Self-Sufficiency Skills for Survival

Being self-sufficient or being able to provide for your own without the help of others is important during a crisis.

Growing your own food, raising your own livestock, and collecting your own water is an example of being self-sufficient, in this way you don’t have to depend on other people, because you already have a good source of the things you need to survive. Here are ways on how to become more self-sufficient:

Know First Aids

Anybody can get hurt during a disaster and emergency personnel may not be able to get to your location quickly. Having a skill in first aid and CPR is very important during an emergency situation. Learn the basic about first aid; you can check if there are fire departments and hospitals in your area who are giving free classes about CPR and first aid.

A first aid kit is also important during a disaster. There will be injuries and wounds that need to be treated.

Gardening

Finding food during a disaster is very difficult. There are possibilities that supermarkets or groceries are closed and it can last for weeks. Growing your own food can be helpful when tragedy strikes. You don’t have to worry where to get food for your family, when you have a garden in your backyard you can easily pick some veggies and cook it for your family.

You should learn the basics about gardening so that you will have the knowledge about gardening techniques. You may want to start growing your garden now and do not wait for tragedy to strike before doing it.

Raising Livestock

Veggies are good for our body, but we also need meat. You don’t have to hunt for food if you have a livestock. If you know how to raise livestock then you can have a steady supply of meat. You can also get some milk and eggs. Learn the basics about raising a livestock so that you will know what livestock are good in your area. Make sure that you have a place to keep livestock and that you have enough space.

Hunting, Fishing & Foraging

The knowledge and ability to track down and hunt animals for food or recognize edible plants in the wild or around your immediate location is invaluable. Fishing is also a necessary self-sufficiency skill to have because there are nutrients and essential vitamins that can only be taken from fish which you will need during a SHTF scenario when supplements may not be available. Start honing your hunting, fishing and foraging skills now.

You should also know how to prepare and cook the food you catch or find. You may know how to cook from a gas range or stove but do you know how to cook properly from a fire pit? Learn how to butcher and skin game because when SHTF you will have to do everything yourself.

Building a fire

This is a very important skill to have. Fire is essential for survival; we use it cook our food, boil water, it also provides us heat and light, etc. There are some tools that you can use to build up a fire, but what if you don’t have any of those? Having a skill about fire making can come in handy during an emergency.

Locating Water Sources

When the water stops flowing from the tap, where will you get water to use? You may have water stocked for drinking but you will also need water for others things such as washing and cleaning. Besides, your water supply will run out if not in a week or two then in just days. You need to know where to get water and you should also know how to purify it for drinking and other purposes.