leaves should give you roughly 1/2 lb. leaf concentrate; 4 1/2 lbs. of fiber for mulch, compost, rabbit or goat feed; and 5 lbs. of "whey" for watering plants. If not used right away, leaf concentrate can be dried at about 120 F, ground to a fine powder, and stored for later use in airtight plastic bags away from any light.
Sprouting
This natural process decreases the carbohydrate content, and greatly increases the vitamin and protein content, as well as increasing the volume and mass of many food seed, i.e. the bag of dried beans in your storage program. (Tomato or potato sprouts are poisonous, as all seeds treated with fungicides, etc.)
FOOD PRESERVATION
- Smoking meat. Preserves meat for several months. A relatively sealed fireproof non-toxic container. Cut meat into thin strips and hang freely in container. Arrange fire/coals to keep a constant supply of smoke into the container. It should take several hours, and works better when meat is coated in salt. WARNING: Partially smoked meat if cooked, OR cooked meat then smoked, may lead to food poisoning. Smoke "fresh" meat only, & thoroughly.
- Salt storage. Meat, fruits and vegetables can be packed in bulk dry salt and sealed. Salt water also works, but not as long.
- Drying. In sunny locations simply laying foods in sun over a few days may dry it for longer storage. Keep the bugs & other critters off though. Think wire or fiberglass mesh.
- Lacto-fermentation. Many people use whey as a starter but it is not necessary if you use enough salt. You can also make salt-free cultured vegetables without whey as long as you use some sort of acid, such as lemon juice, to prevent spoilage before the lactobacilli take over. Spices can be added for flavoring. Lacto-fermented vegetables provide a viable source of probiotics. The container needs to be such that fermentation gases can escape, but microbes in the are do NOT get in the container. The food must be "weighed down" so that it is completely submerged. DO NOT USE METALS. Vegetables are submerged in a brine that is salty enough to kill off harmful bacteria
Hand raked sea salt is best. Second is regular sea salt and at the very least use kosher or pickling salt. The trace elements found in the hand raked sea salt are good for you and the fermentation process. Never use rock salt, salt substitute or iodized salt. Use one teaspoon per pound of vegetables (A pint jar). The chlorine in municipal water will kill the natural yeast and flora needed to produce fermentation and the high iron and mineral content in some well and municipal water will produce a cloudy pickle with an off taste. Only use good quality spring water to make your brine. The lacto bacteria thrive in the mid 60 degree range. First fermentation should take place between 65 and 70 degrees F so that enough acidity develops to suppress potential spoilage bacteria. After three days the vegetables should be taken down to 50 deg. Or lower to slow cure and develop full flavor. To high a temperature at the start will allow spoilage bacteria to take over and fast curing at higher temperatures results in a mushy product with an off taste. In stage two Lactobacillus organisms begin converting lactose and other sugars present in the food into lactic acid. This creates an acidic environment that safely preserves the vegetables - and gives lacto-fermented foods their classic tangy flavor. Lightly brush soil from vegetables and trim rinse in non-chlorinated water. Do not scrub or use vegetable wash it is very important to keep the natural yeast and flora on the vegetables. Use a non- reactive knife or cuter to uniformly slice the vegetables. Pack tightly using a small portion at a time being sure to remove all air spaces the tighter they are packed the crisper they will be. Fill jars to within ¾ inch from the top allowing brine to come up over vegetables. Cap loosely with plastic lids or new canning lids and place jars on a plastic or glass tray to catch the brine that will over flow during fermentation. For whole vegetable pickles clean vegetables as before, add one tablespoon of sea salt to an empty quart jar add whole herbs if called for and spices then pack in whole vegetables and fill with spring water cap loosely with a clean lid and shake gently a few times.
After your veggies are soured to your liking, place the jar (or jars) into cooler storage where they will store for months.
- Potted meat. Cooked, then layered in sealed containers surrounded in its own fat.
Low Technology Evaporative Refrigeration
Set up a large container, such as a clay pot, or other porous material, with a small water tight container inside, and the space between filled with sand or perlite, kept moist. The evaporative cooling keeps the inner container well below the ambient temperature.
PHYSICAL PRIORITY IV – SHELTER
A naked exposed human is a physically ill-equipped animal. We need the technological achievements our minds have provided.
Clothing
Your personal portable shelter from the environment. Forget fashion, which is an affectation of the consumer economy.
What raw material is readily available in your area, or can you readily grow?
What is the most durable material available (that you're willing to use)? I keep reading that hemp makes the most durable cloth available, but I have no experience with it. The hemp products I've seen in stores did not appear to have any special properties, and new hemp hats were coming apart on the shelves.
What is practical and effective for your local climate?
What can be made and maintained with appropriate technology?
.
EARTH SHELTERED HOME
The temperature of the earth at a depth of approximately 20 feet is essentially stable at the annual average surface temperature. A home at that depth would probably not need any mechanical HVAC, as it only needs to remove the body heat of the human occupants and that generated by the activities, but it would not have much of a view. It can though be well lighted.
The technical aspects of correct earth sheltering are explained well by John Hait in his book "Passive Annual Heat Storage". The techniques will improve the feel of even a traditional home, but works best in homes specifically built to take maximum advantage of the buffering.
One approach is well presented in the "Earthship" series of books by Michael Reynolds, ranging from single room pods to luxury homes. It's not that earth is a good insulator, rather the advantage comes from that fact that earth is NOT a good insulator, and it takes a lot of heat, or cold, to make a large mass of earth change temperature.
While Mr. Reynolds emphasizes use of tires, cans, etc. in his structures, the functional aspects are relevant regardless of the construction material. In his third earthship book, Mr. Reynolds has valuable suggestions on a "retrofit" for a typical suburban home. See John Hait's book "Passive Annual Heat Storage" for scientific details of the thermal buffering system.
Surface coated stacked concrete block is advocated by architect Bruce Beer at his website . Blocks are stacked without mortar, then filled and coated with cement.
Mike Oehler, in "The $50 & Up Underground House Book" presents his PSP system (post/shoring/Polyethylene), basically an underground pole building. Regarding wood in contact with the soil, in most soils, the area of decay is just below ground level, where soil microbiological activity is greatest. Often a post can be almost completely rotted out at this level, while the wood several feet deeper in the ground is still solid. So it's possible that a post, buried two feet or more into the ground, in an excavation already as much as six feet or more in the ground, will last a very long time. In addition, Oehler points out the old-time observation that charred wood doesn't rot. He chars the bottom two feet or so, by roasting them over a campfire, propane torch, etc. For additional insurance, wrap the post bottom in several plastic garbage bags secured with duct tape.
The Monolithic Concrete Dome is a single large dome, presented as energy efficient due to the reduced outside surface area relative to the inside volume. But it is difficult to build, and bury if you're incorporating earth berming. An extremely thin dome gets its strength from the curve shape. The larger the dome, the closer any given area of the dome approaches flat, losing strength.
A dome on the scale of a room is a much less daunting project than a home sized or larger monolithic dome. A home can be built one room at a time, as labor, materials, and need are presented. Greater curvature per area gives greater strength.
Assuming I had unlimited funds and was building a survival home, I lean toward a clustering of room sized domes, or a torus (donut) shape. In late 2005 I noted the Monolithic Dome commercial web page had torus designs. There is POTENTIAL that multiple thin shells, with soil sealed between have a greater strength to thickness that a single shell of the same total concrete thickness.
Soil can though be formed into bricks, and baked (even in the sun). It can also be "rammed" into wall molds to form monolithic walls. Neither is waterproof though absent a stabilization materials, such as added concrete.
For thoughts on security aspects for your home, see Mr. Skousen's book "The Secure Home.
Retrofit
Do you have the time and assets to custom build? Most will have to retrofit. If your intent is to join or remain in an existing community, it's probably your only option. It may even be the best option.
Daydreaming, I'd love to take on a project such as turning a parking building into a city homestead. Who wants to park on the roof anyway? Cover it with your solar panels and garden. Your homestead needs to have sufficient solar exposure for your power, heat, skylights, and garden. What are you going to put under yours?
Get involved. Contact community leaders in all areas. Contact the media. Join groups that may have part of the picture (i.e. global warming, biking, gardening, solar power) and starting from appropriate common ground guide others to the greater awareness you see.
In the end, ANY system that provides you a waterproof living space that is heavily insulated, has extensive thermal mass or other thermal storage, and a practical means to get heat into and out of the storage can provide a comfortable home.
What might you want to continue in relative comfort with the grid(s) down?
Pantry
A well insulated "root cellar" room inside the home along the north wall. Ice / freezing capabilities increases the food storage options greatly. Solar powered absorbent / refrigerant (no compressor) was accomplished in the 1800's, and once made, can operate for decades. Proven combinations are:
Lithium bromide / water (LiBr/H2O)
Water / Ammonia (H2O/NH3)
Sodium thicyanate/ammonia
(NaSCN/NH3)
Lithium nitrate/ammonia (LiNO3/NH3)
Calcium chloride/ammonia (CaCl2/NH3)
Strontium chloride/ammonia (SrCl2/NH3)
Evaporative cooling (where water is a readily available resource) can make a large difference. A simple approach, perhaps to hold food, is a covered fired clay pot, recessed in sand filling a much larger, unfired clay pot, keeping the sand moist, and the device shaded.
For a higher tech consider and air tight container, and a vacuum pump. Fill the container part way with water, and pull a vacuum. As the pressure lowers, the water boils at lower temperatures. While some of the water boils off, some will freeze.
Kitchen
As potentially your greatest need for solar heat, the kitchen needs to have the most unrestricted solar access. Consider keeping the heat, humidity and smells of the kitchen totally isolated from the air of the rest of the home.
[pic]
[pic]
Solar cooking can be accomplished on simple devices, or as complex as mirror or lens concentration on coils of circulating oil could provide a means to route concentrated heat to a "burner" coil arrangement for a stove cooking surface.
