Stone House/Wood Roof : There you go!
It's as simple as that. It's not that complicated.
If you want a house for free that requires almost no skill to make and will last forever and won't even burn down. Then this is for all of the slaves out there that are working for their CEO, who need to be their own boss for a change. This could be the start of a new life.
The Ancient Inca Empire never even had mortar or cement, all they had was adobe to put between the stones, and their structures are still standing!
Stone house: Just have a quarry and a hammer and chisel and break off some rock and build a structure. With home made adobe in between or spend a couple of bucks on some mortar. Build in a fire place or a window and you'll have everything needed to live in. Also make it an A-shaped house for the roof. Anywhere you live if you dig deep enough you will find bedrock.
Adobe: Make your own adobe out of a mud pit where you mix a slurry of dirt and let it dry up for a day and the sand will be at the bottom and the clay will be at the top. Then mix in the 33/66 ration of adobe. You now have your own mortar
Wood Roof: All you need for a roof is something water proof and wind proof. You could have it even made of grass. If the grass was thick enough no water would penetrate. But if you want modern technology just shingle some polyethylene/polypropylene/just any plastic sheets and nail the edges to a roof made of wood poles. Or if you're handy you can even melt the plastic sheets together with plastic weld found at any auto parts store.
Amenities: Add any amenities you want like an air conditioner in the window and a gas powered electric generator, or solar panels for low wattage applications. You can also build an out house that's just a hole in the ground. And as long as you cover it up with dirt it won't stink.
Also every one needs a car, so get one and make sure it keeps running. And have a snow mobile if you are in Alaska.
Cooking: Is a very good skill to have if your self reliant. Even just trial and error works and if you cook enough you'll finally learn to do it well. Catch fish with a fishing boat, or hunt animals or birds with a gun. And grow your own fruits and vegetables.
Free time: Go on all of the vacations you want, with all of the newly acquired free time on your hands. Also just think of how big of a house you could build working 8 hours a day like at any other job. You could get into the business of building log/stone cabins in Alaska and then selling them to snow birds who are retired or want a second home or just rent it out for a vacation as a lease with option to buy.
Forget cable and internet. Why do you need those? Anyways all cable programs are reruns, and I know because I got rid of cable a year ago and still see the same exact shows on my dad's tv and thousands of channels with nothing on. As for internet have you noticed all of the commercials on youtube now and ads everywhere on the internet. It's only a matter of time until every site is a pay site plus the ads. The internet soon won't even be worth going on anymore.
Financial reasons: If you bought all of this stuff from home depot you'd never be able to pay for it all. Which is why houses cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, or a rent of 500$/mo and up. I'd rather save all of that money and start a farm and make money off of fresh produce that is better quality and better prices than the stores. And sell it all at a fruit stand on the side of the road. Even if it's seasonal and just a summer job, it would probably pay better than the 800$/mo job at Walmart. If you factored in money saved on rent then you'd only have to make 300$/mo to break even. Oh yeah and don't worry about the benefits like insurance, or being full time because all businesses are getting rid of all of that very soon, and some already have.
Showing posts with label self reliant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self reliant. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Preventative Cure To Heart Disease
Omega 3 fatty acids which are found in the fat of fish have been know to decrease the chances of heart disease and also decrease cholesterol and high blood pressure. Supposedly eating fish twice a week for 2 months will build up the omega 3 fatty acids in your fat tissue enough to create the intended effects.
Or you can buy fish oil pills from the store, if you don't like eating fish, or actual fish is too expensive, or hard to catch.
If you're worried about eating too much fish and getting mercury poisoning just inform yourself by looking at the FDA's website. They show that 2 meals a week of fish that are low in mercury is not dangerous at all. But if you're not having a baby then eat all the fish you want because they say "For most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern". I would also assume that fresh water fish would not have mercury in them because of the isolated environment.
Or you can buy fish oil pills from the store, if you don't like eating fish, or actual fish is too expensive, or hard to catch.
