This forecasting station, modeled after our current weather forecasting system, has been designed to flag potential infectious diseases that could overwhelm the country and possibly collapse the fragile medical infrastructure the population is so dependent on.

This bio-surveillance project is operated by Praecipio International, a non-profit international intercept team who is presently working in conjunction with The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System to anticipate infectious disease outbreaks that arise from natural disasters on a global spectrum. Praecipio International is responsible for using the Haiti Epidemic Advisory System (HEAS) to track the cholera epidemic in Haiti where the epidemic is still a daily battle.

The scientists at Praecipio International are “more akin to disaster sociology than public health, and monitor social indicators of infectious disease crises and disasters.”  Shortly after the earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2011:

Praecipio was able to rapidly conduct a “radar sweep” using the Internet and by monitoring Twitter feeds across 6 languages for the island of Hispaniola, which includes the countries of Haiti and Dominican Republic. We knew instantly from media, blogs, and SMS traffic what was being documented in terms of infectious disease. Consultation with peer-reviewed academic literature enabled us to construct a baseline for several diseases of concern and issue the first infectious disease forecast report in the world, for Haiti, on January 17, 2010.

Source

As previously noted, cholera and other disaster related diseases are still a daily issue in Haiti even one year after the devastating earthquake leveled most of  the small island. With Haiti being the first country in the world to monitor epidemic activity, they have an upper hand to proactively intervene in order to control the outbreaks and epidemics from exacerbating. This forecasting model is serving as a guideline for the rest of the world.  Hospitals and treatment facilities are already beginning to adopt this forecasting system in order to assist with patients who are more susceptible to outbreaks. The Delta County Memorial Hospital “Kids Wellcast”, is one of the first to understand the importance of this biosurveillance system.

HEAS has quickly become the first of it’s kind to empower patients with information to help them stay better prepared. Further, having a forecasting system that monitors infectious disease outbreaks will propel us out of ”dark ages” in terms of epidemics and pandemics. Rather than reacting to the outbreak and potentially subjecting ourselves to others who may be infected, we will be able to anticipate the infectious disease ahead of time in order to better prepare for it.

I realize over the last ten years there has been an influx of natural disasters that can only lead one to believe that earthly changes will only increase and alter our present way of living. Many believed the natural disasters occurring so rapidly were a sign of the sensationalized Doomsday 2012 approaching. However, upon closer reflection, we realized that the  Mayan prediction is not one that predicts the end, only the transition of mankind. Mayan leaders believe that “2012 will teach us to learn to be more compassionate… Humanity will continue, but in a different way. Material structures will change. From this we will have the opportunity to be more human.”

Isn’t it funny that when we embrace the change in front of us the fear goes away and invites inner growth?  Not only have we witnessed the increase in natural disasters, but we are also watching as our world’s economy sinking into a death spin. As a result many of us are proud to have woken up and embraced a new thought process and have begun taking steps to live a more prepared and self reliant lifestyle. We are pioneers trying to lead by example to show others a different perspective of living their lives. Now that it that new year is here, what else is there to do but forge on and continuing changing into better beings.

To conclude, I leave you with the words of a Mayan leader who translated the 2012 Prophecy:

Develop yourself according to your own tradition and the call of your heart. But remember to respect differences, and strive for unity. Eat wisely — a lot of food is corrupt in either subtle or gross ways. Pay attention to what you are taking into your body. Learn to preserve food, and to conserve energy. Learn some good breathing techniques, so you have mastery of your breath. Be clear. Follow a tradition with great roots. It is not important what tradition, your heart will tell you, but it must have great roots.

Be the change that you wish to see in the world. To all you, may you have a very blessed and happy 2012.

 No doubt many of you have changed as a result of adopting a preparedness mindset. Change is the only constant in this crazy universe and will happen whether you like it or not. Rather than viewing change as an unnecessary stress and resisting it altogether, embrace it and become fluid with it. Learning to be more fluid and respectful of change in your day-to-day life will help you adapt to it more quickly.

 As I continue onward in my preparedness journey, I look forward to what is around the corner. Whatever it may be, I know it will be in my best interest because, after all it is in God’s plan. I read once that when God prunes us it is a necessary pain and one that will create beauty and make us healthier.

That being said, I hope all of you had a productive year and have made positive changes in your life. Without further adieu, here is a list of the top articles of 2011 for Ready Nutrition.

