Extended Emergency Suvival Sources

these days we see a lot of concern over survival in the case the the world as we know it ceases to exist. people wanting advice for staying alive. what to do. how to do this and that. it is always good to be prepared.

what i would like this thread to be about is RESOURCES for surviving in a world that looses the technology we rely on today. things like different groups and clubs that have knowledge of lower technology . websites that have survival information. basically an area that gives people places they can find some of the answers they are looking for

there is quite a lot of information floating around about short term. 72 hour bags, water supplies ect. but if the SHTF it is probably going to be a long term thing. now a lot of people out there may be prepared for a short event. but surviving a matter of days or even weeks may not cut it. we may be looking at years of survival.

i belong to a group that studies the medieval time period. the SCA or society for creative anachronism. we don't just fight in armor but we STUDY lower technology and have many experts in different areas, quite a lot of it may even be found around the web. i am sure there are many others as well, native Indians for example would likely have a lot of knowledge, as well as groups like boy scouts, maybe even some of the militia groups would have stuff as well. i am sure there are other sources as well.

what i would like to see is sites people may go to to find this info without spending hours (which many don't have), surfing around the web searching for it. kinda like a catalog if you will.

in all honesty many people won't even know WHAT they really need to know in order to survive for an extended time period without technology. finding things needed may be nearly impossible, you may need to make things yourself from scratch.

things about water supplies, like how to treat water, find a spot for and dig a well.

how to grow food and medicinal plants, where to plant, HOW to plant, when to plant and when stuff is ready to harvest.

identifying wild plants both for food and for medicinal purposes. what parts of what plants may be poisonous/ helpful. (there are many plants where one part may help you but another part kill you).

medicine/healing. basic first aid is good, but "jungle medicine" may well be needed. things like curative properties of plants, dealing with major injuries with no hospitals ect. things like the use of maggots to clean bad old wounds, dealing with gangrene, how to stitch up bad cuts, dealing with broken bones and dealing with burns

making and using stills and brewing. alcohol has cleaning properties/disinfectant properties. besides people will need a way to relax

sanitation, what to do when your soap runs out. how and where to place latrine facilities. cleanliness can be VERY important to health.

hunting, where to aim for a kill, how to safely clean/bleed an animal carcass, how to skin and be able to use the hide. if you fail to clean a carcass properly you could cause sickness and even death

tanning and leather work. different methods of tanning for different uses. (keep in mind best sources would be able to use things found in the wild like urine and plants, chemicals would be rather hard to come by).

spinning and weaving, people will need clothing and many plant materials might be the answer. type of plants that might be used. even some animal fur might be able to be sheared and used.

structure building, a tent might work for awhile but something more permanent might be needed, especially in an area that is cold.

weapon manufacture, things like how to make a bow and arrows for example, spears would also be good for hunting, but you also may need to be able to defend yourself as well.

woodworking. many needed products can be made of wood.

metal working how to make iron and steal from the ground up. you may be able to find metal that can be reworked. but knowing how to smelt, smith and even casting metals may be important as metal has many uses.

rope making. rope is always handy in a survival situation

alternate power sources. making electricity is good. but hand power/ wind power, water power can run quite a few things mechanically without needing electricity

even things like finding and working in groups, seems pretty basic, but problems will crop up knowing how to deal with them may just save lives as well. as you can see there are a lot of tasks that will need to be done, a group will be much better off especially as different people will have different strengths to offer, not to mention the "protection" value of a group compared to one or two people.

basically anything that can help people not only survive but to THRIVE in a world without the technology we are used to. there likely wont be places to buy ANYTHING in a short time period as pretty much all manufacturing is now heavily dependent on technology like electricity and chemicals. transporting anything will probably become scarce as well. tools and clothing will wear out and break. if you or someone you know close by can't make it chances are you would have to do without.

written pages and pictures would be better than videos as if the SHTF, you can read stuff printed off before hand but watching a video would be rather difficult without electricity. and depending on what happened there is always the chance that any electronics won't work anyway.

so if you know of a good site for any of this type of information please be nice and jot it down so others might be able to find it. doing this we could become a part of saving lives in the case that the worst case scenarios come true. we all hope it won't happen but as the boyscout saying says "be prepared". having information we don't need is better than not having it if we do need it.

kind of disappointing no one has contributed yet. guess i'll get the ball rolling. i have been looking around for decent pages to include myself last couple days.

i will start with water, since water is a major key to prolonged survival.

first off here is a page that gives information on bleach, home made filters and a simple solar still.
www.m4040.com...

now a page that has both water treating and some advice about "poisoned water" even a method used by Baden Powel (the main influence for the starting of boy scouts), to clean poisoned water.
standeyo.com...

a page on water distalation
www.survivalwater.info...

now in any water filter the primary material is charcoal, charcoal is handy for filters as well as any forging of metal, as such it can be a rather important commodity if civilization as we know it ends.

a pit kiln was used in the middle ages to make charcoal. this link gives a prety good description of someone trying out a pit kiln.
charcoal.seandalaiocht.com...

another method to make charcoal.
www.twinoaksforge.com...

i will be trying to add stuff but i would hope others will contribute as well

Good stuff, thanks!

I recommend all the stuff Richard Proenneke has out there. In 1968, at the age of 51, he set off into the Alaskan wilderness and lived there by himself for the next 35 years. We are lucky to have his documentaries around to study. He was certainly a master of a lost art.



Alone in the Wilderness
Alaska Silence & Solitude
The Frozen North
One Man's Wilderness, An Alaskan Odyssey
Alaska off the Beaten Path
Ghost of the Forest
Arctic Dance

Most of his stuff is on youtube and PBS plays some of it every once in a blue moon.