Resurgence

It has been around 5 years since I last wrote an article relating to crisis preparedness, prepping and survivalism. A lot has happened in Sweden over the last couple of years and the development is very hard to follow, especially from other countries. Many of the articles and reports that I have been able to find that has been written in English has been aimed at either portraying the picture as an absolute catastrophe or as a non-issue. Trying to explain the situation in Sweden is not easy and it’s also a subject that is highly politicized.

I have personally come to the conclusion that I should try to do something to add to this subject. For me this something will be trying to write about this subject from a perspective that has guided my previous articles; with references, ideas, with theories and different perspectives trying to the best of my ability. The risk as I personally see it is that this will be viewed as a political subject and that the facts or ideas that I present will be viewed as either extremely far to the right or as extremely far to the right side of the political spectrum.

Some of the subject that I will try to write about will be about how the Refugee Crisis has affected Sweden and concerning the subject of so-called No-go zones in Sweden. I will also try to do my best to present some of the research that has been done and where a reader can find more information. In this process, I will also start to update the guide for emergency preparedness that I have written to include some of the lessons that I have learned over the last couple of years.

Guest Article by Mother Earth Products

What sets Mother Earth Products apart from everyone else.....

A note from the owner.....read below and see if you feel there is a difference.
We get asked this and other questions all the time. First and foremost, I am happy to try to articulate what sets us apart, but I do not wish to be seen as trying to pick apart the other large companies by doing such. I feel everyone plays an important role in supporting this movement. There are major differences though, but no value is ever added when your emphasis is only to tear down others. This is not my intent as I go through these differences.
The pictures you see on the website and facebook are of me and my family. We want to make sure there is a face to this company. We are a real family. These are our experiences and we would love to share them with you. Mother Earth Products is our company and creation. We are the manufacturer and hand package each of these products for quality and assurance. We hope that our personal experience, great products, and excellent customer service will entice you to try us out. We hope that we can be a valuable asset in your preparedness journey; sharing our knowledge, not just selling you product.

As the owner of Mother Earth Products I surely believe we must be careful and not allow growth to get in the way of why we started this company. I personally feel that too many of the large corporations have lost the personal focus and vision that each of them may have started out with. Many of them may not even have had a background in food storage, homesteading, or self sufficient living. They may have just seen the opportunity to jump into a new emerging market and only wanted to sell product. That is ok, that is what the great American way is all about. Selling product was very secondary to why we started our company though.
I was raised in a family that taught all these skills from the earliest days of my life. My entire adult life I have then had these same interests as my hobbies and my passions. You can read more about this in the “about us” section of our website. I love homesteading and learning all the self sufficient living skills that our forefathers used 100 years ago. I don’t claim to know them all, but I do have a lot of experience in many of them; this is very valuable and I believe it is my mission to help educate as many others as I can. We believe that a lifestyle of low debt and self sufficiency is a very happy and prudent lifestyle in the greatest of successful economies, but it quickly becomes an essential lifestyle when economies falter and fail as they always do when countries go down the current path our country is on.
How many of our larger competitors can you call and speak with the owner whenever you want? Not just speak with them, but then also get counsel and training on many issues; even issues beyond the scope of the products they sell. That is my commitment. I personally handle all the Public Relations and always will….it is my knowledge that people are coming for, not someone’s employee reading out of a manual.

Many other larger Food Storage companies also only wish to focus on the expensive prepackaged entrees. Though we do provide those items, they are not our focus. There is also a huge war and many games played between all the major companies as to what a “serving size” is. Have you noticed that? I don’t know about you, but I need 3-4 of their servings just for me every meal. If the average person had to live off of any those entrees, even for a month, they would quickly learn that they will want and NEED more than just that. Those entrees may sustain life, but that is about all; the quantity and Nutritional quality of them fall very short. There is really not that much that is healthy or nutritious about them either…..and ALL the serving sizes are too small.

Why is Health and Nutrition Critical in your Prepping...... It is no different than needing the healthy fresh foods in your diet today. You should supplement all your entrees with more nutritional side dishes. I even mix many of the veggies in with the entrees; this adds great mixed flavors and nutrition. This REAL nutrition is critical for proper health and strength…….and when might you need your health and strength most; during the crisis for which you purchased these products. We provide a full line of many different fruits and vegetables; not just freeze dried either, plus high protein meat substitutes and quick cook beans. Freeze dried foods are ok, but they are very expensive and take tons more space to store. I have a lifetime of experience that shows that dehydrated products provide the same nutrition and actually store much better and longer than Freeze dried. The best thing is that you can get 2-4 times more product for your dollar; when purchasing dehydrated verses Freeze dried.
We don’t provide the expensive single serving packages of our products; we focus on trying to provide you the products in a fashion where you get the most for your money. We provide various larger pouches of products that you can use for multiple meals. We just want as much product in your hands as possible so you can have it when you need it. To even better help you with this, we discount the product even more and sell it is bulk so you can package it yourself and save the money. We offer you all the packaging supplies to make that happen also. We just want you prepared. The more people that are prepared, the better off we will all be as a prepper community when we reach that cliff.

All the comments on the website come directly to me…..so drop me a line anytime you wish.

Respectfully,
Theodore K Pope

Looking for one of the toughest Shell Jackets available?