If you're worried about eating too much fish and getting mercury poisoning just inform yourself by looking at the FDA's website. They show that 2 meals a week of fish that are low in mercury is not dangerous at all. But if you're not having a baby then eat all the fish you want because they say "For most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern". I would also assume that fresh water fish would not have mercury in them because of the isolated environment.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
How to Farm
Information gathered from: Hannah the door greeter at Walmart
Thanks Hannah!
Okay so here's something fun to think about. Hannah used to live on a farm as a little girl back in the 50's and she was more than happy to tell me how everything worked at her farm because she loved those days so much. An interesting tidbit was that they never had to lock their doors back then. Remember this is how they did it and there are probably different ways that use less energy or cost less.
But anyways here's a list of how to do things.
Veggies/fruits: Freeze strawberries, freeze most vegetables, zuccini freeze sometimes and you can make zuccini bread, water melons are not freezable but unknown if they last. Tomatoes were grown on a tree branch in the ground with a string wrapped all the way up and around the twig and stem.
How to grow: They had a garden about the size of a football field which is about an acre. All they did was weed it(I would think a weed auger would work) and the soil in Pennsylvania is moist so they rarely watered it. And they never had to worry about bugs(maybe the bugs had enough to eat and couldn't eat it all)
Canning: For spagetti sauce they would make a canning jar of it uncooked and then put them all into an over sized pressure cooker for 30 minutes submerged in water with the surface of the water right below the cap of the jar. Then when done it would automatically be vacuum sealed and tap the button to see for sure. These could be stored on the shelf without refrigeration.
Jars of jelly: They would cook down the fruit and corn syrup and then when done they would pour melted wax over the top to seal it (wax sticks were purchased) and then put the lid on and these could be stored on the shelf without refrigeration.
Butter: They would churn their own butter which is just made of 100% cream and then you add a yellow butter making ball(She didn't know the exact name of it but it might have been bacteria). Then churn it(she said a blender would possibly work) Then separate the buttermilk off of the top and this butter is the best tasting kind ever and people will come to buy it from all around.
Pies: They have lots of blueberries up in Pennsylvania so she would make blue berry pies all the time and enjoyed that a lot. And blueberries you can freeze or make jam out of also.
Pets: She would have more fun with pets than anyone and had guinea pigs that would eat any vegetables. Not to mention her pig and many other animals.
Horses: They would bale hay for the horses while the grass was green, and they would store it in the barn for the winter, and all the horses need to survive is a trough of water and salt cubes and hay.
Cows: They would let the cows go out to pasture at night and feed themselves and would milk them at 3 in the morning and at another time of day also. She would take her horse out at night to find the cows and milk them. They also had lots of head of cattle so had all of the cow meat they could eat and it takes a lot of work to butcher it.
Pigs: They had only a few pigs that when they got fat enough they would eat them. And she kept one of the pigs as a pet which would wait for her when she got off the bus from school, but in the end her father killed the pig for food and she didn't eat pig for the longest time because she was so upset. All the pigs eat is table scraps. An interesting bit of info is that in Hawaii they used to have luau's every Sunday and have a roast pig.
Chickens: They had hundreds of chickens which would lay about 3 eggs a day each, and they would buy chicken feed from the store to make sure that the chickens would get fed because they always sold the eggs. The chicken feed was just corn and seeds. You also need one male rooster for them to produce eggs.
Ducks: Duck eggs are well known to be tastier than chicken eggs. All they did was have a pond and feed the ducks and the ducks would know that it was home and would never leave. The ducks would only lay about 3-4 eggs/week if you were lucky, but they were gathered by knowing where the eggs were by going out at night and seeing where the ducks were sleeping. They also bought a special breed of duck that produces more eggs.
Deer meat: They would go out hunting once a year with a group of 12 people or more and they would butcher the meat at home themselves, and cut down to the bone for no bones in the meat, and would get the best cuts of meat their own way, because the butchers would do a bad job of it. And they would put it all into the freezer. But she also said that smoking could be done but they never did that. Free deer meat, other than labor involved in butchering it and hunting.
This was back when life was good and the world was full of opportunity and hopefully those days aren't totally gone. I'm going to go out and try to buy some land now!
Thanks Hannah!