Almost any construction method that mimics a "rocket stove" can allow cooking using only small scraps of wood.
[pic]
Once you have something hot, use insulation. An example, bring a pot of stew, cooking meat, etc. up to a rapid boil, and put the covered pot in an insulated box.
Bath
If you're using compost toilets, perhaps you want the bath well vented, separate from the primary home system. Provided you are not using soaps or putting chemicals down the drain toxic to plants, your bath and wash water is a valuable gray water resource.
While we're in the bathroom, consider toilet paper. Absent some type of on-going specialist society, are you going to be able to make your own toilet paper? The options are more or less leaves, dirt, the bare flesh of your hand, or some leather/cloth that gets washed.
Human Effluent Recycling
Sanitation. Human urine and manure contains valuable nutrients needed by the soil. Prior to re-use, the pathogens present must be eliminated.
Compost toilet. Low or no water systems where the human discharges are retained at temperatures and with airflow for bacteria to process the discharges into safe fertilizer. Urine must either be diverted and processed separately, or most of it is lost to evaporation.
Expedient: Collect human feces and urine in a container (e.g, a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat on it) and after each use, cover the wastes with an organic cover material such as sawdust (or peat moss, dried leaves, or even dirt if it is dry enough to be absorbent). When the container is full, transfer of the contents to a compost bin. The cover material serves a dual function of suppressing odors and providing the carbon needed by decomposer organisms to balance the nitrogen present in urine. Each time the waste/sawdust mixture is transferred to the compost bin, it is covered with a sufficient amount of coarse organic material such as straw, hay, leaves or weeds. Kitchen garbage and yard waste may be put in the same compost bin. Once the last addition is made, the contents of the bin are allowed to compost for a year.
Establish a compost pile of about a meter cube. Effective composting requires:
Sufficient moisture (50-75%)
Dry browns - dry leaves and grass, which are high in carbon
Wet greens - green grass and leaves which are high in nitrogen
Air throughout the pile
Soil organisms.
It is desirable to have a ratio of 25-30 carbon to 1 nitrogen or much more of the dry browns to the wet greens. The exact ratio is not too critical, but if your pile is not working very well try to get closer to the ratio and/or add some rich soil. If nitrogen is low some urine can be added. The pile needs to be turned so that all materials reach the desired temperature at some time during the process.
Daily additions of peelings, stems and stalks from vegetables and fruits keep the pile loose and temperature up. Piles which are tight have lower temperatures, possibly due to lack of air which, in turn, prevents the various organisms from working. Piles receiving very moist air will remain moist and tight due to lack of evaporation of moisture produced by composting and that being deposited on the pile by the users. The composting process will be slowed or inhibited by excess moisture concentrations.
Heat pasteurization. 30 minutes in a solar oven at 250+ degrees should kill all pathogens. However, a significant portion of the carbon & nitrogen is lost. Lower temperatures must be 150F (65C) for an hour, 120F (50C) for 24 hours or 115F (46C) for a week. To accomplish low-tech
Pathogens, such as the Hepatitis A virus, which is the most heat resistant intestinal pathogen, are rendered inert by a temperature of 70 C (158 F) in ten minutes, 75C (167 F) in one minute, and 80 C (176 F) in five seconds (2)(Harp, 1996 Effect of Pasteurization, Environmental Biology). These temperatures are easily obtained by simple solar collectors.
Direct soil distribution. The book, "Future Fertility, Transforming Human Waste into Human Wealth", John Beeby describes a rotation system using perennial crops.
HUMANURE WARNING
Human refuse can have viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and worms (helminths). There are a number of each type that are possible. In urine, bacteria can cause typhoid or paratyphoid fever and worms can cause schistosomiasis. In feces, viruses can cause diarrhea, infectious hepatitis and poliomyelitis; bacteria can cause typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, food poisoning, dysentery, cholera, and diarrhea; protozoa can cause diarrhea dysentery, colonic ulceration, and liver abscess. Some of the worm parasites that can be present are hookworm, various flukes, pinworm, various tapeworms, roundworm, and threadworm. These pathogens are of concern in human refuse.
If human refuse is applied directly to crops, the length of time that the pathogens survive depends upon soil moisture, pH, type of soil, temperature, sunlight, and organic matter. Bacteria and viruses cannot penetrate undamaged vegetable skins, but they can survive on the surfaces of vegetables, especially root vegetables. Sunshine and dry air can help kill the pathogens. If there is any concern about pathogens, compost should be applied to long-season crops at the time of planting so that sufficient time passes for the pathogens to die.
To have greater confidence in your compost for your garden, you can permit just your family to use your compost toilet[iv]. Then you know what has been deposited in it. Another option is to just spread the compost from the toilet only on tree and bush crops. In addition, the more air that can be trapped in the pile, the better the pile will heat up and inactivate the pathogens that might be present.
Average pounds produced per person per year.
Source: Future Fertility[v]
Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Calcium
Urine 7.5 1.6 1.6 2.3
Manure 2.8 1.9 0.8 2.0
Total 10.3 3.5 2.4 4.3
Range required per 100 ft. sq. of garden
Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Calcium
0.1 - 0.5 0.2 - 0.6 0.15 - 0.50 0.2 - 0.8
Range one human's effluent can fertilize each year in ft. sq.
Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Calcium
Urine
1500 - 7500 266 - 800 320 - 1067 287 - 1150
Manure
560 - 2800 316 - 950 160 - 533 250 - 1000
Total
2060 - 10300 582 - 1750 480 - 1600 537 - 2150
Expect each person to produce around 1 gallon of manure per month, which should be applied to no less than 50 ft. sq. monthly, otherwise you're adding too much nitrogen to the growing medium. Layer manure, then 2" soil, seeds, and sprinkle soil. Move on to next 50 ft. sq., cycle back annually for 3 years, then shift to another set of beds.
Urine must be diluted with water from 5 to 10 to 1.
Wetland Wastewater Treatment
Mishandled sewage creates one of the developing world's worst underlying problems. It leads to death and disease, contamination of land and water, and chronically unsanitary conditions for millions.
However, there an unsophisticated sewage treatment approach may fit the needs of the Third World, and a First World in crisis. This simple and inexpensive approach employs various aquatic plants grown in artificial wetlands[vi]. Wastewaters merely trickle through man-made watery gardens in which living plants clarify the waste stream to the point where it is safe for people, animals, and the environment at large. In principle, this low-tech process should be ideal for the world's poor countries. Plants grow extremely well in the heat of tropics. In fact, because there are no winter seasons, the wetland systems should work better there than here. Yet it is unknown.
Pumice Wick
A variation of wetland and direct distribution is the Aerobic Pumice Wick presented by TOM WATSON. All liquid wastes drain into a filter tank to hold solids for aerobic composting, allowing the liquid to drain to a bed/tank. Set up an 18" bed of pumice in a waterproof base, with a cover of around 6" of soil. Plant roots access the bed use the nutrients and transpire the water. In the case of too much liquid, the wick acts as a filter and filtered water drains out of the exit pipe. Please ensure liquid does not rise to the compost level.
Engineering Space
Workshop, machines, batteries, inverters, chemical storage, etc., keeping these clearly separated from the living space. Aim for no air exchange with the living space.
Greenhouse
If capable of being completely separated from the living space, yet circulate air if desired, plants can be kept warm even if there is no need for the heat in the home. Consider some plant mass in every room though, i.e. growing under the skylight.
Bedrooms
What do you expect will be the makeup of your household? Think of the future. Plan a home to last hundreds of years. How many generations may need to live in the same place? Do you expect multiple occupancy of bedrooms, are bedrooms to be a private "home", or is it merely a private secure, quiet place to rest. I've seen very "tiny" cabins (rooms) on yachts that were luxurious.
A small space takes much less energy to heat or cool. Canopy beds were not merely for appearances. In cold times, draped insulation allowed body heat to warm the sleeping space. In warm periods open mesh allowed cooling breezes while minimizing the bugs. Envision how small of an a/c unit would suffice to chill for the evening just the inside of a canopy bed.
How about modest personal rooms, with the possibility of linking them for space for couples, those who need to monitor infants, etc., or the ability to easily move walls? Say you've got a five generation homestead, two children per generation, where one sibling each generation left to reside in a similar multi-generation home of their spouse. There are probably 10 people at the homestead. Set the bedroom wing at 1,000 square feet. The effect of an "extra" child in a generation, children to younger couples, or increase in lifespan become immediately apparent to the family as they shift the bedroom walls.
Outdoor Rooms
Walled and screened (bugs do seem to be everywhere) outside spaces can provide seasonal, (depending on your climate) if not year round extra living / storage / working space.
MANAGING HEAT
The greatest source of energy on earth is the sun, which appears to travel a fixed pattern in the sky that is readily estimated. To maximize the benefits of shade, or of solar collection, the suns pattern of movement must be taken into account.
If your roof is exposed, consider from R 70 to R 100 in your ceiling. In hot climates above your insulation ensure there is a well ventilated & shaded space of a least a foot.
For ground temperature purposes, to artificially "lower" the floor of your home, insulate the ground for 20 feet out around your home with three layers, separated by heavy plastic sheets for waterproofing, of "Dow Blue Styrofoam", white styrofoam board, or other appropriate insulation, then carefully cover the insulation with dirt, sand, gravel, etc to protect it from weathering.
Low-tech/natural insulation layers, such as grass, leaves, etc., with some waterproofing means or even layered with a high clay soil will help, but eventually need to be replaced. Berming earth up the sides of the home provides additional protection from the large temperature changes of open air. Even the roof can if you chose have a layer of earth on top of the insulation. The soil need only be thick enough for the plants grown there.
An obvious heat storage medium is water, which pound for pound will hold more than dirt or concrete. Jars, tanks, in or above ground pools, etc. Whether you simply carry the jars in/out each day/night, or have moveable covers on your pool, or a pipe and pump system, it's just a matter of setting up a means where the water is heated by the sun, or exposed to the night sky for cooling by radiation.
