We could spend a significant portion of our time outlining the various reasons for why the world’s economic, financial and political systems sit on the brink of an unprecedented paradigm shift that promises to change the landscape of the entire system as it exists today.

I could try to convince you that it’s a good idea to prepare for what’s coming, but the fact that you are reading this article via Tess’ Ready Nutrition newsletter means that you’re already in action planning and execution mode. If you’ve been following the 52 Weeks to Preparedness from the beginning, then you’ve spent the last 44 weeks establishing an emergency and disaster response plan that would probably make FEMA jealous.

Like Tess and I, you’ve probably done your research and spent months or years gathering as much information as you can about the many possibilities that could significantly impact your life and the lives of your family members and close friends, and you’ve actively involved yourself in making sure that you’re as insulated as possible from whatever may befall us.

My initial inclination when Tess asked me to contribute some thoughts on wealth preservation during times of uncertainty was to point out the fundamental economic problems and fraud facing the system. I realized after delving into this topic that, while the ramifications of an economic or currency collapse are life alteringly severe, my family’s personal preparedness plans have always been focused on ensuring we’re ready for anything that gets thrown our way – not just an economic crisis.

The strategy that we try to employ is well rounded and considers as many variables as possible.

• Natural Disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, flood, solar flare
• Man-made calamities like currency hyperinflation, cyber attack, EMP detonation, nuclear fallout or global conflict
• Personal emergencies like a job loss, injury or over-extension of credit

With this idea in mind, when we look at the concept of investing and wealth preservation for uncertain times, we want to employ a strategy that will provide as much coverage as possible so that if we are hit out of the blue with something totally unexpected, we’ll at least have the basic necessities to survive.

While I’ll stop short of advising you to sell all of the stocks and bonds in your 401(k) account and investing all of your proceeds into ‘preps’, a little diversification could mean the difference between surviving a disaster, or succumbing to it.

Keep your 401(k), IRA or other investment accounts, but consider expanding your horizons with a new 401(Prep) strategy as well.

The Currency of Kings

Gold is the currency of kings, Silver the currency of noblemen, and Debt the currency of slaves. 

While disregarded by mainstream economists as a relic of civilizations past, gold still remains a highly sought after asset by central banks around the world including those of China, India, Venezuela, Iran and a host of other countries losing faith in the petro-dollar reserve currency system. We’ve seen it rise to record breaking nominal highs in the last ten years for a reason. Those in the know – including investors who understand that gold always rises during periods of uncertainty and crisis – have been acquiring gold and its cousin silver for over a decade and have seen it’s value increase multi-fold.

We need look only at recent history to see what happens when economies and currencies of nations collapse. When the monetary systems of the Weimar Republic, Argentina, and Zimbabwe collapsed their currencies literally became worthless over night. During Germany’s hyperinflation people were burning wheel barrows of paper money just to stay warm. When Zimbabwe’s currency hyper inflated over a period of about 10 years, a loaf of bread went from one $1 to $1 trillion dollars; today there are people panning for granules of gold in Zimbabwe’s rivers so that they can purchase bread to eat for a day.

While nothing is guaranteed, history has proven one thing about gold and silver. There is and always will be a buyer for these precious metals. And if there is a central bank or large investor buying, that demand will always trickle down into the rest of the economy – even if it is operating as a black market.

If you want to expand your portfolio to include precious metals, here are some considerations:

• A single ounce of gold stores more value than silver. If you need portability for a large amount of wealth gold coins and bars will be your primary precious metals investment. Currently an ounce of gold is about $1550. With less than a pound of coins in your purse or backpack you can conveniently move $25,000 in value.
• What gold offers in portability it lacks in divisibility. This is where silver comes in. You may not be able to move $25,000 of silver conveniently (weighing around 50 pounds!). But because of it’s lower value per ounce silver is an excellent mechanism of exchange for things like food, gas, clean water, or tools if the dollar hyper-inflates or crashes. You can purchase silver in bars (100 oz, 10 oz) or coins (1 ounce, or U.S. government issued pre-1965 halves, quarters and dimes). With the smaller denomination coins like US quarters you will have portability for a small amount of cash (40 quarters is about $150 dollars worth) and you’ll have coinage that should allow you the ability to purchase just about any item someone is willing to sell.
• When buying gold or silver, buy from reputable sources like your local coin shop or an online dealer like Apmex or Kitco.
• The only exception we can make to the above rule is for the purchase of pre-1965 U.S. government minted 90% silver coinage. While we would avoid purchasing any other coins on auction sites like ebay, there are often some great deals to be found on half dollars, quarters and dimes containing 90% silver (pre-1965 coins only!). You can also purchase Kennedy half dollars dated 1965-1969 containing 40% silver content. Since these coins are government issued and in such small denominations, the possibility that they are counterfeit decreases significantly.
• Silver allows you to make modest, weekly investments of anywhere from $5 to $50 dollars and still build a store of wealth.
• To get the current price of silver and gold, as well as the specific prices for dated U.S. coins, check out the calculators at coinflation.com.
• If you are investing a large sum of money into precious metals, gather details about the types of coins you are buying, especially if you’re buying gold. Acquire a coin caliper and/or testing kit to ensure you’re getting what is being advertised.

While you may be able to easily utilize gold and silver as a mechanism of exchange at the onset of a crisis to buy much needed supplies during a currency meltdown and use it to exchange for land or equipment during a recovery period, you may be faced with a period of time when no one will be interested in your PM’s. Selco of SHTF School points out that gold is not the silver bullet the provides complete insulation from TEOTWAWKI. When all hell breaks loose, as it did in the Balkans in the 1990′s, and a war is being fought right outside of your front window, gold and silver may not get you very far, as people are more concerned with the immediate need of getting out of harm’s way than they are with anything else.

With that in mind, and for those who (correctly) argue that we can’t eat our gold, let’s continue diversifying our 401(prep) account.

Commodity Investing with Zero Counter-party Risk

In this type of environment where nobody can get a safe return on their money within the United States that beats the official rate of inflation, buying canned foods and such is actually a better investment than a Treasury bill. What I would look to do is have a backup supply of at least several months of the basic commodities you need to live with – canned food, toilet paper, as well as barter items…
-John Williams, Economist, Shadowstats.com

One thing analysts and financial pundits agree on is that, in general, commodities will continue to rise. As central banks continue to inflate their money and hundreds of millions of people in once under-developed nations join the ranks of the global working class, the demand for food once reserved for the middle class in America and Europe will rise in countries like China and India. The end result is a higher cost for corn, rice, wheat, meat and other staples.

Thus, as the experts suggest, investing in commodities may be an excellent way to grow, or at the very least preserve, your money. Where I disagree with the experts is how to invest in such assets. While you can purchase Exchange Traded Funds or contracts that follow specific commodities, the inherent problem with these investments is that, even though you have a paper receipt that says you own a particular commodity, if it’s not in your possession your are subject to counter-party risk. What I mean by this is that if the investment firm (or the numerous associated firms) has a problem and goes out of business, your paper receipt may become worthless. A recent example of this was the MF Global scandal, where the investment firm headed by a trusted former governor of New Jersey actually took the deposits and commodity investments of their depositors and transferred those assets to other investment banks days before completely collapsing. Their clients, who had receipts to prove ownership, were left with nothing.

If you’re investing into commodities because you expect prices to rise dramatically, then you must also assume that those dramatic price rises will result from either a currency crisis, or shortages caused by exceedingly high demand or adverse weather conditions (think Great Depression dust bowl). That being said, the only sound method of investing in these assets is for you to take physical delivery – just like you would with gold.

For food, your best bet would be to look at the 11 Emergency Foods That Last a Lifetime. Dry goods like rice, wheat, beans, salt, honey, and dry milk will provide you with an investment that will grow in value as prices rise, and also offer you peace of mind in case paper markets crash because you’ll be in direct possession of your food. How much food should you add to your 401prep investment portfolio? It depends on the size of your family and your time horizon. Think about what could cause a massive price rise in food prices and you’ll realize that whatever the crisis is, it could be long-term. The Ready Nutrition food storage calculator can help you to determine how much inventory you may need and allows you to break your purchases into weekly shopping trips so you don’t have to invest thousands of dollars up front.

In addition to food, there are a variety of other commodities that you won’t want to live without if the system comes crashing down around us – so consider adding these to your preps as well:

• Toilet paper , various toiletries, hygiene products
• Cooking oils
• Off-grid lamps and fuel
• Over the counter medicine like ointments, aspirin, anti-diarrheals, anti-constipation meds, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide
• Hand sanitizer (you’ll want lots of this because clear water may be hard to come by and disease will be rampant)
• Lighters (highly recommended barter item from the Balkan collapse)
• Ammunition
• Teas, coffee, cigarettes, drinking alcohol
• Off-grid survival tools like hand saws, hand drills, etc. (this may also include low-power requirement tools that you can charge with solar power or other alt energy)
• Antibiotics (Here’s one survival item that will be worth more than gold in a post-collapse world!)
• Read the Emergency Items: What Will Disappear First for more ideas

Investing in these asset was a sound practice in January of 2010 when I first recommended it (you’d be up over 25% today!) and it’s a good strategy today, because as you well know things aren’t looking any better on the economic and monetary front.

When investing in commodities you’ll want to ensure that you are able to physically store your assets so that they are available when you need them post. Be sure to properly store all foods for the long-term.

Land and Real Estate

Agricultural commodities are the place to be in for investors. It will be farmers not bankers driving Ferraris.
-Jim Rogers, Contrarian Investor

You may be surprised to see real estate listed here as a 401(prep) related asset, especially considering that the average price collapse in housing since the crash has been about 30%, with some areas of the country seeing in excess of 50% shaved off of bubble-top prices.