Okay so here's something fun to think about. Hannah used to live on a farm as a little girl back in the 50's and she was more than happy to tell me how everything worked at her farm because she loved those days so much. An interesting tidbit was that they never had to lock their doors back then. Remember this is how they did it and there are probably different ways that use less energy or cost less.
But anyways here's a list of how to do things.
Veggies/fruits: Freeze strawberries, freeze most vegetables, zuccini freeze sometimes and you can make zuccini bread, water melons are not freezable but unknown if they last. Tomatoes were grown on a tree branch in the ground with a string wrapped all the way up and around the twig and stem.
How to grow: They had a garden about the size of a football field which is about an acre. All they did was weed it(I would think a weed auger would work) and the soil in Pennsylvania is moist so they rarely watered it. And they never had to worry about bugs(maybe the bugs had enough to eat and couldn't eat it all)
Canning: For spagetti sauce they would make a canning jar of it uncooked and then put them all into an over sized pressure cooker for 30 minutes submerged in water with the surface of the water right below the cap of the jar. Then when done it would automatically be vacuum sealed and tap the button to see for sure. These could be stored on the shelf without refrigeration.
Jars of jelly: They would cook down the fruit and corn syrup and then when done they would pour melted wax over the top to seal it (wax sticks were purchased) and then put the lid on and these could be stored on the shelf without refrigeration.
Butter: They would churn their own butter which is just made of 100% cream and then you add a yellow butter making ball(She didn't know the exact name of it but it might have been bacteria). Then churn it(she said a blender would possibly work) Then separate the buttermilk off of the top and this butter is the best tasting kind ever and people will come to buy it from all around.
Pies: They have lots of blueberries up in Pennsylvania so she would make blue berry pies all the time and enjoyed that a lot. And blueberries you can freeze or make jam out of also.
Pets: She would have more fun with pets than anyone and had guinea pigs that would eat any vegetables. Not to mention her pig and many other animals.
Horses: They would bale hay for the horses while the grass was green, and they would store it in the barn for the winter, and all the horses need to survive is a trough of water and salt cubes and hay.
Cows: They would let the cows go out to pasture at night and feed themselves and would milk them at 3 in the morning and at another time of day also. She would take her horse out at night to find the cows and milk them. They also had lots of head of cattle so had all of the cow meat they could eat and it takes a lot of work to butcher it.
Pigs: They had only a few pigs that when they got fat enough they would eat them. And she kept one of the pigs as a pet which would wait for her when she got off the bus from school, but in the end her father killed the pig for food and she didn't eat pig for the longest time because she was so upset. All the pigs eat is table scraps. An interesting bit of info is that in Hawaii they used to have luau's every Sunday and have a roast pig.
Chickens: They had hundreds of chickens which would lay about 3 eggs a day each, and they would buy chicken feed from the store to make sure that the chickens would get fed because they always sold the eggs. The chicken feed was just corn and seeds. You also need one male rooster for them to produce eggs.
Ducks: Duck eggs are well known to be tastier than chicken eggs. All they did was have a pond and feed the ducks and the ducks would know that it was home and would never leave. The ducks would only lay about 3-4 eggs/week if you were lucky, but they were gathered by knowing where the eggs were by going out at night and seeing where the ducks were sleeping. They also bought a special breed of duck that produces more eggs.
Deer meat: They would go out hunting once a year with a group of 12 people or more and they would butcher the meat at home themselves, and cut down to the bone for no bones in the meat, and would get the best cuts of meat their own way, because the butchers would do a bad job of it. And they would put it all into the freezer. But she also said that smoking could be done but they never did that. Free deer meat, other than labor involved in butchering it and hunting.
This was back when life was good and the world was full of opportunity and hopefully those days aren't totally gone. I'm going to go out and try to buy some land now!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Survival and Camping Essentials
If you just want to go camping or the whole world ends or just your personal world ends, this is a guide. You can be independent, and self reliant, and self sustaining, although with limited luxuries. Bums would do well to know this. But in the end this is ultimate reality. If you don't know this then you're an alien to your own planet. You can transcend reality and experience oneness with the earth at high enough levels of survival. Blackbelts are nothing compared to ultimate knowledge of survival. See: Tom Brown jr.
