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Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

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  1. #1911
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    More than 101 reasons to use coconut as a home remedy to improve your health naturally

    Thursday, May 31, 2012 by: JB Bardot

    (NaturalNews) Coconuts are a versatile superfood providing nutrition, health benefits, and amazing medicinal properties all wrapped in one delicious package. Coconuts are totally natural, easily available and affordable; and every part of the fruit is useful.

    Green coconut water uses:

    --Natural, healthy source for hydration, energy and endurance, making it the perfect sports drink.
    --Restores electrolytes after exercise, vomiting, diarrhea.
    --Antiseptic properties provide antibacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal agents to purify blood -- killing measles, herpes, influenza, AIDS, SARS, hepatitis C...
    --Useful for emergency transfusions due to being close in composition to human plasma.
    --Used to prevent vomiting, nausea and replace lost fluids in cases of malaria, typhoid, influenza...
    --Dissolves kidney stones alkalizing urine pH.
    --Used as a natural cleanse, coconut water mixed with olive oil eliminates intestinal parasites.

    Coconut oil medicinal uses:

    Virgin coconut oil tastes and smells like coconut. Expeller pressed oil has no scent or taste and both types can be used medicinally.

    --Kills bacteria causing urinary tract infections, gonorrhea, gum disease, staphylococcus, MRSA...
    --Destroys fungus causing candida.
    --Kills viruses causing flu, infectious disease, typhoid, HIV...
    --Inhibits parasite growth such as tapeworm, liver flukes, giardia...
    --Eases acid reflux, relieves gallbladder disease.
    --Enhances proper bowel function and lowers incidence of hemorrhoids when oil is consumed.
    --Relieves and heals intestinal disorders, ulcers, colitis, IBS, and Crohn's disease.
    --Stabilizes blood sugar and insulin production.
    --Eases neuropathies and itching from diabetes.
    --Protects against osteoporosis and reduces problems from cystic fibrosis.
    --Enhances pancreatic function, enzyme production and reduces pancreatitis.
    --Improves magnesium and calcium absorption, promoting stronger bones.
    --Reduces joint and muscle inflammation, supporting repair of tissues.
    --Regulates thyroid function.
    --Protects against cancers of colon, breast, and digestive tract.
    --Medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) protect against development of Alzheimer's disease.
    --MCFA strengthen heart and circulatory system protecting against artherosclerosis and heart disease.
    --Prevents oxidation of fatty acids.
    --Provides antioxidants to fight free radicals slowing aging and degenerative diseases such as arthritis.
    --Relieves symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.
    --Reduces incidence and intensity of epileptic seizures.
    --Stabilizes female hormones reducing hot flashes and vaginal dryness during menopause.
    --Lessens symptoms associated with prostate enlargement.
    --Strengthens the liver and protects against degeneration.
    --Soothes earaches when mixed with garlic and olive oil.

    Topical uses for coconut oil:

    --Forms a chemical barrier on skin to protect and heal infections.
    --Topical applications relieve pain and swelling from hemorrhoids.
    --Moisturizes and softens dry skin.
    --Reduces bags, puffiness and wrinkles under eyes.
    --Lessens occurrence and appearance of varicose veins.
    --Preps skin before shaving.
    --Mixed with baking soda, coconut oil makes an effective toothpaste.
    --Soothes sunburned skin and promotes healing of burns and blisters.
    --Heals psoriasis and eczema lesions.
    --Stops pain, burning, and itching of bug and snake bites.
    --Prevents itching from poison ivy, oak, and sumac.
    --Promotes firm skin tone, preventing age spots, sagging and wrinkles.
    --Eliminates head lice.
    --Removes makeup easily.
    --Heals nail fungus under finger and toenails.
    --Prevent nosebleeds by applying light film inside nostrils.
    --In combination with cornstarch and baking soda, coconut oil makes an effective deodorant.
    --Makes an excellent massage oil, a natural personal lubricant, and great sunscreen.
    --Conditions hair, prevents split ends, reduces frizz, controls flaky scalp and dandruff.
    --Removes scars and stretch marks.
    --Repairs cracked, sore, dry nipples from nursing.
    --Heals diaper rash and removes cradle cap on babies.