Exposure from Wind, Snow and Rain can cause hypothermia and kill an unprotected individual in a very short period of time. Shell Jackets provide an other layer than shields you from the elements making it an excellent piece of clothing for hiking, winter sports and Bug Out Bags. One of my personal favorites on the market is the jacket Brede from Klättermusen. The Jacket is relatively heavy, though and will last a very long time. I have personally used one of these Jackets for almost ten years and its one of my personal favorites. It very expensive but it’s a product that will perform well in extreme condition and a product that can take an extreme amount of abuse. Some of the features include

·         RECCO reflector for Search and Rescue after avalanches

·         Compass

·         Whistle attached to the zipper of the jacket

 

The Coming Oil Crisis

Guest Article by: Allison Morris

If you're planning for the future, consider stockpiling petroleum products. There's an oil crisis coming, and it's unavoidable. Our world's oil reserves aren't as widespread as we're often led to believe. In fact, a 2009 Wikileak found that Saudi Arabia overstated their number of oil barrels by about 40%. As our oil supplies wane, gas prices skyrocket. In the last decade, they have almost doubled. High prices and low supply aren't our only problems — many consumers want to know what will happen when we can't get our oil fix. Fracking, using dirty coal, and other forms of mining are just a few of the toxic alternatives to our nation's dependence on oil and petroleum products. If fortune favors the prepared mind, consider the implications and necessary actions of a population without access to enough petroleum. It's scary! For more information about the coming oil crisis, consider the infographic by Carinsurance.org below.

 

 

The Collapse as a Process

Within the Survivalist and Prepper community the concept SHTF is often used in order to describe an event that will require the tools often discussed as tactics to handle a massive breakdown of the modern institutions, infrastructure, law and order. WROL or Without the Rule of Law has also started to be used in order to describe such an event.

The main problem as I see it is that this type of thinking focuses on a single event that will suddenly change everything about modern life. History shows us that many previous civilizations have collapsed; the Romans, Mayans and the people of the Easter Islands are just some examples. Modern examples are also available like the collapse of the Soviet Union, the collapse of former Yugoslavia, the Genocide in Rwanda and a number of civil wars and more or less collapsed states like Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo and Somalia. The difficulty of reversing this process has been demonstrated in several conflicts where comprehensive peace building and state building processes have place. So we know that countries, systems and civilizations can and have failed over the course of history. Sometimes a collapse can have absolutely devastating results, but in some cases it can also be relatively peaceful as in the case of the Soviet Union.

What if a Collapse is not an event but a Process?

Within the Survivalist and Prepper movement different types of tactics and solutions has been developed in order to be able to cope with a sudden collapse of modern society;

·         The ability to escape an area buy having kit such as Bug Out Bags, Vehicles and Plans for Escape to safer areas or alternative locations where supplies are being stored.

·         Collecting and storing equipment, supplies, water and other essentials in the home so that one can “Bug In” without having to rely on others.

This type of tactics can be effective for disasters with a fast onset like a hurricane, a nuclear plant meltdown and large scale accidents, but this does not mean that this type tactics is well suited all situations. As the Economic Crisis within the European Union progresses many choose to leave their homes and even their home countries in order to find jobs and livelihoods. For this type of situation a fully equipped Bug Out Bag is not as an effective tool as an education, skills and knowledge that makes it possible to find a job elsewhere.
 

As the situation progresses it becomes clear that the standard of living that many have experienced may become a thing of the past. Things that might be expected are

·         Higher unemployment and a tougher job market

·         Lower wages

·         Higher taxes

·         Higher prices on food, water, energy and fuel

·         Social services like schools, healthcare, law enforcement, military and other functions of states may decrease in size and function.

·         Pensions being lost or lowered and the age for retirement being raised.

These threats present a number of challenges to individuals and families; especially those how already have low marginal in their economic situation. There are no easy solutions for these types of problems but there are of course thing that can be done by individuals and families. It’s also important to say that all regions in the world may not develop the same; some regions may continue to experience economical growth while other regions may go the other way.

Some suggested steps for increasing your resilience

·         Try to reduce your level of debt and pay of any loans you might have, in a situation when the economy no longer grows it can become very hard to pay interest on loans while your salary remains the same or event get lowered.

·         Try to make some savings and put some money away every month; investing money in gold, silver, land and other type of values can also be a way to improve your situation.

·         Learn how to make do with less and save where you can.

·         Work together with your community; it is likely that many services may no longer be available in the same way as they have before. Non Governmental Organizations already provides services for Search and Rescue, Education and Social Services and other fields around the world. 

·         When buying gear try to investment in quality gear that will stand the test of time. Also try to repair and learn to repair gear instead of throwing things away and buying something new as soon as it breaks.

·         Find local opportunities and local options to ensure your basic needs.

 

Conclusion

First of all; I don’t want to pretend that I know what tomorrow will bring. There are however a number of challenges that is not being recognized either as parts or as a whole by the political and economical community. Viewing a potential collapse as a process and not as an event presents a number of problems to actually preparing for such an event. One thing that is clear however is that as things change what we regard as normal will change over time, lower wages, higher gas prices, lowered pensions and other problems will no longer be viewed as imminent disaster, but as everyday life.

The political system in the United States and within the European Union is focused on the notion of growth. This makes it very hard to recognize that there might be limitations like

·        Fossil fuels that provide over 80% of all energy used today are not an unlimited recourse and that we might reach a Peak in the world production.

·         That land is not an unlimited recourse

·         Other renewable and non renewable resource like topsoil, phosphor, fresh water and forests does not exist in an unlimited quantity.

·         That the increase of the world population might create challenges and problems

Adapting to such a situation is not easy and solutions that work in some settings for some people may not work in other settings. Solutions must be based on the local climate, terrain, population and opportunities that exist. Some change may come from the top of the political and economical system but it’s likely that challenges presented will be ignored and that adapting to the changing situation will have to be done by people themselves; you have to take responsibility for your own situation.