Thanks to you all for continuing to come come back to this website to get information on preparedness and homesteading.

Warmly,

Tess Pennington

Top 10 Articles of 2011

11 Emergency Foods That Can Last a Lifetime

13 Signs of a Societal Collapse

Fox News Demonstration: Long Term Food Storage Basics – How to Pack Rice, Wheat, Beans and Dry Goods

The 4 Most Likely Ways You Can Die if the SHTF

6 Most Popular Fuel to Store for Emergencies

SHTF Survival: 10 Survival Tools That Should Be In Your Survival Pack

First Time Shopping List for an Emergency Food Supply

Emergency Items: What Will Disappear First

Survival Food Series: 3 Ways to Naturally Make Yeast

Be Nutrition Ready and Store Super Foods

The Christmas season is wrapped in forgotten Christian symbols where each symbols tells a story of hope, love and the ultimate gift given to us. Take some time with your children and family members during the Christmas holiday to remind them what this season is really about. Help them keep these symbols alive.

1. Fir Tree – The pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year long. This symbolizes the everlasting hope of mankind. All the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man’s thoughts turning toward heaven.
2. The star was a heavenly promise from long ago. God promised a savior for the world, and the star was the fulfillment of that promise.
3. The wreath symbolizes the nature of true love. Real love never ceases, like God’s love which has no beginning and no end.
4. Santa Claus represents the generosity and kindness we feel during the month of December.
5. The holly leaf represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Saviour, and the red holly represents the blood shed by Him.
6. Gifts are a representation of the ultimate gift God gave the world – His son. And we should thank God for his precious gift.
7. The candy cane represents the shepherd’s hook. The crook of the staff helps to bring back lost sheep to the flock.
8. Angels announced the news of the birth of Jesus. The angels sang, “Glory to God in the Highest, on earth peace and good will towards men.”
9. Bells represent the sound that sheep would here to help them find their way back to the herd. The bell symbolizes guidance and return and it reminds us that we are all precious in eyes of God.

When all we have have is hope, we must remind each other why this season is so important. It’s not about how many gifts that are under the tree, how bright our yards light up at night or how pretty our homes are decorated. Christmas is a season that reminds us that miracles are all around us and that we can always fall upon hope to carry us through just a little longer. 

It is a common misconception that all thieves are brainless halfwits who are easily led by quick cash for drugs. I’m not going to dismiss this, in some cases it is true, however, with the continuing deterioration of the economy, overall crime is going to double and there will be some indivudals who will be desperate enough to turn to a new found life in crime. The sooner you accept this as a reality, the sooner you will realize that these new criminals are more evolved from your everyday petty thief. They will be patient and take their time by researching the best possible way to hit a residence in order to bypass getting caught. That being said, you need to be ready for it and do some research of your own to stay ahead of the game. To beat these criminals, you have to let yourself begin to think like a criminal.

Emerging technology once viewed as a convenience, should now be perceived as a double edged sword. In order gain a bird’s eye view into your home, thieves are now using google maps to find the best vantage points. These thieves used Google Maps to target as many as nine suburban homes in a Chicago neighborhood for break-ins since March 2011, police said.

iPhone even has an application which gives you detailed characteristics of properties (houses) in USA. In this app, you can either search the map or just use your GPS coordinates to get information such as price of the house, number of floors, number of rooms, pictures taken from inside the house if the house was part of any register (letting agencies etc.) before you moved in, and other interesting information.

On the other hand, iPhone also has a app that works in conjunction with an external monitoring service and helps you check your home security system while away from the home, send commands from a computer or cell phone, even manage lighting and thermostat controls remotely.   Home security systems integrated with Alarm.com will keep you updated on what you want to know about the security of your property while you’re away with email or text message alerts when specific sensors are activated. The cost varies depending on what feature you add to your customized alarm system.

Some home owners are fighting back and using cameras installed on their computers as a video surveillance system to monitor their home. All you need is your PC, a webcam or IP camera, and advanced surveillance software like the popular WebCam Monitor. Ensure that you position web cams strategically in hidden areas, and place the computer that is monitoring the locations in a hidden spot so the criminals do not walk off with the computer. 