With real estate prices still dropping, it’s certainly not a bad idea to wait for further price reductions before jumping into a new home, especially if you are planning on paying cash. One thing to consider however, is that if you aren’t paying cash for a home and are looking to take on a mortgage then you are in one of the best interest environments we’ll experience perhaps in our lifetimes. Money is cheap, and if you happen across the right property, taking advantage of those low interest loans may be the right thing to do. As the dollar continues its decline and confidence in our ability to repay our debt is lost, you will likely see interest rates rise significantly. During the inflation crisis of the late 70′s and early 80′s some mortgage rates were running as high as 18%, so getting in now may not be a bad idea, especially if you are not planning on flipping your house any time soon and you have an investment time horizon in excess of a decade.

But what is the right property?

Being prepper-minded, I immediately dismiss the possibility of buying a home in a urban or suburban setting. The fact is that these kinds of homes are, in my eyes, liabilities. They have absolutely no productive capacity whatsoever, thus I have hard time looking at them as assets. Moreover, if we’re planning on the S hitting the fan, we want to be in a low population area, something that our typical cookie cutter neighborhoods in big cities simply can’t provide.

When we talk about real estate and land investments during times of crisis we want to focus on a property that will give us the ability to produce something – anything of value. In the event you lose your current income flow, or if the system falls apart, you’ll want to be on a piece of property that allows you to produce some of the commodities we discussed above – either for personal use or to run as a business if employment becomes difficult or impossible to acquire.

Thus, when looking at land, look for land that will provide you and your family with productive capacity. If you can do this, you’ll have turned your home and land into an asset instead of the typical liability held by most Americans.

You’ll also be much closer to achieving self reliance by being as off the grid as is possible, so you are no longer dependent on services provided by the government or large business conglomerates.

Here are some thoughts on real estate investing based in part on Ten Things That Make a Survival Homestead:

• Does your land have the space and soil to allow you to grow a vegetable, herb or fruit garden? Even limited space can be used to product a huge amount of food, so you can be flexible on land size if your financial situation requires it.
• Are you able to produce your own energy – perhaps install solar panels, mini-wind turbines or some type of hydro power if you have a stream or river? Whether the world collapses around us or not, energy self reliance is a long-term benefit that will reduce or eliminate your utility bills, something that will insulate you from not only a collapse of our power grid, but keep the energy flowing to your home if you experience a personal financial catastrophe that makes it difficult to pay your bills.
• Do you have enough land to raise livestock? The bottom line is that people will always need food, and if you can provide that food you’ll always have customers willing to buy it or trade for it. Space is an important consideration for livestock, but there are ways to raise poultry, goats and even micro Dexter cows without a huge pasture. Look into micro-livestocking for some ideas (it’s something you can even do in suburbia if your HOA allows it!).
• You need a water source. This is self explanatory. You can’t grow food or keep animals if you don’t have water. Either make sure you have a well, or a river or stream with easy access so you can collect or divert water to irrigate your garden.
• Another water solution that provides multiple benefits is a pond. Not only will it provide water, but you can expand your offerings by raising fish to boot!
• Can you defend your property? In addition to the commodities listed above, other physical assets to look at acquiring are property and self defense supplies like barbed wire fencing to protect your inner perimeter, flood lights or another alarm system for the external perimeter, empty sang bags that you can quickly fill if needed.

Owning land is a dream held by most individuals. But, few people understand the difference between your home being a liability vs. an asset. If you’re going to be buying (or even renting) land I strongly suggest you look into how you can make your home work for you, instead of the other way around.

Get Some Skills!

I don’t even have any good skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills…
-Napolean Dynamite

I have a friend who is a specialist in piping design and engineering. In his spare time he builds high quality copper water/alcohol distillation units. Sitting around testing his first unit, my friend and I began discussing the various applications for such an apparatus and how knowledge of manufacturing such units would be an essential skill in a post-collapse world. With his distillation units one can not only purify their water over an open fire, but can also produce drinking alcohol, antiseptics and fuel grade ethanol to run a generator. His project initially started as a hobby, and has since turned into a fledgling side business. If the system collapses, and my friend loses his job in the engineering sector, he will always have his skills of manufacturing to fall back on. In addition to producing distillation units, he is a lifetime prepper, so he is well versed in the manufacture of anything from traps and snares for animals, to making his own ammunition.

The point of this story is that every one of us, even though some of us may sit at a computer all day or work a retail counter, has something we know how to do. Get better at it and consider how you may be able to apply these skills in a post collapse world.

Also of note is that if you are skilled at something – machining, sewing, food preservation or some other skills – stock up on the necessary supplies to run your business now, because they won’t be available. My friend who manufactures distillation units is heavily invested in copper piping and related materials. While copper may not be a practical investment for you because of your skill set, perhaps yarn or canning jars are.

Every one of us is unique, and we each have different life experiences, skills and backgrounds. This is great news for post-collapse survivors, because you can be assured that American innovation will always return with a vengeance. Necessity will be the mother of invention in a post collapse world, and while knitting sweaters for the Holidays may be a hobby for you now, it could be the skill that sets you apart and keeps your family fed if traditional commerce breaks down.

The following list is based in part on The Barter Value of Skills and will give you some ideas on ways you will be able to exchange your time and energy for yield (money, trade, etc.) in a post-collapse world:

• First Aid or Critical Aid (Whether you are an EMT or just have basic first aid training, your skills will be in high demand during a serious crisis)
• Midwifery/delivering babies because there won’t be any hospitals
• Animal Husbandry – Those who haven’t developed animal rearing skills will call on you to help them with their animals or ranching. If you have a large enough post-collapse survival property, you may even be able to lease space on your property for others.
• Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Construction, Machining, and any host of other skills that will be required for jobs that we take for granted today because of home improvement mega stores.
• Mechanics – Whether it’s for small engines like generators or understanding the inner workings of alternative energy, there will always be a need for skilled mechanics. After a collapse it will be difficult if not impossible to buy new items like we do in our current consumptive paradigm. Learning to fix what’s already out there will be a fantastic way to make a living.
• Food preservation, sewing/mending, soap and candle making, production of alternative medicines (with herbs from your garden) will all be skills that are in demand.
• Also see Top Post-Collapse Barter Items And Trade Skills for more ideas

Planning for the Unknown with 401(Prep) Investing

If there is one thing we can say about our current economic, financial, social and political climate it’s that we have entered an era in human history of total unpredictability. While we can theorize about what may or may not happen, we need to understand that we are operating on limited information. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once said :

There are known knowns – there are things we know we know.

We also know there are known unknowns – that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.

But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.

As humorous as Rumsfeld’s comments were to the press in the room, there is quite a bit of insight to be gleaned from them.

The key takeaway is that we really don’t know what we know or don’t know, so plan for the worst. Furthermore, ensure that your preparedness plans are flexible enough to be applied to situations that we haven’t even contemplated as even being possible.

While the ideas listed above may not work for everyone, I hope I’ve been able to present an informative enough primer on Collapse Investing to get your mind working on how you can apply your specific situation and skills to a complete action and execution plan.

Best wishes to you all.

Get Prepped, Stay Prepped.

Mac Slavo
www.SHTFplan.com 

Action Items:

1. Research how other countries used alternative currencies in post-shtf emergencies. Some great online resources are FerFAL’s Surviving in Argentina, Selco’s SHTF School.
2. Familiarize yourself with alternative currencies that could be deemed valuable during a post-SHTF scenario.
3. Familiarize and become proficient in skill sets that would be seen as profitable during an extended emergency.

Subscribe to Get Prepped! Newsletter for weekly updates from the 52 Weeks to Preparedness series.

Happy Friday Everyone,

Howard Ruff once said, “It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.” The funny thing about the unknown is that no one can be too sure how it’s going to turn out. Most of us are realists and understand that in regards to the future, it’s better to prepare for the likelihood of falling on hard times than be stuck in the middle of it without any preparations or plans. In all honesty, I would much rather invest in a cushion to fall upon rather than hit the ground with nothing to brace my fall. For the last 43 weeks, we have invested in that cushion, because we know that life will not always be sunny and fair.

It’s time we took another proactive step in securing our future. In our 44th week, we will be discussing pertinent wealth preservation measures and TEOTWAWKI investment strategies to consider for our long-term preparations. Mac Slavo of the incomparable SHTF Plan will be writing the section on investments. For those of you who do not know Mac Slavo or his website, he has an uncanny sixth sense for digging up news that would otherwise be buried; and offers poignant advice on shtf planning and long-term strategies.

Remember to fall back on the Ready Nutrition food calculator to ensure that you are storing the correct of amount of foods for a short and long-term emergency.

If you haven’t already, follow us on Twitter or Facebook. I love to interact with the preparedness community, because after all, we are all in this together!

Best,

Tess Pennington

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

PREP OF THE WEEK

Week 44 of 52: Collapse Investing: Money and Wealth Preservation During Times of Uncertainty and Instability

We could spend a significant portion of our time outlining the various reasons for why the world’s economic, financial and political systems sit on the brink of an unprecedented paradigm shift that promises to change the landscape of the entire system as it exists today.

I could try to convince you that it’s a good idea to prepare for what’s coming, but the fact that you are reading this article via Tess’ Ready Nutrition newsletter means that you’re already in action planning and execution mode. If you’ve been following the 52 Weeks to Preparedness from the beginning, then you’ve spent the last 44 weeks establishing an emergency and disaster response plan that would probably make FEMA jealous.

Like Tess and I, you’ve probably done your research and spent months or years gathering as much information as you can about the many possibilities that could significantly impact your life and the lives of your family members and close friends, and you’ve actively involved yourself in making sure that you’re as insulated as possible from whatever may befall us.

My initial inclination when Tess asked me to contribute some thoughts on wealth preservation during times of uncertainty was to point out the fundamental economic problems and fraud facing the system. I realized after delving into this topic that, while the ramifications of an economic or currency collapse are life alteringly severe, my family’s personal preparedness plans have always been focused on ensuring we’re ready for anything that gets thrown our way – not just an economic crisis.

The strategy that we try to employ is well rounded and considers as many variables as possible.