    Nutritional uses for coconut oil:

    --Enhances absorption of nutrients and improves digestion.
    --Provides a quick energy source and stimulates metabolism.
    --Produces immediate, usable energy source rather than being stored as fat.
    --Increases metabolic rate, stabilizes body weight, and controls food cravings.
    --Enriches milk supply for breast-feeding women.
    --Doesn't form harmful by-products during cooking when used at high heat.

    Sources for this article include:

    http://www.accessmylibrary.com
    http://www.thefreelibrary.com
    WIC News
    http://www.naturalnews.com
    Coconut Research Center Home Page
    http://www.organicfacts.net
    Coconut Oil Cures
    http://www.uniben.edu
    Coconut Palm

    More than 101 reasons to use coconut as a home remedy to improve your health naturally


    About the author:
    JB Bardot is trained in herbal medicine and homeopathy, and has a post graduate degree in holistic nutrition. Bardot cares for both people and animals, using alternative approaches to health care and lifestyle. She writes about wellness, green living, alternative medicine, holistic nutrition, homeopathy, herbs and naturopathic medicine. READ HER OTHER ARTICLES ON NATURAL NEWS HERE: Articles by JB Bardot You can find her on Facebook at Jean Bardot | Facebook or on Twitter at jbbardot23 https://twitter.com/#!/jbbardot23

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    Blend Coconut Nutrition into Your Smoothies

    Coconut Oil for Alzheimer's

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  2. #1912
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    One in six cancers is caused by treatable infections

    Thursday, May 31, 2012 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer

    (NaturalNews) Infections cause approximately 2 million cases of cancer per year and are responsible for about 1.5 million of the 7.5 million cancer deaths worldwide, according to a study published in the journal Lancet Oncology.

    "Infections with certain viruses, bacteria, and parasites are one of the biggest and preventable causes of cancer worldwide," the researchers wrote

    The researchers examined a wide variety of cancer records, including a database on incidence of 27 types of cancer in 184 countries. They found that in 2008, approximately 16 percent of all cancers diagnosed could be attributed to infection. The rate of infection-related cancers was, on average, three times higher in developing countries than in richer ones, but the specifics varied widely. For example, only 3.3 percent of cancers in Australia and New Zealand could be attributed to infection, compared with a whopping 32.7 percent of all cancers in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Nearly all infection-related cancers (1.9 million) were caused by one of four infectious agents: Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium of the gastrointestinal tract; the human papillomavirus (HPV); and the viruses hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

    These microbes are mostly responsible for gastric, cervical and liver cancers, respectively. Approximately 50 percent of women's infection-related cancers occur in the cervix, while approximately 80 percent of men's occur in the liver, stomach and colon.

    Mere infection with one of the cancer-related microbes does not guarantee the development of cancer, however.

    "One thing that infection-associated cancers have in common is that a chronic infection is required," researcher Martyn Plummer said. "It takes decades for an infection to progress to cancer."

    Many commentators noted that the findings give hope for dramatically reducing global cancer rates.

    "Application of existing public-health methods for infection prevention, such as vaccination, safer injection practice, or antimicrobial treatments, could have a substantial effect on future burden of cancer worldwide," the researchers wrote

    "The findings show the potential for preventive and therapeutic programs in less developed countries to significantly reduce the global burden of cancer and the vast disparities across regions and countries," said Harvard's Goodarz Danaei, who was not involved in the study.

    "Since effective and relatively low-cost vaccines for HPV and HBV are available, increasing coverage should be a priority for health systems in high-burden countries."

    A New HPV Vaccine Push?

    Danaei was not alone in responding to the study with a call for increased use of the controversial and potentially dangerous HPV vaccine. Referring to the HPV shot, Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society (ACS) said, "The more people you vaccinate, male and female, the more likely you are to get a population that doesn't have the disease."