To further protect your home consider adding some additional home security layers, and using plants to secure the home. In addition, reinforcing the barriers that keep intruders out is a great way to begin protecting the home.  In the book,  How to Survive The End of The World as we Know It, the author, James Wesley, Rawles lists some examples on how to have a defensible advantage from criminals.  Although, this article lists some of these examples, it is highly recommended that you read the book. The following is a constructive list of items you can consider:

• Reinforced doors and locks.
• Barred windows or European-style security/storm shutters.
• Place thorny bushes around windows.
• Intrusion detection systems.
• Position web cams strategically in hidden areas.  Place the computer that is monitoring the locations in a hidden spot so the criminals do not walk off with the computer.
• Create a barrier from approaching vehicles.
• Put a peep hole in the door.
• Add a bolt and chain to the door.
• Guard dogs
• Infrared (IR) floodlights to illuminate the property (These can be motion-sensor activated).
• Fence the entire property, if it is not done so already.
• A gate at the front of the driveway that has spikes at the top to prevent someone from jumping over the fence.
• Extra fire hydrants in the case that the invaders try to burn you out of your home.
• Create a safe room or vault to where a family can go to evade their attackers.
• Create a neighborhood watch.

Take an active stance on your home security and find ways to deter these criminals from breaking into your home. Your safety and security rests in your hands.

There has been a lot of derogatory talk lately about “preppers” and “survivalists.” Here are 10 reasons why preppers and survivalists have always been vital to the United States and why it is essential that we have as many as possible to survive future disasters.

To start with, the titles “survivalist” and “prepper” would have seemed redundant a couple of generations ago. When the Greatest Generation was growing up, preparedness was simply a way of life. Before the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other Federal aid programs were around, people knew that they had to be able to take care of themselves in the event of natural and man made disasters.

At the core, that’s what survivalists and preppers are. They are people who are aware that life is full of uncertainty and who have decided to put things into place for when bad times happen.

With that, here is the top 10 list of why America depends on survivalists and preppers:

1. FEMA: The cost for local, state and Federal agencies to plan, equip and staff for every disaster that might happen is cost-prohibitive. When disasters strike, government is quick to talk and quick to “ramp up,” but government help is slow to come and inefficient when it arrives. The irony is how often highly qualified and motivated front-line first responders are prevented from doing as much as they could by top-heavy bureaucracies.

Survivalists and preppers, on the other hand, are able to act quickly and efficiently to take care of their own houses and provide stability, structure and assistance for their streets, neighborhoods and beyond. Because they know the terrain and the players in the areas where they live and operate, they can quickly establish stable micro-environments for recovery to grow from.

2. Stable base: An organization (or nation) of people with narrowly focused, specialized skills may accomplish great things when everything is going smoothly, but it quickly falls apart when trouble comes and key people are knocked out.

The survivalist and prepper mind-set of jack-of-all-trades makes for a stable organization (or nation). If the specialist falls or needs help, others can help pick up the slack — even if it means they’re doing it at a slower speed or lower level of proficiency.

3. Joseph in the Bible: Preppers and survivalists have been around saving the day since the beginning of time. In Genesis 37-50, Joseph sees trouble coming and prepares for seven years. At the end of seven years, a severe drought and famine hit that last for the next seven years. Because of Joseph’s preparations, Egypt survived the drought and famine and was able to help the surrounding nations.

4. Founding Fathers: With the Constitution and Bill of Rights, our Founding Fathers pushed responsibility from the Federal government down to the individual citizen and promoted a survivalist/prepper mentality. They did it with the 2nd and 4th Amendments, they did it by example (Washington leading a mostly barefoot army across the Delaware), and they did it throughout their writing.

5. Siege warfare: Many of the things that happened after Hurricane Katrina are textbook examples of why siege warfare is so effective. The normal city has a three-day supply of food. The normal prepper has a six- to 24-month supply of food.

Which do you think is more stable in the event of a siege that is due to disasters or war?

If you focus only on food and water supplies, a city, county, region or country with many preppers will be much more resilient to being cut off from outside help than one with few preppers.

6. Independent from the government: How much leverage does an energy tax (or most other taxes) have on a family that’s living partially or completely off the grid? The more self-reliant you are, the less control the government can exert over your life through taxes.

7. Criminals fear the aware and prepared: This is fairly straightforward. Preppers and survivalists gradually become more aware and prepared than the average person. This will show itself in your walk, in your eyes and how you carry yourself. In short, you stop looking like a wounded gazelle and more like a badger… cute and cuddly, but ready to do anything necessary to stop a threat to himself or his loved ones.

8. Tyrants fear survivalists and preppers: In addition to living a lifestyle that insulates them from siege, some taxes and being nannied, survivalists and preppers are usually well-armed and seek advanced training. Good men have nothing to fear from an armed populace, but tyrants who seek to control the lives of others will always try to disarm them first through confiscation, taxation or pressure through media and the education system.

It worked for Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong and many more narcissistic, mass murders throughout the ages. It worked so far back, in fact, that Aristotle spoke extensively about how, in any society, those who control the arms control the state.

9. More preppers means fewer refugees and faster recovery from disasters: After a local, regional or national disaster, the number of refugees will be inversely proportional to the number of preppers and survivalists in the area. In other words, the more preppers you have in an area, the less strain the hospitals, volunteer organizations and government-run refugee centers will have.

10. More able to help their fellow man: After a disaster, you’re not going to see very many refugees donating their food, supplies or time. It’s not that they don’t want to, but rather it’s because they are in a fight for their lives and may be dehydrated, hungry and tired.

Preppers and survivalists who have food storage, water or water-treatment tools and who have prepared themselves psychologically for disasters will be able to help in several ways. First, they are less likely to become refugees or use the time and resources of first responders. Second, since they are prepared for disasters, they can help the people in their immediate area, which will lessen the load on first responders and reduce the number of refugees. Third, by helping themselves and their neighbors, preppers will increase the quality of care for people who do need first responder care or who need to relocate to a refugee center.

In short, the more survivalists and preppers we have, the more stable our families, cities and the country as a whole are.
 

This article was previously posted at Personal Liberty Digest

Happy Friday Everyone!

Week after week, we have returned here to begin or build upon our existing emergency supply. Our overall goal is to build an emergency foundation and find practical solutions to help us survive. At week 24, we are refocusing our attention on water preparedness. In this issue, we will discuss why water is so important, alternative ways to store water, as well as explore other preparedness products that can help you with longer-term water supplies.

Two years have passed since my first post on this website. In that time, I have not lost sight of my focus or goal to help equip the readers of this website with knowledge and skills on how to survive and thrive amidst the coming hardships of this world. I still believe that we can find freedom through self reliance, but it is essential not to let fear drive our need to prepare. Instead, the driving motivation should be because we see the need in preparing our family for unexpected situations we may face, as well as seeing the importance of acquiring essential survival and preparedness knowledge. I firmly believe that in order to move forward we must accept and find solutions to the problems we face today.

To start your preparedness endeavors, ensure you have enough food for your family by using our food storage calculator. It gives you a customized chart on how much food is needed to survive. Also, in order to have all the preparedness and self-reliance information at your finger tips, an easy-to-access banner for the 52-Weeks to Preparedness series has been placed on Ready Nutrition. It’s the big, red banner – you can’t miss it!

If you haven’t already, follow us on Twitter or see what we are doing on Facebook. I love to interact with the preparedness community, because, after all, we are all in this together! Don’t forget to share the prepared love and invite your friends and family to read Ready Nutrition and help build our community.

Thank you for taking the time to better prepare yourselves for life’s unexpected disasters, and especially for being a part of this amazing community.

Regards,

Tess Pennington

PREP OF THE WEEK

Week 24 of 52: Water Preparedness (List 2)

Never can enough be said about water purification and quality water sources during an emergency. One of the reasons I am placing so much emphasis on potable water is because improper drinking water is one of the leading causes of death in third-world countries. It is also one of the four most likely ways to die in a SHTF scenario. That being said, we must take steps to have water on hand for cooking, cleaning ourselves and ensuring that our households are properly sanitized. Learn more about how to properly disperse of waste and how to create a sanitation kit.

When water is unavailable, we must trust in the skills and knowledge we have amassed. One essential skill is knowing how to properly treat water. Here are two videos you can watch to create a Homemade Water Distiller and a Solar Powered Water Distiller.

Those of you who do not have access to natural water sources will need to be more clever at finding water in an emergency situation. Knowing the hidden water sources in your home can help you find immediate water (for short time use) when you need it the most. Many preppers use some of the following methods of having additional water on hand during emergencies:

• Freeze ice cubes and place them into zip-loc bags to melt when the electricity goes off.
• Use plastic soda cans filled with the treated water.
• Use emergency bath tub water storage containers to fill with water.
• Collecting rain water in plastic containers or water barrels.

Further, those that have wells on their property with electric pumps may want to consider an alternative hand or solar pump to have on hand during disasters where the electricity is out. Hand pumps such as Flojak pumps are very popular amongst preppers and would be a solid investment for those of you needing a non-electric pump for your well.

Having multiple ways to treat water will ensure that you are able to drink clean water during times that the water supply may be contaminated or turned off. Further, having potable water will ensure that your family has what they need to survive and thrive.

Preps To Buy:

• Collapsible 2-gallon water containers (as many as you think your family needs)
• 1-2 Bath tub storage – This is a large food grade plastic container that holds up to 65 gallons of water and fits convenienctly into your tub.
• Water filtration system – Big Berkey Water Filtration Sytems are, by far a great investment for your preparedness foundation. As for pocket water filters nothing comes close to the Katadyn Pocket Microfilter. It has a 20-year warranty and can filter up to 13,000 gallons of water. All in a compact size for your bug out bags. Also, the life straw also has some great reviews and would be in your best interest to check it out. It removes 99.9% of waterborne bacteria, 99.9% waterborne protozoan parasites, and will filter approximately 264 gallons of water.
• Purchase extra filters for any water filtration systems
• Water purification tablets – my family has stocked up on micropur tablets, but there are a host of other purification tablets out there. These tablets are great to carry in your bug out bags, evacuation vehicles and even to use on camping trips.

Action Items:

1. Have at least 7 days of water stored up. Remember: 1 gallon of water per person/per day.
2. Ensure that you have water purification systems for the home and bug out bag. This gives you a back up for your back up.
3. Start practicing water conversation in your home.
4. Learn some alternative ways to collecting water.

WHAT WE’RE UP TO

In Our Home:

Even though the weather hasn’t drastically cooled off here in Texas, Fall is in the air and I love it. As a result, I have been cooking soups constantly. So far, I made a pot of savory beef soup with homemade noodles and a pot of chicken and pea soup. I’m planning on making abbig pot of bean soup this weekend. You can view some of my favorite recipes here.

Family Preps:

Call me crazy, but I bought an oil press this week. I’ve been a little concerned with the short expiration dates that oil has, and wanted to find a way to make my own oil. The piteba oil expreller is made from heavy duty metal with a hand crank. It grinds small seeds from plants (like sunflower seeds) and the reviews on this are all good. You can buy them online at Amazon. I can’t wait to try this out! I’ll let you all know how well it performs.

I have also wanted to extend my survival and self reliance library, so I also splurged on some books that have been on my wish list for quite some time. I bought:

1. Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte
2. Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It’s Too Late by Scott B. Williams
3. Canning and Preserving Your Own Harvest: An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide by Carla Emery
4. Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judi Kingry
5. Wild Cards: Edible Wild Foods by Linda Runyon

Do any of you have these books? What do you think of them? Send me an email and let me know if you’ve read these books and what you think if them. You can email me at: getprepped@readynutrition.com

In the Garden:

Now that the weather has taken a turn for the better, I am finding myself outside working in the garden. I planted most of the Fall vegetables and am waiting for the weather to get a little cooler so that I can plant the broccoli, beets and cabbage. The hot weather didn’t do my corn any good and stunted its growth. The corn I did get out of it would certainly not be enough to feed my family in an emergency. The tomatoes that were growing this summer are finally putting out fruit. However, because they were grown in such harsh weather, the fruit is very small. I have two other tomato plants that are still young, so I’m crossing my fingers that they will give me larger fruit.

Gardening is definitely a skill that takes time to acquire. From what I have learned so far is it’s all about timing and putting the plants in the right living environment (good soil, temperature, LOTS of water and compost)! There is no easy way to produce vegetables without chemicals, but I haven’t given up. My husband has been so encouraging and keeps telling me that with all the work I put into it will one day will pay off and I will have the harvest of my dreams.