• Natural Disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, flood, solar flare
• Man-made calamities like currency hyperinflation, cyber attack, EMP detonation, nuclear fallout or global conflict
• Personal emergencies like a job loss, injury or over-extension of credit

With this idea in mind, when we look at the concept of investing and wealth preservation for uncertain times, we want to employ a strategy that will provide as much coverage as possible so that if we are hit out of the blue with something totally unexpected, we’ll at least have the basic necessities to survive.

While I’ll stop short of advising you to sell all of the stocks and bonds in your 401(k) account and investing all of your proceeds into ‘preps’, a little diversification could mean the difference between surviving a disaster, or succumbing to it.

Keep your 401(k), IRA or other investment accounts, but consider expanding your horizons with a new 401(Prep) strategy as well.

The Currency of Kings

Gold is the currency of kings, Silver the currency of noblemen, and Debt the currency of slaves. 

While disregarded by mainstream economists as a relic of civilizations past, gold still remains a highly sought after asset by central banks around the world including those of China, India, Venezuela, Iran and a host of other countries losing faith in the petro-dollar reserve currency system. We’ve seen it rise to record breaking nominal highs in the last ten years for a reason. Those in the know – including investors who understand that gold always rises during periods of uncertainty and crisis – have been acquiring gold and its cousin silver for over a decade and have seen it’s value increase multi-fold.

We need look only at recent history to see what happens when economies and currencies of nations collapse. When the monetary systems of the Weimar Republic, Argentina, and Zimbabwe collapsed their currencies literally became worthless over night. During Germany’s hyperinflation people were burning wheel barrows of paper money just to stay warm. When Zimbabwe’s currency hyper inflated over a period of about 10 years, a loaf of bread went from one $1 to $1 trillion dollars; today there are people panning for granules of gold in Zimbabwe’s rivers so that they can purchase bread to eat for a day.

While nothing is guaranteed, history has proven one thing about gold and silver. There is and always will be a buyer for these precious metals. And if there is a central bank or large investor buying, that demand will always trickle down into the rest of the economy – even if it is operating as a black market.

If you want to expand your portfolio to include precious metals, here are some considerations:

• A single ounce of gold stores more value than silver. If you need portability for a large amount of wealth gold coins and bars will be your primary precious metals investment. Currently an ounce of gold is about $1550. With less than a pound of coins in your purse or backpack you can conveniently move $25,000 in value.
• What gold offers in portability it lacks in divisibility. This is where silver comes in. You may not be able to move $25,000 of silver conveniently (weighing around 50 pounds!). But because of it’s lower value per ounce silver is an excellent mechanism of exchange for things like food, gas, clean water, or tools if the dollar hyper-inflates or crashes. You can purchase silver in bars (100 oz, 10 oz) or coins (1 ounce, or U.S. government issued pre-1965 halves, quarters and dimes). With the smaller denomination coins like US quarters you will have portability for a small amount of cash (40 quarters is about $150 dollars worth) and you’ll have coinage that should allow you the ability to purchase just about any item someone is willing to sell.
• When buying gold or silver, buy from reputable sources like your local coin shop or an online dealer like Apmex or Kitco.
• The only exception we can make to the above rule is for the purchase of pre-1965 U.S. government minted 90% silver coinage. While we would avoid purchasing any other coins on auction sites like ebay, there are often some great deals to be found on half dollars, quarters and dimes containing 90% silver (pre-1965 coins only!). You can also purchase Kennedy half dollars dated 1965-1969 containing 40% silver content. Since these coins are government issued and in such small denominations, the possibility that they are counterfeit decreases significantly.
• Silver allows you to make modest, weekly investments of anywhere from $5 to $50 dollars and still build a store of wealth.
• To get the current price of silver and gold, as well as the specific prices for dated U.S. coins, check out the calculators at coinflation.com.
• If you are investing a large sum of money into precious metals, gather details about the types of coins you are buying, especially if you’re buying gold. Acquire a coin caliper and/or testing kit to ensure you’re getting what is being advertised.

While you may be able to easily utilize gold and silver as a mechanism of exchange at the onset of a crisis to buy much needed supplies during a currency meltdown and use it to exchange for land or equipment during a recovery period, you may be faced with a period of time when no one will be interested in your PM’s. Selco of SHTF School points out that gold is not the silver bullet the provides complete insulation from TEOTWAWKI. When all hell breaks loose, as it did in the Balkans in the 1990′s, and a war is being fought right outside of your front window, gold and silver may not get you very far, as people are more concerned with the immediate need of getting out of harm’s way than they are with anything else.

With that in mind, and for those who (correctly) argue that we can’t eat our gold, let’s continue diversifying our 401(prep) account.

Commodity Investing with Zero Counter-party Risk

In this type of environment where nobody can get a safe return on their money within the United States that beats the official rate of inflation, buying canned foods and such is actually a better investment than a Treasury bill. What I would look to do is have a backup supply of at least several months of the basic commodities you need to live with – canned food, toilet paper, as well as barter items…
-John Williams, Economist, Shadowstats.com

One thing analysts and financial pundits agree on is that, in general, commodities will continue to rise. As central banks continue to inflate their money and hundreds of millions of people in once under-developed nations join the ranks of the global working class, the demand for food once reserved for the middle class in America and Europe will rise in countries like China and India. The end result is a higher cost for corn, rice, wheat, meat and other staples.

Thus, as the experts suggest, investing in commodities may be an excellent way to grow, or at the very least preserve, your money. Where I disagree with the experts is how to invest in such assets. While you can purchase Exchange Traded Funds or contracts that follow specific commodities, the inherent problem with these investments is that, even though you have a paper receipt that says you own a particular commodity, if it’s not in your possession your are subject to counter-party risk. What I mean by this is that if the investment firm (or the numerous associated firms) has a problem and goes out of business, your paper receipt may become worthless. A recent example of this was the MF Global scandal, where the investment firm headed by a trusted former governor of New Jersey actually took the deposits and commodity investments of their depositors and transferred those assets to other investment banks days before completely collapsing. Their clients, who had receipts to prove ownership, were left with nothing.

If you’re investing into commodities because you expect prices to rise dramatically, then you must also assume that those dramatic price rises will result from either a currency crisis, or shortages caused by exceedingly high demand or adverse weather conditions (think Great Depression dust bowl). That being said, the only sound method of investing in these assets is for you to take physical delivery – just like you would with gold.

For food, your best bet would be to look at the 11 Emergency Foods That Last a Lifetime. Dry goods like rice, wheat, beans, salt, honey, and dry milk will provide you with an investment that will grow in value as prices rise, and also offer you peace of mind in case paper markets crash because you’ll be in direct possession of your food. How much food should you add to your 401prep investment portfolio? It depends on the size of your family and your time horizon. Think about what could cause a massive price rise in food prices and you’ll realize that whatever the crisis is, it could be long-term. The following food storage calculator can help you to determine how much inventory you may need and allows you to break your purchases into weekly shopping trips so you don’t have to invest thousands of dollars up front.

In addition to food, there are a variety of other commodities that you won’t want to live without if the system comes crashing down around us – so consider adding these to your preps as well:

• Toilet paper , various toiletries, hygiene products
• Cooking oils
• Off-grid lamps and fuel
• Over the counter medicine like ointments, aspirin, anti-diarrheals, anti-constipation meds, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide
• Hand sanitizer (you’ll want lots of this because clear water may be hard to come by and disease will be rampant)
• Lighters (highly recommended barter item from the Balkan collapse)
• Ammunition
• Teas, coffee, cigarettes, drinking alcohol
• Off-grid survival tools like hand saws, hand drills, etc. (this may also include low-power requirement tools that you can charge with solar power or other alt energy)
• Antibiotics (Here’s one survival item that will be worth more than gold in a post-collapse world!)
• Read the Emergency Items: What Will Disappear First for more ideas

Investing in these asset was a sound practice in January of 2010 when I first recommended it (you’d be up over 25% today!) and it’s a good strategy today, because as you well know things aren’t looking any better on the economic and monetary front.

When investing in commodities you’ll want to ensure that you are able to physically store your assets so that they are available when you need them post. Be sure to properly store all foods for the long-term.

Land and Real Estate

Agricultural commodities are the place to be in for investors. It will be farmers not bankers driving Ferraris.
-Jim Rogers, Contrarian Investor

You may be surprised to see real estate listed here as a 401(prep) related asset, especially considering that the average price collapse in housing since the crash has been about 30%, with some areas of the country seeing in excess of 50% shaved off of bubble-top prices.

With real estate prices still dropping, it’s certainly not a bad idea to wait for further price reductions before jumping into a new home, especially if you are planning on paying cash. One thing to consider however, is that if you aren’t paying cash for a home and are looking to take on a mortgage then you are in one of the best interest environments we’ll experience perhaps in our lifetimes. Money is cheap, and if you happen across the right property, taking advantage of those low interest loans may be the right thing to do. As the dollar continues its decline and confidence in our ability to repay our debt is lost, you will likely see interest rates rise significantly. During the inflation crisis of the late 70′s and early 80′s some mortgage rates were running as high as 18%, so getting in now may not be a bad idea, especially if you are not planning on flipping your house any time soon and you have an investment time horizon in excess of a decade.

But what is the right property?

Being prepper-minded, I immediately dismiss the possibility of buying a home in a urban or suburban setting. The fact is that these kinds of homes are, in my eyes, liabilities. They have absolutely no productive capacity whatsoever, thus I have hard time looking at them as assets. Moreover, if we’re planning on the S hitting the fan, we want to be in a low population area, something that our typical cookie cutter neighborhoods in big cities simply can’t provide.

When we talk about real estate and land investments during times of crisis we want to focus on a property that will give us the ability to produce something – anything of value. In the event you lose your current income flow, or if the system falls apart, you’ll want to be on a piece of property that allows you to produce some of the commodities we discussed above – either for personal use or to run as a business if employment becomes difficult or impossible to acquire.

