Survival of a sitx ( CIVIL UNREST ), Preparation thinking.

Hi all.

Civil Unrest is I believe the first sitx that I will face and I also feel that it will not be too far in the future.

I believe this as the cost of living rises, fuel prices rise, food prices rise, strikes etc etc.

How are you preparing for this sitx ? If not, why not ?

I will share my thoughts and my preparations with you all as this thread takes off.

This is open to everyone.
I live in the UK but would like to know how anyone is going to prepare in your own country.



[edit on 24-6-2008 by colec156]

What level of civil unrest are we talking about?

Something on a par with the miners strikes, poll tax revolt...or something bigger, like widespread rioting due to food shortages, economic meltdown etc?

In either case, I think the priority would be to stay away from the trouble.
I agree that this is the most likeley situation x scenario we face in the uk, combined with food/fuel shortages, and have planned as best as I can.

eg. I bought my first house a couple of years ago, and with the above in mind, purposely bought somewhere that was away from local population centres, and that had plenty of land (by uk first time buyer standards) that could be turned over for food growing. My location is on the edge of a forest, and I have maps of the forest detailing fresh water springs, paths etc. Also trying to keep and good stock of food basics like rice.

the only thing I don't have fully covered is protection of my crop if my garden is targeted by theives. Obviously guns are out of the question, as is keeping guard 24/7. The solution as I see it would be to try and foster links with neighbours, get them to grow their own, then if the manure hits the fan, we have a group with common interests where pooling/exchange of food can happen, along with everyone looking out for each other.

Hi Paul.

Well, I have in mind something on the level of food shortage and econmic meltdown as you put it.
I have a home but its in the surburbs, and does have a good sized garden.
I am also near a forest about 45 to 60 min walk.
I do like your idea of thinking with the neighbour and growing food. My next door neighbour does this as do I.

I am also buying maps of our local forest and woodlands just in case we need to leave in a hurry.

It s good to know that someone else is on the same level of thought as me with regards to civil unrest. Thanks

Hows the growing going?
This is my first year of growing, as my garden had been left unkempt and overgrown with brambles etc for 30 odd years by the previous owners, and had been used as a dumping ground for household waste, building waste, cars, glass, and anything esle you wouldn't want in your garden! Took a bit of graft to get it back in shape.

I'm glad that other people are on the same wavelength. I hope enough of the people on our row of houses will be inclined to get involved. At the moment I'm the only one.
I'm not a hardcore survivalist by any stretch, but believe in the 6 P's, especially when it comes to surviving a likeley catastrophe.


I reckon the toughest part is definitely gonna be keeping your garden secure. Just listening to radio 2, I hear that people are already starting to steal food from allotments. One bloke phoned in to say someone had dug up all his potatoes!

Do you have a reasonable knowledge of your local forest? do you use it for recreation? A forest will be a blessing in this type of scenario: its away from the mad crowds, can feed you (deer, rabits, mushrooms, soft fruit), often provides fresh clean water, and timber.

[edit on 26-6-2008 by Paul]

I agree with you guys totally, but I'm really short of time just now, so I've flagged this thread and will post more later...

Cait

Hi Cait, and Paul.

My bedroom is at the back of the house that over looks the garden and it gives me a good vantage point.
We have started small with some veg and other bits like mint, tyme etc.

I have a good round knowledge of the forest and have spent many years both camping and day trips. I know where the villages are and town centers.
I also know of the mainly wooded area and can stay of the normal footpaths and still make my way through it.

Paul you mention the 6 p's. Could you tell me these or am I being very dumb here ???

Chris

The 6 Ps: "Proper Planning Prevents P- Poor Performance" one of my old man's favorites!

Seems like you're doing things pretty much the same way as me. I've started small scale this year, with mainly greenhouse growing (tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes) with heirloom seeds. Also planted out a load of soft fruit and berries, as well as about 2 dozen hazels to form a hedge row.
Next thing to do is to plant out everything for the winter veg, as well as some more fruit trees (there's already 2 mature apple trees).

Some people say you need loads of gear and SAS mad skills, but I'd rather get the basics of self sustenance right first, with some bushcraft knowledge. I suppose it depends on whether you plan to stay or go, if something goes down, and if you can afford all the survival gear - I cant!

well this is true.
The UK is such a small place really with a mass population.
Bugging out would really be that last call.
I am doing things like your good self and as time goes buy I am collecting bits of gear n case I have no other choice but to leave.

There is something you could do if you live right near a forest, depending on what species type it is, and that is .......... to use it as a 'back-up' food source.