    Many countries now recommend the HPV vaccine for all girls aged 11 or 12, or for unvaccinated women under the age of 27. More and more agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are now recommending it for boys, as well. But a 2011 study in the Annals of Medicine warned that this pro-vaccination push may be driven by financial concerns and bad science.

    In particular, the authors warned that clinical trials of Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil used two different placebos as a way to conceal the true rates of serious side effects, and that the vaccines have never been proven effective at lowering cervical cancer rates or mortality.

    "The medical profession has presented partial information to the public, namely, in a way that generates fear, thus promoting vaccine uptake," researchers Lucija Tomljenovic and Christopher Shaw of the University of British Columbia-Vancouver wrote.

    "Medical and regulatory entities worldwide continue to provide inaccurate information regarding cervical cancer risk and the usefulness of HPV vaccines, thereby making informed consent regarding vaccination impossible to achieve."

    Sources for this article include:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk

    http://www.cbsnews.com

    http://www.naturalnews.com


    One in six cancers is caused by treatable infections


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    Exposed: 10 Facts about the Breast Cancer Industry You're Not Supposed to Know (opinion)


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  3. #1913
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    Letter Re: Commercial Scale Organic Farming and Ranching


    Hi Jim,
    I wanted to let you know about an interesting visit I had last week. Part of my job is to evaluate start-up companies for potential early-stage investments. Ran across an interesting one last week. Located in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, they have embarked on a totally sustainable commercial scale organic farming/ranching enterprise. They have about 1,000 acres in Oregon and another 1,000 acres in California in the Central Valley. Here's their process to convert regular farmland to sustainable organic agriculture and ranching:

    1. First, they acquire standard farmland, usually tilled.
    2. They convert it to pasture ensuring that there is irrigation and planting it with a robust mixture of grasses, clover, grains, hairy vetch, and other sturdy broadleaf plants. It takes 3 years to be certified as organic so from this point on, they do not apply pesticides [herbicides,] or non-organic approved fertilizers.
    3. They then run sheep on the pasture land, moving them from segment to segment every 3-5 days. They sell the lambs yearly and keep the breeding ewes for about 5-7 years when they are also sold. They also harvest hay to feed the ewes over the winter. Volunteer weeds are favorites of the sheep and very little land maintenance is required beyond irrigation.
    4. Sheep are alternated with very large chicken tractors that move on
    winches about 1 foot/hour. Eggs and meat are harvested.
    5. Cows are run on the land occasionally.
    6. After three years of this production, the pasture foliage has filled in and is very dense. The biomass has also been completely re-established in the ground. The ground has rebuilt its nitrogen content and is now ready for crops.
    7. After several additional years of production (optional), pigs are allowed on the pasture. The pigs rip up the soil and add
    natural fertilizer.
    8. After a partial season of pig use, the land is tilled and organic crops are grown for two years.
    9. After cropping, the land is re-planted in pasture and the process repeats.
    As you can see, this requires substantial farm land in order to rotate the different utilizations at the proper time. What is interesting is the financial dynamics of this process.

    Typical farmland produces about a 4% return on investment (ROI) annually. Margins have decreased since
    ethanol production and other factors have driven up the cost of fertilizers, additives and animal feed. With their process, they are getting 8% ROI and it is indefinitely sustainable. Plus, the meat, eggs, and crops are all organic commanding premium prices for the farmers. I should note that their business model is to be simply owners/managers of the land. They lease out the land to other commercial enterprise who raise sheep, cows, chickens, pigs and crops and sell them into the organic marketplace. They lease the land on the schedule noted above.

    I thought that this may have some value to homesteaders and people setting up their retreat. Perhaps this could work on a smaller scale; say five acres or so with small numbers of sheep, pigs and chickens. You would need ongoing access to grass seed to re-seed pastures if you chose to grow crops. - Sid L.

    Letter Re: Commercial Scale Organic Farming and Ranching - SurvivalBlog.com
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  4. #1914
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    How to Butcher a Wild Hog – Photo Essay

    How to Butcher a Wild Hog – Photo Essay
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  5. #1915
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  6. #1916
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    Is your cookware killing you?