Thus, when looking at land, look for land that will provide you and your family with productive capacity. If you can do this, you’ll have turned your home and land into an asset instead of the typical liability held by most Americans.

You’ll also be much closer to achieving self reliance by being as off the grid as is possible, so you are no longer dependent on services provided by the government or large business conglomerates.

Here are some thoughts on real estate investing based in part on Ten Things That Make a Survival Homestead:

• Does your land have the space and soil to allow you to grow a vegetable, herb or fruit garden? Even limited space can be used to product a huge amount of food, so you can be flexible on land size if your financial situation requires it.
• Are you able to produce your own energy – perhaps install solar panels, mini-wind turbines or some type of hydro power if you have a stream or river? Whether the world collapses around us or not, energy self reliance is a long-term benefit that will reduce or eliminate your utility bills, something that will insulate you from not only a collapse of our power grid, but keep the energy flowing to your home if you experience a personal financial catastrophe that makes it difficult to pay your bills.
• Do you have enough land to raise livestock? The bottom line is that people will always need food, and if you can provide that food you’ll always have customers willing to buy it or trade for it. Space is an important consideration for livestock, but there are ways to raise poultry, goats and even micro Dexter cows without a huge pasture. Look into micro-livestocking for some ideas (it’s something you can even do in suburbia if your HOA allows it!).
• You need a water source. This is self explanatory. You can’t grow food or keep animals if you don’t have water. Either make sure you have a well, or a river or stream with easy access so you can collect or divert water to irrigate your garden.
• Another water solution that provides multiple benefits is a pond. Not only will it provide water, but you can expand your offerings by raising fish to boot!
• Can you defend your property? In addition to the commodities listed above, other physical assets to look at acquiring are property and self defense supplies like barbed wire fencing to protect your inner perimeter, flood lights or another alarm system for the external perimeter, empty sang bags that you can quickly fill if needed.

Owning land is a dream held by most individuals. But, few people understand the difference between your home being a liability vs. an asset. If you’re going to be buying (or even renting) land I strongly suggest you look into how you can make your home work for you, instead of the other way around.

Get Some Skills!

I don’t even have any good skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills…
-Napolean Dynamite

I have a friend who is a specialist in piping design and engineering. In his spare time he builds high quality copper water/alcohol distillation units. Sitting around testing his first unit, my friend and I began discussing the various applications for such an apparatus and how knowledge of manufacturing such units would be an essential skill in a post-collapse world. With his distillation units one can not only purify their water over an open fire, but can also produce drinking alcohol, antiseptics and fuel grade ethanol to run a generator. His project initially started as a hobby, and has since turned into a fledgling side business. If the system collapses, and my friend loses his job in the engineering sector, he will always have his skills of manufacturing to fall back on. In addition to producing distillation units, he is a lifetime prepper, so he is well versed in the manufacture of anything from traps and snares for animals, to making his own ammunition.

The point of this story is that every one of us, even though some of us may sit at a computer all day or work a retail counter, has something we know how to do. Get better at it and consider how you may be able to apply these skills in a post collapse world.

Also of note is that if you are skilled at something – machining, sewing, food preservation or some other skills – stock up on the necessary supplies to run your business now, because they won’t be available. My friend who manufactures distillation units is heavily invested in copper piping and related materials. While copper may not be a practical investment for you because of your skill set, perhaps yarn or canning jars are.

Every one of us is unique, and we each have different life experiences, skills and backgrounds. This is great news for post-collapse survivors, because you can be assured that American innovation will always return with a vengeance. Necessity will be the mother of invention in a post collapse world, and while knitting sweaters for the Holidays may be a hobby for you now, it could be the skill that sets you apart and keeps your family fed if traditional commerce breaks down.

The following list is based in part on The Barter Value of Skills and will give you some ideas on ways you will be able to exchange your time and energy for yield (money, trade, etc.) in a post-collapse world:

• First Aid or Critical Aid (Whether you are an EMT or just have basic first aid training, your skills will be in high demand during a serious crisis)
• Midwifery/delivering babies because there won’t be any hospitals
• Animal Husbandry – Those who haven’t developed animal rearing skills will call on you to help them with their animals or ranching. If you have a large enough post-collapse survival property, you may even be able to lease space on your property for others.
• Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Construction, Machining, and any host of other skills that will be required for jobs that we take for granted today because of home improvement mega stores.
• Mechanics – Whether it’s for small engines like generators or understanding the inner workings of alternative energy, there will always be a need for skilled mechanics. After a collapse it will be difficult if not impossible to buy new items like we do in our current consumptive paradigm. Learning to fix what’s already out there will be a fantastic way to make a living.
• Food preservation, sewing/mending, soap and candle making, production of alternative medicines (with herbs from your garden) will all be skills that are in demand.
• Also see Top Post-Collapse Barter Items And Trade Skills for more ideas

Planning for the Unknown with 401(Prep) Investing

If there is one thing we can say about our current economic, financial, social and political climate it’s that we have entered an era in human history of total unpredictability. While we can theorize about what may or may not happen, we need to understand that we are operating on limited information. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once said :

There are known knowns – there are things we know we know.

We also know there are known unknowns – that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.

But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.

As humorous as Rumsfeld’s comments were to the press in the room, there is quite a bit of insight to be gleaned from them.

The key takeaway is that we really don’t know what we know or don’t know, so plan for the worst. Furthermore, ensure that your preparedness plans are flexible enough to be applied to situations that we haven’t even contemplated as even being possible.

While the ideas listed above may not work for everyone, I hope I’ve been able to present an informative enough primer on Collapse Investing to get your mind working on how you can apply your specific situation and skills to a complete action and execution plan.

Best wishes to you all.

Get Prepped, Stay Prepped.

Mac Slavo
www.SHTFplan.com 

Action Items:

1. Research how other countries used alternative currencies in post-shtf emergencies. Some great online resources are FerFAL’s Surviving in Argentina, Selco’s SHTF School.
2. Familiarize yourself with alternative currencies that could be deemed valuable during a post-SHTF scenario.
3. Familiarize and become proficient in skill sets that would be seen as profitable during an extended emergency.

 WHAT WE’RE UP TO

In the Home:

It is absolutely the worst feeling when you see your kids sick. All week, I’ve had kiddos sick with the flu. How my kids can get the flu in May, I have no idea, but all three were sick as a dog. Most of my free time has been spent making herbal teas, soups and cuddling with sick kids. Yesterday was the first day that all three were back in school. God bless the herbal tea industry!

If I have time this weekend, I’m experimenting with pickled watermelon rind. Who knows? It could become a family favorite!

Family Preps:

“Am I out of band-aids?,” I thought to myself while frantically searching for first aid supplies for my 5-year old. I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but somehow I overlooked the fact that my band-aid stash was running seriously low. I suspect my 5 year old found them. For some reason, children think that having a band-aid on 1. Takes all the pain away, and 2. Is a proud badge of honor for their “war wounds,” and 3. Are equivalent to stickers. Even when they have no cuts, they want a band-aid. Those of you with young ones, know what I’m talking about.

This prompted me to stocked up multiple boxes of the assorted band-aids, and some assorted first aid supplies. I will need to stock up on many more boxes to get my band-aid stash back up, but this is a start. Note to self: put the band-aids up high so the kids don’t get into them.

In the Garden:

I am in awe of how many cucumbers I am getting this year. In the past, by this time, they would have been eaten up by aphids or the squash vine borer, but this year, the cucumbers are happily growing. I didn’t even fertilize! I have already pickled 5 quarts of cucumbers and the cucumbers keep coming.

My cilantro, dill and basil are so big that I plan on cutting them back and dehydrating the cuttings to make spice blends this weekend. The pepper plants are setting fruits and I believe I may be able to enjoy them before we move.

 RECENT ARTICLES

EMP: An Event That Could Cripple Our Way of Life

5 Ways to Stretch Your Meals SHTF Style

DIY Faraday Cage Ideas

LETTERS TO TESS

Do you have a preparedness question? One of the perks of my job at Ready Nutrition is to address questions and/or concerns that you may have with your prepping endeavors. Feel free to ask anything that is on your mind because no question is too big or small. You can email questions to: getprepped@readynutrition.com

This week’s question addresses bugging in in the suburbs:

Hi! I wanted to ask you a question..But first – I love your posts and and everything you are teaching!! I have a problem though. I live in a Houston suburb and though we would LOVE to move to the country, we just can’t do it right now. I can’t have any goats, chickens, etc in my neighborhood. I can begin to grow a garden though. I have 3 months so far of dried food storage (from the Mormon supply house in buckets with the air thingy’s and mylar bags, etc) and water. I’m still working on all the rest. I know I need more than the threee months, but that’s all we could afford to do at the time.

SO, here’s my question. I’m freaked out by the whole shtf concept while in suburbia. We have weapons and ammo (husbie is former military) but I can’t build any kind of bunker or anything. I guess what I’m wondering is how do I become prepared while in suburbia. We don’t have any hills to run to in case the shtf, so I think we would have to hunker down here.

You may have already put all this info together in some resources already available. If so, could you please point me in the right direction on what to read?

J.J.

Answer:

J.J.,

Congrats on all of the preparations you have made thus far. Three months of supplies is a great accomplishment!

I also live in a suburb of Houston, so I completely see where you are coming from. The more research one does on extended emergencies and post-shtf scenarios, sooner or later, you are bound to come to the realization that you are not as safe as you once thought.

If your plan is to hunker down in suburbia, my advice to you would be to beef up the outer security of your home. Having more security layers on the outside will keep you more protected from looters and those up to no good. Here is an article on different ways you can accomplish this.

Another way to further protect yourself is get your neighborhood involved in prepping. Those who share a common goal are more likely to come together when faced with a threat. Whether getting a few neighbors on board or working with the neighborhood watch programs, you could start a preparedness program that could help the entire neighborhood prepare. Being that you live in a hurricane prone area, you could use this as the excuse for preparing and getting others involved.

