hizgeorgiapeach
Posts: 1672
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: came4U
quote:
This is one of those "games" that we've played for years amongst ourselves - who would we gather together from the group, where would we meet, what supplies and skills would any particular person be able to contribute to mutual survival, and who would go crazy from lack of certain conveniences they've grown to depend on?
I'd say you win for most prepared. Because most lack skills and the equipment to do half of what you have.
I think you'd likely be surprised at how much a lot of people pick up without ever realizing that they know how to do something. Many folks, if they took the time to take an Honest assessment of themselves, know far more - simply from various skills they pick up as part of this or that hobby - and are truely astonishing in what they have buried in their brains. Amongst the people that I routinely hang out with, I'm NOT unique in any way, shape, or form - and am actually considered quite lacking in some skill sets, though fairly accomplished in a few others. Like the whole blacksmithing thing - an ex and I ran a sword & knife making business out of our garage for years, and I picked it up there, as his assistant - we sold almost exclusively to the medieval group. There are several other blacksmiths in the group - a few of them truely astonishing in their abilities, and some of them are like me and have the skill but don't practice it very often. But I can't embroider, knit, or crochet to save my life (things that, quite frankly, I'm "expected" to know how to do or be willing to learn how to do, in this particular group) - and dear gods, don't ask me to try and carve anything for you or help you out with leatherworking or chainmail projects! While I "can" make a functional set of leather armor, or weave chainmail - it's not gonna be a Pretty set of armor, and there are people who are sooo much better than me that I'd rather trade with them for their stuff than attempt to make my own - which is why I'm tradeing a 6 month supply of handmade soap and half a gallon of muscle relief blend lotion for field ready armor and a couple of good belt pouches for costume use with a leatherworking buddy of mine.
quote:
Do you keep a seed bank?
I actually keep a fairly extensive seed bank from year to year, and it tends to vary a bit from one year to the next. Right now, it consists of Corn, Red Winter Wheat (it's a very hardy variety grown extensively in this state) and Barley (if things went to hell, I want a source of barley to brew beer with, for bartering purposes!), 7 different kinds of peppers ranging from ultra mild bells to OMG where's the fire extenguisher hot, okra, 2 types of peas, green beans, pinto beans, 3 types of squash, 4 types of tomato (though I prefer to grow those from starts that I purchase from the nearby greenhouse in early spring) a couple of types of carrots, 2 types of onions, 3 varieties of potatos, 2 lettuces, cauliflower, brocolli, turnips, parsips, and rhubarb, mustard and collard for the greens (and for mustard seed for condiment use), elephant ear garlic, 17 varieties of edible flowers (some of which are the roses that I have planted in various parts of the front and back yard), and 16 different herbs (some common, some not so common) - and a few specific herbs/plants that are traditional folklore medicinals native to this area. I also like to (but usually don't) keep seed around for a few varieties of fruit tree that grow well in the climate of this area - apples, cherries, plums, apricots, peachs, necterines, pears - although fruit trees are a Looooong term project as most of them require several years growth before they begin producing fruit. Fortunately there's a Lot of all of those all over the place in this area in yards and growing wild, as well as Mulberry bushes (gods, I Love mulberry wine) and Elderberry bushes (again with the love thang goin on!) strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Sandplum is also easy to locate in a lot of the less inhabited portions of this state, and persimmon as well. The Blackberry, Raspberry, and Blueberry bushes are fairly well established that I have planted in my backyard along the fence (1 of each), and should begin producing fruit either this year or next year (I hope - provided the hard freeze we had a few weeks ago didn't damage or kill them).
I don't Plant that much in the way of veggies in any given year that I maintain a garden any more - simply because I don't have sufficient ROOM for that much. It's one of the few things I actually Regret about selling my old house - it had a 1/4 acre yard, even here in the middle of the city, and I was able to have a truely Massive vegitable garden there, plus I had established Peach, Apple, Pear, Cherry, and Plum trees that my grandparents had planted in the back yard long before I was born that we harvested from every year to make jams and jellies out of the fruit. (Not to mention some of THE best peach cobbler and homemade peach ice cream every summer... *drool*) I rarely went grocery shopping for veggies while I was living in that house - the garden produced enough during the summer that I had fresh veggies every day, and plenty throughout the season to can/freeze/dehydrate for use through the winter - as well as keeping several neighbors supplied in fresh tomatos, yellow crookneck squash, and okra during the season. I'm seriously considering putting up a greenhouse in the back yard here, to expand on the amount of usable growing space - container gardening isn't difficult to do, and with a greenhouse, I could maintain some of the medicinals and veggies year round.