    Thursday, May 31, 2012 by: Craig Stellpflug

    (NaturalNews) Our health is greatly influenced by the food we eat and how we cook it. The nutrient density of food can be easily damaged by overheating our foods along with the damaging chemicals and heavy metals that leach into it from our cookware. Heavy metals from cookware alter enzymes and tastes and ultimately end up in the body. You can buy the very best organic food and inadvertently turn it into poison by cooking it wrong.

    Some cookware is better than others and some is just plain toxic

    Teflon cookware is probably the all-time worst of all cookware. Johns Hopkins Medical Center says the chemical PFOA, used in manufacturing Teflon, is now found in the bloodstreams of nearly everyone in the U.S. Early studies suggest that high PFOA blood levels in humans are linked with cancer, high cholesterol levels, thyroid disease and reduced fertility. Teflon surfaces break down and end up in your food and when heated to high temperatures, emit fumes which cause flu-like symptoms in humans (AKA: polymer fume fever) and can be fatal to birds. Manufacturers have to eliminate PFOA from all cooking products by the year 2015.

    Aluminum cookware is one of the most common cookware to use, but can be very toxic as this heavy metal is absorbed into all food cooked in it. The aluminum released into foods during cooking ends up in your body. Excess aluminum has been associated with estrogen-driven cancers and Alzheimer's Disease.

    Copper cookware is the choice of many because it conducts heat so well. Copper cookware releases copper into the food to be eaten and usually also has nickel in the coating, which is another toxic heavy metal and can be very allergenic.

    Cast iron cookware is very durable but iron is constantly leaching into the food, changing the enzymes in it. Iron can reach toxic levels in the body with regular use and becomes a pro-oxidant which causes stress, oxidation and eventually disease.

    Ceramic, enamel, and glass cookware are manufactured with lead. Lead gives these wares shock resistance and color uniformity. The level of lead in each product is set by the manufacturer. Never cook with anything labeled "for decoration only".

    Stainless steel cookware is made from a metal alloy consisting of mostly iron and chromium along with differing percentages of molybdenum, nickel, titanium, copper and vanadium. But even stainless steel allows other metals to leach into the foods. The principal elements in stainless that have negative effects on our health are iron, chromium and nickel.

    Titanium cookware seems to pose the least health risks and doesn't react with food while cooking. Part of a good cancer prevention plan is to ditch all others and buy high quality titanium cookware. Premium titanium cookware is more expensive but inferior cookware will actually cost more over time.

    It's not all about the cookware

    One thing we should all avoid is cooking at higher temperatures. The higher the temperatures, the more we devastate the nutrients in the food and compromise the integrity and safety of the cookware. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs), are compounds created in meats and other foods cooked at high temperatures that can boost the risk of pancreatic cancer by 60 percent and increase the risk of stomach, colon and breast cancers.

    Conversely, some antioxidants are activated by cooking. This includes lycopene in tomatoes and beta-carotene in carrots and sweet potatoes. Researchers found that you actually multiply the antioxidant power of your carrots three times by cooking them - peels and all, and then pureeing them which releases cancer-fighting compounds from the carrots.

    For healthy eating, find some quality titanium cookware and learn to cook foods below 200 degrees to preserve the nutrients and receive the best value out of your food.

    Sources for this article:

    Study Finds Teflon Chemical In Newborns' Umbilical Cords
    http://www.cancer.org

    Begley TH, White K, Honigfort P, Twaroski ML, Neches R, Walker RA. Perfluorochemicals: potential sources of and migration from food packaging. Food Addit Contam. 2005 Oct;22(10):1023-31.
    Darbre PD. Aluminium, antiperspirants and breast cancer. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry
    Volume 99, Issue 9, September 2005, Pages 1912-1919.

