Ask TheSurvivalMom: What skills should a prepper learn?

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Yesterday, this email popped up in my in-box.

I started reading your site along with a few others, and find myself agreeing with much that you and your fellow preppers write about.
 
I was wondering if you could point out a few good web sites that offer basic skills that will be needed in the next few years.  Anything from basic survival skill craft, all the way up to pioneer skills such as basic farming to setting up a foundry for blacksmithing.  Basically, if I saw it on “Little House on the Prarie,” then it’s probably something ‘d be interested in, as would, perhaps, many of your readers.

I do have some resource suggestions for this reader, Paul D., but some additional comments as well.  Here is my answer.

The first step I would take is a good First Aid class.  Some towns and community colleges offer emergency response courses, and those would be good, too.  It won’t take the place of having a doctor or hospital nearby, but if you were unable to get to one quickly, the training might save a life.

 

After that, learn how to grow your own produce if you haven’t done so already.  It takes time to learn what your particular patch of land will grow and to develop the soil.  For beginners, I recommend the Square-Foot Gardening method.  It’s very easy, doesn’t take much space, and you can add, add, and add more of these square foot gardens as your space allows and your gardening skills improve.  This will provide you and your family with nutritious produce, and most likely, you’ll end up with enough left over to sell, give away, and/or preserve by canning and dehydrating.

 

Think about back-ups, and that will give you additional ideas.  For example, if your electricity or gas goes out and you have no heat in your home, what could you do?  What are some back-up systems you could learn about and build right now to prepare for that eventuality?  Same with cooking food and having a source of purified water.

 

Consider how to cover the basics first:  health, food, water, shelter.  What is nice about most of these is that they’re also ways to earn money now and in the future.  If you know how to repair appliances, for example, you could barter that skill in exchange for things you might not have. 

 

Taking a wilderness and/or urban survival course would be another good step.  They will likely open your eyes to even more areas in which you need training.

 

For now, I’m not so sure that blacksmithing would take a priority, unless it’s just something you would like to learn.  The time and money it would take to build a forge and acquire all the tools and materials might be better spent on an EMT course.

 

Here are a couple of links that might be helpful:

 

http://www.shtfplan.com/forecasting/wealth-preservation-investing-and-prepping-in-2010_01262010

 

http://www.survivalblog.com/2010/01/six_survival_necessities_that.html

 

Finally, get your hands on any or all of the Foxfire book series.  They are a gold mine for just this type of information.

 

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