Water: Have a metal canteen with a metal cap so that you can put it on coals to boil and sanitize any water and the canteen. Only use coals and not flames, so that it doesn't oxidize.
Meat: Have a gun for animals, and a Hawaiian sling for fish, and a net for small things(birds drag their beaks through the water while in flight for tiny fish). In certain areas and times of year, you can have all the birds you can eat, for free, if you have a gun. Not to mention bigger animals. And get a book on animal tracking to be a better hunter.
Fruit and veggies: Native plants that grow and seed and water themselves. This is if you have lots of land to pick from and the plants and trees are already existent on the property. Get books in the nature section of the bookstore on "edible and medicinal plants" "mushrooms" "edible marine life"
Fire: Hardwood for long lasting huge fire, and soft wood in small pieces, as kindling to get it started. Also have alcohol and tinder(char cloth, or tree sap, cut a tree and wait for the sap to run) and a firesteel to start it, or a lighter to start out with, until it runs out of fuel. Page size fresnel lens for fire starting on sunny days. Have fresnel lens for daytime and firesteel for nighttime and a lighter for emergencies.
Alcohol: Good for antibacterial wound treatment along with cloth or tape bandage. Good for cleaning clothes. Good for washing hands. Good for lighter fluid and candles. Just distill the alcohol from rotten fruit juice, and a simple solar distiller.
Shelter: Stone walls, wood roof, and tarp to water proof it.
Air conditioning: Wet shirt, wind, shade
Heating: fire, proper clothing.
Light: Have 2 crank rechargeable flashlights(1 for backup) and velcro it to a .50 cent baseball hat to become a head lamp. Until the battery goes bad and you need to buy a new one.
Vehicle: Powered by ultra capacitor for any environment, and no maintenance, won't break. But remember: If you don't have a schedule to keep anymore, and you don't need to travel long distances, you don't need a vehicle. Just use legs and a paddle.
Clothes: Get artificial fibers like nylon, polyester, acrylic, so that it is non absorbant of water for easier cleaning. Then put the clothes in a bucket of soapy water and agitate it with a plunger. When you run out of soap you may need to make alcohol and just wipe down your clothes with an alcohol soaked rag, to clean them.
Cooking: On the fire or coal BBQ, or a rocket stove. Smoke your meat to preserve it, so that you don't require a fridge.
Bathroom: On a big piece of land just go outside and bury it to not smell it. Or go in a different spot every day. Grow your own TP tree of the right kinds of leaves for the job.
Shower: Use alcohol and rag.
Weather: Have an all in one barometer/hygrometer/thermometer. Or if you have a boat you need a weather radio that lets you know when to move.
Communication: If you don't feel safe without communication, get a ham radio and you'll never have to pay a phone bill and be able to talk long distance, hopefully to family or friends. This is what the police use.
Navigation: GPS is good for now, just turn it on whenever you're unsure where you are. Don't get it wet though.
Protection: Have a gun if you live in an area with large dangerous animals.
Rope tying knowledge: It's good to know how to tie knots for camping, look to "Youtube" under "Camping knots".It's good read up on most knots because you never know when they'll come in handy. The knots that will be used regularly are the snare knot, and a truckers hitch and a falconer's knot for the tarp, half hitch(Useful in many ways, easilly remembered by"around and through"), anchor bend or the two half, constrictor knot(a variation of the clove hitch exept you make one of the free ends of rope go through one of the 2 half hitches that the clovehitch is comprized of), prussik knot(fot climbing), sheet bend(for tieing 2 ropes of differing diameter's together, clove hitch, tension/taughtline hitch, Bowline(one of the most useful, and easilly remembered by first making a bite in the rope, and then:"The rabbit goes out the hole, around the tree, and then back into the hole"). Feel free to improvise when making knots, and even to invent your own knots. Also the clinch knot for fishing, or the uni knot for tying the tippet onto the leader for fly fishing, have a different leader for each type of fish. The figure 8. And the figure 8 on a bite.
Survival clip carabeener contents: File and sharpening stone, crank rechargeable flashlight, lighter with keychain holder, firesteel, good multitool/swiss army knife.