What I mean is ........ You could actually plant some things yourself in the woods like some herbs or other such things or spread around some blackberry bushes etc. The good things will be is that you will know the locations of such things.

I knew a farmer that used to carry around in his pocket acorns, chestnuts and hazelnuts and such like and every now and again in a suitable spot he would just plant them.

[edit on 26/6/08 by Wotan]

I have just found this website:-

www.nhm.ac.uk...

Type in your postcode and it reveals which 'native' wild plant species is in your area. Could be handy for medicinal plants etc.

Here's a thought.. If you want to get a real feel for what it will be like during Sitx, shut off all power and water to your house for a 24hr period. If you only use the supplies you have on hand for said situation, I gaurantee you'll be able to identify most of the short falls in your preparations.

Do you have a can opener to open can goods with? Do you have enough fresh water for drinking and sanitation (flush toilet)? Do you have a means of starting a fire for cooking or heat? Do you have toilet paper or babies wipes for wiping your backside? Do you have some form of entertainment? (Books, cards, etc.)

Do you have an alternate source of light? Do you have a means to communicate with other family members? Do you have first aid supplies like IB's or bandages? Do you have a portabl radio or scanner to keep up with current events? Do you have an emergency bugout plan should your home become undefensible? Should someone attempt to invade your home do you have a plan? Etc., Etc., Etc.


[edit on 6/26/08 by LLoyd45]

Lloyd that is a good thought. A 'dry run' would be a great way of honing preparations. Not sure how my mrs would cope without being able to use the hair staighteners though!

Thinking about the list of things you mentioned, I'm confident I can tick most of those items off. I've re-installed solid fuel fireplaces in our house, have identified 3 fresh water springs within a 2 mile radius etc etc.

The only bases not yet covered are the communication orientated ones. Have no portable radio, and no means (besides mobile phones) of keeping in touch with family members (although we all live around the same town).

Cheers for the suggestions

reply to post by Paul


Where I live power outages are common, and it really puts things in perspective for you. We have cistern water, so when the power goes, so does the water. I keep plenty of bottle water on hand, and have place a hand pump on the cistern for those times as well.

I have a generator, but eventually all the gas will be gone. I've been wondering how difficult it would be to get gas out of a gas station pump, without power.. Anyone know how to do this possibly with a car battery or some other power source? Most people won't have a clue how to extract it, and it would be more gas for those with the know how!

[edit on 6/26/08 by LLoyd45]

reply to post by Wotan


Yeah, the forest adjacent to my home is a great food source. There are literally swathes of bilberry, cowberry, lingonberry, rasberry and blackberry bushes, plus hazel, chestnut etc, wild mushrooms too. On the meat side too there are roughly a thousand deer, plus pheasants, trout, and countless rabbits.
I've been brought up to use the woods as a food source, picking berries etc. When I was a kid and my dad was a striking miner, we used to go rabbit & pheasant catching with my grandad in the woods becasue we couldn't afford to buy meat. I always go and get a good harvest of berries in summer to this day, as a result of that.

Thanks for posting that NHM link, it looks a fantastic resource!

Thanks for all the great replies.

I am still working on my plan and supplies but I was able to tick of many of the items you mentioned Lloyd.

I also know my local woodland and forests have plenty of dear, I know of local rivers that have many trout. ( a very highly rated River for trout ). Also with plenty of rabbits and also pigeon.
Yes I can also find berries and there are also other fruit trees growing local.

Im sure that the woodland and more knowledge will allow me to use them as a back up food and water source.

Hi guys...sorry I didn't post yesterday, but belated thank you for all the info here...there's some really good stuff!

On the original point for a minute, I too think that the biggest problem we face is the civil unrest issue. I started a thread a few days ago about the fuel blockade situation, which we really need to watch (I got no replies on the other thread, btw!) as a fuel strike or blockades could cause massive and almost immediate...ie within days...problems with food supply. I can't imagine how bad it would get if the supermarkets suddenly run out of food, and all the other stuff we think we can't live without. Almost no-one is going to be prepared for this eventuality, and it will cause panic, on a large scale. Please post if you have any information about future fuel supply problems...the protesters have given the Government till 3rd July to reduce fuel tax...that's next Thursday. Then what? More blockades? They're threatening to empty supermarket shelves within days, by stopping deliveries. Some websites I visited actually claimed that the protest info was being suppressed to minimise support for the hauliers. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

We also have regular power cuts here in the winter, or get snowed in, which is wonderful, if the preparation has been done. I often wonder what we would do if we had to go without power for days or weeks...how would we cook, store food, feed the dog, wash clothes...I have a list of what-would-i-do's that's a mile long that I'm looking for answers to. Gorwing our own food has to be a priority, and I'm so glad that we made the move a couple of years ago to a place in the sticks with it's own water supply and a huge garden. Our garden too had been left for years, so we've only just started planting potatoes this year, and next year much more is planned. I found a fabuous mail order supplier of heirloom seeds...the non-hybrid kind...and will dig out the link for you all when I have a minute.