    About the author:
    Craig Stellpflug is a Cancer Nutrition Specialist, Lifestyle Coach and Neuro Development Consultant at Healing Pathways Medical Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ. Healing Pathways Cancer Clinic of Scottsdale, AZ provides naturopathic therapies without damaging the immune system using non-toxic, immune building, re-regulating, and body cleansing cancer programs. With 17 years of clinical experience working with both brain disorders and cancer, Craig has seen first-hand the devastating effects of vaccines and pharmaceuticals on the human body and has come to the conclusion that a natural lifestyle and natural remedies are the true answers to health and vibrant living. You can find his daily health blog at www.blog.realhealthtalk.com and his articles and radio show archives at www.realhealthtalk.com

    http://www.naturalnews.com/036029_co...chemicals.html

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  7. #1917
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest


    “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” — Robert A. Heinlein

    Thursday, May 31, 2012

    Quote of the Day

    "Windage and elevation, Mrs. Langdon. Windage and elevation…" — John Wayne

    Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest: Quote of the Day
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  8. #1918
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    Can You Tell the Difference Between Rich / Poor Neighborhoods in Satellite Images?

    bttt
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  9. #1919
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    CDC denies rumors of zombie apocalypse

    By Stephen C. Webster
    Friday, June 1, 2012 13:13 EDT



    A man in Miami
    chews the face off another man, allegedly while under some kind of drug-induced psychosis.

    Another man in New Jersey goes insane and slices his belly open, then throws his own intestines at police.

    Yet another man in Maryland admits to eating his roommate’s heart and brain.

    A Canadian snuff film actor admits to murdering, dismembering, raping and eating a young victim, mails body parts to a newspaper, then goes on the run.

    Finally, doctors take it upon themselves to calm a panicked public as the media hyperventilates over a Georgia woman whose leg had to be amputated to stop the spread of flesh-eating bacteria, now known to infect thousands of Americans every year.

    As if this bloody chaos weren’t bizarre enough, it gets weirder still: All of these events happened in the same week.

    Naturally, the Internet wants to know: is it — being, you know, The Zombie Apocalypse — finally happening? According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the answer to that question is officially no.

    In a letter sent to a Huffington Post reporter on Thursday, the CDC formally denied that a zombie apocalypse might be underway in the U.S.
    “CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead (or one that would present zombie-like symptoms),” an agency spokesman explained.

    The CDC has previously used “zombie preparedness” to promote understanding of disaster readiness, and even keeps a “zombie blog” full of “teachable moments” from popular zombie lore like AMC’s “The Walking Dead” television show.

    “If you are generally well equipped to deal with a zombie apocalypse you will be prepared for a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake, or terrorist attack,” CDC Director Dr. Ali Khan notes on the agency’s website.

    Still, conspiracy-minded readers may wish to note that former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) recently told reporters that “cannibals” have finally overrun Washington, D.C. Considering the week’s news, someone may want to get on that story asap.

    ——

    Photo: Michael Jackson in “Thriller,” screenshot via YouTube.

    CDC denies rumors of zombie apocalypse | The Raw Story
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    Guest Post: The Realities Of Choosing Your Survival Retreat Location


    Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/01/2012 14:14 -0400

    Submitted by Brandon Smith from Alt Market
    The Realities Of Choosing Your Survival Retreat Location



    Unfortunately, having a ‘Plan B’ just isn’t the modern American way. The great and diabolical misfortune of having two to three solid generations of assumed prosperity in one’s culture is the side-effect it has of lulling the populace into comfortable apathy. “Prepping” becomes a kind of novelty; a lifestyle that people joke about while planning out their next vacation or their next suburban home purchase. It’s something that others consider in that fleeting moment in front of the television while witnessing the news of a catastrophe on the other side of the world, only to be forgotten minutes after changing the channel.

    Such things do not happen here. Not in the United States…

    I am a child of an age laden with illusory wealth, and have benefitted (for a short time at least) from the financial fakery of our economic system, as have many Americans. Most of us have not had to suffer through the unmitigated poverty, hopelessness, and relentless fear that are pervasive in harsher days. All our problems could be cured with money, especially government money, and as long as the greenbacks were flowing, we didn’t care where they came from. Ultimately, though, the ease of our well-to-do welfare kingdom has set us up for a cultural failure of epic proportions. Anytime a society allows itself to be conditioned with dependency, its fate is sealed.