Earth Tubes
A low energy method (after they are buried) to tap the stable ground temperature for a surface home are buried pipes. The typical approach is horizontal trenching, with pipes of a size to allow reasonable air flow.
Consider though a pipe leading straight down into the ground (as in a shallow, perhaps driven well) 20 to 30 feet. This avoids the need to disturb large surface areas, and the dig & backfill of horizontal trenches. Any appropriate method of routing water down and back up in a sealed system (i.e. a small pipe inside a larger pipe) can allow a transfer of temperature to/from the depth.
Each pipe can be expected to heat/cool the ground in a 3 to 4 foot diameter circle, therefore space the "wells" 3 feet apart. When the surface is significantly cooler than the bottom, a natural thermosyphon should occur. With appropriate manifolds and valves, warmed or chilled water can be pumped from/to collectors/radiators or circulated in a hydronic system of pipe embedded in a concrete floor/wall.
Good Ole Glass
Equator-facing windows, vertical or angled to be 90 degrees to the noon sun in the winter, or skylights can provide significant passive solar heating in the winter while minimizing glass exposed to summer sun. (In the summer, the sun rises and sets NORTH of the East/West glass alignment, and the glass can be shaded on the outside.) Summer solar gain can further be avoided by almost any approach that provides a well-ventilated shade area about a foot from the main structure.
Daylighting
Conventional skylights admit too much heat in the summer, and require a large opening in the structure of your home, that siphons your winter heat. More diffused and useful light is admitted, with less heat, by "lighttubes", essentially mirrored pipe with a lens cover on each end. Venting can be separately done with insulated pipe with removable caps.
The combined opening in the structure is much smaller, the risk of weather damage is less, and maintenance is less. A firm in Europe is producing panels to channel light in via fiber optic cables, allowing greatly enhanced flexibility in placement of the "collector" and the inside light emitter. Solar tubes, fiber optics, etc. also offer a means for nighttime interior lighting of separate/private rooms by one central light source.
The are other options which have potential for development not only as lighting, but heating, cooling, and power, and crops in a controlled environment. An appropriately designed light scoop, facing the equator, should admit light in the winter, yet block the summer heat.
Fireplace
An interior fireplace must have an external air source. Since the fireplace is probably only used when it is cool outside, arrange the air source such that it draws from the pantry, which would then be vented to the outside, cooling the pantry. Consider a fireplace in a "sunken" family room. Water filled pipes around the fireplace, and in the higher floor of the rest of the house could provide auxiliary heat by thermosyphon.
Note, a fireplace assumes you've got a sustainable source of something to burn. How large of a forest do you own? Is a fireplace sustainably practical? Wood has on an average around 5,000 BTU per pound.
Note, every square yard perpendicular to the sun receives every hour 3,412 BTU. Therefore one pound of wood equates to a pane of glass 44 inches on a side exposed to the sun for one hour. Assume an average wood with a specific density of .5, or a weight of about 32 pounds per cubic foot.
A cord of wood is 128 cubic feet (4' x 4' x 8'). The above averages therefore puts the weight of a cord at around 4,096 pounds, containing 20,480,000 BTU.
A cord of wood is potentially a sustainable harvest from 1/2 to 1 acre, grown over a period of a year.
At the best yield of 2 cord per acre per year, it's 40,960,000 BTU per acre per year.
If we assume an average of 6 hours per day, 360 days per year, the BTU stored by the best cord wood yield from an acre of trees represents the daily sunlight heat potential of around 5 1/2 square yards, or a square area of glass just over 7 foot on a side.
Assume use of flat panel collectors to raise water temperature from 70 degrees F to 100 degrees F. Each BTU represents a one degree temperature increase in one pound (1 pint) of water. The above collection area receives 112,596 BTU during the day, and would need an insulated tank of at least 470 gallons. This is a volume of say 060 cubic feet - Think of a cube 4 foot on a side.
Direct solar collection, if you have a system to use and store it, is arguably over 800 times as "efficient" a method of collecting and storing solar heat as growing firewood.
Grow wood for building material. Grow wood as a fuel to use in creating a long-term useful item, such as glass. If essential, grow wood as an emergency fuel, but PLEASE, don't plan on wood heat as your primary home heat source.
Solar Well
Along a similar line of thought to putting the fireplace in a pit, consider wells or pits facing the south winter sun. Glass covered, reflector lined, essentially Winston cones. At the bottom, a solar collector, a coil of pipe, or a large tank. We now have, during the day, on the bottom, an intensely hot tank of water. Pipes run "up" to the floor of the house, in a thermo siphon, capable of keeping the floor warm, without a powered pump. A simple valve would be the only required moving mechanical part, to shut the system down when desired.
Sky Heat Exchangers
Roof / external mounted tube collectors, flat or with reflector concentrators, can heat water during the day, or cool water during the night. Cooling can be enhanced by misting or water evaporation. Used for cooling, the circulating water might "thermo siphon". The same principle that helps make the elsewhere mentioned atmospheric condensers work, cooling by sky radiation, also provides a means of cooling a large mass, to store “coolness” for warm weather daytime use.
Even during the day, when the sky is clear, the right combination of shading from direct sun, insulation from side heat sources, and in particular orientation of the radiator to the “coolest” area of the sky, can lower temperatures of such radiator to below the ambient air temperature. Experiments report the ability to radiate 100 to 200 BTU per hour per square foot. The radiation frequency is 8 to 13 um, so you're looking for a glazing material transparent in that range. (Try polyethylene)
Structure Utilities - Energy
Frankly, to survive as more than a "dirt farming peasant", you need a power source beyond human or animal muscle, which does NOT rely on fuel, or power delivered from some unseen and uncertain source. See Appropriate Technology in the appendices. Unless we suddenly leap to "STAR TREK" technology, the future energy picture will be one of greatly reduced personal energy use. Run wiring capable of handling separate a/c and d/c loads. What do you REALLY need to operate?
Electrical Needs
Electricity is the superlative form of energy in use in modern civilization, without which aspects such as long distance communications, computers, other electronics, etc. would be inoperative. When you’re planning your finances, you look at what you can do for yourself, and what you need to pay others to do or provide. When you can no longer simply plug into a seemingly limitless electrical grid, you will look closely at what NEEDS electricity.
Why would anyone NEED to generate electricity, to spin and heat an electric dryer, when hanging wet clothes in a sunlit space would also dry the clothes, and perhaps the drips water the plants?
Even refrigeration can be driven directly from a windmill or waterwheel. Ice can be made using a solar concentrator or by applying a hand-pumped vacuum to a container of water. Low levels of locally produced electricity CAN provide the power to maintain a technological, learning and developing society. A "typical" American household has access to 22 kilowatt (110 v with 200 amp service) 24/7.
Check your own bill, and see what your real time use has been. Can you reliably generate that much power? Then you must be prepared to buy the power (hoping someone else manages to generate it), or reduce your power usage to what you can generate.
SMALL DEVICE BATTERIES
Steve Harris has been doing prepper training for some time, and has been interviewed by Jack Spirko at:
This prepper recommends for rechargeable batteries buy only precharged. He prefers a 2 hour fast charger, suggesting such model as will allow batteries to be charged one at a time, or full load, mixed battery size, with individual battery meter for each charging slot.(Example Powerex) Apparently some chargers require batteries to be charged in pairs.
#1 Sanyo Eneloop, all white, rechargeable 1500 times
#2 Duracell
#3 Rayovac
Non-Rechargeable batteries, intended for reliable "Instant Emergency Use". If for example taking your emergency light out of your "BOB" just to take a walk in the dark outside, swap out these expensive "one use" batteries for rechargeable ones.
#1 Energizer lithium blue/silver, for "must work" stored devices.
#2 Duracell alkaline battery.
While Mr. Harris does not recommend Energizer alkaline batteries, he does like their headlamp, 7 LED, on 3 AAA rechargeables it runs up to 14 hours.
Power Options
The prime energy source on earth is the sun. It powers the photosynthesis process in plants, creating the energy supply for all animal life. It is readily concentrated into a limited area with simple mirrors or other reflective/convective surfaces.
If you can generate electricity beyond your needs, your spare kwh could be valuable barter currency to exchange with neighbors without power.
With technology we understand, and can produce today, we can produce electricity from the sun by:
Turning generators with moving wind, caused by the sun (natural, and artificially induced wind up what is essentially a smokestack) Such natural power is intermittent, but a viable addition where sufficient wind blows.
Turning generators with moving water, caused by the sun (natural, and artificially induced means to move water to a higher location, or from a pressurized container.) Power can be constant and regulated. Most naturally occurring cases of water in a high gravity location have already been exploited.
Turning generators with "steam" engines (water and other medium, open and closed cycle) Power can be relatively constant and regulated by using the sun to heat a storage medium, such as water in an insulated tank, which then provides power at night.
In example, since closed cycle heat engines are driven by a difference in temperature, as the outdoors cools at night, and the contents of an insulated tank remain warm, the power available may actually increase. Light concentration can DRAMATICALLY increase available power. The "steam" can also be heated by growing, collecting, and burning bio-fuels.
Historically, low temperature solar engines are operated using freon or butane, in with temperatures of 80 C. In a low technology situation though, it may be necessary to use only "natural" mediums. (Perhaps water in a closed system that operates partially in a vacuum, so that water boils at a lower temperature.)
Food for thought. As shown by the closed cycle engine, the useable work is done by the change of state from liquid to gas, not the rise in temperature to the boiling state. Open cycle engines (think of the old steam engines) lose ALL of this initial heating energy. Closed cycle engines retain a significant portion, but must still clearly cool the medium before re-injection to the vaporization chamber. Rather than directly using steam to turn a generator, I've wondered about using steam to pressurize a tank of water (insulated from the water some way?) then using the water to spin a micro-hydro system.
Solar photo-voltaic. Direct conversion of light to electricity. The present silicon crystal panels remain a "high tech" item to produce, are fragile, and essentially impossible to repair in a low-tech environment. Power is ONLY supplied when light shines directly on the panel. Light concentration is likely to overheat the panel, and cause it to "burn out".
[pic]
For a small scale example, the above photo is a battery electric mower. For ease of math, the power discussion for the mower ignores conversion losses. It contains two 12 volt, 20 amp/hr batteries, (480 watt/hr total) discharge rated at 8 amp. In parallel they should provide up to 192 watts for up to 2.5 hours. It has "on board" a 150 watt inverter. The panel is a Siemens (used from flea market) 50 watt, which should recharge “empty” batteries in 10 hours of sunlight. Full discharge is of course NOT a good idea.
The mower is just a toy, but SOME grid-free electricity certainly beats NO electricity. Envision you are deep in a cavern, when the grid lighting to the cave goes out. Would you rather have a tiny LED flashlight, or none?
With a five watt solar panel you can sufficiently charge a car battery to operate a few LED lights & occasionally a small radio.
Solar path lights could be brought inside to provide brighter, safer, longer lasting light than equal mass of candles.
Internal combustion
Bio-fuels can be burned in internal combustion engines, for propulsion or generation. This is not however an efficient means of providing a conversion from sunlight to motion or electricity. Bio fuels can also be burned to produce heat. But remember that to produce around 60 gallons of biodiesel, you need to shift an acre of cropland from producing food to fuel.
Biodigester. Animal excreta, food and crop scraps, etc. are placed in a sealed tank (can be as simple as one drum upside down inside another slightly larger drum) for controlled environment rotting. Most of the gas produced, primarily methane accumulates in the upper upside down drum, where it can be lead off in hoses for use as a fuel. Using human excreta only the "minimum" for a practical useable produce would be input from 15 people. For a practical "village built" system the upper limit appears to be 300 people.
Chemical Reactions
Should you find yourself with large quantities of refined metals, guidance for creating large expedient batteries is found in "How to Recycle Scrap Metal into Electricity", by John Hait.
Muscle power
While human powered generators are a poor choice for other than short term use, human muscle, the legs in particular, can meet many needs. The book, Pedal Power in Work and Leisure, James C. McCullagh, relates many human powered devices, including a pedal powered winch used to pull a plow. A reasonably healthy person should be able to pedal and generate 75 watt for an extended period, perhaps 200 watt for a short period, and 750 watt for a few seconds.
Light Storage
Certain natural and man-made materials have the
property of absorbing light and releasing it in the
form of a moderate, essentially heat-free glow visible in darkened conditions. (Try the trade-name "Alien Skin") At the present, none commercially available provide what would be considered as sufficient work-light, but a large panel can light a room sufficiently as to permit occupancy, moving about, and work on tasks which do not require visual details.
sURVIVALIST WARNING
Do not fall into the trap of survivalists or emergency preparedness where you believe you can store sufficient supplies to "tide you thru" a period of crises, and wait for things to return to normal. If you survive better than others because of your preparations, YOU may be the one who needs to provide a rescue, or rebuild civilization.
"Attic Space"
Have you shared this scenario: You encounter under the sofa, behind the desk, etc., some possession or item of figurative scrap, which you've not seen in a long time. Realizing you are "never" going to need it again, you donate it, or throw it away... Then the next week you desperately need it.
Contrary to those who advocate eliminating "clutter", or personal possessions in general, your homestead needs some significant secure storage area. If I recall correctly, the same "high chair" that endured my baby drool, was not only previously occupied by my older sister, but by our mother, uncle, older cousins, etc., being passed around as needed, and returned to the grandparents home for safe keeping.
Storage Program
There are many products and services that are readily, and cheaply available today, which may quickly become expensive or unavailable. Beyond merely equipping yourself for the projected work, a storage program may provide valuable trade goods (for that vital widget you forgot about), or the means for a new start.
Fertilizers, not only phosphorus, potassium & nitrogen, but also micronutrients. Should you find yourself forced to relocate away from your developed planting beds (or ignored making them) you've got a fallback position from which to start.
Empty plastic soda bottles
Canning Jars & Lids with extra inserts
Solar dehydrator
items for meat smoking,
Salt
Black pepper
Molasses
Salting barrels
55 gallon barrels
5 gallon buckets
Magnifying glass
Flint
Knives
Tools
Wire
Rope
Cord
Fiberglass
Screen
Screws/Nails/Bolts
Foil
Mylar/Plastic
SAFETY PRIORITY I
PHYSICAL Security & SAFETY
During a widespread period of socio-economic disturbances (the crash), or war, the scenarios are probably NOT limited by your imagination. Wherever you are, or will be, become familiar with the applicable laws. In particular for U.S. residents, examine the state statutes, county and municipal codes for the emergency powers of your officials. Before you buy, build, plan, plant, etc., know what are prohibited, and allowed ways to achieve your goals.
Be cautious of what you advertise. Whether "legitimate" or not, the "democratic" process (aka mob rule, there's more of us than of you, and we want what you got) may endanger your careful preparations.
As a preliminary matter consider typical home security aspects. Whether you bought your home used or had it built, did the previous owner/builder keep a set of keys, garage door opener, alarm code, etc.?
- Change the door locks. Buy quality locks, with cash, from a place you do not ordinarily shop, NOT giving your name or address. This should satisfy paranoia that someone may know what lock you bought and where you live, which would allow them to get a duplicate key. Reinforce around the locks & hinges, add longer screws, etc.
- Reset the garage door opener to eliminate control by any "extra" remotes that someone may have.
- Ensure the window locks actually work. Sliding glass windows & doors typically can be removed by just pushing up on the glass. To prevent this there is usually a tab or some type of adjustable blockage at the top to prevent the glass from moving up. Ensure this top blockage is secure.
- Add key doorknob locks to bedroom, closets, etc. While such interior doors are week, the lock may deter a "curious" guest wandering about.
- Add a plastic "shatterguard" film to windows.
Wilderness Location
If you're planning a survivalist, isolated home-site, you're looking for an area that IS NOT one that will be on the first choice list for those who suddenly decide to head for the hills, as providing your own security may become a 24/7 job, precluding all else. You also would not want to be the likely route of a passing casual (hungry, angry) observer who is headed for greener pastures. Ensure your home is not readily discernable from the surroundings, or does not appear lucrative, then even if inadvertently encountered, it may be ignored.
Rolling terrain, hills, etc. interfere with long distance viewing and provide multiple concealment locations. An underground, or even earth bermed home may remain unobserved until someone is almost "on top" of it. BUT, when they do find it (and they will) will it be un-occupied & then looted, or will you be there in isolation and need to defend yourself?
Emission Control
If the surrounding territory is without food, power, and fuel, cooking odors, blaring music, (any) light, and smoke will not aid your concealment. The nutrients of your vegetables are better when fresh than cooked anyway.
If you must cook, consider using a steel bowl/pot of cold water vs a normal lid. It will help condense the vapors and reduce your cooking food “footprint”.
If you MUST hear your favorite tunes at ear-shattering levels, use headsets. For non-critical night light, take a cue from the navy, and use red lights, shielded so that direct light from the bulb does not escape the immediate area. You can see to work and move about, but there's no "beacon" in the sky or in the distance. For night reading or detailed work, be prepared to blackout a room. Smoke at night may provide a nosey human a clue someone else is around, but unless they're close, have a dog, or have gotten really good at it, they probably won't be able to easily trace the smell back to you.
PERIMETER SECURITY,
Concealment AND Camouflage
Your aquaculture tanks, neat orderly biointensive beds, greenhouse, solar panels, etc. will probably provide indications to travelers that there may be food available. When you simply must have a lot of square feet exposed to the sun, concealment is not simple.
Rolling, uninviting terrain may be among the best defenses for those who select isolation. If you have the right climate, a lot of space, and the ability, dispersing your food crops can lessen the odds of discovery, but it makes your gardening more difficult. Plant along the south slope, near the bottom of the slope, imitating the natural distribution of plants. Knowledge of "wild" foods, or dispersed planting of crops that are not generally recognized as food provides additional protection. Beyond mere concealment, perhaps look for ways to deliberately mislead potential visitors around your home, such as establishing what appears to be a well-used, easy to travel path that misses your home, while making the actual approach path at least in appearance far more difficult.
For urban camouflage the goal is the same, avoiding attracting attention of undesirables. Install barriers that block sight and access, and that don't look out of place. Consider photovoltaic panels that are integrated into roof tiles, rather than the "sore thumb" versions advertising their presence. Enclose your garden space with opaque walls, and transparent or translucent roofing (which is touched on in the MESS appendix).
Whether wilderness or urban, your perimeter needs to be as secure as your resources and sense of security allow/demand. In a minimal homestead, where you have virtually a year-round growing season, and secure access to water, you need to maintain security of an area at least 100' by 100'. You need 400' of appropriate fence, or secure wall.
Unfortunately it may be necessary to stay "under the radar" of corrupt government officials.
Intruder detection & Deterrents
What you don't know about, can sneak up and kill you.
If you can maintain modern powered sensors and alarms, a modest investment should provide warning of approaching "company". Complete systems, or individual components are available from various suppliers, such as at:
. The "X-10" modules provide a means to select just the aspects that meet your needs. Also helpful might be microphones distributed at your perimeter, and "night vision".
You can also turn to a mobile, voice activated, self-propelled, auto refueling and self replicating detection system, often referred to as a dog. I'm not a pet type of person, but a couple of dogs could easily be worth their food. Several survivalist discussion boards recommend in a small breed the dachshund. Small but with large lungs relative to overall size, can sound big, and bred to hunt critters such as rodents.
Expedient low tech. Things that make noise when disturbed, or make the intruder make noise, or deter an intruder from a particular path, some of which may be frowned upon by pre-crash local authorities.
Landscaping. Thorns are a ready deterrent for an unprepared human. Rocks can make approaches much more difficult to transverse quickly and quietly than smooth soil.
Non-electric sensors. Bells or other noisemakers. Pull strings, rods, or hydraulics (sealed containers with a hose between them) that ring a bell.
Parabolic dish "microphones" are available, which use a stethoscope type headset. Large lens, low power binoculars can assist your low-light vision.
Maintaining a full time human lookout for a single family homestead may lead to fatigue. Consider, the military generally sets security watch-standing in four hour shifts. Can you maintain such 24/7? The person on duty need not be capable of defending the home, but rather just an alert set of eyes and ears, to sound the alarm in the event of an intruder. (80 year old grandma can push an alarm button.) Even so, your multi-generation homestead may have, at best, 6 people capable of standing watch.
Can you limit official watch-standing to the 16 or so hours when the homestead is not busy with chores being done? Does this still require everyone to stand a 4 hour guard watch at some point virtually every night. You must trust your electro/mechanical security system, your watchdog, or seek something better and less taxing to your individual family time and resources.
Communications
Although it is arguable that some 20th century humans have become communications "junkies", access to news, and the exchange of information with others is a vital aspect for security and continued development. In the event of a high altitude nuclear “EMP” burst, all bets are off regarding the survival or use of any electronic device, including obviously communications. Devices stored in “shielding” may or may not work. Short of an EMP, many other situations can effect local and distant telecommunications.
If broadcasters are still on the air (and telling the truth), reception only devices can provide critical information.
- The NOAA weather radio system has an “alert” system where some radio’s self-activate. After an initial alert though, you may find you want to have the radio on 24/7.
- A small radio with “D” batteries wired in may last for some significant period of time, but still using up your batteries, even if solar recharged.
- Your radio reception needs CAN though be met, WITHOUT power, perhaps indefinitely by a “crystal” radio.
Two way communications takes more work.
Cell Phones – Cell towers may have limited battery backup, and may be overwhelmed by call volume. Don’t try voice, send a text message. It takes a tiny bit of your phone power, and only an instant of tower processing time, potentially able to “sneak thru” a small gap. Don’t be too optimistic though.
CB Radio – Little development of the radios has happened since the 70’s, so while the prices aren’t bad, the equipment is primitive. Useful antennas tend to be large (4′ to 8′ on vehicles and larger for “base” or home stations). With smaller antennas the effective range is drastically reduced. Transmissions tend to “leak” into all kinds of other electronic devices, in your home and neighbors you will often be heard on TV speakers, corded telephones, electronic keyboard speakers, etc. Sometimes, during favorable atmospheric propagation, range can be as great as several thousand miles. Get units with Single Side Band (SSB) capabilities and the Weather receiver.
49MHz Personal Communicators - Limited very short range use (1/4 mile max). Very small, usually single channel but up to five. Early cordless phones, baby monitors and a few other devices share this band. Extremely low power drain, 2 or 3 AA batteries and can be in service for months. $30 to $50 each.
Family Radio Service - (FRS). Frequencies around 462MHz and ½ watt power limits the range. 14 channels for use. Some units feature 38 ”codes” which let your unit respond only to other units transmitting a designated tone. Don’t expect more than a mile. $50 each for basic FRS models, $90-$190 for higher-end models with additional features.
General Mobile Radio Service - (GMRS) like the FRS operates in the 460MHz region. GMRS requires an FCC license with a fee and users must be 18 years or older. Power is 1 to 5 watts, for a range of 5 to 25 miles, depending on terrain and antenna position. There are 23 GMRS channels split up for base, mobile relay and fixed station or mobile station use. Each license is assigned one or two of eight possible channels or pairs as requested by the license applicants. In order to avoid interference or conflicts in use, the FCC recommends monitoring existing frequencies in your area before making your application and requesting your channels. GMRS radios are bigger, higher power means more batteries (as many as 6 AAs) and a higher price. Expect to pay $200 for handheld 2 watt units and considerably more for 5 watt base station transceiver.
Amateur Radio - “Ham Radio” is the most regulated, perhaps the most expensive, but may be the useful. All hams and their stations must be licensed by the FCC.. To receive a license, you must pass a written exam. Any license above the entry level also requires a proficiency in Morse Code. There’s no fee for the license (which is good for ten years), no age requirement and operators are allowed to use any frequency for which their license qualifies them. There is a nationwide system of repeaters on the 144MHz and 440MHz bands built, installed and maintained by active and well-populated local amateur radio clubs. Traditional amateur frequencies in the shortwave bands provide excellent coverage for local, regional, national, and even international, communications. Unfortunately, there’s not one radio for all of these capabilities which is why hams typically have three or four separate radios and antennas. The starting level is the “Technician” class license which requires a written test based on a text available through many sources. This class allows the user to operate(among others) in the 2 meter band (144MHz). Small handi-talkies for 2 meters are relatively cheap and give a range of 20-50 miles depending on terrain, power and whether or not you’re using a repeater. Many repeaters provide access to 911 services through the handi-talkie. $200-$500 for 2 meter transceivers. Each radio carrying person needs a Technician license.
Long-range communications without a ground infrastructure grid seems to be limited to ham-radio[?]. *I would appreciate input on a "sustainable" approach to radio.
Toys – Wind up flashlights, radios, etc., have very limited long-term use. Consider, plastic cranks and gears, springs that fatigue, etc., and the cost to replace such (IF they can be replaced) vs if you are home, a far better option to devices that wind up, have solar panels, etc., is a big box of batteries, and independent dedicated battery chargers. On the flip side, IF the cute toy would help your sense of security and takes up less space and weight than extra batteries, go for it. Just don’t have you life dependent on it.
EVERYONE FIGHTS
If your child, spouse, best friend, etc. is attacked, would you ignore the situation, or help them?
If any member of my household is assaulted, or an intruder detected, I would hope that everyone would respond in some appropriate manner based on their skills, physical capability, and the situation presented.
When you are attacked, you have to deck your opponent.
- Hillary Clinton (Presidential Candidate)
A general legal guideline in “sane” jurisdictions for personal[?] use of physical force, or threatening or using deadly force, is in protecting yourself or someone else from a clear danger of immediate serious bodily harm or death.
Weapons
Pre-crash, selection of weapons is of course subject to locally applicable law, which may have strict, or unusual requirements.
Self-defense law varies by jurisdiction, and in the United States can be quite different state to state. Many jurisdictions require that you, the victim of a violent crime, retreat, or attempt to run-away, and that you must be trapped before you are allowed to defend yourself. This is not (2013) the case in Arizona.
If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.
- President Barrack Obama
In Arizona, USA, private ownership of even fully automatic weapons is not prohibited, and obtaining a "concealed carry" weapons permit is relatively simple. But for some reason, the only weapon PROHIBITED in Arizona is nun chucks.
Firearms. Many people mistakenly claim weapons are the source of crime rather than a reaction to it. This is rather like blaming your flat tire on the spare you carry in the trunk.
It's not that a weapon becomes a necessity when a society starts to break down… it is weapons that allow society to be maintained. Defense of self and others is just one of the areas where many have abdicated personal responsibility to the military and the police.
Our complacency may be coming back to haunt us, consider how long would an unarmed population remain free? History, and, recent news show what happens when ability to resist armed force is absent. In the simplest terms, it's a question of who is able to exert or threaten force, and who is not.
In a likely coming scenario of expensive or non-existent energy, supplies, products, and probably food, a greatly scaled down economy, and with it scaled down tax revenues, and therefore government tax revenue, we are going to have to be much more self-reliant.
We are about to enter a potentially very dark period, and fear is immobilizing. Those who will not stand and defend another, or even themselves, rely either on the good-nature of those around them, or the acts of heroic others to act in their stead.
There are evil people out there. There are many today who have no reservations about taking whatever they want, and I would conjecture that the numbers of such will increase in the coming years. Consider the news stories about those who quietly submitted to an assailant, hoping to minimize the confrontation, only to be tortured to death. Consider these evil people being emboldened by an effective lack of police.
Selection of appropriate modern weapons often spurs strongly opinioned debate, which I leave to you and your friends. While I do not encourage anyone to adopt any particular weapon, I simply report that my overall preferred SHTF weapon is a 45-70[?] lever action rifle. Whatever your selection, examine it from a sustainability position, if we do indeed experience a deep crash, and a "dark age" period, can you maintain the operability of the weapon, and provide a continuing supply of ammunition?
Regardless of the weapon selected, follow the basic rules: “Treat every gun as if it is loaded. Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy. Finger off the trigger until the sights are on the target. Be sure of your target and what is behind it.”
The great leverage in security provided by availability of modern firearms should make clear the utter folly of the anti-firearm extremists. A firearm is a tool. It can be a work of creative art. It can be the means by which a diminutive, frail individual can refuse and prevent injury or worse from others far stronger, and numerous. It is, as Samuel Colt commented, a great equalizer.
Examine the motives of those who oppose firearm possession by other than those whom they would anoint with special power and privilege, and ask why.
Sustainable. The first weapon that comes to mind as "sustainable" is bow and arrow, which literally grows on trees. Other tree based weapons would include include the spear and it's atlatls throwing holder which significantly increases the range and power of a spear throw. With an investment of more time and effort a sling arm, trebuchet, or catapult can toss crushing projectiles long distances.
The online encyclopedia "Wikipedia" indicates the pneumatic reservoir (pump up a storage tank of air) guns have been in use since around the 1500's, and may be considered rugged and sustainable in low technology conditions.
In light of articles on potato or tennis ball "guns", powered by an exploding mixture of alcohol, gasoline, butane, etc., I continue to wonder if a functional rifle could be made powered by an exploding alcohol/air mixture.
"Clouds" of fine flammable dust can explode, as has been demonstrated by explosions in grain silos.
Might sounds over a PA system distract attackers? (Pre-positioned speakers behind places where attackers might hide, or sounds of animals or gunfire, or I've heard there are "sounds" below audible frequencies that create nervousness in many people.)
Superstition / Fears
In a crash scenario think "Halloween" and brainstorm for ideas that will tend to send intruders in a different direction. As there are ultrasonics that frighten animals and bugs, are there ultrasonic or subsonic frequencies that effect humans?
Real or imagined animals, ghosts, etc. may unnerve those who are already disoriented, having seen their entire "world" collapse.
SECURITY Lighting
When you decide to light up the area, consider that you WANT the light "in the eyes" of intruders, but NOT in your eyes. Once a light is activated, it's location is obvious to all nearby. If you want your light to remain, despite "hostile" approaches, consider what a slingshot, air rifle, or well thrown rock will do to most lightbulbs.
If practical, place the bulb in a protected area, and put the light where you want it with reflectors. Even aluminum foil will reflect a significant portion of the light, yet projectiles thrown at the light will just pass thru the foil.
Anticipated "Invaders"
What type of hostile "enemy[?]" is expected? In the 1950's and 1960's, talk of atomic war prompted some to prepare fallout shelters. At the time, and perhaps in retrospect, some saw the shelter building activity as foolish.
Organized Army. As shown in the operations of formal Armies, against less well equipped and trained adversaries, "strongholds", even those constructed by the oil rich Iraq regime, are no match for computer guided bombs. Probably the best defense against a formal Army is to simply avoid a conflict in the first place. Don't be obvious as a desired asset. Don't be an visible enemy. If you must fight an Army, examine guidance for independent insurgencies.
Mob. A stronghold has value against a mere mob.
Individuals. If not hostile, do you feed them? Even if you send them on their way, if you've fed them, will they return? Will they return with others, or send others your way, as an easy "mark" for a free meal? Do you let them camp on the property, or ignore their camp just off the property? How to guide them to establishing their own sustainable village? I propose you operate with a policy of openly moving them on, but you could place a “lost” bag of supplies somewhere after the end of your property. If you have appeared unfriendly, those who discover a “lost” bag may hesitate to bring it to your attention, or return to potentially be blamed for its theft.
Friends / family. Perhaps the hardest question of all. If you've got a year of food storage, and gardens sufficient for your immediate family, and not much more, what will you do when more “distant” relatives show up?
Real animals. In a disaster, pets may wander away, or be cast out from homes that can no longer feed them, or people heading to shelters that do not permit pets. Such animals, when hungry, can readily revert to their instincts and become pack hunters.
What is your response to a "government" that decides your stored food is now illegal "hoarding"?
Biological defense
If you can, keep a gas mask near by, and complete body cover. Check out the firms that sell hazardous material handling clothing. Short of this, at least get a quality face mask (NOT the cloth/paper ones) designed for use in painting.
If you think you have been exposed to biological agents, get to your physician. In the absence of professional medical care, implement home remedies. Note, guidance on the web indicates that, should you have antibiotics available, DO NOT start their use until you are certain of the infection. Antibiotic use may adversely effect your "normal" resident bacteria, giving the "bad guys" an advantage.
Stop eating your normal, cooked food diet, opt instead for a very light diet (almost light fasting) of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Drink lots of pure water, and take:
1000 mg every two hours of Natural Vitamin C with bioflavanoids. If infections symptoms such as aches or fever begin, take hourly. Raw garlic, one small clove crushed several times per day. Colloidal silver solution, one dropper several times per day (see generation instructions elsewhere in this treatise.) Echinacea— several times per day Goldenseal— several times per day Olive leaf extract— several times per day Grape seed extract (or other high-potency anti-oxidant)— several every few hours.
For expanded “home” treatments see the “Medicine Bag” appendix to my treatise.
"Safe room"
Potential dangers still include events not necessarily "aimed" at your, such as hazardous releases, extreme weather, earthquakes, eruptions, flood, etc. Examine FEMA, which has materials describing building a room in/near your home for tornado safety, and NBC warfare protection. I propose every home has it's own reinforced safe-room. If your friendly neighbors also have such, interconnect these safe-rooms with communications wiring, pipe, etc. as technology and resources permit.
BUGGING OUT
No backpack? Get the metal rack from your oven. Get two bed sheets, each one wound up, and then "weave" through two sides (the long sides) of the metal grill. These are going to tie together at the ends, effectively creating a "loop" that will fit over both arms just like the shoulder / arm straps on a store-bought backpack. Coil rope around the oven grill, 12 inches apart, and on the grill where each of the sheets weave through. You now have arm / shoulder straps, as well as padding that will cushion your back from the oven grill. Tarps are useful as shelter and a "rain catch" for collecting fresh water. Wrap your smaller items in the tarp(s) and tie to the rack. This is not be as comfortable as something from a sporting goods store, but in a survival situation comfort shouldn't be high on your list of priorities.
The oven grill (used as the frame) can be used to cook on, hung by rope as an elevated place to store stuff (especially food). The rope can also be used to create a "security" perimeter around your camp, where with enough length it could be strung out around the perimeter of the campsite, small sections of the rope could be used in a variety of large snare traps. The two bed sheets that were used for the arms could be filled with dry moss/leaves and wrapped up to become two pillows. If you can get them, take wool blankets. It can keep you warmer than many other materials and even in wet conditions. Wool is also very durable and longer lasting that other materials like cotton. Consider a small number of industrial size heavy duty trash bags. Just one of these can be pulled over the top of the backpack during wet conditions or (if setting up camp in a storm) over your sleeping bag to help protect it from the weather.
Grab a large roll of aluminum foil and duct tape -- you can make your own reflective skin for a desert shelter, a solar oven, temporary cooking utensils, etc.
SAFETY PRIORITY II
REVENUES & RESOURCES
At the beginning of 2013, the U.S. government asserts if an individual earns $11,490 or less per year, or a family of four $23,550 or less per year, then under federal guidelines they are living in "poverty". If you must pay rent, buy food, water, power, etc., pay to own and operate a vehicle to GET to work, you probably are impoverished. (And GREATLY at risk in the coming financial collapse.)
But if your homestead is fully paid for, and capable of meeting your minimum "life support" needs, you need not panic in economic disruptions.
How secure is your job, business, or other income? What investments other than a secure home have you selected? Inflation MIGHT raise income and/or the cash exchange value of other assets, allowing payoff of a mortgage with inflated dollars. Or income might disappear and paper assets fall to zero value, putting your possession of your home in jeopardy.
You need to understand[?] the financial markets and products, and realize the risks you may be taking by going along with the crowd. (For a broader presentation, see the Financial Issues Appendix)
A TAXING SITUATION
Say you own your home free of any mortgage, and you have no personal commercial debt. Your home is fireproof, and you're quite content you can take care of yourself. You collect all the water you need from rainfall, and grow your own food in your biodynamic garden. Solar cells provide all the electricity you want, therefore you don't have any need for cash, or to work.
Wrong.
You have forgotten about your property taxes[?]. The government will decide how much they believe your home is worth, and how much you owe for the mere privilege of having your home setting in the community.
If you (visibly) improve your home, your tax will go up.
If your neighbors improve their homes, your tax will go up.
If big picture inflation (caused by the government) raises prices, your tax will go up.
While outside the domain of the local community, the illogic is similar with vehicle registration - a fuel sipping low air pollution new hybrid is taxed far higher than an ancient gas guzzling, leaking polluter. These taxes are contrary to logic, if as professed the purpose of the taxes is to achieve some social policy. (Of if a policy statement is intended, consider how sick such a policy appears to be.)
You may have expended all of your liquid resources obtaining and outfitting your homestead, and be out of a job. The taxman won’t care.
Warlords, (mafia bosses), etc. demand protection payments from the serfs, funding the warlords enforcers and hangers-on. How is the property tax so different? Somehow, you must come up with the arbitrary protection fee, or the county will impose a lien against the title of your property. That lien can then be sold, and if you fail to pay off the back taxes and interest for three years, your title can be foreclosed in court, and someone else will own your home.
For perspective, what if the county announced that each year it was going to take an intangible property tax 1% of every bank or other financial account in, or owned by someone in the county?
This economic cannibalism by government edict is the anti-thesis of security, and the anti-thesis of the operation of eminent domain, where the government takes your property and pays you. It functions to discourage permanent improvements.
In short you are forced to sell goods or labor - forced to work. Your earnings will of course be subject to federal and state income tax, social security tax, medicare tax, etc., all before you receive any funds to use to pay the property tax.
If you improve your home or business, the county government will raise your tax, regardless of your cash flow. And it can get worse.
Coming the other direction, up from the grassroots of your self-sufficient homestead, the better job you do in changing your lifestyle, and setting up your home to eliminate dependence on the grid, or fuel flow, or the commercial food system, the less you are, for now, a source of revenue… And later, the greater you are a source of supplies if the local government decides to quit pretending, and admit how far we've come in the government being a group of mobsters, demanding protection payments.
If you minimize the taxable aspect of your home, and live simply, you may face being forced off of your property under “Eminent Domain” proceedings. In earlier years, this was only used when the government needed your property for a public purpose. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2005 however upheld:
“…that local governments may force property owners to sell out and make way for private economic development when officials decide it would benefit the public, even if the property is not blighted and the new project's success is not guaranteed.”
Some state governments implemented protections. Some, such as Arizona in the 2006 election, had protections implemented by a referendum coming not from the elected officials, but from the people.
INCOME FOR INCIDENTALS
Are you planning on some continuing stipend, such as a pension from a private sector employer, or the government, a stipend from Social Security, or investment payouts? Do you really believe they can be depended on?
Retirement Income
Are you entitled to a pension? Where does the money come from? Where does that entity (government or private sector) get the money, when the economy is not functioning? The news shows growing mention of private sector firms, and entire cities being unable to pay promised pensions.
FINANCING YOUR HOMESTEAD
While a lot of your homestead can be "sweat equity", unless you inherit it (or stand to inherit) somehow you are going to have to pay for the real property.
Please pardon the bluntness, but IF you have to pay for such, WHY? Our parents, grandparents, etc., had to have lived somewhere, why is it that we seem to take it for granted that each generation is going to have to "make it on it's own", to go out and mortgage their life, forced to work to pay the finance company.
Why don't we all inherit a stable functioning homestead? Some things wear out, or become obsolete, but a well done home can last generation after generation. Too many of the decisions of our ancestors, and ourselves, have been short-sighted.
If you are not living at, and standing to inherit a fully functioning multigenerational homestead, make it part of your plan that your children will.
Could you pull together your parents, grandparents, etc. to one location, or at least within walking distance, to consolidate your resources and natural interdependent support group?
U.S.A.
Individual Retirement Accounts
In most cases, the home is the largest investment for a family. In the U.S., those with funds in an IRA, 401k, etc. potentially have another asset approaching the value of the home. To tie these together, your IRA money CAN be invested in real estate. While you cannot live on the property owned by YOUR IRA, you can live on the property owned by your NEIGHBOR's, or even you siblings IRA, and they on yours. If you need to live and work somewhere other than your retirement / retreat location, put you IRA money in the "second home".
Lifecycle Planning
If solar panels have a useful life of 20 to 30 years, and I anticipate a continuing need for electrical power, I have that long to find an alternative. Silicon cells are a high-tech process. Low tech p/v cells can however be made from blackened copper, and thermocouples also offer direct sunlight (heat) to electrical power conversion.
Regardless of what you buy or install now, can you maintain it, or replace it? Understand it?
PARTS & Tools
With a modest collection of quality hand tools, even a neophyte can make modest repairs, disassemble obsolete equipment, or fashion vital devices. Imagine trying to "double dig" you garden without a shovel, or loosen a bolt without a wrench.
Obsolete devices are a potential "goldmine" of parts and raw materials.
Appropriate Technology
That which is available, affordable, and sustainable in the most likely situations. This has been essentially ignored in our century+ long oil party. Hopefully you will be inspired to personal research and planning.
Numerous articles on creating your own "home grown" technology are available online at and at . When the functional lifespan of your purchases ends, will you still have a need for the product or service? If so, can you repair or replace it with what you have remaining? The greatest source of energy on Earth, is the sun. It evaporates water for rain, powers worldwide thermal currents in the air and water, and thru photosynthesis provides all of the food consumed.
On your own property, with you own property, with your own creativity, what can you accomplish?
Solar/steam micro hydro for power. Consider a large tank of water capable of withstanding modest pressure, not necessarily much about typical city water pressure. Could solar concentration then be used to generate steam in an insulated bladder, to push water thru a micro hydro generator into another water tank?
Vertical axis windmill. Even numbers of opposed arms, each holding flexible material sails. On the power side, the wide billows the sail open, pulling a cable to help hold the opposing sail closed as it moves to windward during rotation.
Clay/ceramics. What could be more “appropriate”, dig clay, add water, form, bake in a solar oven.
Other solar devices. Israeli research has developed a relatively simple means which uses a parabolic mirror to concentrate sunlight onto a fiber optic cable, which then leads to a light scalpel, useable as a laser scalpel.
Sunlight can be used to directly “pump up” a laser to firing power. It can heat dangerous compounds past the temperature where they separate into harmless atoms or compounds. Light can readily be manipulated by lenses or mirrors. Given a crashing infrastructure, my feeling is that shiny material is going to be easier to obtain than precision formulated and ground lenses.
Take the simple fact that light reflects off a flat mirror at the same angle it strikes the mirror. Now envision many tiny mirrors rather than one large one. If the angle of adjacent mirrors are adjusted right, the light can all be reflected onto a single spot, or spread to provide diffuse illumination from a single bright beam.
KNOWLEDGE
What does a human know by instinct?
We have no instincts for even food. A human must think about what is food, how to find it, grow it, hunt it, preserve it. We have no instinct for making fire, writing, reading, or even speaking. We must each learn from the preceding generation.
- The Virtue of Selfishness, Any Rand
Web and computer files are the fastest means of finding and gathering information, but rely on continued computer technology. Unfortunately for surviving humanity, the web may be an early victim of the collapse. Download to local storage any file you file valuable, and print all of those you find essential.
Microfiche is a means of storing a great deal of information in a small package, that can be read with a child's toy microscope.
Books probably remain the most practical means of gathering, storing, and passing on knowledge. Your local library should be able to order for you on "interlibrary loan" virtually any book. Read, please! A potential sustainability library (with a lean toward a desert environment) is in the Bibliography[?]. Used bookstores, several of which have online search functions, can yield may priceless "gems".
Plan as though your library is the only one that survives the crash, if your luck is bad, it might be. Of particular value might be topo maps of your area.
USGS has these free to download:
Solar Path
Earth is a sphere, around 8,000 miles in diameter, orbiting the Sun in a path of a slight ellipse at a distance of around 92 million miles in 365 days. We rotate on our N/S axis once every 24 hours. Our axis is tilted about 23.5 degrees relative to the plane of our solar orbit. This tilt means that every day the apparent path of the sun across the sky is a little different. That said, the path can be calculated, and accounted for in positioning of solar interfaces (p/v, heat collection, plants, etc.
[pic]
Referring to the above diagram, set the angle between the ground and the north pole of the sky at the same number as your latitude. The daily path the sun takes will be 90 degress to the sky pole. Assume a line from the center of the ground position that is 90 degress from the sky pole line. To locate the path relative to the sky pole, the highest summer sun will be 23.5 degrees to sky-north of a right angle, and the winter sun will be 23.5 degrees to sky-south of a right angle. The circles scribed are the locations where you see the sun from the center observation point.
To obtain a chart of the specific solar path in your area, see the University of Oregon website:
Transportation
Absent an energy breakthrough, biofuels cannot possibly be generated to meet present demand. Much of the population will have to walk, or perhaps ride a bike.
Pedal power, referred to as bicycles, but more properly human powered vehicles, can meet a great deal of local transportation needs. Per power used, a bicycle is the most efficient vehicle available, with a typical adult on an upright bicycle able to maintain a speed of 10 to 12 mph. The same person on the recently “rediscovered” recumbent should achieve a higher sustained speed due to lower air resistance and the ability to provide a more efficient braced "push" on the pedals without also straining back, neck, arm, etc. muscles as is required on an upright bicycle.
[pic]
A recumbent bicycle enclosed in a streamlined fairing has been pedaled at sustained speeds of over 65 mph - try THAT on your mountain bike.
In 2006 federal law classified bicycles with a electric motor of 750 watt or less, and not capable of traveling under power more than 20 mph, as NOT a motor vehicle. States may not require them to be registered, or require a driver’s license to operate them.
It takes 3 minutes (at 20 mph) to travel a mile, so the electric bike uses 1/20 times 750 watt = 37.5 watt/hours to go a mile. Grid electricity costs 8 cents per 1,000 watt/hour. In running a mile, the electric bike needs 3.75% of a kilowatt hour, or about 3/10 of one cent of electricity.
Synergy
Appropriately layered, putting all of the above together, we could all be living in a home which provides our daily needs, air, water, food, shelter, for our multi-generation family.
Solar utilization. In theory, a 1/4 acre area that receives at least moderate sunlight in reasonable weather conditions can meet the food and home energy needs of a multi generation family.
Food. 8000 to 10000 sq. ft. of crop area exposed to the sun (1/4 acre). In the summer, depending on latitude and weather conditions, experiments have shown some crops actually do better with reduced sunlight, perhaps as low as 1/3. As opposed to shading, can you engineer a means to divert part of the sunlight to another level? This could double, or almost triple (losses in the system) your effective solar growing area.
Consider a two floor greenhouse. Facing the sky is a "shade layer" consisting of a matrix of diffusion grids, and light collectors with light tubes. The overhead diffusion grids scatter the light to the top floor of crops. The light tubes route light to a lower floor, with more diffusion grids to scatter the light to the lower floor crops. In the summer, you may be able to grow two crops in the same square footage of one.
Solar utilization for power. With clear skies, every square meter of direct solar exposure receives around 1 kw of power. Low efficiency panels (10%) requires 10 sq. meters (12 ft. per side, 144 ft. sq.) exposed to the sun for an hour for every kwh of electricity you need. Remember, that if the sun is not directly overhead, the panels need to be tilted, and therefore shade more ground space than they have exposed to the sun.
Daylighting and solar heat collection. One solar tube type device per room, and heat panels exposed to the sun.
Multi level. With your family living under your food source, your structure if spread under the entire growing area could be 10,000 sq. ft. per level, plenty of room for a multi-generation homestead. Does your family have a business to operate? How about a business on ground level, home above, and garden/solar collection on the roof?
As reported in Mother Earth[?] Issue # 42 - November/December 1976, the Farallones Institute of Berkeley, California project “The Integral Urban House”, was a 100-year-old Victorian house, adapted into one of the then country's most innovative and successful "urban homesteads".
The project was on a 1/8-acre city lot. While the solar exposure area of the lot is insufficient to provide complete subsistence for a family, the innovations in the structure are great "food for thought" regarding optimizing a micro-environment for human habitation, and that such an environment is NOT "natural" by any stretch of the imagination.
Regardless of your location, what you need is a mini-ecosystem that is tailored to your family needs. Surely, nearly 25 years later, we can do better.
SAFETY PRIORITY III
MORAL & PHYSIOLOGICAL
Do you believe anyone has the right to enter your home against your will, take your water, food, money or other property, unless you are the one who refused to perform your side of a trade, or deliberately or carelessly caused harm to someone else?
Do you base your relationships with others on religion, national origin, race, etc., or the positive and pleasant nature of your interaction with them?
POLITICS
"One faction of society's leaders[?]… suffers from myopia (short sightedness), in that they refuse to see the long-term energy fundamentals or the consequences of our serious financial, economic, resource and energy crisis. The academic and environmentalist community, on the other hand, seems to suffer from hyperopic (farsightedness), an inability to recognize a serious crisis when it is close at hand. In the middle are a few lone voices wondering how the nation will manage to dedicate the infrastructure necessary for long term safety & self reliance.
If you are one of the (relatively) few who see the problem in advance, and prepare, do you want government, big, or local, to steal from you your home, storage of supplies, food, seeds, etc.? Or do you see the government's job as PROTECTING you from such theft by others?
We need to educate public and elected officials on how their actions affect individual abilities and local businesses, and in particular what they need to STOP.
Our current industry, politics, and personal paradigms developed in an era of cheap abundant energy, expanding population, and what seemed to be unlimited resources… All of this is ending…
We need to re-think from the grass roots up, not bumble blindly on…
Be warned though, those who do not to follow the expected normal conduct of the majority are often subjected to harassment, persecution and prosecution, and even physical attack.
We must focus on the goal of preparing ourselves, our homes, neighborhoods and community for the self-sufficient and self-reliant lifestyle that logically appears necessary when energy decline becomes the obvious norm. While we recognize preparation needs to start now, we must also recognize the challenge presented when others wait too long.
We need to not only work on personal preparations, and remove the roadblocks to further realignment of the infrastructure, but to remove the artificial incentives and support that feeds the current mindset.
Government is essentially "out of control". As we have it, the government is a thief and multi-level coercive, not a protector our friend.
Organizational Structure
A homestead should be planned to provide, in the long term, for the relevant family. In general, this starts with a voluntary partnership of a husband / wife, and such extended family members as voluntary live together. With no elsewhere for generations to move to, it will fluctuate at around 4 generations.
At the homestead / family level, it may seen ridiculous to comment on a formal organization structure, but the thought is relevant to later discussions.
A family may have some aspects of "voting", or members in some manner providing input, but in the end a family is probably "run" by the member(s) most capable of doing so. I believe you will find extended families for the most part to be meritocracies - leadership based on talent or ability, with significant influence from the owner of the major assets, or the wisdom of the elders.
Ecological CONSIDERATIONs
In planning / executing your plan, have you taken into account the ecological aspects of your actions? Are you planning on buying a plot of trees, and clear-cutting them down to build your structures, sell for income, and burn for your heat? Do you intend to pump-down a groundwater supply, divert a large portion of a surface supply, etc? What are the net effects of your plans?
SAFETY PRIORITY IV
HEALTH SECURITY
It is a common event, that we ignore our health, even for the sake of fun, or for the sake of our family. We certainly work in jobs where our health is impaired.
Your health however should be a priority, not an afterthought. Do you know what is "good" for you, and what is not?
Can you physically, and/or emotionally cope with essentially what may be a life-long emergency? The concept of limited resources? Can you physically respond to squatters, or raiders, or worse?
Physical Conditioning
Disrupted industries, food delivery, contaminated air, water and food, and just plain hard work may prove to be more than many can physically handle. Are you ready to live on in tough times?
Immunizations. There are numerous nasty germs out there that are kept at bay by the technology and services of our modern civilization. Absent protections, and with increased breeding grounds, "old" diseases may gain new footings. These diseases remain "typical" in third world countries. Consult your physician for what additional immunizations you should have if you were planning an extended trip thru a variety of impoverished third world nations.
Exercise. If you're not in shape, work with your physician now and establish an exercise program. In selecting your exercises, consider the type of physical labor you are likely to be doing. (Walking, biking and shoveling.)
Nutrition. Not only for weight loss and conditioning, but to build your immune system.
MediciAL CARE
Unless a member of your household is a physician, nurse, paramedic, etc., your home medical care is probably going to be limited. Anyone who requires ongoing medication, or their care provider, must plan in advance for a long term storage program of medications, OR of some locally renewable alternative. A broader discussion of home remedies is in the appendices to this treatise.
There is good news though, even in primitive conditions. Although we like to think that our medical science should be credited with overall better health and the decline in mortality, in reality medicine probably accounts for only a small percentage of the improvements. A better and more varied diet, and basic sanitation are far more deserving of credit.
Complex medicine is more useful in treatment of injuries, and those diseases which have become more noticeable as people susceptible to such survive, where in earlier centuries conditions would have meant their early demise. Unfortunately, we have to a large extent moved past the benefits of improvements in food availability, to agricultural practices, processing, and diets that while of sufficient calories, are deficient in other essential nutrients, and contain additives, which may be damaging us.
That said, if you need the care of a physician, and such is available, how do you pay for it? Do you expect your doctor to work for free, or for barter? Do you believe any insurance program you may have will continue to function?
HEALTH INSURANCE
In a localized economy, friends, family, and physical assets will probably be required. Consider health insurance as an agreement among a group of people to pool funds such that if one member needs an expensive procedure, the group has/will agree what portion of the accumulated funds can be so exhausted. The typical member is NOT though "on the hook" beyond money already deposited, and is free to drop out, or move on to a different pool at will.
The income tax code has made it difficult for employees to move on, as the range of insurance pool options are often selected by the employer.
When the government runs the "health insurance" program, the average citizen[?] typically DOES NOT have any other option in selection of treatment, even if they want to pay independently. The government decides who gets what, and who pays what.
Whether thru an employer, private contract, or mandated by a government, big picture investment or tax insurance accounts can easily become mere numbers on paper. Financial investment values can fall to zero. The value of currency can fall to zero.
Your "natural" insurance pool (health or otherwise) consists of your friends and family, those who come to your aid (we would hope) without need of monetary payment, or a government compelling them to do so.
THINK BIG PICTURE
There are those who believe they are rugged individualists[?], who can head off into the wilderness and go it alone. How well can you provide for yourself and your family absent the present infrastructure?
You can do on your own property and with your own assets anything you have the capability to achieve that is not legally prohibited. BUT: Assume you, and/or your family completely equipped a homestead with everything from this handout, planning on isolation. Do you have the technology and technique to repair or replace a broken plate or cup? How about a p/v panel? Or even a light bulb?
Preparedness, even modest efforts, can make a huge difference in how well you survive a crisis situation. But survival preparations alone do little for a long term outlook for your heirs, and humanities future.
First do no harm. Have at most two children, and given our overpopulated state, preferably one. Take responsibility for your own household and life support. Share the knowledge, and work with at least two other households to awaken and guide them toward sustainability. In your security, and the security of your family, friends, and neighbors, you gain the strength and resources to look to greater development.
The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.
- Vince Lombardi
Location. Where do you want to place your family homestead? In the wilderness? Do you have everything you need? Do you have neighbors for help if you need it? ABSENT the crash, what about a simple medical emergency, or even a visit to a grocery store?
With a secure home, reliable water and food, in short when you at least temporarily feel secure, you can begin to reason out a bigger picture, how we got where we are, where we need to go, and the next steps. Setting aside the present paradigms which developed in a short-term fact pattern, what limits do you face as you contemplate a scale larger and longer than a single family?
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[1] It is the fat and bone of goat meat that give the meat a strong taste. Separated meat only will have a much milder taste.
[2] Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers, Edward Smith. Mr. Smith shows converting almost any container to self-watering.
[3] "Amaranth to Zai Holes: Ideas for growing food under difficult conditions", for sale in hard copy, or online electronically free from .
[4] In 1879 a "Morse Code" portable 2-way wireless was operated in London. The device is in a museum.
[5] Check the laws in your jurisdiction for your legal ability to threaten or use physical or deadly force, AND check the laws in your jurisdiction as to the scenarios as to where the government is “justified” in use of such force against you. For example, what happens if you refuse to pay you taxes, and decline to volunteer to go to jail?
[6] The longest verified shot from a .45-70 was Two Miles. The Report of the Secretary of War, 1880 included "… Mr. R.T Hare of Springfield Armory who has the enviable distinction, so far as is known, of being the only person in the world who has hit the 'Bull's-Eye' six feet in diameter… at 3,200 yards.”
[7] As opposed to you directly confronting an enemy, can you remain hidden from view, or if discovered redirect any attack such that one enemy of yours is pit in battle against another enemy of yours, vs you doing the fighting?
[8] WHAT TO DO: Politics, lobby and become an activist for the elimination of real property taxes, starting at the least with residential property that is owner-occupied. At the most basic level, this type of tax hits the hardest those least able to pay, and forces those who would otherwise be able to eliminate their excess resource use, and involvement in the marketplace, to perform some service to be able to pay their tax.
[9] Start with publications such as Amaranth to Zai Holes, available online free from ECHO.
[10] Mother Earth News has online a searchable index of vitually every previously published article, and should be considered an initial go-to source for ideas or palns for simple self reliance projects.
[11] The Roman empire offered not only "bread and circuses" for masses of idle citizens, but also medical coverage. It was typical for a physician to be paid by the local government, to provide care free of charge to the population in general. This arrangement did not draw the best physicians to public service, in particular when the wealthy and powerful would pay well for resident or visiting doctors.
[12] While everyone must be capable of providing for their own life support needs, it is impossible for any one person to globally shepherd a project of personal responsibility.
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[i] Bill Mollison’s permaculture training pamphlets are available multiple places online.
[ii] Diet for a Small Planet, Frances Moore Lappe discusses options for meals mixing “incomplete” plant proteins to have the complete proteins required by the human body.
[iii] The folks at have extensive free information available for download on edible leaf crops, and on processing non-digestible crops such that a high quality protein & nutrients concentrate can be produced. The folks at have a database of plants searchable by type, climate, medical use, food, etc.
[iv] To manage human effluent, see the book The Humanure Handbook, available online free to download at:
[v] To manage human effluent as garden fertilizer see the book Future Fertility, Transforming Human Waste Into Human Wealth, John Beeby
[vi] How to Grow Fresh Water, by Dr. B.C. Wolverton sets out the use of plants to remove chemicals & biological contaminants from water.
[vii] An appendix to the primary "Sustainable Civilization" document on estate and financial planning is at .
[viii] For thoughts on how to prepare for fossil fuel shortages, see the book The Coming Economic Collapse: How you can thrive when oil costs $200 a barrel, by Stephen Leeb, PhD with Glen C. Strathy
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