Even though you have a good amount of dry goods storied up, and plan on gardening, you may want to consider investing in some sprouting seeds to give you and your family a natural vitamin source during an extended emergency. Sprouting will provide you with vitamins and nutrients within 48-72 hours of sprouting.

Also, regarding the livestock. You mentioned that you couldn’t have chickens or goats, but have you considered rabbits? This livestock would go undetected by neighborhood watch programs, need minimal care, can be enclosed and can live off of the unwanted parts of the garden vegetables you grow.

I hope this helps, and wish you and your family the best of luck in your preparedness endeavors.

Tess

When I was younger I was lucky enough to have a job that allowed me to travel to some relatively exotic locations.  As a jewelry importer, I visited rural Mexico and Italy on several occasions.  I never hit the big tourist destinations – my time was spent in small villages where the culture was very unique to the area.

One unforgettable element about those years was the food.  Sometimes it was so fantastic I tried to recreate it when I returned home.  Other times the simple food I was served reflected the poverty of the area, which was underlined by an attitude of using the resources that were available, whether or not they happened to be appetizing or generally acceptable to my North American standards.  To encourage the reluctant American guest to try the unfamiliar foods, my hosts nearly always told me “It tastes just like chicken.”

When offered hospitality in a poverty-stricken area, it was important to cast aside my reservations and simply eat what was offered.  In the Third World, survival is dependent on making the most of what is available.  One day this may be true for us as well.

After the first time I was served el gato (cat) in Mexico, I learned the valuable lesson of not asking where the meat had originated until after I’d already eaten.  In Mexico, I have consumed cat, rattlesnake and armadillo.  Here, I learned that with enough tasty seasonings and spices, nearly anything can be not only palatable, but downright tasty.

My travels in northern Italy were very different.  Italy is as far from the Third World as you can get.  However, the food there, especially in the Northern portion of the country, is quite different.  It was in Padova, Italy that I was served carne de cavallo.  It was served on an antipasto platter and was quite tasty, until I made the mistake of asking the waitress if it was beef.  Because I didn’t speak Italian and she did not speak English, she got the point across by whinnying and slapping her thigh.  (I regretted instigating that little pantomime as soon as the horrible realization set in that I was eating Black Beauty.)

In a long-term change of lifestyle, we may have to get over our squeamishness in order to survive.  We can take lessons now from other cultures by learning not only how they prepare their foods, but what they prepare.  If it boils down to survival, we may have to broaden our concept of what constitutes an acceptable source of protein.

Changing the texture of the meat can make it more palatable.  Ground meat of any type can be added to spaghetti sauce or any other recipe in which you would use ground beef.  You can turn your meat into sausage with the use of a meat grinder and the addition of sage and some other spices.  Smoking the meat or turning it into jerky are other options that make it less recognizable to the more squeamish members of the family.

When providing food for your family in a survival situation, think outside of items you would find in the meat department of your local Kroger.  In many places the following animals find their ways into the stew pot:

• Alligator/Crocodile
• Armadillo
• Bear
• Beaver
• Boar
• Cat
• Dog
• Fertilized Eggs
• Frog
• Grouse
• Guinea Pig
• Horse
• Insects
• Rabbit
• Raccoon
• Rats
• Seal
• Snake
• Squirrel
• Turtle
• Worms/Grub

Take the time now to look over some recipes for meats that you may not have considered before.  Then you can plan ahead by stocking the spices needed to prepare these foods in the tastiest way possible. After all, it tastes just like chicken.

Chicken
Chili Mix
Deer
Desserts
Dove
Duck
Elk
Exotics
Fish
Frog
Goose
Grouse
Hog
Moose
Pheasant
Quail

  This post was written by Laura Imm at www.Alt-Market.com

When you think of collapse, what mental pictures come to your mind? Hiding in a hole, eating your dinner out of a can, willing to trade your left pinkie finger for a plastic spork? If we’re talking economic collapse, things probably won’t be that dire, at least for a while. But there definitely will be deprivations. Have you given much thought to what they will be?

One of my main concerns is how I will keep my family healthy now and through collapse. How will I afford vitamins and good alternative health care when I’m unemployed and my money is worthless?

What if I could make my own vitamins? What if I could make my own probiotics, without the need to support a home dairy or when my dairy animals are dry? What if doing so only cost me some tea bags and sugar, items I can easily, and cheaply, stockpile? What if all the space it would require is a few square feet of my kitchen (or cave, depending on your vision of collapse)? What if doing so required absolutely no electricity? Sounds great, right? What could possibly fulfill all these expectations?

Enter kombucha (pronounced kom-boo-cha). What in the world is kombucha, you might ask? It is fermented tea. The fermentation is produced through the use of a SCOBY, a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. During this fermentation acetic acid, lactic acid, glucuronic acid, probiotics, and a host of B vitamins are produced. The typical profile for an 8oz serving of kombucha looks like this.

(Source: G. T’s Kombucha)

While all of this is wonderful, by far the star of the show is glucuronic acid. It is a substance created and excreted by the liver, which binds to toxins and carries them out of the living body. Considering we face dioxins, heavy metals, BPA, fluoride, pesticides and whatever is in chemtrails everyday, any mechanism our body has to flush out toxins is welcome and vital. But just like with any living organ, the liver can get overburdened and constantly having to create an overabundance of glucuronic acid to combat the toxins we face everyday can wear it out. Supplementing our bodies with extra glucuronic acid is a wise and prudent action if we plan to outlast these toxins and ultimately, beat the globalists at their own game.

Kombucha’s ability to detoxify the living body is why its been referred to as the Elixir of Life and the Tea of Immortality. It is one of the easiest and sustainable ways to preserve and promote vibrant health.

Kombucha is an old beverage. Its modern popularity originates from the Ural Mountains of Russia during the late 19^th century, but it is considered much older than that, with references dating back to the second century BC in China. It is a very light, lightly effervescent beverage, that reminds me of ginger ale.

All this goodness and only 2-10 grams of sugar, depending on how you flavor it. In fact, ounce for ounce, flavored kombucha contains less sugar than yogurt or kefir, and certainly less than a soft drink or a sports drink. Natural News just named kombucha one of the four best functional beverages.

http://www.naturalnews.com/035634_functional_beverages_health_performance.html

So, how to get started? To make your own kombucha you will need a SCOBY. You can order one, from sites like kombucha2000, but where’s the integrity and self-reliance in that? Or frugality?

http://www.kombucha2000.com/products.html#mushroom

Or, you can grow your own, like I did. To do that, you will need only a few things; some sweet tea, unflavored kombucha, a glass jar, and a kitchen towel.  In my line of work, moving things around introduces contamination and loss, so I decided to set up my SCOBY growing and kombucha brewing all in one vessel. That way, once the SCOBY was grown I could move right along to brewing by just adding the next phase of ingredients to the jar. This means I chose a fairly large jar, a 0.8 gallon sun tea jar with a spigot. When brewing kombucha, no metal can be present, so I made sure all the innards of the jar and spigot were plastic or glass.

A word about ingredients. Since this is a brewing process, you will want to use distilled water or if you have a home RO unit, water that has been purified by reverse osmosis. Also, you will want to use organic tea. Nonorganic tea introduces a much higher level of fluoride to the end product than organic tea does. And since that is one of the toxins we are trying to avoid, why not start off with the best foot forward. After carefully selecting the other ingredients, it just makes sense to use organic sugar as well. If you’re going to go to the effort of brewing your own, why not make it as good and as pure as possible? I buy organic sugar from one of our local bulk foods stores in 10lb bags.

To prepare the vessel, I washed the jar in hot, soapy water, then rinsed and let it air dry.  If its glass, I will remove the spigot and bake it in the oven at 225F for an hour to sterilize it, keep in mind you can’t bake plastic in your oven. You can also use food safe detergent, like the kind used to clean beer brewing equipment.

To prepare the tea, use 1 organic, black tea bag, 1 cup of hot water and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Cool the tea to room temperature, then add the tea and kombucha to the jar. Do not cover the jar with the lid. Cover the jar with the kitchen towel and secure it with a rubber band. A worn out hair band works well for this. Then place in a warm, dark spot to grow. In two to three weeks you will find what looks like a light, tan colored pancake has grown in the jar. That is the SCOBY. Once it is at least ¼ inch thick, its big enough for brewing.

To move on to brewing, prepare your sweet tea by following the ratios listed below. Black tea will produce the most glucuronic acid, but any combination of black and green tea can be used.

Allow the sweet tea to cool to room temperature, then add to your brewing vessel, replacing your cloth on top. Now wait.

How long you will wait will depend on how acidic you like your kombucha. I would pour a few ounces off after a few days to try it. Generally, its going to take 3-6 days to get to where you like it. Since I like to practice continuous brewing, I let it go the 6 days, since after that I will be taking some off and replacing it continuously.

Continuous brewing means exactly how it sounds. You never completely empty a brewing vessel, so once you get it started there is no more cleaning or transferring or anything else that could disturb your SCOBY. Your SCOBY will last a good, long while this way, and will stay very happy. So happy, that it will begin forming a baby SCOBY as soon as it goes to work.

When bottling your kombucha, commercial kombucha bottles, Perrier bottles or Grolsch bottles (with the swing-top lid) are recommended. Once your kombucha is ready, start bottling it according to the following schedule. I usually pour off every other day, then once a week pour off an extra bottle from each vessel. But I have also liked the results pouring off every day and a half.

After you pour off your kombucha, replace the liquid you poured off with fresh, room temperature, sweet tea. When replenishing the brewing vessel is a good time to inspect you SCOBYs for health and check the growth of the baby. Any tan color is good, but if you spot anything that looks green, blue or black, a mold or an unwelcome bacteria has invaded and its time to discard the contents and begin anew. Continuous brewing helps to keep the baby hydrated, but nonetheless, you will want to take good care of your SCOBYs.