Meanwhile, till the crops grow, I've started stockpiling..and filling the freezer, and the back up freezer. I also want to find out about indoor crops that can be grown year round like mushrooms, and some salad leaves. We have long dark winters here...!

Communications...this is a nightmare without internet or phones...what works best? CB radios? I dunno....

First Aid...another biggie...and herbalism, (which I'm studying now for a diploma.) Where would I start with that? I'm not at all medical.

I just remembered...there is a fabulous source of emergency lighting called sun jars..leave them in sunlight to charge up and the glow in the dark...no power required, but you have to remember to leave them outside during the day...again, I will dig out the link...


Back soon...thank you guys!

Cait

[edit on 27-6-2008 by caitlinfae]

reply to post by caitlinfae



The all to real scenarios that you have mentioned Caitlinfae are one of the very reasons to have an emergency 'survival' stock or food and equipment.

People so quickly 'forget' that these things happend very reguarly in the UK back in the 'bad old days', of funny enough, a Labour Government in the 1970's (I was a spotty teenager then). The Winter of Discontent, bread strikes, power strikes, transport strikes, etc etc.

As they say, these things have a habit of 'coming around again'.

I would stockpile some food, fuel and emergency lighting this weekend guys and dont forget any babyfood stuffs and gear if its applicable to you.


[edit on 27/6/08 by Wotan]

Wotan...I remember it too...the power cuts, the petrol rationing...I was about 8 at the time, and it wasn't funny. We are so wrong if we think we're immune to all that happening again, and we have so much more to lose. More of us have cars, and I have a real, real problem with the whole supermarket culture...we can only buy and eat what they stock, and most of us are totally reliant on them...it's a very dangerous situation to be in, and extremely fragile.

The trouble is, I can't see how we can avoid a huge problem as our collective unpreparedness is almost total, and the population thinks it's safe. Getting people to grow food and keep a few chickens "just in case" won't work as we've been made too comfortable by the endless supermarket food supply which wasn't so well entrenched even back in the 70's. Sadly, and this does make me really sad...all we can do it look after ourselves and those closest to us. It really should start this weekend.


Cait



[edit on 28-6-2008 by caitlinfae]

Originally posted by LLoyd45
Here's a thought.. If you want to get a real feel for what it will be like during Sitx, shut off all power and water to your house for a 24hr period. If you only use the supplies you have on hand for said situation, I gaurantee you'll be able to identify most of the short falls in your preparations.

Do you have a can opener to open can goods with? Do you have enough fresh water for drinking and sanitation (flush toilet)? Do you have a means of starting a fire for cooking or heat? Do you have toilet paper or babies wipes for wiping your backside? Do you have some form of entertainment? (Books, cards, etc.)

Do you have an alternate source of light? Do you have a means to communicate with other family members? Do you have first aid supplies like IB's or bandages? Do you have a portabl radio or scanner to keep up with current events? Do you have an emergency bugout plan should your home become undefensible? Should someone attempt to invade your home do you have a plan? Etc., Etc., Etc.


[edit on 6/26/08 by LLoyd45]

ALWAYS good advice from you Lloyd. I have done this multiple times. Most recently for 7 days. I dare anyone to do it. It's a real eye opener for sure.
Reading books and websites is fine, but for preparation, nothing beats experience.

Hi Guys and Gals,

Interesting thread, I'm also in the UK. Problem with this country is that panic buying of stuff seems to become a self fulfilling prophecy. The media hype the situation, tell people not o panic but it has completely the opposite effect.

There have been some real changes in this country since the 70's which would make the type of situation we are discussing far worse than anyone could possibly imagine.

There is no sense of community anymore, the selfish attitude of British culture today would leave supermarket shelves empty in hours not days.

Don't think your garden is safe, it won't be people will be out to get anything they can for themselves.

This island is too small the woods and forests will be full of people with the same idea as you!

If there really was a situation like this I can see a form of marshal law being implemented.

Oh, btw I am prepared too, tins, rice, dried goods that dont need heat etc Emergency bag, several guns (legal of course) and plenty of ammo....!

MR