    We do not know what crisis really is. Many Americans barely have an inkling of what it entails. We imagine it, in films, in books, and in our own minds, but the fantasy is almost numbing. We lose sight of the tangible grating salty rawness of the worst of things, while imagining ourselves to be “aware”. Most people today are like newborns playing merrily in a pit of wolves.

    Preppers, on the other hand, are those who seek to understand what the rest of the public goes out of its way to ignore. They embrace the reality and inevitability of disaster, and suddenly, like magic, they are able to see its oncoming potential where others cannot (or will not). The price they pay for this extended vision, however, is high…
    I see the prepper generation as a generation of sacrifice; men and women who must endure the collapse of the façade for the sake of an honorable future society they may not live to experience. Modern day Cassandras? Hopefully not. But, certainly a group of people who have lost much in the path to knowledge. We lose our blissful naivety. That which once easily entertained us becomes banal and meaningless. We set aside many of our dreams to make room for the private and public battle we must wage for the truth. And, in the early days of our awakening, we tend to lose sleep.

    The primary advantage of this otherwise complex life is actually simple: we have a ‘Plan B’.

    Independence, self sustainability, true community, and redundancy in systems; it’s all in a day’s work for the prepper. But, one thing tends to sit upon our minds above all else, and that subject is ‘home’. Not necessarily the home where we are, but the home where we will shelter during darker days. Call it a retreat, call it a bunker, call it whatever you like, but every prepper has to have that place set aside that gives him the utmost advantage while facing off against calamities that normally annihilate average people.

    Choosing a retreat can be easy, or so difficult it explodes your brain depending on how you approach it. The problem I see most often with those seeking a back-up location for a collapse scenario is that they engage the process as if they are still living in 2006, hunting for their McMansion with a view on the sunny hillsides of Colorado or California, instead of thinking in practical terms. So, to help clarify a more fundamental approach to choosing a survival retreat, here is a list of priorities that cannot be overlooked:

    Property Placement

    You may be searching for a homestead property or a more discreet retreat area for only the most violent disasters. In either case, property placement should be your number one concern. Where is your subject property located? What are the strengths and weaknesses, economically, socially, and legally, in the state you are considering. What is the disposition of the government and law enforcement in the county your retreat resides in? What kind of environment are you surrounding yourself with? These are all very important issues to consider.

    Even more important, though, are the dynamics of the land you are choosing. Are you looking for a typical flat piece of developed farmland with easy access to roads and town amenities? Then you are going about this all wrong. Are you purchasing a cabin in the woods where you and your family will be isolated and alone? Again, not very bright.
    The ideal retreat location is a combination of rugged terrain and varied topography that is just accessible enough, and set in proximity to like minded neighbors who will aid each other in the advent of a social implosion.

    It may feel strange to consider it at first, but try to think in terms of an aggressive party: a looter, a criminal, or just a hungry refugee. Now, take a second look at your retreat selection. Is it easy to wander into? Can a person stroll right up to the front door, or do they really have to spend a lot of time and energy to reach you? Is it within sight of a major highway? Is it in the middle of a funnel or valley which people would naturally take to get to a tempting destination? Is it flat with little cover and concealment, or is it nestled in the midst of hills and crevices which can be used strategically? How many routes in and out of the region are there?

    Crops can be grown in any area with any climate if the correct methods are used. Energy can be produced with a multitude of technologies and tools. Structures can be built to adapt to the materials that are most abundant in the region. However, once you commit to a particular environment and terrain type, you are stuck with it for good. Choose wisely.

    Community Network

    As mentioned in the section above, isolation should NOT be the goal here. The concept of the loan wolf survivalist waiting out the implosion with his family in a secret fortification is not realistic, or likely to work at all. In the most volatile of collapses, such retreats only offer a tempting target for unsavory characters, from Bosnia to Argentina and beyond. If you don’t have a community of preppers around you, you have nothing.

