Bullocks

cddt:

 

...

 

But thefts would undoubtedly skyrocket, and would sometimes lead to violence. Farmers in NZ would, even without diesel, eventually be able to produce enough calories to feed the population, but distributing this to the urban population centres would be a challenge. 

 

...

 

If things got really dire, distributing farmers' output may not be a problem because starving people may just steal it. Assuming they can get to where it's grown.

Edit: And stealing may apply to food home-grown by town and city dwellers too.

Sidestep:

 

Bullocks

 

That family is taking its surname way too seriously.

When people talk about prepping, I always wonder what they are prepping for. The satisfaction of being the last survivor in a destroyed world? That doesn't seem like much of a victory to me. I prefer the grasshopper drinking and dancing as he ushers out the human era. Survival for its own sake isn't much of an achievement in my opinion.

AI Overview   The primary, fundamental objective of every species, from a biological and evolutionary perspective, is to survive and reproduce.    This objective ensures the continuation of the species by passing genetic information to the next generation, allowing the organism’s lineage to persist.    Here is a breakdown of the core objectives:

 

• Survival: Organisms must maintain their own life long enough to reach reproductive age. This involves adapting to their environment, finding food, and avoiding predators.
• Reproduction: Species are programmed to produce offspring. Those that do not successfully reproduce become extinct, making reproduction the ultimate "goal" in natural selection.
• Passing on Genes: The goal is to pass genetic material to the next generation, ensuring that the traits adapted for survival continue.
• Adaptation: Through the process of evolution, species adapt to changing environments to ensure their survival over the long term. 

In short, life persists because it is designed to maintain itself and reproduce, with species that are better at this process becoming more common, while those that are not die out. 

In times of war and shortages the ones that always suffer most are the city dwellers. The rural community can somehow survive going back to a basic lifestyle. 

Winter is looming and there’s a small planting window left. At minimum it would be wise to plant some easy greens like perpetual spinach or silverbeet, even in buckets on the balcony.

Make your own seaweed fertiliser by adding washed seaweed to a bucket of water and letting it rot down for a couple weeks. You can drain and use the liquid diluted with water on the plants. Banana peels are also beneficial made in the same way. If using seeds, plant some new ones every three weeks. Best case scenario you will have fresh greens to add to soups and mains. 

A bag of rice and some greens gives you some easy basic sustenance. Build on these basics. Am especially thinking of young people flatting and subsisting from week to week with no idea of how to budget and what to buy apart from baked beans. 

There is a lot of denial that the situation is worsening and 'she’ll be right.' Maybe my assessments are entirely wrong but closely watching events unfold don’t inspire any confidence. 

Eva888:

 

In times of war and shortages the ones that always suffer most are the city dwellers. The rural community can somehow survive going back to a basic lifestyle. 

 

Winter is looming and there’s a small planting window left. At minimum it would be wise to plant some easy greens like perpetual spinach or silverbeet, even in buckets on the balcony.

 

Make your own seaweed fertiliser by adding washed seaweed to a bucket of water and letting it rot down for a couple weeks. You can drain and use the liquid diluted with water on the plants. Banana peels are also beneficial made in the same way. If using seeds, plant some new ones every three weeks. Best case scenario you will have fresh greens to add to soups and mains. 

 

A bag of rice and some greens gives you some easy basic sustenance. Build on these basics. Am especially thinking of young people flatting and subsisting from week to week with no idea of how to budget and what to buy apart from baked beans. 

 

There is a lot of denial that the situation is worsening and 'she’ll be right.' Maybe my assessments are entirely wrong but closely watching events unfold don’t inspire any confidence. 

 

So, assuming you haven't gone full Furiosa from Mad Max, have you had any good advice from folks so far? 

Its not academically difficult.

9/10's of it is consistent effort.

The categories to pay attention to are:

 

1. People network
2. Food
3. Water
4. Energy
5. Medical
6. Communications

antoniosk:

 

Eva888:

 

In times of war and shortages the ones that always suffer most are the city dwellers. The rural community can somehow survive going back to a basic lifestyle. 

 

Winter is looming and there’s a small planting window left. At minimum it would be wise to plant some easy greens like perpetual spinach or silverbeet, even in buckets on the balcony.

 

Make your own seaweed fertiliser by adding washed seaweed to a bucket of water and letting it rot down for a couple weeks. You can drain and use the liquid diluted with water on the plants. Banana peels are also beneficial made in the same way. If using seeds, plant some new ones every three weeks. Best case scenario you will have fresh greens to add to soups and mains. 

 

A bag of rice and some greens gives you some easy basic sustenance. Build on these basics. Am especially thinking of young people flatting and subsisting from week to week with no idea of how to budget and what to buy apart from baked beans. 

 

There is a lot of denial that the situation is worsening and 'she’ll be right.' Maybe my assessments are entirely wrong but closely watching events unfold don’t inspire any confidence. 

 

 

So, assuming you haven't gone full Furiosa from Mad Max, have you had any good advice from folks so far? 

 

Yes actually @AngIEAUT gave a great suggestion for Project Nomad on page 2 of the forum post. Although US centric there is a hive of information available to cover most major life upheavals including medical and practical. It is offline and free. Good video description of it in the link.

Maybe some clever Kiwis can add some local input since it is open source and the developers are open to suggestions. 

Eva888: In times of war and shortages the ones that always suffer most are the city dwellers. 

That's not a universal rule. If they're smart, they'll have a cabin somewhere safe in the world with everything they need and also know how to get there BEFORE a crisis hits (the "mouse strategy for managers" still holds true). It also helps immensely if you grew up in the countryside and made your fortune in the city without forgetting your roots. 😉

Tinkerisk:

 

If they're smart, they'll have a cabin somewhere safe in the world with everything they need and also know how to get there BEFORE a crisis hits 

 

This is a slightly better option then being unprepared but my advice to anyone thinking they will buy a bolt hole in a rural area is don't. Instead build up your community and preparedness closer to home.

There is no shortcut for living local.

The locals may not all be friends or drinking buddies but they know who is a local. This goes a long way to opening doors. We have friends in common. We have been to the same local events. Helped others. Been to funerals just because they were locals.

We know the right hunting spots which don't show on any map.

We know the lay of the land.

We understand the climate.

All of this means nothing for that person who bought something and just turned up when shtf. Even worse locals can see this a mile off and may not be very friendly.

In the meantime they have endured a depletion of their funds paying for that place they are hardly ever at. Its also a security risk. All those cans they stock piled may not be there when they arrive.

Furthermore, it will suddenly dawn on them (esp in a fuel shortage) they are 20+ kms from the nearest town. And that loner-prepper will be navigating this all by themselves.

For the love of.... do not bug out into unfamiliar territory. And don't do this alone.

If someone still insists a better option is to make friends with people in a rural area so you can bug out at their place. Or do this as an extended family thing with someone always living there.

A good sized bit of land is 1-2 acres. But even this takes hours of maintenance every week. Someone will need to be there to take care of it all.

Those "off grid" and "prepper" TV shows are garbage. For awhile I ran a large online group and the producers would come in and recruit participants. I quickly realised how it worked and banned them. They contributed nothing of value to the group. All they wanted was ratings because it was a hot topic at the time.

There are no shortcuts or perfect recipes here. Not for growing food or setting up solar power. When I ran the group a few people got upset with me because I wouldn't let them post their virals and memes. And that is the poor-quality of a lot of info out there. There are only two ways to learn - from someone else already doing it or try it yourself.

gzt: On the plus side the covid period was a 'back to basics' time for many. That experience will serve NZ well if there are supply issues.

Well, it was somewhat inconvenient, but apart from dying from the disease itself, it wasn't nearly life-threatening.