You can drink your kombucha plain or flavor it in any number of ways. I like to use fruit juice, since it is so easy and convenient. I look for true juices, not from concentrate, since juice diluted from concentrate may have used fluoridated water. I have also found juice concentrates at my local health food store that can also be used. Just be sure to use a tiny amount of those since they are concentrated!

Variations:

Different teas can be used in Kombucha. You can blend white tea with your black or even different herbal blends. To make your kombucha truly self-reliant, Territorial Seed Company sells green tea plants. Why not grow your own?

http://www.territorialseed.com/product/1330

Continuing on the path to self-reliance and sustainability, here in maple country we have found that maple syrup also makes a good source of sugar for kombucha and is a great way to use up the darker grades of syrup that might be too strongly flavored for those morning pancakes. Also, using maple syrup will bring manganese and zinc into your kombucha, increasing its health benefits even further.

What about caffeine?

Yes, kombucha does have some caffeine, about 8mg in an 8oz serving. If this concerns you, you can decaffeinate your tea following the instructions in the link concerning continuous brewing.

The gift that keeps on giving; good health:

You may have already realized that continuous brewing of kombucha is going to result in lots of baby SCOBY’s. These babies can be used to start new brewing vessels, can be given as gifts to friends and relatives or could become an important barter item in our post-collapse world.

We love continuous home brewing of our own kombucha. It allows us to enjoy daily, what used to be an expensive, occasional treat. We drink it all the time and we all prefer it to sweeter, less healthy drinks. Regardless of how big my little brewery gets, it cannot keep up with demand. I encourage you to try home brewing for yourself and start taking advantage of this wonderful, life-giving gift.

For more information follow these links:

Further information on growing your own SCOBY

Further information on continuous brewing and decaffeinating

The history of kombucha

Benefits of glucuronic acid

 This post was written by Laura Imm at www.Alt-Market.com 

In 1836, English scientist Michael Faraday conducted an experiment on electrostatic charges that resulted in the creation of the container that bears his name. He was not the first to experiment with this concept; his work was based on research performed by Benjamin Franklin nearly one hundred years earlier, in 1755.

A Faraday cage is an enclosure made of conductive material that blocks both static and non-static electrical fields. This protects devices from a weapons EMP strike, a solar flare event, or a lightning strike.

Many websites have complex instructions on how to build a Faraday cage. For more information on building a custom Faraday cage, click here. There are also expensive Faraday bags and boxes that can be purchased. They are “guaranteed” to protect your items from an EMP strike, but collecting on that guarantee could be rather difficult, given the circumstances that would cause the necessity for that protection.

There are many less complicated ways that you can improvise an EMP-proof container of your own for a far less expensive price tag. Although these homemade Faraday cages are perhaps not as stylish and elegant as the retail units, they should be just as effective. The following items can be pressed into device protection duty:

• An aluminum garbage can with a lid
• A metal filing cabinet
• A metal tool box
• A gutted microwave oven
• Tin canisters or ammo cans

Insulate items by lining the container in a non-conductive material, like cardboard. You can also make cardboard sleeves for your devices. It is vital that none of your electronics directly contact the metal of the container. It is important to add that your make-shift Faraday cages should be grounded in order to disperse the energy.

What should you store in your Faraday cage? Anything that you don’t want to live without post-EMP and anything that you can charge in an alternate manner is a good candidate for residence within the container. Some items that you might want to prioritize for a place inside the cage are:

• Radios (shortwave or windup)
• DVD players
• Extra hard drives
• USB drives
• Batteries
• Flashlights
• Laptop and charger
• Solar device chargers
• iPods
• Walkie talkies
• Invertors and charge controllers for solar power system
• Small pieces of medical equipment

Some preppers question the necessity of a Faraday cage. They wonder, why protect items that must be plugged in if the entire electrical grid is down?

First of all, if the grid does come back up at some point, a person with devices that have been protected will be in the vast minority of people to possess a working unit. If the device has been unprotected, even with the return of electrical power at the flick of a switch, the item cannot be repaired and used in the future.

Secondly, if you have planned other sources of power (such as solar or wind power) then the items that you have protected can be used with those power sources. If this is the case, also be certain to protect the proper inverters or solar chargers to be used with the stored devices.

Do you have any devices stored away to be protected against the possibility of an EMP strike or solar flare? If so, how did you make your Faraday cage and what are you storing in it?

Here are five easy ways to make your meals more filling:

 Bring on the Fiber!

Fiber rich food sources such as beans and lentils are ideal to have in your food supply. Beans are the quintessential prepper food because they are cheap, nutritious, can store well and will fill you up like no man’s business. Throwing in a 1/2 cup of beans to a soup, casserole or cooked as a side dish will fill up those hungry bellies. Some other fiber rich foods you can find in your garden are:

• Corn
• Mushrooms
• Apples
• Pears
• Berries
• Peas
• Oranges
• Dried Figs
• Legumes
• Bamboo
• Chicory

Whole Grains

Some other high fiber food sources are whole grains. Although, the category of whole grains is quite broad, this group has countless more nutrients and more soluble fiber and protein compared to refined grains such as white bread. Fiber and protein are two components that work inside your body to fill you up and keep you full for a longer time.

Whole grains can be ground up into a flour or added to dishes for added texture. For instance, introducing flour or potato dumplings to a soup or stew can be a wonderful additional to a meal. Some whole grain favorites are:

• Wheat
• Flour
• Couscous
• Quinoa
• Oats

Go Nuts

Nuts are another natural food source you could have in your food reserves. Almonds especially are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and protein. Just one handful of almonds will keep you full for a long time. Really any nut will fill your stomach up and can even be ground up into a flour or added to a dish or a salad to add flavor and crunch. I love adding almonds to my rice dishes.

Save Your Trimmings

Vegetable and meat trimmings can be saved in the freezer to make your own broths and stocks for later use. Toss your peeled veggies in a labeled freezer bag or if you have leftover chicken or meat parts, toss them in the bags. When you are ready, cover with water, and simmer on low for an hour or two to make a delicious soup or stew.

The starches from some “white foods” will bring some sustenance and keep morale up during an extended emergency. Simply by adding a slice of bread or bread crumbs to a meal or a soup, it will instantly thicken the meal so that more can go around. Even the water used to prepare some of the following foods can be reused as a soup thickener because of the starch present in the water.

Some filler foods are:

• Potatoes
• Bread – whole or crumbled
• Crackers
• Pasta
• Rice
• TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)

While dinner is simmering away on the stove, you decide to check your email on the computer.  The kids are playing on the PS3 in the living room. It’s dark outside but you’re warm and cozy inside, with amber lights glowing in every room.

Suddenly it all goes dark.  Oops, you think to yourself.  The power is out.  It’s no big deal, it happens.  You light some candles, serve dinner while it’s still hot, and spend a fun-filled “camp-out” evening with the kids, enjoying the break from electronic entertainment.  You go to bed secure in the belief that the power will be back on in the morning.

Except it never comes back on……..Your country has been targeted by an EMP strike and life as you know it may never be the same.

An Electro-Magnetic Pulse can be the result of natural events or a man-made attack.  It results in rapidly-changing electric fields and magnetic fields, which may couple with electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges. In effect, the magnetic event fries every electronic device within its range beyond the point of repair.

When it occurs naturally, it is the result of a geomagnetic storm, when a solar flare bursts from the suns surface and reaches the Earth’s atmosphere.  Such an incident occurred in 1859, called The Carrington Event, in which a coronal mass ejection from the sun took a 17 hour journey to the Earth.  Aurorae (Northern Lights) occurred around the world, so bright that it woke miners in California and that people in the North-eastern US could read by them.  The only electrical-type device in regular operation at the time was the telegraph system, which threw sparks and in many cases caused electric shock to the operators.

A purposeful attack on the electrical grid could take place through the detonation of a nuclear weapon, hundreds of kilometers above the Earth, which would cause interference with the Earth’s magnetic field.  A burst over Kansas would have the potential to take out the grid infrastructure of the entire continental United States.

EMPs Will Have Paralyzing Effects 

Either type of EMP event would take out the electrical transformers, as well as any unprotected devices.  This means that we would not only be without electrical power until transformers could be replaced, but that once they were up and running (a prospect that could take years), all electrical components of our homes would have to be replaced as they would have been damaged beyond repair.  Further, our vehicles are now filled with computers and electrical devices.  Transportation would grind completely come to a halt.

The greater overall effect of this is that:

1.)  Food processing and transit would completely cease.

2.)  A vast majority of people would no longer be able to heat their homes.

3.) We would not be able to access money in banks.

4.)  All manufacturing would completely cease.

In other words, we would be thrown back to the pre-electricity days of the 1800s, without the benefit of homes that were built to run without electricity. An event like this is the basis of a novel by William Forstchen, One Second After. Set in a small town in North Carolina, Forstchen’s book brings to life issues like medication for those with chronic conditions, starvation, lack of sanitation and clean drinking water, and death from exposure, as well as threats from roving bands of human predators.

A spokesman for the Center for Security Policy says that the threat of Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) is real. “Within a year of that attack, nine out of 10 Americans would be dead, because we can’t support a population of the present size in urban centers and the like without electricity,” said Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy. Source

How To Prepare

The most important thing in this event is to recognize that what has happened is not your ordinary everyday power outage.  How will you know this?

• No vehicles will be running unless they are pre-1990s.
• Chargeable devices (like cell phones, IPods and laptops) will no longer operate.

Swift recognition of what has occurred can put you far ahead of the curve by allowing you to take decisive and immediate action to protect your family.

Although many of your preparations are the normal types of preps that you’ve already undertaken (a stored food supply, clean water, heat source), if you immediately realize that an EMP strike has occurred, you can, without hesitation, spend all of your available fiat cash to purchase the remaining items at the stores that are still operating.