Survival backpack contents: Rope, knife, char cloth/paper(or cotton) holder and maker, backup flashlight, hat, canteen, tarp, hammock tent and straps, sleeping bag, TP, GPS, notebook, gel pen, gun, spear. And whatever extra fun devices you want.
------------------------------------------
Extra info for if you don't have the above equipment.
Remember the sacred order:
Start fire using the bow drill method. Then boil water in a log that you burned out the center of, with coals from the fire, inch by inch by burning then scraping.(should only take 2 hours). Then heat up some rocks in the fire and put them in the hollowed out log filled with water to boil the water. Also when wood is damp make feather sticks with a knife to use the dry inside.
When animals attack they go for what's in front of them first. So stick something out in front of you that you don't care if it gets bitten. For a weapon have a stick with a knife on it. But if you don't have a knife then sharpen the stick on a rock or in the fire. This will put some distance between you and the animal, and if they lunge at you then put the stick between the ground and their heart and hopefully their weight will make them impale themselves.
For shelter use the debris shelter method. The thicker you pile on the debris onto the shelter the more insulated it will be. 4 foot thick can keep you comfortable at 40 below temperatures. And 2 foot thick can keep you warm at 32 degree temps.
You can make a chair out of a cloth bag and 3 sticks.
Always dry off your clothes right away if they ever get wet. Do this with a fire and the clothes or shoes suspended above the fire with twigs or rope. You can freeze to death at 50 degree temps in the wind, if you're wet.
Learn survival navigation. Finding south with a watch between the hour hand and 12:00 in the northern hemisphere, when you have the hour hand pointing at the sun. Also if you don't have a watch you can find the east and west line on a sunny day by just putting a stick in the ground for 20 minutes or so, marking the top of the shadow with a stone at the beginning and end of the 20 minutes(This has to be done on a flat surface). Useful Layman Fact: The sun is always in the southern part of the sky, if you're in the northern hemisphere.
For rope when you have none. You can dig up the roots of trees which are everywhere. Just use a hook like tool and drag it through the ground until you run into a thick enough root then pull it out of the ground carefully to not break it. Or you can make rope out of nettle stem skins or the fiber of plants that have been crushed and pounded with a stone or stick, and then left to dry in the sun, or scrape away the mushy stuff(this is how hemp fiber is made). Some other plants are the dog bean or castor bean plants(being the strongest and doesn't decompose) or milk weed being good for cordage. But some plants are poisonous so if they make a rash then avoid them or know more about them to know how to utilize safely. You can also peal the bark off of some small trees after getting it started with a knife. To make these plant fibers into cord you want to do the twist away pull back method. But the leg roll method is faster. You can use any type of fiber or cordage and as long as it's thick enough you can hang from it.
TP: Do the arm rub test on different types of leaves to choose one that doesn't create rash.
Washing self and clothing and antibacterial ointment is all found with knowledge of medicinal plants.
Catching food can be done many ways. By making your own fish net given enough time. hobo fishing is done with just a stick or can with string around it and a fishing lure. A bow and arrow can be made quickly with a sharpened stick as the arrow and feathering on the back and a notch on the back. And a bow stick bent between the legs and string tied to each end with a simple half hitch. Refining it can come later. You can also make a Hawaiian sling if you have any kind of elastic and put a fish gig on the end. Or you can set snare traps with your animal tracking skills for squirrels or rabbits. Or deadfalls, or other traps for bugs or big animals. or trigger traps with bait for squirrels or mice. Or just have a stick to hit things or stab things with. But you may just gather food with your knowledge of edible plants and mushrooms and nuts(roast them or boil them for taste). Make a fishing lure in the shape of an oval and put bait around it.
Making a knife: Use flint knapping using a deer antler or rough thinner rock for pressure flaking and a stone for percussion flaking. And a rough stone for abrading to flatten edges.
But in the end if you ever actually feel like you are ruffing it, then that just means that you're doing things wrong. When camping or hiking or surviving, it is a choice to be cold, or wet or uncomfortable at all, because with knowledge you can avoid all of that out in the wilderness anywhere. Our greatest strength is our knowledge.
Water: Have a metal canteen with a metal cap so that you can put it on coals to boil and sanitize any water and the canteen. Only use coals and not flames, so that it doesn't oxidize.