RECENT ARTICLES

SHTF Survival: 10 Survival Items That Should Be In Your Survival Pack

No Groceries For A Year: One Family’s Transition into Homesteading

The Ins and Outs of MRE’s

The 4 Things You Must Eat to Avoid Malnutrition

STATS AND FACTS

Evacuating on a moments notice will be next to impossible if you are not ready for it. And because emergencies usually happen when we least expect them to, we need to be ready for what may come our way.

Keeping your vehicle evacuation ready is the best way to stay ahead of the evacuation and the mass exodus. This checklist can be helpful when planning to evacuate. In addition, the most important part of preparing is to have a well thought out plan that needs to be in place before you evacuate. Further, always have a few back up plans as well. Those that have evacuated in the past can attest to the role road blocks, car accidents and heavy congestion can play in delaying your evacuation. Because organization plays a large roll in preparedness, check your evacuation supplies every 6 months to change out seasonal clothing, food, etc.

Here are 5 ways to prepare for and maintain your evacuation vehicle:

1. Have vehicle bug out supplies.

2. Keep your vehicle properly maintained.

3. Keep your gas tank full.

4. Make sure you have extra navigational items.

5. Have multiple pre-planned evacuation locations.

LETTERS TO TESS

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 cold weather preparedness.

Tess,

I just moved up North and the weather is starting to get chilly fast. What foods can I store for the winter in case I get snowed in?

S.N

Answer:

S.N.,

Great job getting ready for the cold months ahead! But, don’t limit your winter preparedness to only food. Staying warm in the winter also means having a ready supply of fire wood or fuel, warm clothing, and extra blankets. Further, remember there are times when the weather gets so bad that electricity will go out, so plan to have candles or flashlights on hand and some warm clothing. In fact, remember to use the layer clothing principle during cold weather. When you layer your clothing, you are able to conserve more body heat.

Having a short term supply of food for those “snowed in” days will save you a miserable trip to the store. You can start purchasing a few extra items each time you go shopping or if your budget allows, you can buy these all at once. Being prepared for the cold will keep you safe and warm inside your home. Here are a few suggested food items that will last the duration of the winter or short-term emergencies:

• Pasta
• Canned Soups
• Canned Vegetables
• Water
• Coffee/Tea
• Drink Mixes
• Powdered Milk
• Legumes
• Infant Needs – Diapers, Formula
• Flour
• Sugar
• Food For Pets

I hope this advice helps to keep you warm!

Tess Pennington

“A spider bit the goat, so we didn’t have dairy for a month,” says Rachel Hoff describing one of the misadventures that occurred during her family’s year without groceries. As for bread, she, her husband Tom Ferguson, and teenage son, Tom, Jr., had to do without when the both the oven and the bread machine went kaput in the same week. Despite occasional mishaps and deprivations, Hoff describes the experience, which she documented in her blog  ”Another Year Without Groceries, as “surprisingly easy.” And, as of October 1 st , the family is sticking with the challenge for another year.

Although they already grew some fruits and vegetables and raised chickens, rabbits, three turkeys, and four goats on their quarter-acre lot in the city of Vallejo, California, their initial goal was not to try to be self-sufficient. In fact, they barely had any of their own crops ready to harvest for the first six and a half months of the project. Concerned about pesticides on conventional produce and chemicals in processed and packaged foods, they mainly wanted to eat healthy and know where their food was coming from. Hoff points out that even “mom and pop sounding companies” such as Ben and Jerry’s, Stonyfield Farms, and Walnut Acres are now owned by huge corporations.

Over the course of the year, the family reaped more benefits than they had expected. They saved at least $2,000 dollars on groceries despite the fact that everything they were eating was either locally grown or organic. They saved even more money by avoiding restaurants. Purchasing and freezing an eighth of a steer from a local farm lowered the price of grass-fed, organic beef to $2/per pound and a loaf of fresh bread cost them 50 cents to bake. Eating higher quality food paid off health-wise. Both Hoff and Ferguson avoided colds all year and felt more energized. Hoff lost 20 pounds “without counting calories.”

Hoff describes the economically depressed downtown area of Vallejo as a “food desert” — lacking a supermarket and with little access to organic or local goods. The foodie mecca of San Francisco lies 30 miles south, but both Hoff and Ferguson work full-time and neither had the inclination to spend all of their free time grocery shopping.  After reading the book No Impact Man, which chronicles a New York City family’s effort to live sustainably, including giving up processed foods, for a year, they thought, “If they can do it in an apartment in New York City, we can certainly do it here.”

In August 2010, Hoff and Ferguson started preparing for their year without groceries, which would begin in October. Aside from planning all the family’s meals around seasonal produce, the most challenging aspect of the project was the research phase and figuring out where they could obtain certain items such as milk, says Hoff. They were allowed to purchase produce, meat, and dairy from the weekly farmer’s market and directly from farms. For staples such as sugar, rice and flour, Hoff located a local woman who had set up a buying club in her garage where members pooled resources to buy organic food in bulk directly from the source. They were also allowed to barter and trade.

They were not allowed to buy food at regular grocery stores, supermarkets, or convenience stores or eat at restaurants. The first weekend without groceries, with the help of a 30-minute mozzarella kit purchased online, Hoff was able to deliver on her promise of serving lasagna for her son’s thirteenth birthday. Hoff says he still likes eating junk food and soft drinks (at friend’s houses), but the he thinks the project is “pretty cool” and talks about it in class. To make it easier to adjust, they designated Fridays as pizza night.

The first six months were so easy, that the family decided to up the ante, and for the last three months they could eat only what they already had on hand, could produce on their urban farm, or barter.

Hoff doesn’t recommend trying go without buying food at all and admits that after a couple of months, “I was close being fed up.” Their fruit trees didn’t produce and they were stuck with eating zucchini, green beans, and cucumbers for weeks on end. Ferguson became sick of the limited choices but tried to focus on “the bigger picture of what they had accomplished over the year.” Hoff, on the other hand, posted on the blog, “I’m so over not buying food.” When I spoke with them the day after their project ended, they had just returned from their first trip to the farmer’s market and were happily cooking up a feast of pork with potatoes and corn.

For Hoff, the best thing about the project was that it “brought us closer together. We’ve become a team and work together really well.” She also loves grabbing food for dinner right out of the garden and says, “Shopping doesn’t feel like a chore any more.” Their friends and family claim they could never do it, but she insists that, “you don’t have to have an urban farm to eliminate the grocery store from your vocabulary.”

Hoff advises people to make the transition gradually and to try to replace one item at a time, such as pickles or bread, with something homemade.  The blog offers tips on how to get started.

Photo courtesy of Lori Eanes

Rebuilding is an inevitable part of putting our lives back together after a disaster. When an emergency occurs, we need tools to build, repair and maintain our homes to make them livable once more. Those who survived the Haitian earthquake know this all too well. We are all familiar with the devastation that occurred with the Haitian earthquake, the lives lost and the reconstruction still taking place.

According to an article in Popular Mechanics, relief workers who responded to the disaster were asked to bring their own tools in order to rebuild parts of Haiti and they did so using 50 tools. It is ironic that these tools played such a large role in the reconstruction of this broken island. The tools used for reconstruction not only created shelters for families, and areas for sanitation, but they gave the Haitians hope that one day their island would be restored.

In the backbreaking early stages of rubble removal, simple hand tools played a vital role in transporting and removing debris. Acquiring basic hand tools—shovels, axes and hammers—meet immediate demolition needs and then take on a long-term role once construction resumes. The tools used in the first phase of reconstruction were:

1. Round point and square nose shovels, preferably heavy-duty variety with extra long blade socket.
2. Pick axe
3. Pulaski axe
4. Rig builder’s hatchet
5. Axe
6. Bow saw
7. 24-oz. framing hammer
8. Sledge hammer
9. Digging bars, preferably both pointed and chisel tip varieties; crow bars.
10. Leather or synthetic work gloves
11. Protective eye wear
12. Hard hats
13. Dust masks
14. Contractor-grade wheel barrows
15. Bolt cutters
16. Large-diameter heavy-duty weatherproof rope; small-diameter light-duty line
17. Rope hoist/pulley, minimum 250-lb. capacity
18. Folding knife

Shelter construction was the next step in rebuilding Haiti. Simple sheds made of little more than lumber and nails can provide families secure shelter, a measure of sanitation and the stability to endure harsh weather. In the absence of fuel or electricity, fairly sophistication construction can begin with such basic hand tools as saws, braces and squares. The tools and materials used in the second phase of reconstruction were:

Tools
1. 8-point crosscut saw
2. Carpenter’s pencil
3. Carpenter’s square
4. Framing hammers and carpenter’s hammers—smaller sizes for various family members, in addition to the 24-ounce tool above.
5. 25-foot Metric/English tape rule
6. Bit Brace and a set of solid-center auger bits, ¼ inch through 1 inch
7. Utility knife, spare blades
8. High-tension hacksaw and selection of spare blades

Materials
1. 1/2 inch exterior-grade plywood, which has the structural stability to help frame out a building’s wall.
2. 2 x 4 x 8 lumber by the pallet
3. 8-d common nails
4. 12-d and 16-d common nails
5. blue tarps in various sizes (5 x 7, 10 x 10, 12 x 20)
6. 6-mil plastic sheet, roll
7. 5-gallon plastic buckets
8. Self-stick roll roofing

Once the grid comes back up and power and fuel become more widely available, electric or fuel powered tools will take the place of the simple, traditional tools. The power tools tools will resupply Haiti’s population of tradesmen or can equip volunteers aiding in relief efforts. These power tools are:

1. Rotary hammer and bits
2. Hammer drill and bits
3. Reciprocating saw and bi-metal blades
4. Chainsaw (with necessary tools and spare parts: gas cans, funnel, spare spark plug, bar and chain oil, gasoline, chain with carbide-tipped teeth, chainsaw chaps, chainsaw gloves).
5. Gas-engine driven welder/generator and selection of stick electrodes and accessories (welding mask, gloves, welding hammer, C clamps).
6. Right angle grinders and spare grinding wheels.
7. Portable concrete mixer, bags of ready-to-mix concrete.
8. Basic set of concrete and brick/block mason’s tools, rock-working tools: float, trowel, brick/block trowels, plumb bob, brick set, mason’s level, jointer, stone tracer, stone chisel.
9. Simple optical level, such as a builder’s level or transit.
10. Basic electrician’s tool kit (Haiti uses 110-volt power, the same as North America): side-cutting pliers, diagonal pliers, needle-nose pliers, electrician’s multi-tool wire stripper/screw cutter, solenoid voltage tester, fork meter and spare AA batteries.
11. Metric/SAE tap and die set
12. Kerosene and kerosene lanterns, waterproof matches
13. Charcoal and charcoal grills
14. Chlorine bleach for water disinfection, Lifestraws or similar filtration tools, and refillable water bottles
15. Anti-bacterial soap, shop towels, and toilet paper.

Quite simply, having these tools and equipment on hand will help you operate in a non-technological environment. Investing in quality tools could assist in rebuilding your home and lives more quickly and efficiently. 

A special thanks to all the relief workers who participated in rebuilding this island and giving hope back to the Haitians. Your volunteerism is a true act of kindness and a great example of the human spirit.

We are quickly running out of time to prepare for what may be the biggest collapse we have seen in our lifetime. History has always repeated itself, and if we sit idly by and ignore these historical repetitions, then we have wasted the precious time we have left. Take notice of these significant signs and be ready for their impact:

1. Wars over resources
2. Exorbitant debt for country and countries around the world
3. Hyper inflation
4. Government corruption
5. Currency manipulation
6. Stock market manipulation
7. Bank corruption
8. High unemployment rates
9. Civil unrest
10. Bank runs
11. Barriers around country’s borders
12. Militarizing the police force
13. Food shortages

I am terrified for our future, and frankly, fear that many of our dear friends and family members will fall victim to the dismemberment of our economic system and be caught in the crossfires of economic unrest, poverty and third-world country conditions. Like it or not, we are in an economic depression and a large percentage of the population is completely ill-equipped to survive it. Not only do many members of our community lack the resources and the knowledge to survive, but, as a whole, our nation is complacent, lazy, and lacks the values that those individuals had to get them through the first economic depression. Only the prepared will have a fighting chance at surviving what is to come.

Despite my current state, I believe that a true optimist is the one who recognizes the current reality for what it is, imagines a better future, and then has the strength, courage and willingness to dig in, make choices and do the work necessary to bring about that desired outcome. In order to recognize our reality, we must have our eyes opened to it in order to see the signs of change.

One day enough signs will occur and there will be a complete and utter collapse. And only then will people wake up to their new reality and wonder how this could have happened. How many signs do people need to witness before they begin to see the chain reaction of a collapse? The signs are here folks, what are you going to do?