what is a prepper

So a lot of people are asking WHAT IS A PREPPER ? Well let me tell you how I learned the true meaning of prepping.

Opening up the cupboards as we started packing up Granny’s house, we found ketchup, crackers, flour, sugar and oatmeal from 1975, we were in shock. Continuing to pack up and toss items out, we laughed about the food she had squirreled away for over 30 years. Questioning grandma later that afternoon, all she said was, “You do not know what suffering is, you are too young”.

 

Moving her into the city and away from her tiny house and garden in the countryside placed her into a depressed mood. “My garden, my life, none of you know what true living is about”, she muttered under her breath. Bewildered, we had no idea why she was not happy about not having to garden, cook or clean again. Perhaps this was just due to unwanted changes as her body was failing her.

 

Later on that summer, we sat down and did a video interview with her and grandpa on WWII. Also, we recorded what they could recall from their childhood in order to preserve the fragmented pieces of family history.

Shifting in his chair, looking down at the floor with a heavy gleam in his eyes, grandpa began to speak, “People were starving, eating bugs crawling on the ground, even dirt when we were liberating regions, as our troop progressed people were begging for food. I would give the children what I had when I came across them, they were so skinny and gaunt in their faces, I swore to myself my family would not starve”.

Grandma piped up into the conversation, “Our garden fed us, all our children and their families, none of you know how to can, or what true foods are that grow on the land. Dandelion, Alfalfa, berries and so many other valuable things grow, plants throw the seed on their own, and are there for our health when times are tuff. It is our responsibility to take care of our families so that the generations can continue to live. Remember these things I am telling you and prepare, as every other generation there is a suffering through lands. Take the time to learn and prepare to save each other as we will not be here to walk you through this”.

After this interview with our grandparents, the ketchup in the cupboard from 1975 did not seem funny anymore. Today we head to the grocery store every day to obtain items to cook, if something shut the grocery store down, we would starve.

With this new found knowledge I thought back to all of the items in and around my grandparents’ home.

These items were common to their home and their friends’ homes:

• Root cellar loaded with potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips and onions.
• Canned goods of milk, fish, pumpkin filling, beef stock and chicken stock.
• Pickled goods including, pickles, onions, carrots, beets, eggs and fish.
• Massive Freezer
• Garden
• Pantry
• Giant vats of flour
• Giant vats of sugar
• Giant vats of dried corn
• Vats of Oats
• Vats of rice
• Vats of dried beans
• Vats of buckwheat
• Vats of barley
• Vat of peas
• Dried blueberries
• Dried raspberries
• Dried apples
• Dried apricots
• Dried Saskatoon’s
• Jars of mustard flour
• A case of yeast
• Boxes of Salt
• Dozens of Jugs of vinegar
• Axes, saws and carving tools
• Guns, Fishing equipment and nets

Our ancestors who survived, only survived because they were “Preppers”. If they lost their job, they would have enough food to get them through, until they were able to get a new job. Essentially, a job was a bonus, money enabled them to prep more and buy things to enjoy.

Today, we work for 8 hours a day at our jobs on computers, construction and dealing with other items that truly teach us nothing on how to survive if our social system collapses. Focusing only on trying to obtain money to get useless items and entertainment has destroyed the fundamentals of survival in today’s generations.

Relying upon a system that is only designed to last a couple of days if a natural disaster or war strikes, ensures that most of us will die. Food security is essential to survival, none of us today have food security for we do not grow it, or care enough to learn. Truly, we have become lazy and less intelligent than our ancestors when it comes to survival.

Our Prepping Journey

Over the last year we have been gathering seeds, ideas and locations as to where we would be able to survive and thrive. During this exploration of discovery we have experienced multiple epiphanies, where will we live, how will we live, can we live without power?

A rural home is essential in prepping, we purchased one recently and we are working on it. It is a short walk from a lake where we can fish, ensuring a natural food source. Berry bushes are plentiful, wild plums, crab apple trees and we located where wild rice is growing.

We live next to an artesian well, we have also drilled well on the property ensuring a fresh water drinking source at all times.

Ordering organic seeds of every kind and type is very important to having a fresh food source annually. Currently we have 120 varieties of vegetables and fruits that will take 1-6 months to mature once planted. Excitement in planning and growing our first garden has been discussed to the point of drawing up a blue-print.

Wild herbs and spices that grow locally are imperative to filling in the gaps with our nutrition. Acquiring several books on the local vegetation and interviewing grandmother on them has been a large part of our prepping.

Fuel sources in order to maintain energy in our home currently consists of wood and electricity. Our plan is to be completely off grid by producing our own power source which will involve hydrogen fuel, solar power and wind power within the next 24 months.

In closing:

So WHAT IS A PREPPER ?

Basic security for people of today is ensuring they can survive for two weeks until their next pay-cheque arrives, this is not survival, this behavior and thought pattern is suicide.

It would be nice if people would have these same securities in life that were in place with previous generations, truly they knew what survival was all about. If people knew they could survive for an entire year if things were to fall down around them would be a comfort for their families.

“Prepping” is a new term for survival, these tools and practices have eroded and died out. Resurrecting old ideas with a new term is a natural way to live in harmony with our environment, start prepping today!