Meat: Have a gun for animals, and a Hawaiian sling for fish, and a net for small things(birds drag their beaks through the water while in flight for tiny fish). In certain areas and times of year, you can have all the birds you can eat, for free, if you have a gun. Not to mention bigger animals. And get a book on animal tracking to be a better hunter.
Fruit and veggies: Native plants that grow and seed and water themselves. This is if you have lots of land to pick from and the plants and trees are already existent on the property. Get books in the nature section of the bookstore on "edible and medicinal plants" "mushrooms" "edible marine life"
Fire: Hardwood for long lasting huge fire, and soft wood in small pieces, as kindling to get it started. Also have alcohol and tinder(char cloth, or tree sap, cut a tree and wait for the sap to run) and a firesteel to start it, or a lighter to start out with, until it runs out of fuel. Page size fresnel lens for fire starting on sunny days. Have fresnel lens for daytime and firesteel for nighttime and a lighter for emergencies.
Alcohol: Good for antibacterial wound treatment along with cloth or tape bandage. Good for cleaning clothes. Good for washing hands. Good for lighter fluid and candles. Just distill the alcohol from rotten fruit juice, and a simple solar distiller.
Shelter: Stone walls, wood roof, and tarp to water proof it.
Air conditioning: Wet shirt, wind, shade
Heating: fire, proper clothing.
Light: Have 2 crank rechargeable flashlights(1 for backup) and velcro it to a .50 cent baseball hat to become a head lamp. Until the battery goes bad and you need to buy a new one.
Vehicle: Powered by ultra capacitor for any environment, and no maintenance, won't break. But remember: If you don't have a schedule to keep anymore, and you don't need to travel long distances, you don't need a vehicle. Just use legs and a paddle.
Clothes: Get artificial fibers like nylon, polyester, acrylic, so that it is non absorbant of water for easier cleaning. Then put the clothes in a bucket of soapy water and agitate it with a plunger. When you run out of soap you may need to make alcohol and just wipe down your clothes with an alcohol soaked rag, to clean them.
Cooking: On the fire or coal BBQ, or a rocket stove. Smoke your meat to preserve it, so that you don't require a fridge.
Bathroom: On a big piece of land just go outside and bury it to not smell it. Or go in a different spot every day. Grow your own TP tree of the right kinds of leaves for the job.
Shower: Use alcohol and rag.
Weather: Have an all in one barometer/hygrometer/thermometer. Or if you have a boat you need a weather radio that lets you know when to move.
Communication: If you don't feel safe without communication, get a ham radio and you'll never have to pay a phone bill and be able to talk long distance, hopefully to family or friends. This is what the police use.
Navigation: GPS is good for now, just turn it on whenever you're unsure where you are. Don't get it wet though.
Protection: Have a gun if you live in an area with large dangerous animals.
Rope tying knowledge: It's good to know how to tie knots for camping, look to "Youtube" under "Camping knots".It's good read up on most knots because you never know when they'll come in handy. The knots that will be used regularly are the snare knot, and a truckers hitch and a falconer's knot for the tarp, half hitch(Useful in many ways, easilly remembered by"around and through"), anchor bend or the two half, constrictor knot(a variation of the clove hitch exept you make one of the free ends of rope go through one of the 2 half hitches that the clovehitch is comprized of), prussik knot(fot climbing), sheet bend(for tieing 2 ropes of differing diameter's together, clove hitch, tension/taughtline hitch, Bowline(one of the most useful, and easilly remembered by first making a bite in the rope, and then:"The rabbit goes out the hole, around the tree, and then back into the hole"). Feel free to improvise when making knots, and even to invent your own knots. Also the clinch knot for fishing, or the uni knot for tying the tippet onto the leader for fly fishing, have a different leader for each type of fish. The figure 8. And the figure 8 on a bite.
Survival clip carabeener contents: File and sharpening stone, crank rechargeable flashlight, lighter with keychain holder, firesteel, good multitool/swiss army knife.
Survival backpack contents: Rope, knife, char cloth/paper(or cotton) holder and maker, backup flashlight, hat, canteen, tarp, hammock tent and straps, sleeping bag, TP, GPS, notebook, gel pen, gun, spear. And whatever extra fun devices you want.
------------------------------------------
Extra info for if you don't have the above equipment.
Remember the sacred order:
- Shelter (sometimes can only survive hours without shelter)
- Water (brain damage occurs after only a day without water)
- Fire (contributes to all 3 other priorities)
- Food (can easily survive 2 weeks without any food)
Start fire using the bow drill method. Then boil water in a log that you burned out the center of, with coals from the fire, inch by inch by burning then scraping.(should only take 2 hours). Then heat up some rocks in the fire and put them in the hollowed out log filled with water to boil the water. Also when wood is damp make feather sticks with a knife to use the dry inside.
When animals attack they go for what's in front of them first. So stick something out in front of you that you don't care if it gets bitten. For a weapon have a stick with a knife on it. But if you don't have a knife then sharpen the stick on a rock or in the fire. This will put some distance between you and the animal, and if they lunge at you then put the stick between the ground and their heart and hopefully their weight will make them impale themselves.
For shelter use the debris shelter method. The thicker you pile on the debris onto the shelter the more insulated it will be. 4 foot thick can keep you comfortable at 40 below temperatures. And 2 foot thick can keep you warm at 32 degree temps.
You can make a chair out of a cloth bag and 3 sticks.
Always dry off your clothes right away if they ever get wet. Do this with a fire and the clothes or shoes suspended above the fire with twigs or rope. You can freeze to death at 50 degree temps in the wind, if you're wet.
Learn survival navigation. Finding south with a watch between the hour hand and 12:00 in the northern hemisphere, when you have the hour hand pointing at the sun. Also if you don't have a watch you can find the east and west line on a sunny day by just putting a stick in the ground for 20 minutes or so, marking the top of the shadow with a stone at the beginning and end of the 20 minutes(This has to be done on a flat surface). Useful Layman Fact: The sun is always in the southern part of the sky, if you're in the northern hemisphere.
For rope when you have none. You can dig up the roots of trees which are everywhere. Just use a hook like tool and drag it through the ground until you run into a thick enough root then pull it out of the ground carefully to not break it. Or you can make rope out of nettle stem skins or the fiber of plants that have been crushed and pounded with a stone or stick, and then left to dry in the sun, or scrape away the mushy stuff(this is how hemp fiber is made). Some other plants are the dog bean or castor bean plants(being the strongest and doesn't decompose) or milk weed being good for cordage. But some plants are poisonous so if they make a rash then avoid them or know more about them to know how to utilize safely. You can also peal the bark off of some small trees after getting it started with a knife. To make these plant fibers into cord you want to do the twist away pull back method. But the leg roll method is faster. You can use any type of fiber or cordage and as long as it's thick enough you can hang from it.
TP: Do the arm rub test on different types of leaves to choose one that doesn't create rash.
Washing self and clothing and antibacterial ointment is all found with knowledge of medicinal plants.
Catching food can be done many ways. By making your own fish net given enough time. hobo fishing is done with just a stick or can with string around it and a fishing lure. A bow and arrow can be made quickly with a sharpened stick as the arrow and feathering on the back and a notch on the back. And a bow stick bent between the legs and string tied to each end with a simple half hitch. Refining it can come later. You can also make a Hawaiian sling if you have any kind of elastic and put a fish gig on the end. Or you can set snare traps with your animal tracking skills for squirrels or rabbits. Or deadfalls, or other traps for bugs or big animals. or trigger traps with bait for squirrels or mice. Or just have a stick to hit things or stab things with. But you may just gather food with your knowledge of edible plants and mushrooms and nuts(roast them or boil them for taste). Make a fishing lure in the shape of an oval and put bait around it.
Making a knife: Use flint knapping using a deer antler or rough thinner rock for pressure flaking and a stone for percussion flaking. And a rough stone for abrading to flatten edges.
But in the end if you ever actually feel like you are ruffing it, then that just means that you're doing things wrong. When camping or hiking or surviving, it is a choice to be cold, or wet or uncomfortable at all, because with knowledge you can avoid all of that out in the wilderness anywhere. Our greatest strength is our knowledge.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