Once an EMP outage occurs, your paper money will be worthless within a matter of days.  Don’t hesitate to spend it.  Last minute purchases could include:

• Ammunition and weapons
• Climate appropriate clothing
• Practical shoes/boots
• Long-term storage food
• Seeds and gardening tools
• Bottled water and gravity fed water filtration systems
• Fuel such as propane and kerosene
• Medications, both prescription and over the counter
• Solar devices
• Candles, solar yard lights and other alternative light sources
• Gold or silver
• Batteries in multiple sizes

Your immediate recognition to and response to the event gives you several advantages.  First, you’ve been able to go without delay and purchase needed items while others are still budgeting their soon-to-be-worthless fiat cash.  Secondly, you’ve gone out and gotten what you needed while others are still mulling over, what is to them, a puzzling turn of events.  Many non-preppers have never even heard of an EMP event, and have no grasp on the permanence of the situation.  Finally, by the time panic strikes and the riots begin, you and your family will be safely ensconced in your home or retreat.

When the unprepared begin to realize that the end of the world as they know it has occurred, chaos will ensue.  Many will be looking for the government, the Red Cross, or the police to step in and save them.  We must be aware that we will most likely be completely on our own in such an event, and that aid is months, if not years, away.  Your family’s survival will be dependent on your preparations, your knowledge and your self-reliant skills.

The image above is a good example of a micro farm and should give you a good indication of how to make the most use out of the land you have. You want to plan on creating a relationship between your livestock and your gardens for the most efficient, healthy and cost-effective homestead. This is particularly important in a post-disaster world. The more food you can produce for yourself, the better your chances of survival in a long-term situation.

Especially on a smaller homestead, micro-livestock can be a vital element. The smaller animals, such as chickens, goats, ducks and rabbits, are a great addition because they require less space, less care and less food, but can still provide your family with meat, dairy and eggs. Manure from the livestock can be added as a rich fertilizer for your gardens. Bloodmeal and bonemeal can both be used to amend the soil, and can also be added to the compost pile. My favorite type of gardening is sheet mulching, or composting in place. This allows the compost to slowly decompose and be present for the plants that have been planted on top.

Microlivestock can also make helpful farmhands: you can press them into duty and use them to help clear areas of weeds, roots or cover crops; all the while fertilizing the land at the same time.

When planning your garden, it’s important to remember your furred and feathered friends. Be sure to stock up on seeds that will provide food for them as well. Poultry are fond of millet, sunflower seeds, certain types of corn and grains, sorghum and of course, left over garden clippings.  If they are allowed to free-range they will eat grass, weeds, and wild seeds, as well as worms and insects. Click here to learn more about growing your own poultry food. Larger animals like goats are grazers, and rabbits thoroughly enjoy the scraps from your garden.

The most vital element for your garden is, of course, a selection of reliable heritage seeds. Stay away from anything GMO (Genetically Modified), as you won’t be able to save seeds for following years from these plants. When choosing your seeds, look for the most nutritional value in the least amount of garden space. The top 25 seeds to have for human consumption as well as there nutritional information can be viewed here. Further consider planting some perennial vegetables that come back year after year. This will make less work for you in the long run. Berry varieties, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, horseradish, garlic, perennial onions, and herbs of both culinary and medicinal.

Below are a list of easy to grow vegetable and fruit varieties that will be good seeds to begin practicing your gardening skills with. They are not only easy to grow, but will also provide lots of nutrition for your family.

• Nut/Fruit Trees – To learn more about essential nut and fruit trees for a survival homestead, click here.
• Squash/Zucchini
• Berries – Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.
• Grapes
• Peas/Beans
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Lettuce
• Pumpkin

Seeds are the key to long-term survival, so it is vital that you carefully choose and collect seeds to be stored properly and protected from the elements.

For long-term sustainability, learn to understand the natural cycles of your small farm. The waste products from both plants and animals can be used to nourish the soil, which in turn helps the garden flourish, which in its own turn, feeds the animals. Understanding this symbiotic relationship can allow you to work smarter, not harder. Finding ways to use what most would consider waste is the ultimate form of recycling. Embrace the old ways of farming to enhance your long-term sustainability.

To conclude, I want to emphasize how important it is to practice your gardening skills before you need to rely on them. Learning from master gardeners, gardening groups or from those with more experience can help the learning curve we all seem to experience when starting something new. Marjory Wildcraft has created a DVD series on how to Grow Your Own Groceries. In the series, she shares all that she knows about gardening, companion planting, water catchment systems, as well as some handy tips she has learned along the way. This would be a great way for you to learn from the convenience of your own home.

Preps to Buy:

• Books or dvds on homesteading, gardening, permaculture and animal husbandry
• Heirloom or non-gmo seeds
• Garden tools
• Containers for long-term storage of seeds

Action Items:

1. Research the available resources in your area.  Are there plants growing wild that would be good grazing foods for your animals? Is there an abundance of organic material for compost?
2. Learn about composting and how to reuse plant waste.
3. Consider taking a vegetable gardening course at a local nursery, community center or gardening club.

Greetings Everyone,

Spring is here in full force, which always makes me think about digging in the garden. This week we continue discussing the subject of sustainability. We’ve spent most of the year getting preps in order for shorter-term emergencies, but what happens if those emergencies become long-term? There’s only so much food that you can store – eventually you may have to be self-sufficient to truly thrive.  Therefore, consider setting up your homestead in such a way that different components can work synergistically with one another.

Stay tuned for next week’s topic on long-term investments. I will discuss some of the best investments you can make for long-term sustainability. As a special treat, I will have a fellow prepper and investment enthusiast, Mac Slavo of www.SHTFPlan.com providing some sound investment advice for shtf planning.

What’s the best piece of advice you can give a fellow prepper? Your preparedness story or advice could make a profound difference for someone just beginning to prepare or move into their next stage of preparedness. Why not take a moment and leave your story.

If you haven’t already, follow us on Twitter or Facebook. I love to interact with the preparedness community, because after all, we are all in this together!

Best,

Tess Pennington

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

PREP OF THE WEEK

Week 43 of 52: Gardening and Livestock

Our survival homesteads will be our safe havens to protect us and help us thrive. Consequently, living through a long-term emergency will require our attention on many matters. Therefore, we want our land to work for us in the most productive manner possible.

The image above is a good example of a micro farm and should give you a good indication of how to make the most use out of the land you have. You want to plan on creating a relationship between your livestock and your gardens for the most efficient, healthy and cost-effective homestead. This is particularly important in a post-disaster world. The more food you can produce for yourself, the better your chances of survival in a long-term situation.

Especially on a smaller homestead, micro-livestock can be a vital element. The smaller animals, such as chickens, goats, ducks and rabbits, are a great addition because they require less space, less care and less food, but can still provide your family with meat, dairy and eggs. Manure from the livestock can be added as a rich fertilizer for your gardens. Bloodmeal and bonemeal can both be used to amend the soil, and can also be added to the compost pile. My favorite type of gardening is sheet mulching, or composting in place. This allows the compost to slowly decompose and be present for the plants that have been planted on top.

Microlivestock can also make helpful farmhands: you can press them into duty and use them to help clear areas of weeds, roots or cover crops; all the while fertilizing the land at the same time.

When planning your garden, it’s important to remember your furred and feathered friends. Be sure to stock up on seeds that will provide food for them as well. Poultry are fond of millet, sunflower seeds, certain types of corn and grains, sorghum and of course, left over garden clippings.  If they are allowed to free-range they will eat grass, weeds, and wild seeds, as well as worms and insects. Click here to learn more about growing your own poultry food. Larger animals like goats are grazers, and rabbits thoroughly enjoy the scraps from your garden.

The most vital element for your garden is, of course, a selection of reliable heritage seeds. Stay away from anything GMO (Genetically Modified), as you won’t be able to save seeds for following years from these plants. When choosing your seeds, look for the most nutritional value in the least amount of garden space. The top 25 seeds to have for human consumption as well as there nutritional information can be viewed here. Further consider planting some perennial vegetables that come back year after year. This will make less work for you in the long run. Berry varieties, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, horseradish, garlic, perennial onions, and herbs of both culinary and medicinal.

Below are a list of easy to grow vegetable and fruit varieties that will be good seeds to begin practicing your gardening skills with. They are not only easy to grow, but will also provide lots of nutrition for your family.

• Nut/Fruit Trees – To learn more about essential nut and fruit trees for a survival homestead, click here.
• Squash/Zucchini
• Berries – Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.
• Grapes
• Peas/Beans
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Lettuce
• Pumpkin

Seeds are the key to long-term survival, so it is vital that you carefully choose and collect seeds to be stored properly and protected from the elements.

For long-term sustainability, learn to understand the natural cycles of your small farm. The waste products from both plants and animals can be used to nourish the soil, which in turn helps the garden flourish, which in its own turn, feeds the animals. Understanding this symbiotic relationship can allow you to work smarter, not harder. Finding ways to use what most would consider waste is the ultimate form of recycling. Embrace the old ways of farming to enhance your long-term sustainability.

To conclude, I want to emphasize how important it is to practice your gardening skills before you need to rely on them. Learning from master gardeners, gardening groups or from those with more experience can help the learning curve we all seem to experience when starting something new. Marjory Wildcraft has created a DVD series on how to Grow Your Own Groceries. In the series, she shares all that she knows about gardening, companion planting, water catchment systems, as well as some handy tips she has learned along the way. This would be a great way for you to learn from the convenience of your own home.

Preps to Buy:

• Books or dvds on homesteading, gardening, permaculture and animal husbandry
• Heirloom or non-gmo seeds
• Garden tools
• Containers for long-term storage of seeds

Action Items:

1. Research the available resources in your area.  Are there plants growing wild that would be good grazing foods for your animals? Is there an abundance of organic material for compost?
2. Learn about composting and how to reuse plant waste.
3. Consider taking a vegetable gardening course at a local nursery, community center or gardening club.