    Ideally, choosing a retreat location, especially for a homestead in which you will be living on a day to day basis, should be done with multiple families involved. The more preppers involved, the larger the perimeter of warning and defense, and the safer everyone will be. It is not enough to have a friend or two on the other side of town, or to have a couple neighbors who are open to the subject of collapse but have made no efforts to prep. A return to a true community foundation is the surest way to secure your retreat. There WILL be people who will wish to take what you have in a crisis situation. Your best bet is to surround yourself with people who already have what they need…

    In Montana, I have used the idea of “Land Co-Op Groups”, expanding on the barter networking concept to include helping people of like-mind to meet and find property within proximity of each other, or to choose mutual retreat areas where there will be safety in numbers. Explore real estate markets near family members who are on the same wavelength. Talk with existing prepper communities and see if you might work well together. Form your own group of land seekers and make purchases together, saving money for everyone. Know who you will be weathering the storm with!

    Defensibility

    This has been mentioned in previous sections, but let’s establish what defensibility truly involves. Do the natural features shelter you, or hinder you? How many lanes of sight are near your retreat and will they work to your advantage, or someone else’s? Is your homestead on the top of a wide open hill and visible for miles around? Will attackers exhaust themselves attempting to reach you? How much warning will you have if someone is approaching your location?

    Make sure your surroundings work for you. Folds in the land topography not only off greater surface area for your money, but also cover and concealment. Forget about beautiful views, perfect soil, and room for a gazebo. Is the retreat actually protecting you or not? If this single issue is not considered and resolved, nothing else matters.
    This is why I recommend starting from scratch with raw land if possible. Many people dislike the notion of building their retreat or homestead from the ground up, claiming that there is not enough time, or that the project will be too costly. This is not necessarily true, especially for those who plan the construction of their retreat around off-grid living strategies. Raw land purchases, depending on the region, can be highly affordable. Building using present materials, like native timber, reduces costs drastically. And, as long as your house plans remain simple, construction can be started and finished within a matter of months.

    When building from scratch on raw land you have chosen using the guidelines already discussed, you can place your living quarters in the most advantageous position for defense, while being able to reinforce the home itself as you go. For those using an existing structure, the job becomes a bit more difficult. Additional fortifications will have to be planned carefully to adapt to the framework of the building. Weak areas of the property will have to be strengthened using fences, walls, or strategically placed vegetation that frustrates approach. High points in the terrain should be used to establish observation posts. At every moment of the day or night, someone must be awake to keep an eye on the surroundings. Respect the realities of a collapse, instead of disregarding them, and your chances of success increase a hundred fold.

    Water Availability

    Many would place water resources at the very top of this list, and having an ample supply is certainly vital. Digging a well is a must. Building in proximity to a stream, river, or lake is even better. That said, rainwater collection is a viable supplement to weaker indigenous water supply, along with water storage done in advance of any event. The average adult human being needs approximately 2.5 liters of water per day to survive comfortably. The common vegetable garden needs around 2” of watering overall per week. Bathing and general hygiene requires several gallons per week depending on how conservative you are. It is important to gauge the water production and storage capacity available at your retreat. If the math does not add up, and if rain collection is not enough to fill the gap, then move on. Find an area that will sustain you with water, but do not neglect the rest of the items on this list just to be near a roaring river…

    Food Production

    This is an area with far more flexibility than most people seem to realize. With the right methods, a garden can be grown in almost any climate, and at any time of the year, even winter. Every retreat should be fitted with a greenhouse, and this does not require much expense, or even energy to build. Makeshift materials often work wonders and the cheapest greenhouses tend to supply as much produce throughout the year as expensive and professionally built models.

    Raised bed gardening is efficient, requiring less water, and producing more food than typical gardens. Small orchards are possible depending on the climate and elevation of the property. Wild edibles in the area should be cataloged. Find out where they grow in abundance, how to cook and prepare them, and which edibles you actually enjoy eating.

