Monday, March 31, 2008

Whatcha gonna do when it all goes down...

Does anyone have a plan? I have made a few, most of which we don't have all of the components for. One plan involves biking to my dads house, where he has a well and a huge house with some property. There is also a river nearby. It would be one helluva bike trip, but manageable in one day if we were in shape. Ha! To do this, we would need to actually own bikes and at least one bike trailer for the kids.
Another, less shit-hitting-the-fan plan that I have involves lots of preparation now. I imagine that slowly (although quicker than anyone will like) food prices will become so high, oil prices so high and the market so low, that there will be mass suffering here. We have a many-pronged strategy for dealing with this.
First, food and water storage. I plan to have enough food for 6-12 months stored at all times. The roughest part about this is that half of it will be in a freezer which is reliant on electricity. I am making a big leap with this, but if I see a big electricity crisis on the very near horizon, we will eat that stuff first. I have about 15 pounds of beans, 10 pounds of rice, (25 more lbs of beans on the way), 15lbs frozen fruit, 10 lbs frozen veggies, tons of canned foods, oats, flour, spices, an extra gallon of olive oil etc stored. We abide by the store what you eat, eat what you store rules. I have to purchase some water storage containers. These mylar storage totes seem like the way to go. I am also ordering some buckets with Gamma lids and mylar liners for more long-term storage. I imagine that we will continue to add to our storage/prep at about $25-$50 a month until no longer feasible. It is likely that we will be feeding more than our own family from time to time and I want to be able to contribute wherever possible.
Second, self-reliance. We can use a lot of development in this area, but our beginning is with a garden. We will need to expand as much as possible, but this is not the year for it. We are also going to be getting some backyard chickens, which will be so valuable in terms of animal protein. I know how to can and dehydrate and am learning more and more about sprouting, fermenting, and other forms of food prep that don't require electricity or fossil fuels. We have the boxes to make a solar oven and plan on putting in a fire pit in our backyard. I am so disappointed that we have no heating solution for our house in the event of electricity outage and/or no oil supply. Other than installing a woodburning stove, we have no real alternatives yet. Unfortunately, that is too costly to do anytime soon. Other self-reliance concerns are around medical care. Luckily we are members of a community with many wonderful healers. Naturopaths abound and many members of our local tribe are wonderful herbalists, etc. We will surely need to grow and concoct our own tinctures, etc and should probably begin that now. The kids and I only use natural medicines, so our adjustment should be minimal in those areas, but in the event of a real medical emergency, I have little knowledge. I would love to learn how to do stitches, set a bone, etc. I also need to get a decent medical kit with curved needle, etc. Finally, general ability to use tools/repair household items is also a problem and a whole 'nother post! We will also have to get around, which leads to number 3.
Third, get out of our car-coma! We have been a two car family much to my embarrassment when I think about it too much. There is really no reasonable reason for it, especially in the city. We have just gotten used to it and have often felt entitled to each having our own car, when in reality it is a terrible waste of resources. We bought a great double stroller that will work when for hauling stuff when the kids have outgrown it. We are downsizing to one larger car that is carpool friendly and one scooter-type bike that Patrick can commute on. We are also both getting new bikes, since my old one is in pieces! I believe that each of these adjustments will ultimately give our children a world-view that is more in line with the true state of the world and will make later adjustments to an earth-centered lifestyle easier. And that will be beautiful and scary, all at once.

1 comment:

Adrienne said...

Dude, this is not the blog to read before bedtime!!!

Thanks for writing all this out, though!!!