 WHAT WE’RE UP TO

In the Home:

It has been a mad dash this week from one activity to another. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see the weekend is finally here. Somehow through all the craziness, my kids and I found a some time to cold pack some dill pickles. I really enjoy having my kids get involved in helping me preserve food. It is such a joyful experience.

I love this pickle recipe, because I can make a jar as I pick the cucumbers instead of saving cucumbers until I have a lot and doing a mass canning. Here’s the recipe:

Cold Packed Pickles

Ingredients:

•  4-inch cucumbers washed well with the ends cut off.
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 2 dill heads
• 1 tbls. canning salt
• water

Instructions:

1. Sterilize the jars. This is important because you aren’t going to be applying heat to the process, so this is your chance to kill any bacteria on the surface of the jar. Bring the water to a boil, and boil them for 20 minutes. Leave the jars in the hot water until you’re ready to use them.
2. Since we won’t be boiling the contents of the jar, we need to boil the garlic for one minute. This helps kill of any bacteria in the garlic that can causes spoilage in the pickles.
3. Fill the sterilized jar with about 5 cucumbers.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of rock salt or canning salt, 1 dill head and the garlic cloves.
5. Fill jars with cold, filtered water and place another dill head in the top of the jar. Wipe the lip of the jar off with a clean cloth and put the lid and band on the jar. Tighten.
6. Gently turn the jar up and down until the salt is dissolved and mixed in thoroughly.
7. Store in a cool place. The pickles will be ready in about 2 or 3 months.

You may note some fermentation for a few days, which is natural for this method of pickling. If a jar runs over, wait until the fermentation is over, wipe the lip off with a clean cloth, and reseal.

Family Preps:

This week, I have made the conscious decision to give most of my short-term emergency food supply to my family. As I mentioned in a few newsletters back, I wanted to make sure my immediate family members had some supplies in place in case an emergency occurred, and they were unable to get to our property. Since a lot of our short term food supply is bulky, it may be too cumbersome to transport. The canned goods, condiments and such we can leave with them to use for the next emergency to hit Houston.

In the Garden:

Each day after school, my youngest goes out with her little scissors and picks 2 or 3 ripe cucumbers. As luck would have it, the girl loves cucumbers. So I let her take one just so she can enjoy it.

My little lettuce plants are growing like crazy too. You gotta love Spring.

My peppers and tomatoes are ready to set blooms, but with the move coming up, I don’t believe I will be enjoying my fresh salsa. In the coming weeks, I am going to have to get rid of my last two garden beds. And that means, the veggies inside it.

 RECENT ARTICLES

Food Freebies in your Own Backyard

STATS AND FACTS

Since we are on the subject of symbiotic relationships with the land, I wanted to bring up some facts about our soil. Our soil is an intricate system of organisms and plants, all interconnected and dependent upon the other to thrive.

According to the Soil Science Society of America, “Soil is not dirt.  It is a complex mix of ingredients: minerals, air, water, and organic matter – countless organisms and the decaying remains of once living things.  Soil is made of life.  Soil makes life.  And soil is life.”

7 Facts About Soil You Didn’t Know:

• Soil is living.
• There are more than 70,000 types of soil in the United States.
• One tablespoon of soil has more organisms in it than people on Earth.
• The very best China dishes are made from soil.
• It takes more than 500 years to form one inch of topsoil.
• Nearly all antibiotics used to fight our infections are obtained from fungus found in soil.
• In one gram of soil, there are over 5,000 different types of bacteria.

LETTERS TO TESS

Do you have a preparedness question? One of the perks of my job at Ready Nutrition is to address questions and/or concerns that you may have with your prepping endeavors. Feel free to ask anything that is on your mind because no question is too big or small. You can email questions to: getprepped@readynutrition.com

This week’s question addresses our food security:

Tess,

I read somewhere that we are 9 meals away from anarchy? Seriously, is that true? Don’t our stores have a bunch of food in the back?

Jill

Answer:

Hi Jill,

There is truth to that statement; and it should drive you to prepare for it. In perfect conditions, our store shelves are always perfectly stocked and ready for purchase. The system works in fair weather. However, in the preparatory stages of an emergency where masses need to prepare and stock food, your grocery store will be heavily inundated and run out of their reserves in the back rather quickly. Many have witnessed this when trying to prepare for a mass blizzard or a hurricane.

You have to understand that our food supplies typically travel 1,500 miles to get to our store shelves. If an emergency came along that disrupted the transportation lines, then the supplies will cease. This happened during Hurricane Katrina and the government had to come in and provide MRE’s to the unprepared hurricane victims.

Preppers are not the only ones concerned about this issue. In fact a report from the American Trucking Associations highlights just how critical our just-in-time inventory and delivery systems are, and assesses the impact on the general population in the event of an emergency or incident of national significance that disrupts the truck transportation systems which are responsible for carrying some ten billion tons of commodities and supplies across the United States each year.

An excerpt of the report can be viewed here.

This is a real concern and anyone who has gotten to the stores too late to prepare can attest to this fact. This is why Ready Nutrition and many preparedness organizations like it suggest that each household have an emergency supply of food to fall back on.

You can get a good idea of what short-term items you need by reading the earlier issues of 52-Weeks to Preparedness or for a concise list, click here.

Thanks for your question and I hope this helps you understand how crucial it is to prepare.

Best,

Tess

In ancient times, humans were hunter/gatherers.  Gatherers spent the day seeking nuts, berries and edible plants. These items were then turned into a nutritious meal or beverage.

The first rule of foraging is BE ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE EATING. Foraging can be deadly if you eat the wrong thing.

The best way to learn to forage is to find someone who knows how to find all the best goodies. A teacher can speed the learning curve up immensely, and they are likely to know the best local places to find the items.

Unfortunately we can’t always find a willing instructor. If it turns out that you’re on your own, the next best option is a good field guide with photographs. You can often find field guides geared to your local terrain at hiking and camping stores.  Your local bookstore and Amazon are other good resources. You can buy a more general guide, say, for North America, but there will be a lot of information that isn’t pertinent to your area.

When foraging in an urban environment, you have to be very careful that your finds are not contaminated. They can be contaminated with many different toxins, from pesticides to pollution. You will want to stay away from major roadways and railroad tracks, for example. If you are in farm country you don’t want to be in an area that may be contaminated with animal waste from runoff.

Personally, I strictly avoid mushrooms in my search for wild foods. The edible mushrooms and the toxic ones are very similar in appearance, and not something you want to learn by trial and error, as the error could be fatal. There are many books on the subject that cover proper identification if you are a braver soul.

In the city you can often find fruit trees like mulberries and apple trees.  If it appears that the fruits are not being harvested, ask the owner’s permission and bring a bucket!  In the wild, you can find blueberries, blackberries and huckleberries in great abundance.  These fruits are easily recognizable and a great place to start.

There are many edible greens but none more recognizable than the ubiquitous dandelion. Every bit of the dandelion is edible, from the flower right down to the roots. Pick them in the spring when flowers are still yellow for the mildest flavor.

To get started, make a list of in-season items that are familiar to you. Choose a hiking destination, grab your field guide, bring along some containers and start gathering!

Mother Earth News compiled a brief list of some edible plants that can commonly be found in North America:

Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Chicory (Cichorium)
Curly dock (Rumex crispus)
Dandelion (Taraxacum)
Fiddleheads (various fern species)
Lamb’s quarters, goosefoot (Chenopdium)
Miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
Nettle (Urtica)
Peppercress (Cardamine)
Pigweed (Amaranthus)
Plantain (Plantago)
Pokeweed (Phytolacca)
Purslane (Portulaca)
Seaweeds — dulse, kelp, laver, wrack
Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)
Watercress (Nasturtium)
“Wild” asparagus (Asparagus officinalis ssp. prostratus)
Wild mustard (Brassica)
Wild horsemint, bee balm (Monarda punctata)

ROOTS, BULBS & TUBERS
Arrowhead, wapatoo (Sagittaria variabilis)
American lotus, water chinquapin (Nelumbo lutea)
Jerusalem artichoke, sunchoke (Helianthus tuberosus)
Ramps, ramson, wild leek (Allium tricoccum)
Burdock (Arctium)
Grassnut, California hyacinth (Brodiaea capitata)
Groundnut (Apios tuberosa)
Prairie turnip, Prairie potato (Psoralea esculenta)
Cattail (Typha latifolia)
Camas, quamash (Camassia esculenta)
Chufa, nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus)
Sego lily (Calochortus Nuttallii)
Coontie, Florida arrowroot (Zamia pumila)

FRUIT
Wild strawberry (Fragaria)
Red and black raspberry, wineberry (Rubus)
Blackberry (Rubus)
Blueberry (Vaccinium)
Wild grapes (Vitis)
Mulberry (Morus)
Juneberry, serviceberry (Amelanchier)
Chokeberry (Aronia)
Elderberry (Sambucus)
Wild cherry (Prunus)
Wild plum (Prunus)
Gooseberry (Ribes)
Buffalo currant (Ribes)
Persimmon (Diospyros)
Rose hips (Rosa)
Prickly pear, tuna (Opuntia)
Pawpaw (Asimina)

NUTS & SEEDS
Acorn (Quercus)
Beechnut (Fagus grandifolia)
Black walnut (Juglans nigra)
Butternut (Fuglans cinerea)
Chia (Salvia species)
Hickory (Carya)
Pecan (Carya illinoensis)
Pine nut, pinyon (Pinus species)
Sunflower (Helianthus species)
Wild rice (Zizania)

Once you’ve brought your bounty home, be certain to wash it very carefully. Look up instructions specific to the food before preparing it, because wild foods can have some unexpected peculiarities. For example, pokeweed can cause severe intestinal distress if you don’t change the water several times when boiling it.

There is little you can do to become more self-reliant than learning to find your own food in the wild. Today, foraging might be just another of your eccentric hobbies. Tomorrow, that eccentric hobby could save your life.

A few suggestions:

A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America (Peterson Field Guides)

Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West

Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies

Wild Harvest: Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest