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The Preppers Are Right!

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by Tom Dennen

“Whether they are known as home, mixed, backyard, kitchen, farmyard, compound or homestead gardens, family food production systems are found in most regions of most countries worldwide. They may be the oldest production system known and their very persistence is proof of their intrinsic economic and nutritional merit” - Robin Marsh

.

HOW THEY SEE US!

As we all “know”, the financial world is approaching an end-point, but the world’s roads and bridges, sewage systems, transport systems and the rest really are failing because no money has been spent on them, and the 99%-ers become more and more vulnerable.

Commonly perceived consequences of the west’s economic ‘adjustment’ now under way include ‘extreme events’ that are not earthquakes nor savage rainstorms, but massive interruptions of infrastructure functions including food distribution (strikes and so on) that maintain the world’s economies, which we take completely for granted, especially food.

On 31 July, British Newspaper The Guardian reported “700 million Indian people had no power”.

“Thousands of train passengers have been stranded” Link to video

“More than 700 million people in India have been left without power in the world’s worst blackout of recent times, leading to fears that protests and even riots could follow if the country’s electricity supply continues to fail to meet growing demand.”

Power was restored within two days.

“Tuesday, August 16  Northern Indias electrical grid went down again.

“Six hundred million people this time, half of the country’s population of 1.5 bn, were without electricity. Fortunately, power was restored by the next day. If the outage had gone into a third day, without electricity to pump gas, food delivery trucks would also have been down and supermarkets would soon have been out of food.”

For this very reason, in anticipation of catastrophes like India’s, millions of people, Individuals and small communities all over the world for the last decade or so have been responding to the idea that supermarkets can run out of food.

I won’t go into Katrina and New Orleans here, but it should from now on be in our history books.

They have turned to Permaculture, Earth ship construction, generally ‘gettng off the grid’ – one way or another becoming, Preppers or Permies, whatever they are called, they’re doing the right thing.

Permaculture comes from the combination of permanent agriculture and permanent culture. Permaculture is actually an approach in designing human settlements and perennial agri systems that copies relationships found in natural ecologies. It is a design system for sustainable living and in all aspect of human endeavour. It is a unique green career that leads into what is emerging today as Ecovillages and Ecocities, a return to the ancient Commons and the even more ancient Garden of Eden.

The Chinese are Permaculture masters

AND YOU THOUGHT IT WAS ALL RICE!

WHAT IS PERMACULTURE?

Permaculture is inter-disciplinary, knows no language or religious differences except in how the Master Chef prepares the food!

It means “Food Sovereignty”… the right of all peoples, communities, and countries to define their own agricultural, labour, fishing, food and land policies which are ecologically, socially, economically and culturally appropriate to their unique circumstances. It includes the true right to food and to produce food, which means that all people have the right to safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food and to food-producing resources and the ability to sustain themselves and their societies.

We do not have that.

Almost every western country is vulnerable to the greed and corruption that have left our electricty supply systems worn out, our roads, bridges and all other public infrastructure failing for lack of simple maintenance while the final “Grand Theft’ of the planet’s valuable land resources  goes on.

But when the people control the keys to the granary, they discover a new kind of freedom. They also discover the Economic Dimension of Eco Villages. As local groups and communities create their own local scrip currencies and exchange systems, yes, just like the first Amerian Colonists, they learn about economists’ deepest secret: money and information are equivalent – and neither is scarce – Hazel Henderson

ARE ANY WHOLE COMMUNITIES DOING IT?

When the small British mill town of Todmorden, tucked in between Yorkshire and Lancashire, first began installing fruit and vegetable gardens all around the area as part of the Incredible Edible program, it likely had no idea that the novel, yet simple, concept would make the town a foremost inspirational and self-sustaining model of the future.

ANYONE ELSE, LIKE FOR CENTURIES?

51% of Russian agricultural output is home grown – on 7% of the land! When Russias consumer-capitalist economy collapsed, she survived without general starvation (like America in the 30′s) even in the severe depression that followed.

Poverty” is rare in Russia if you define Food Security as not being poor.

SO WHAT IS POVERTY, REALLY?

In the Capitalist world, poverty is the result of an embedded disconnect between mainstream society and those who become ‘unnecessary’ for sustaining its capital growth; people who become the ‘unemployable’, the discarded, those who become ‘the poor’ by conscious, deliberate definition.

The United Nations defines poverty as a denial of choices and opportunities, even a violation of human dignity. The fact that it’s deliberately part of the system is what makes it inhuman.

So “Poverty” means a deliberate denial of the basic capacity to participate effectively in general society, leavng self-sustainablilty the only alternative,

Possibly these are the very people most suitable for survival.

But I am not talking about ‘the poor’.

Food security, rather, is a concept that has evolved in the States during the 1990’s far beyond the traditional focus on the supply of food at the national level” (USAID 1995). The definition adopted by the countries attending the World Food summit of 1996 and reconfirmed in 2002 accepts USAID’s three key concepts:

       i.            food availability for all levels of society, every day

      ii.            food access and

     iii.            food utilization.

However a fourth concept is increasingly becoming a major concern; namely,

risks that can disrupt any one of the first three factors (India last month).

Below is a graph of the Baltic Dry Index of total global raw material shipping to manufacturers – not how many ships are available - over the last ten years.

Recovery since the 2008 crash has been only two thirds and the current drop from end December 2012 has only reached 55% below last year, indicating another large economic downturn in the VERY near term – you can see, we are at the same level as 2008 now and the last lead time looks like about eight months.  Do the math.

                                                                         2008 low point             Today’s low point

HOW TO BE POOR – AND “RICHER THAN ALL HIS TRIBE”

The self-sufficiency aspect of Community gardens would take the ‘jobless’ stigma away, even make it disappear if the status of creating one’s own food supply became higher than a mere ‘job’ in a workplace where only an insulting fraction of the wealth created there is taken home by the worker – see the South African South African Marikana Mine Massacre

People do not need ‘a job’ if they can feed themselves – farmers don’t have ‘jobs’ – and I’d much rather be seen as a farmer than as a jobless bum, hey?

With few exceptions, the concept of sustainable home gardening is not supported beyond very expensive, experimental ‘poverty alleviation’ programs and nowhere yet is sustainable food security an issue with the middle classes, “Transition Towns” and Permaculture societies notwithstanding.

With infrastructure collapse, particularly food distribution, the entire society is vulnerable.

That’s you.

Here’re a few tips from Mike, the Health Ranger:

Physical books are good, they don’t need batteries.

Surrround yourself with Garden of Eden tools:

• Family, including pets.
• Dirt (it’s acdtually called soil and it is NOT ‘dirty’).
• Gardening, permaculture, seeds.
• Gold and silver, but a head full of ideas are better.
• Consciousness, free will, awareness.
• The sun. Warmth and light. Energy for life.
• Water. Perhaps the most miraculous substance in the universe.
• Honeybees, insects and pollinators.
• Sea salt. Minerals. Elements for health.
• Love, compassion, forgiveness, humility.
• Firearms, hammers and other purely mechanical tools that don’t need “firmware” to operate.

MOREHERE

OH, AND BY THE WAY…

 

 

 


 



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    Total 23 comments
    • Decode the World

      Great post, but how do poor people afford to pay property taxes? or find the resources to get that plot of land to become self sufficient?

      • Anonymous

        Well Chris as you probably know, despite some similarity, everyone’s situation will vary somewhat. Another realization is, while acknowledging our shared concern for the poor, not everyone is going to make it. I thought many years ago I was one of those as I worked as a janitor while struggling through college, making near minimum wage, and living in the back of a small truck with only a fiberglass shell on the back. I used plastic glue on hooks to hang cloths over the windows in back and had a small book shelf, sleeping bag, etc. The company where I performed janitorial had employee break-room refrigerators, microwave ovens, on site showers, conference room space in which to study, and a quiet location to often crash in the back of the truck after work. The company knew all this and liked having me around after hours at that time considering they had no evening security. I preferred it too due to occasional rousts by police if I parked in the wrong locations elsewhere. I did this for several years. Now married and a property and home owner life is still a challenge but I am certainly better off than I used to be. Good things can happen even in the seemingly darkest times of our life.

        • Anonymous

          I think this anonymous individual works for infowars and he cannot be trusted, jsut like alex jones…beware of “anonymous”!

        • Anonymous

          Well from one anonymous to another I think I will stop sending you heads up news articles by email! :razz:

        • One Who Knows

          We legal “Americans” believe that individuals who cannot think for themselves and must rely upon the government Dole /hand outs are not to be trusted for they cannot think for themselves and have no opinion. America needs a true leader!
          O. Bummers gota go.

