|
Whilst this severe weather is still with us it is prudent and
sensible to become aware of some basic survival tips. There are three situations to think of. These being: 1: In case you break down or
get stranded in these cold situations in a car or veichle. 2: If you are walking or using public transport. 3: Staying at home. What to take with you when in a car or veichle.
By all means this is
not an exhaustive list and also not in any particular order so please feel free
to add or subtract from the list if you want but if you are in a vehicle
then this list forms a basic kit that I carry in my car at all times.
It is also wise to
KNOW HOW TO USE THE ITEMS.
A change of clothes including headgear, socks and gloves. Not only to
use if you are wet but also it is easier to keep warm with your clothes in a
layered pattern rather than one thick item because thin-layered items keep air
trapped between the layers and this keeps you warmer.
A supply of fresh drinking water. Stands to reason you will become
dehydrated if you don't drink but a nice warm cup of tea makes you feel better.
This is also a good barter tool. It cost next to nothing to have a 2lt plastic
bottle in your bag or box kept in the boot.
A heat source. A small hexi burner or gel stove will cost about £5 but
will save your life by giving you a heat source to boil water and warm up some
food. You can of course go further and buy a storm kettle but for emergency a small
hexi burner will suffice.
Waterproof matches and / or a fire steel /fire flint and striker. Speaks for themselves really but worth
mentioning as you need to light the hexi or gel burner. It could be wise to
also add a couple of storm candles which keep alight even in bad weather.
A set of mess tins and a cup. Again this
enables you to boil water and make a brew but also if you have a supply of
rations or rat packs then you can not only make a brew but also make a meal of
high calorific value to see you through the immediate dangers.
A thermos flask. If you are
boiling water then it makes sense to keep any excess ready for a quick
use.
Ration packs. You can buy many different ration packs of dehydrated or
pre packed food that are generally high in calories and also taste quite good.
I carry a three days supply at all times in a vehicle because after that you
are either in some serious shit or help will be with you.
Mobile phone and car charger. Obvious but often overlooked. Should you
not have a fully charged mobile, (and don't forget mobile batteries run down
faster in the cold) if you have hot drinks and food you can barter to use other
peoples phones.
A 4/5 season Sleeping bag. These days a good sleeping bag is relatively
cheap and a good 4/5 season sleeping bag will keep you warm in temperatures
down to minus 20. Obviously you get what you pay for but in any case how
valuable is your life?
A wind up torch/ head torch. Again a necessity because you then don't
need to keep the engine running to provide light.
A selection of glow sticks. Glow sticks don't seem to be too effective
but they do make a difference if you have no light and they can be seen a long
way off by rescuers. They also come in various colours these days including
white.
A wind up radio. Always good to know the up to date info and the fact that
there is a voice can help in the darkest of times.
A 2-part shovel, preferably plastic. Plastic is lighter to carry and
use. A two part one is smaller to handle.
A piece of thick plastic sheeting, some bungee cord or purlon (para) cord and
some tent pegs. If you are going to have to make a fire to boil water or
make a warm meal then obviously you don't want to attempt to do it in the
vehicle (you would be surprised that some have tried it). Thus you need to have
a clear area to prepare your burner and you can easily get wet quickly with the
snow so a piece if plastic sheeting placed on the floor enables you to work
your burner easier.
First aid kit. A basic first
aid knowledge is imperative in daily life but if you find yourself in an
emergency situation then either you or a fellow human may well be glad that you
took a course in basic first aid. It might raise eyebrows but saving someone’s
life in an emergency situation can be a good barter point.
Obviously not
an exhaustive list but one that can help save your life so give this subject
some serious thought and above all...
practice what you need to do
WHEN
YOU DON'T NEED TO DO IT SO YOU ARE PROFICIENT WHEN YOU DO NEED THE SKILLS.
2. If you are walking or using public transport.
You
need to consider taking with you a "day sac" ., In this day sack you
will be looking to keep some chocolate and glucose sweets, a first aid
kit, a small wind up torch and portable small radio. Also you could
consider carrying an amount of money stitched into the bag for
emergency use. Also, for ladies a stout pair of shoes because high
heels might be practical if you only need to walk to and from the bus /
train station to work etc but if you wear high heels and
need to look at walking home if the bus breaks down it can soon
become a problem.
3. It you are at home.
It is
also prudent to keep a supply of food and water at your home in case of
emergencies. Think of situations where you can't get out to the shops.
For instance the snow or transport failures.
As we know large
supermarkets etc only have 3-5 days of food on the shelves at any one
time but if everyone is after that food then you may well find there is
nothing left.
You should be looking to keep at least 3 weeks
worth of food in tins or packages and water in store. To work out what
you need you can write down everything you eat in a week and then
triple it and add a bit because you will inevitable miss some things
off the list.
To this you need to add things like torches,
batteries, an alternative heat source and if possible a way of cooking
food without the usual method you currently employ.