Worst Case Scenario, though - there's a lot of places to "loose" yourself around here with great soil, consistant temps, few freeze days, easy access yet remote enough not to get a lot of traffic, and convenient to any of several lakes.
quote:
Good idea for that plan too. Be prepared for the meeting place especially with the few chosen people in your circle. Nothing would be worse than having everything ready and the people you end up with are behaving in a Lord of the Flies manner.
*some do that anyways, without any emergency/crisis arising. I guess that is all they know. Just pick trusted family and friends who are not likely to go berzerko because they are likely that way to begin with.
With this particular group of people, we're used to knowing who does what, who is a natural leader amongst us, who can be counted on to follow orders/directives that are given but not to Give any, etc - the ones who become "nobles" in this group tend to do so because they're the ones that are willing to take an active role in running the day to day business of things, making certain everything is organized, etc. The rest are followers either by inclination or by choice, but they help maintain the overall cohesion of the group. Some are core folks (primarily those who are counted amongst the "nobles" of the medieval group) some aren't, there are some that only stick around for a short time and then drop out - but of the core people, about the only thing that could keep them out of the thick of things would be them dying. A few of them have, over the years - fortunately, not people who had skills that everyone else completely lacked, or that haven't been replaced by new core members.
I have 4 friends in the local area who maintain apiaries (they're beekeepers) who keep me supplied in locally produced, organic, raw honey throughout the year (it's where I get part of the honey I brew mead with, as well as for eatting/cooking, and beeswax for cosmetics use and candle making), as well as friends that are just outside of the city limits (but relatively close and still Very local) who raise sheep, goats, turkeys, guinea fowl, chickens, and donkeys. There are a few I know well who raise diary and meat cattle, hogs, and buffalo - although those folks all live about an hour's drive away, so they aren't As local as I wish they were. As it is - the wool is given to me by the friend that raises sheep because she doesn't have a use for it herself, and I'm the only one she personally knows that was willing to take it off her hands so it wasn't cluttering up HER storage barn. Since I have a Significant use for the lanolin that I extract from the wool, I was more than willing to take it - although when she and I first came to the agreement of me taking the wool off her hands so I Could extract the lanolin, I didn't know how to do so, and the agreement itself forced me to learn a new skill. (Already processed lanolin isn't cheap to buy as an ingredient for my shop - so having a supply that I'm literally being Given is definately a bonus.) I've only recently started the spinning project (less than 3 months ago), and that primarily so that I would have something to do with the cleaned wool once I extract the lanolin from it - it's been easy enough to learn, but it's going to take a lot more practice before I'm truely Confident about the thread being sturdy enough to start any serious/hardcore weaving project with what I've produced. Right now, all the projects I've used it for have been minor/fluff/practice stuff just to make sure I remember how to use the looms I've got (at least one of which needs to be replaced/rebuilt, simply because it's worn out). I'm looking into felting techniques as well, as another alternative to having to spin 50 or 60 pounds of wool twice a year. Fortunately, the festival/fair/war I'm going to in a few weeks has class sessions in several things that I've either learned some about but want to learn more - or things that I want to learn but haven't had the time yet to get involved in.
Trust me - being part of the local Food Co-op, and medieval reenactment group, in this area is a GOOD thing. It brings me into contact with people who have skills that I lack, or are significantly better at some skills that I have but I don't have the Time to actually get Good at! Having a large group of friendly aquaintances and/or close friends that all believe strongly in the barter system is even better. Right now, while things are still "good" - we trade knowledge, exchange skills, and trade finished projects/products that we each individually "specialize" in - but if push came to shove, it'd be a pretty well set community to be considered part of.
_____________________________
Rhi
Light travels faster than sound, which is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
Essential Scentsations
|
RE: How prepared are you? - 
Profile
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread