I need to create a local Gulch where I am now
Some of us can't move to a different location.
Some of us don't want to, all things considered.
This doesn't mean we should compromise on our other values, like finding good people to work with. To hang out with. To trade with. To enjoy local events and establishments with. And to have intelligent, stimulating, and educated conversations along the way.
And to know you are living with basic needs of food, shelter, security, safety, and energy. Recreation is important too.
Basically, I want to figure out how to live free and happy in an unfree and neurotic world (which it seems to be from my vantage).
No matter where we live, don't we all have to figure this out to some extent or another?
What if the secret to "Going Galt" is to figure out how you can do that no matter where you live? That's the promised land I want to live in.
Some of us don't want to, all things considered.
This doesn't mean we should compromise on our other values, like finding good people to work with. To hang out with. To trade with. To enjoy local events and establishments with. And to have intelligent, stimulating, and educated conversations along the way.
And to know you are living with basic needs of food, shelter, security, safety, and energy. Recreation is important too.
Basically, I want to figure out how to live free and happy in an unfree and neurotic world (which it seems to be from my vantage).
No matter where we live, don't we all have to figure this out to some extent or another?
What if the secret to "Going Galt" is to figure out how you can do that no matter where you live? That's the promised land I want to live in.
In April of 2020 I moved everything that I have into oil stocks and predicted that oil would do exactly what it is currently doing. I will never be rich but I also won't go hungry.
find people there that are like minded
you need
guns and ammo
food, water, non-GMO seeds
water filters
solar panels and batteries to hold the power
generators, fuel
wood stoves (for emergencies)
night vision
and all the electronics need to be protected from an EMP
as a start
Lots of salt, sugar, vinegar and rice as a two year consumption plan.
Nothing can replace written instructions on food storage and medical practices. Lots of books.
Also, found a great place for an ice house. North face of gravel and sand hillside. Easy to excavate and shore and waterproof from exterior flow. Finish interior estimated at 10x10x6 high. 30 inch straw insulation on 5 sides and a foot of sawdust floor. Only 150 feet from the pond for ice harvest.
By the end of next year I can have highly specialized garlic/s that can provide over $10k income and complete seed stock for the next year. The one thing we have at a premium is space, low density population, and lots of fertile soils.
If I extend out within the network, approximately 50 small farms and families are participating.
Another of my developed skills is that of pruning fruit trees. This becomes a teaching/social event for a full spectrum of folks. Butchering chickens is another one of these events for bringing many hands to lighten work.
Village in process. Kids are having fun learning.....some 20+ home schooled so far. Ages 1 to 14.
Just some ideas to think of modeling.
When I have first hand contact every day, or week, I, and my contacts, maintain a cultural value structure. It is the nature of permaculture to be first hand involved in my literal survival. Peter Mayer, from Stillwater MN addressed this in one of his tunes thus: The things I need come from these shelves. They all just seem to make themselves. I plant no seed and I tend no vine......I have no feast at harvest time.
I swear by my life......LOL! And I prove by my actions that I am a trust worthy companion. I take care of and for myself so well that I have capacitance to do the same for others should their mortality require.
Travel about. Reach out. Express your desire to be a part of a healthy dynamic of interdependence. Read everything you can toward and end to be completely independent and share this freely, creating community.
Go Amish....so to speak.
"How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: A Handbook for Personal Liberty"
My brother used that publishing system and would receive a few dollars a year from Amazon. I read one of his books on line at Amazon. He did not know that it was free to read there.
So, FWIW -
What I have done though, is connect through a group focused on a lifestyle and it worked out well for me. It wouldn’t be the same for any of you, but it worked out for me.
I belong to an online group of homesteaders… it is more of a skills group than social, and has members worldwide. Many homesteaders (and non-homesteaders) also receive supplies (from organic animal feed to groceries) from Azure Standard (https://www.azurestandard.com/?a_aid=..., via a truck delivery to a local drop point. Azure has drop points almost everywhere in the US.
So I reached out to some of the local folks in the homesteading membership group and suggested that we meet at the monthly Azure drop. It gave us a simple meeting venue that works into what we're already doing. That worked out really well for me – we are all at different places in life but have a shared desire to learn how to live a better lifestyle. It is not a political group, and in truth we’ve never discussed politics specifically, but IMO, people who are seeking this kind of a lifestyle certainly have a few other things in common.
Anyway, we chat off/on about things of interest – solar, bread-making, gardens, preps and whatever else makes us tick. The monthly Azure truck comes in this Sunday, and we’re planning to meet up for coffee in advance. It is a refreshing outlet and source of both support and inspiration. In truth, I’m glad we are not politically affiliated. There’s already too much of that for my taste.
If you want to approach subsistence farming and have dairy and meat animals, goats are a lot easier and safer than cattle. You will need to make sure that you have neighbors who also have similar animals so you can avoid inbreeding. Alpine goats, rather than Nubian, are a good choice. Nubians are already too inbred and as my wife says, "Will die if you look at them cross-eyed." For goats you will generally need good fencing so they can be kept out of your vegetable garden. Your garden will also attract deer.
For good off-grid solar-charged electric fencing your best sources are Caprine Supply and Premier1, both of which also have equipment and supplies you need but you would never imagine existed.
If you are seriously interested in making your own woolen clothing you can raise sheep, which can also be good for milk and meat. Learn how to shear according to the Bowen method. That's what those Aussie and NZ shearers use, being able to do an animal in four minutes without nicking the flesh. It'll take you more than an hour, at first, and you'll wound your sheep substantially. Do not expect in the current market for wool to be able to sell the wool for more than what it costs to sharpen the blades of your electric shears. If you want to hand-shear, get a few pairs of Burgon and Ball shears and learn how to keep them sharp. Hand shearing is slower than mechanical, looks awfully dangerous but really isn't, and gives you a closer mutual understanding with the sheep about what you are doing. Look up the Tom Roberts painting "Shearing the Rams" to see how it is done, and do be careful. Never turn your back on a ram, and do not try to make friends with him. Learn to push his head sideways to teach him that you, not he, is in charge of him and his ewes.
There is so much more. Pay some attention to how the Amish do things. Consider having a large family, even though Rand had no children at all except for you and me and zillions like us. Also look up the autobiography of Asa Sheldon. He tells of his joy in working teams of oxen. Here's a good copy of it: https://www.ponyspot.com/asa/asa-shel...
We find that 4x4 inch galvanized panels work fairly well. Regular cattle panels do not. Also, don't ever toss an escaped goat back over the fence. He'll then know, "Goats can fly!" He will teach the others to fly over the fence, and you'll have to install taller fence or put a mesh cap over the entire goat pen. Sometimes we just leave the goats out to wander around. They know where home is at dinner time.
Some people train their goats to electric fence. Electric works very well for horses, because even if the fence is off for a couple of weeks the horses will respect it. Not so with goats. They test it frequently and sometimes just duck underneath it regardless. Or perhaps irregardless.
I have an oh-so-cute video of seven goats crawling around on top of the farm truck... That was two years ago and I swear I can still smell what ran down the windows. They are acrobatic masters of being where they ought not be.
As I've mentioned here in the Gulch before, Tony Hillerman, who wrote all those neat Navajo Tribal Police detective stories, attributed the phrase, "Telling the goats which weed to eat," to an old Navajo lady expressing the frustration of misdirected efforts.
Side note: Anyone confused by the halibut should see this explanation: https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/th...
For a long time "city folks" have made fun of farmers as ignorant dolts. Going out and doing a bit of agriculture can change one's opinion.
This is a major work in progress for me. Books are my best resource – there is a LOT of nonsense and misinformation on the web. Trusted authors for me are Stephen Harron Buhner, Sam Coffman (his book by far is the best (Herbal Medic – A Green Beret’s Guide to Emergency Medical Preparedness), Rosemary Gladstar. I also have some good foraging books (John Slattery), but those will be local to your area.
The books will help identify what you’d like to have on hand (and are very good at telling you how to use it), you need to figure out what will actually grow successfully in your area and find sources. Like the vegetable seeds, you need to find reliable sellers. For me, the first option is always Strictly Medicinal (https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/), but there are certainly others. Also check out https://mountainroseherbs.com/.
Figuring out how to get these planted and growing is a bigger effort – I generally do a separate search for each plant, and have to hit several sources to get all the info that I need. The requirements are all over the place – dry, wet, rich soil, poor soil, acid or alkaline, shade/sun, how to stratify, plant, harvest and store. Many of them are good companions in the veggie garden, many are not. Many/most are perennials and once they’re going you get them for free year after year.
Read about herbal antivirals, herbal antibiotics, immune support, how to make tinctures and salves and teas… I really can’t make a decent list here. Start with Herbal Medic and see what interests you.
Who here is actively looking to co-operate in some manner with people who are NOT located in your vicinity?
If interested I can contact you, provided you give me your email/phone. Mine can be found on previous posts that I made, by following the link I provided.
Alternatively if it's not me, perhaps someone can contact you.
Unfortunately close co-operation for many people means a loss of individuality and has connotations of socialism, hence the trait is rare among independent thinkers. Anyway my thoughts are outlined here: https://quberoot.wordpress.com/
I 100% agree. Besides, I truly believe it is not what happens to you, it is how you respond.
There is a video of an Indian Guru type laughing at people. He says most people have no complaints. They either have memories of complaints, or dreams of future complaints (hallucinations/projects)... But in THIS instant, if they just let go of the past and the future... they will realize they are fine.
I believe this is all related.
My recent learnings have shown me that even what we think of as reality is distorted by our NEED to survive (eat and procreate). But this is turning out to be a necessity to prevent our race from going extinct. The "correctness" of Reality, by itself, serves no useful purpose.
And this is how we fall for manipulations, etc.
Cheers!
TWO THINGS that will cause you trouble.
Starvation and People Behaving Badly.
You’ve only solved half your problems.
If you’re within 150miles of a city larger than 100k. You’re in danger. It’s that simple.
When looking for seeds, go for heirloom so you can save your seeds for next season. Some trusted sources are Baker Creek (https://www.rareseeds.com/), Brim (https://www.brimseed.com/), Select Seeds (https://www.selectseeds.com/). I’ve been really happy with plants (trees, shrubs) from Stark Bros (https://www.starkbros.com/). There are many others, but do some homework – there are seed merchants that sell old seeds.
Decisions on where to plant – we use raised beds here, along with a number of pots (especially for invasive herbs) and towers for patio areas. Green Stalk (https://greenstalkgarden.com/) has good towers that are really easy to work with; these are great for planting on balconies, etc.
The hardest part on this for me was finding good resources for planting, cultivating, and harvesting all in one place. There are some apps that can help with it (https://www.growveg.com/ and https://www.smartgardener.com/). They provide pretty good info on most common garden vegetables, and both walk you through planting, common insect/disease problems, harvesting and allow you to prepare a garden layout.
Read about planting zones, stratifying, chill hours, hardening-off, companions.
Bonus: Materials (soil amendments, fertilizer, pest treatments, etc.) that have OMRI on the packaging are generally appropriate for organic gardening.
This was really a piecemeal thing for me. You can get some good information from LDS (https://providentliving.churchofjesus...) they have charts that can help with determining how much to store per person. I used that as a sanity check.
Mostly for food storage (the important HOW part), it depends on what you are storing. I use canning, freeze-drying (expensive up front), drying, fermenting, root cellaring (although my root cellar plugs into a wall ☹). Outside of your wheat berries and other grains, your beans, sugar and a few other things, the best option by far for most foods is freeze-drying.
There are several freeze-drying videos/groups out there (Retired-at-40 on MeWe is probably the most popular). I’ve been freeze-drying for a few years and learned mostly by trial and error. There just wasn’t that much depth from trusted resources when I started, but it is pretty easy to figure out what will/will not freeze-dry well.
Read about mason jars, mylar bags, food-safe buckets and oxygen absorbers. The homesteading links above are useful resources for food preservation. There’s also the National Center for Home Food Preservation, which is generally the last word in both technique and safety.
One of the best sources for overall homesteading skills is https://homesteadingfamily.com/
They really walk the walk, and have a wide variety of topics. Plus, they are very good teachers, direct, thorough and to-the-point. When they are on a topic, they go pretty deep. They cover everything from canning and fermenting, to care for cast iron, to gardening and even some animal husbandry. I’d say that almost every topic a homesteader needs to learn is covered to some degree.
I’m also quite fond of https://prepschooldaily.blogspot.com/. She writes a blog every day and you never know what she’ll come up with. She has great sense of humor and I’ve learned a lot of important tidbits from her.
Another good source is https://practicalselfreliance.com/. There are many resources available; just watch out for those who are copy/pasting what they find online/are vague in their posts. Often that means they don’t really know much.
Now I have a well-stocked pantry that would get us through more than a year, a good producing garden, and go shopping every other month. Except for Azure which delivers most of my organic bulk goods once a month.
I spend far less on groceries than ever. Which has allowed me to work on new projects - the big one is now designing an herb garden and learning to make medicine.
You need books, and to read them now. Medical, farming, homesteading (learning the old ways of getting by without modern conveniences).
I find like-minded people in odd places online. Plus, I married one, so that helps. In my mind, its about creating a resilient environment and finding pleasure in that. I must say it is massively enjoyable to say, 'wow, I never have to buy that again!'
When I am not ticked off by news (as I am at the moment), I generally feel like I live free and happy.
Then, you figure out what food; everyone says beans and rice, but that is no way to live, and certainly no way to maintain a healthy immune system. Personally, I want to have bread and fruit and vegetables and chocolate and coffee. I don’t want a can of something shelf-stable for 25 years. I have to have a rotation plan, and use it daily.
Nobody likes to drink powdered milk, but it might be the only way you can store it. But even powdered it doesn’t last that long, so you learn to cook with it. In most baking, you’d never know the difference, which lets you rotate it instead of letting it go bad.
So, you need to learn how to prepare what you store into meals. As you master that, you can figure out how to grow it, raise it, or buy in bulk. There are a lot of videos online that can help you through the process, including how to grow gardens in limited space like patios, balconies and kitchen counters.
We can’t buy a cow until I’ve mastered dairy. I’ve made butter, yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk and ice cream, but what’s life without cheese? It is on my list, but it all takes time. Once I master the cheese, I still need to learn how to take care of the cow and keep her healthy and well-fed. Her and the bull, I mean :-). Sustainability!
There are certainly upfront expenses, but as you build in the resiliency, you’ll find that you spend a lot less over time, you get to know what you’re eating, and you’re less susceptible to inflation and supply chain issues.
It’s a path though, and for me-the-nerd it has been a lot of research; there’s certainly a lot of bad guidance online. I think it is important to validate and test your outcomes, which means not just buying a bunch of books and seeds, and hoping everything will work out if you ever need it. I suspect that arm-chair preppers might have a tough time if it ever came down to it. Just gotta live the life, which for me is the whole point anyway.
Everyone should have a supply like that. I still have/keep "25-year food", but now it is from my own recipes.
I noticed when I started a Meetup.com group, that tons of people would join the group, many would click Attending, and very few would physically show up. This is a problem...
What would be the theme of your meetup group?
Not sure what my theme would be but since I'm in California, it would probably be something like "Pursuing the American dream in occupied territory." How does that sound to you?
I think some biting humor and mockery is important. The enemies among us deserve to be ridiculed and offended.
Since then I've lived in lots of places and have finally chosen Texas as home. When I got here, there was a group called "Californians for a Better Texas" (fortunately, now defunct). Calizuelans are coming here in droves now though, and ruining the cities.
It is hard to imagine wanting to go back and live there, but I know there are still many sane folks who do.
Lately Sardony (a word?)
But I started reading through all the great stuff on this thread and then got totally sidetracked checking out and signing up at Azure Standard (thanks Idiocracy42!) Anyway, this link intrigues me, and I will dig deep on it as soon as I finish planting all the veges and flowers I just got via delivery. Hope it may be of some help to anyone else who may be intrigued. At first glance, it looks like it may be well enough organized to hatch new Galt's Gulches all over the country!
In the meantime, I've left Calizuela three years ago (lived there all my life) for a place in Arkansas that I thought might be a reasonable substitute for the Gulch. It was close enough for me. I am 75 and pretty much alone in the world as my husband and almost all true friends and relatives have up and died on me. (No forgiveness for the husband and friends! The relatives get a pass.) I only told two people where I was going. Didn't want any of the AOC types so prevalent now tagging along.
After three years in this pretty heavenly locale, sadly, a great many Calizuelans and a fair amount of other blue state dingbats are moving here and trying to turn it into where they left. They are still quite outnumbered here, but I worry about not dying before they take over. I'm too old to find another place. Good luck to everyone seeking or creating a Gulch of your own.