If
you are coming back here often you may see that some of the pages have
dissapeared or gone asque. That's down to my web editing efforts
and all will be sorted soon. Until
then please accept my apologies for not updating things on the site as fast as I should be
for you to see. Work is progressing but just not to visible at the
moment.
We
hope this site will give more information on how we can individually
AND collectively dictate OUR OWN FUTURE rather than having it dictated
to us.
Over
the coming weeks, months and years, we hope this site will expand to become a
plethora of information and interactivity regarding the environmental changes
we are facing and how we can help change the way we are now behaving in order
to tread lighter on the planet. No one on here will demand you give up your gas
guzzling car or your foreign holidays but we do hope you will be encouraged to
use the large car less and seek alternatives. Also take local or UK based
holidays.
I
remember one song lyric that goes something like you never know what you have
missed until you go away. The Uk has some fantastic holiday destinations; it
just needs the will to seek them out.
The
site will include information on both simple and complex, cheap and expensive
ideas that we can all do but may never have thought of doing such as using
rainwater for washing clothes, washing the car and for flushing toilets along
with the usual watering of the garden. If you are on a water meter then you can
reduce your annual bill by as much as 60% by using this simple idea of water
harvesting. Click on the link here to take you to our water page.
You
could take it a stage further and make a water filter that can give you water
at a purity rate of 95% - 98% and this filter only costs in the region of £10
sterling to make. If you want to go completely off grid for your water use then
I hope to add information on ceramic filters and UV treatments but for now the
mantra is reduce, reuse and recycle.
I
hope this site will also expand to take in solar photo voltaic cells and wind
generation. You will be able to find information on both stand-alone power set
ups such as using batteries and also grid tied systems where you can
essentially use the national grid as your back up battery but this does remove
the total independence issue.
I
also hope to add pages about Solar thermal for water heating and alternative fuels
such as wood burning again for space heating and hot water production. Ground
source and air source Heat pumps are also good areas to explore although these
can be expensive and some need large areas of ground to be effective depending
on the system used such as bore hole or linear pipe work but again these are
extremely efficient with returns of up to 500%.
Other
areas of the site will include growing food, keeping chickens, making different
foods such as sausages, burgers, cheeses, cream and bakery products such as
scones, pies, cakes etc. By growing your own food you are starting to become
more self resilient and less reliant on the big shopping conglomerates. This
site will not assume you have acre upon acre to grow food or the time to do it
but it will start with growing herbs in a pot on your window sill and then
expand on that idea to as large as you want it to be. This site will be organic
in it's approach to the way it is set up and any methods offered will be of the
organic nature. I would prefer and encourage you not to use chemicals where
possible for the likes of your food production but it's completely up to you. I
fully believe that organic fruit and vegetables are better than those doused
with gallons of pesticides, herbicides and false nutrients but that is a
personal choice and as such you need to make your own mind up. We started
growing our own food because we could no longer afford to buy even the chemical
doused produce so we chose the organic route.
Other
parts of the site will be including recipes for food and drinks. How about
nettle beer, rhubarb whiskey or potato wine for example?
As
this site is offering alternative views to the regular every day scenarios it
will continue with a section on survival. If you know what TEOTWAWKI or
TSHTF means then you will already be aware of the survival traits. For
those that don't know what the acronyms stand for all will be revealed on the
site.
There
will be a forum on the site that encompasses all the topics of the site and
more. It will be a membership forum but it will be more open than some around
the web. There will eventually be moderators to keep an eye on things but it
will be left to police itself on the whole. Some forums are run by keyboard
hero's where as this one will not be and solar micro generation will be used to
keep the fridges running for "the Boss".
I
will also be adding a shop to the site in the future to sell ethical products
and hand made items to help pay for the running of the site either made by me
or by closely vetted third parties so if you make quality products then I may
be able to offer you another avenue to sell your products on commission basis
but realistically that will be well yonder side of Christmas 09.
OK
that's enough from us for now so please keep calling back to see the new
features added as I get to drips with the fantastic world of website editing.
Self
sufficiency for me is a close relative of sustainability and as such this site
will be akin to helping people with ideas of living a more sustainable
lifestyle. By making small changes over time we will all be able to make Sustainable
actions for a sustainable future
which will enable us all to enjoy the
planet a bit longer. The new list of links for this site will be along
the lines of these below so there should be something of interest for
all.... I hope you agree.
Solar PV
Solar thermal
Wood burning
Wind power
Water power
Water harvesting
Heat pumps
Transport
Carbon offsetting
Rabbits
Goats
Chickens
Cheese making
Sausage making
Food preservation
Organic gardening
Recipes
Volunteering
Tutorials
Energy savings
Charities
Recycling
Frugal living
Money saving tips
Home made cosmetics
For sale
Miscellaneous
What if?
Survival
General
Page updates
Message board
Blog
|