      • Anonymous

        See:

        http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_earthchanges31.htm

        There is MUCH evidence to show that earth’s orbit, and so too the moon’s, have changed. However, these changes are quite likely associated with the 2004 Indonesian quake and tsunami rather than a large dark stellar body. Also, many have been tracking great changes with our sun, as it’s radiation output has obviously increased. Many have witnessed large ‘objects’ near the sun, appearing to move independent of the sun’s gravity.

        Luke 21:25-28 says: “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.28″

        These things are taking place exactly as written at this time! As is Revelation 16:8 being fulfilled at this time. Soon enough, Isaiah 24:20 as well.

        It is high time for God’s own to STAND UP and LIFT UP their heads, (and voices) as Redemption is drawing near.

        Blessings all, in Yahshua, Jesus Christ

      • >9K<

        @ Chris

        Do not waste time and effort trying to make financial ends meet in a rigged game of “You Lose!”. Instead, team up and go get that plot of land. Just take it from some wealthy MF and start tilling the soil.

        All that has ever been done to you by the state or some rich scumbag plaintiff has been a violation of you, your privacy and the fruits of your private enterprise.

        It’s time to reclaim what your ancestors fought and died for you to have. Stop playing by the rules. Somebody made them up to satisfy themselves. Now it’s time YOU got satisfaction.

        Enjoy.
        Revolt America! Be that leader of the Free World you have claimed to be since long before Rosa Parks.

    • gwynmarilyn

      Big Business do not want us to be free of them. And yet that what many people try to do by growing garden or making their own clothes. Big Business is banking on people get tried and stop doing things for themselves. Just learning something take you one step away from control.
      Call it hobby if you must I see it as break from control. And one can do container garden which will help lower depends. No, not everyone has yard or the health to grow a garden. But if you have window sill or table near window you can start growing something and there do have grow lights you can use for large area.

    • Authentica

      This is the future: Real life skills & self-reliance. If you are poor, do what you can within your means & try to find a community near you that is already established for mutual support, which you may be able to join that already has land. Also look into aquaponics & things you can do in a small amount of space. study these skills now & invest what you can in the future. You will need to be able to provide food for yourself & there are many innovative ways this can be done, no matter your current resources!

    • Authentica

      A lot of the Russian peasants grow amazing volumes of food with land that was deemed not suitable for farming & limited space. Practical knowledge is the key. Where there is a Will, there IS a way! Reconnect with traditional wisdom too.

    • Authentica

      Traditional skills like learning how to process, preserve & store foodstuffs (used extensively by people up to the last war at least, before we lost these ways), Natural Medicine, herb uses & other basic or fundamental survival tools & considerations are also essential. Ancient Roots, Modern Shoots.

    • muckracker1

      In two generations, the majority of food will be grown in the cities.

    • Anonymous

      Dirt, seeds and light and some patience. Oh, and water! You can feed yourself!

      • muckracker1

        we CAN feed ourselves, but we have become so well-trained by the buy it off the shelf brigade that we are walking into the slaughterhouse of our own free will

    • Anti-Zion

      So what is more important !

      1. Paying for household content insurance incase someone steels you TV that spends more time showing you adverts, telling you what you need

      or

      2. Food like $300 of rice that can feed you for a year and a gun to shoot anyone that thinks they can steel from you.

      Only a fool or someone with a crystal ball would not keep food supplies given the current conditions and thats Darwin in action.

    • evopilot

      The first thing is to learn how to grow vegetables properly, know the diseases/pests and gather the required cure/s. It is all well and good telling people to start growing their own food but without gardening knowledge they will hit many problems. Info on the internet will help them navigate the cracks, books too are better still. I have found that growing a fruit at different stages helps keep the stocks up, people growing for the first time will need to understand this concept if they are to weather the approaching storm. There is no better feeling than having set-up a flourishing garden, knowing that you can feed your family when the supermarkets close their doors ;)

      • Tom Dennen, the paranoid historian

        Study Permaculture. It means Permanent Human Agriculture in which Humans are part of the garden intself and ultimately live inside it, like and Middle Ages Commons. Go back a little further and you’ll find an interesting place called the Garden of Eden. Gardens that sustain themselves need no pesticides or herbicides as all the elements in them work together: leaving weeds on top of the soil allows them to return nutrients into the soil. Insects pollinate and live in symbiotic relationships with each other and plants. Biodiversity means balanced nature. There is all the info you need on the Internet..

      • Anonymous

        It’s probably a good idea to get started right away to have a winter garden. Beets, broccoli, cabbage, chard, spinach, garlic, potatoes in a bag, some lettuces. Space plantings out every two weeks to have a steady supply. We’ve had tomatoes and bell peppers last through December with a little extra care and fertilizer.

        Don’t wait until starvation is staring back at you through your children’s eyes. It can take up to 6-8 weeks for vegies to start producing. Think seasonally again. Taking care of ourselves means our choices could become very limited and be worse under chaotic circumstances.

        Depending on how despotic things become concerning food, you may have to be cagey about where to grow it. Pull out some of the useless things in your yard however it may be and replace them with food stock. In the winter, beans or peas can grow in a narrow bed on runners next to the house on the south facing side. Make a hothouse tent from visqueen. For perma-culture, fruit trees are usually planted in the Fall.

        Have plenty of seasonings to avoid famine fatigue. Beans and rice make a whole protein. Be sure to soak your beans overnight to sprout them. This makes them more digestible, increases protein and they cook quicker with a tablespoon of brown rice added (to use less fuel). Beans cooked in a solar oven are deeeelish. Check out how to make an easy solar oven on YouTube.

        If your budget won’t budge, storing legumes and grains is the cheapest way to go for food storage. Scratch cooking is better for you anyways. If you are worried about your water bill, with a little forethought, collecting your grey water will take care of your plants beautifully.

        We’ve picked up some free dunnage from a local lumber yard and made waist level garden boxes. These can be easily made into a mini-greenhouse with visqueen tents by placing stakes on both ends.

        The poor don’t have to die. Resourcefulness can be practiced by anyone. Remember God helps those who help others. :idea: Sharing is the way to always have enough.

        Of course the preppers are right. :grin:

        • Tom Dennen, the paranoid historian

          Thank you W. Willow – nice wind you blew through this little garden of words…

        • Anonymous

          Almost forgot ! Here’s a little known anti-diet-dictocrat piece of wisdom from the world’s indigenous (“poor”) healthy peoples — have saturated fats in your stores. Butter, coconut and palm oils, cod or skate liver oils, lard, olive oil (semi-sat), avocado and nut oils.

          This may seem pricey but in the end it will be worth more than gold. Go with the best your pocket book can afford. If you eliminate collecting pricier and unnecessary stores, you should be able to have plenty. You can find butter in tins. Don’t get butter powder or any other fractionated foods.

          The reason for this is to facilitate the uptake of vitamins and minerals to get the most out of what you do have to eat. It will also help with flavor as well as satiation. The lady who blew the whistle on transfat supports real saturated fats consumption. In other words, do not confuse transfats with naturally occurring saturated fats. Many people do because Big Food is tricksie that way in packaging and advertising.

          Has anyone connected the dots with all the high profile (rich) vegetarian/vegans who have died lately ? How do these rich people fail in their health, eh ?

          I would send you to the website with the research which supports my statements but it is currently being billed as an attack site and dangerous to your computer. Though, Google supports it’s opposition debunker site listed right beneath it. Hmmm . . . Here’s the name to Google: Weston A. Price Foundation. I do understand that they’ve been working to get back up so it’s worth a try now. They’ve been working with small farmers to encourage them to hang in there.

          Blessed are the Preppers for they will stand alongside angels in the fight.

          ~*~

    • lindarosemary

      If Obama is re elected , he and Michelle intend to nationalize the food industry, to include grocery stores, agriculture, animal husbandry, and tell us what we can and can’t eat.

    • Anonymous

      Thanks for your interesting comments…Nassim Taleb describes how we need to design anti-fragile systems to survive disasters of all sorts…

      Nassim Taleb’s Anti-Fragility: http://youtu.be/7IpTpjhVo7I via @youtube

    • DavidB4

      One thing all Preppers (and everyone else too) should do is get a Hand Held Bidet Sprayer at http://www.bathroomsprayers.com so they’ll be all set when the supply of toilet paper runs out, which would probably be one of the first items. With these you really don’t need toilet paper anymore and you’ll be cleaner then ever. You can start saving money on toilet paper now and use it to buy more critical supplies!

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