    Animals require at least some acreage. Two acres being the minimum if you plan to raise several species. Goats, chickens, and rabbits are much easier to squeeze into a smaller parcel than cattle or horses, and draw much less attention to your retreat. A single milk producing cow and a bull, however, have the ability to keep your family healthy and fed for a lifetime. The trade-off is up to the individual prepper. The bottom line is, the number of animals you plan to raise determines the amount of open field you will need to clear on your property to provide the grasses and feeding area they will require.

    Proximity To National Forest

    Another aspect to consider is how close your property is to national forest areas or unclaimed and unpurchased acreage. Perhaps you are only buying 5 acres of land in a well placed area which borders thousands of acres of forest service. Not only have you purchased the use of 5 acres, but the potential use of thousands of acres through attrition, while guaranteeing that no unpleasant or unaware neighbors will move in too snug next door. Abundant resources will be at your fingertips in a post collapse scenario, including timber, wild game, possible minerals, caching sites, secondary retreat locations, etc. The advantages are numerous…

    Secondary Retreat Locations

    Never put all your eggs in one basket. We hear that warning all our lives but few take it to heart the way they should. I have dealt with many a prepper who has become indignant at the idea of having to leave his home to escape danger, claiming that they would “rather die” than have to beat feet to a secondary location. I personally don’t get it. Fighting back is admirable, but fighting smart is better. There is nothing wrong with living to die another day, and this is where the multiple retreats strategy comes into play.

    Some survivalists live in the city, and have set up a retreat in an area distant but reachable. Others have taken the plunge and uprooted to start a new life on the grounds of their new refuge, leaving behind the metropolis and sometimes even their high paying jobs. In either case, they have done far more for their futures than the average American has even vaguely considered. However, it is not quite enough…

    Back-up retreat locations should be chosen in remote areas near your primary retreat, and very few if any people (even friends and associates) should be told about these places. Keep in mind, these are last ditch survival spots. They are not ideal for long term living arrangements. Little if any infrastructure will be built in these places, and all shelter materials should be heavily concealed. Caching sites should be set up well in advance and placed on at least two separate routes to the same location. You should have no worries over whether you will be able to feed, clothe, and protect yourself on the way to the emergency site. Hidden approaches to the area should be scouted ahead of time. A viable water source should be present nearby.

    Thinking Ahead: It’s Pure Sanity

    There are all kinds of excuses for not doing what needs to be done. Americans have an ingenious knack for rationalizing their own laziness and inaction. If you want to know how to get ahead in the world of prepping, or just the world in general, all you have to do is become a man or woman who makes a plan, and then follows through on it! Welcome to the top ten percent!

    One excuse that I do in some instances take seriously is the problem of the conflicting family. We all know a prepper or two whose spouse or children are not on board, ridiculing or even obstructing their efforts. When expenditures of cash (or large expenditures of cash in the case of a property purchase) are in debate, the tensions can be crippling. In every disaster there are oblivious masses which make things hard on those who are aware. From the Great Depression and Weimar Germany, to New Orleans after Katrina, it is not uncommon for people on the verge of starvation and death to still assume that government help is right around the corner and all will be right as rain.

    All I can recommend to those struggling with the survival-impaired is that you educate friends and loved ones on the nature of recent events like Katrina, or the economic collapse in Greece and Spain, or the tsunami and subsequent reactor meltdown in Japan. Show them that this is real life, not a cartoon. Make them understand that they are not immune to the tides of catastrophe, and that preparation is not only practical, but essential.

    Survivalism is not a product of insanity; it is merely a product of our precarious times. A disaster is only a disaster for people who are not prepared for it. The only madness I see before me in our country today is the madness of those who believe themselves immune to the fall of the curtain. The true “insanity” rests in the minds of men who presume tomorrow will be exactly like today, and that the comfort of their existence is law, a foregone conclusion, set in stone, forever…

    Guest Post: The Realities Of Choosing Your Survival Retreat Location | ZeroHedge
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