Upcoming classes

Until I have more time to add all the classes and this is not all of them I wanted to give you guys a heads up. We will be adding more in between these dates I wanted to send out that we came up with as far as a tentative schedule. So you guys can fit them into your schedules. We are working on an in-depth first aid and trauma class. Reaching out to instructors. Wine, cheese, and beer making as well. We seem to have gaps in June and August. So we will fill in the blanks. Thursday classes start at 6pm and Saturdays have varied start times usually after noon.

Jan 26th Back Yard Grocery produce your own food sources (has a fee and limited space) Starts at noon.

Feb 2nd Intro to firearms 001 for people new or never exposed to firearms (think family friends or anti gun, I know on gun forum,but some of you on here know some of them) Starts at 2pm

Feb 7th Bug out bags (followup) but great for newbies. Bring your bag with you 6pm

Feb 23rd Aquaponics, Hydroponics, and Organic Gardening 3pm

March 7th Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear fallout 6pm

March 16th Firearm 101 2 pm

March 23rd Medicinal Herbs and Essential oils 2 pm

April 4th Water purification, storage, and filtration

April 20th Fire and fire starting

May 2nd Security

May 18th Long term food storage (canning, dehydrating)

May 23rd Getting more with less, money saving, cost cutting, and income generation

Jul 11th Primitive skills

Jul 20th Communication

Aug 17th Lighting and power

September 5th Documentation

If you are interested on the latest updates times and classes I suggest joining the meet-up group there is also an App for smartphones. The Magazine and newsletter is also posted in there.

http://www.meetup.com/Indiana-Disaster-Preparedness/

All classes held at:

Indiana Self Defense.
8017 E Washington St
Behind the Arby’s/Olive Garden

As alaways, bring a chair….

Reference material

Steven Harris

http://www.solar1234.com

http://www.Battery1234.com

Jack Spirko

The Survival Podcast

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com

13 Skill Challenge

http://www.13skills.com/

Paul Wheaton

http://www.Permies.com

INGO Indiana Gun Owners

http://www.INGunowners.com

Amazon Prime

http://www.amazon.com

Dave Ramsey

http://www.daveramsey.com

Clark Howard

http://www.clarkhoward.com

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

http://www.fema.gov

CERT Community Emergency Response Team

http://www.citizencorps.gov/CERT

Cox’s Plant farm

http://www.coxsplantfarm.com/

6360 S Co. Rd. 0. Clayton, IN 46118

The National Center for Home Food Preservation

http://nchfp.uga.edu/index.html

Selco (Lived through Balkan War)

SHTF School

Home

Down to the Roots

Magazine published by knowledgeable friend

http://www.downtotherootsmagazine.com/home.htm

Lehmans

https://www.lehmans.com/

Indiana Gov portal

http://www.in.gov

LDS Manual

Click to access LDSPrep-V8.pdf

Brick and Mortar Stores

Gordons Food Service

Sam’s Club

Dollar Store

Cosco

Seed/Plant Catalogs

. Nourse Fams – http://www.noursefarms.com/CustomerService/CatalogRequest.aspx
2. Adams County Nursery – http://www.acnursery.com/acn_catalog.php
3. Rain Tree Nursery – http://www.raintreenursery.com/Catalog_Requests.html
4. Isons Nusery and Vinyards – http://isons.com/catalog.htm
5. Musser Forests Inc – http://www.musserforests.com/catalogrequest.html
6. Carino Nurseries – http://www.carinonurseries.com/reqcat.htm
7. Stark Bro’s – http://www.starkbros.com/our-company/request-a-catalog
8. Miller Nurseries – http://www.millernurseries.com/signup.php
9. Trees of Antiquity – http://www.treesofantiquity.com/index.php?main_page=contact_us
10. Seed Saver’s Exchange http://www.seedsavers.org/
11. Richter’s Herbs http://www.richters.com/
12. Oikos Tree Cops http://www.oikostreecrops.com/store/home.asp?cookiecheck=yes&
13. Seeds Of Change http://www.seedsofchange.com/
14. Bob Wells nursery http://www.bobwellsnursery.com/
15. Ecology Action’s Bountiful Gardens. http://www.bountifulgardens.org/
16. Edible Landscaping http://ediblelandscaping.com/catalogue.php
17. Shumways http://www.rhshumway.com/
18 Horizon Herbs http://www.horizonherbs.com/

Gaia’s Garden, Second Edition: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway (Paperback)

Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture: A Practical Guide to Small-Scale, Integrative Farming and Gardening–With​ information on mushroom cultivation, sowing a … ways to keep livestock, and more…
by Sepp Holzer (Paperback)

Introduction to Permaculture
by Bill Mollison (Paperback)

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening
by Louise Riotte (Paperback)

Survival Manuals and Info.

SAS Survival Guide
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6723318/SAS-Survival-Guide

Wilderness Survival (FM 21-76)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8085776/Wilderness-Survival-FM-2176-

Nuclear War Survival Skills
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2932392/Nuclear-War-Survival-Skills

USMC Winter Survival Course
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2960322/USMC-Winter-Survival-Course

US Marine Corps Summer Survival Course
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2960529/US-Marine-Corps-Summer-Survival-Course

Survival Attitude
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4020001/Survival-Attitude

NUCLEAR CONTAMINATION AVOIDANCE
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6147889/NUCLEAR-CONTAMINATION-AVOIDANCE

Kearny Homemade Fallout Meter
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3082604/Kearny-Homemade-Fallout-Meter

Compact Survival Kits
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8698084/Compact-Survival-Kits

Survival – personal wilderness medical kit
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6535775/survival-personal-wilderness-medical-kit

Water

Hand pumps for Domestic Rainwater Tanks

Click to access ugp012_whitehead.pdf

Treadle Pumps Non-motorized Irrigation

Click to access wp32.pdf

Recommendations for Designing Rainwater Harvesting System Tanks

Click to access a6.pdf

Water Well Manual
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9165499/Water-Well-Manual

Windmill Construction Manual
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9614230/Windmill-Construction-Manual

Solar Distillation & Water Purification
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8334119/Solar-Distillation-Water-Purification

Rain Water Harvesting

Food Preservation- Cooking, Canning, Curing, etc.

Preserving Food: Drying Fruits and Vegetables – Nutrition
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8086473/Preserving-Food-Drying-Fruits-And-Vegetables-Nutrition

Complete Guide To Home Canning
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8078550/Complete-Guide-To-Home-Canning-Nutrition

Canning Meat, Wild Game, Poultry, & Fish Safely
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8090308/Canning-Meat-Wild-Game-Poultry-Fish-Safely-Nutrition

Preparing And Canning Fermented Food And Pickled Vegetables
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8084385/Preparing-And-Canning-Fermented-Food-And-Pickled-Vegetables-Nutrition

Every Step in Canning

Small-Scale Food Drying Technologies
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8429418/SmallScale-Food-Drying-Technologies

Field Care Of Harvested Big Game
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8757590/Field-Care-Of-Harvested-Big-Game

How To Build A Wood-Fired Oven & Start A Home Bakery
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8451084/Building-A-Bread-Oven

Solar Cookers – Natural Living
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8102008/Solar-Cookers-Natural-Living

Earth-Friendly Cooking Technologies
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8347607/EarthFriendly-Cooking-Technologies

How To Make An Upesi Stove
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8333387/How-To-Make-An-Upesi-Stove

Wood Conserving Cook Stoves – A Design Guide
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9171909/Wood-Conserving-Cook-Stoves-A-Design-Guide

Oil Drum Stove For Cooking And Water Heating
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9450853/Oil-Drum-Stove-For-Cooking-And-Water-Heating

How To Make Liquor With Fruit And Berries
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8307739/How-To-Make-Liquor-With-Fruit-And-Berries

Cheese Making
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8307365/Cheese-Making

Canning Meat, Wild Game, Poultry & Fish Safely
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8090308/Canning-Meat-Wild-Game-Poultry-Fish-Safely-Nutrition

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning:

Guide 1, Principles of Home Canning

Click to access utah_can_guide_01.pdf

GUIDE 2: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Fruit and Fruit Products

Click to access G2SelectingPreparing-CanningFruit-FruitProducts.pdf

GUIDE 3: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products

Click to access G3SelectingPreparing-CanningTomatoes-TomatoProducts.pdf

GUIDE 4: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Vegetables and Vegetable Products

Click to access G4CanningVegetables-VegetableProducts.pdf

GUIDE 5: Preparing and Canning Poultry, Red Meats, and Sea foods

Click to access G5Preparing-CanningPoultryRedMeats-Seafoods.pdf

GUIDE 6: Preparing and Canning Fermented Foods and Pickled Vegetables

Click to access G6Preparing-CanningFermentedFoods-PickledVegetables.pdf

GUIDE 7: Preparing and Canning Jams and Jellies

Click to access G7Preparing-CanningJams-Jellies.pdf

Gardening

Vegetable Gardening Encyclopedia with Special Herb Section
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6412280/Vegetable-Gardening-Encyclopedia-With-Special-Herb-Section

Gardening Without Irrigation – Dry Farming
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8300483/Gardening-Without-Irrigation-Dry-Farming

Intensive Gardening For Profit And Self Sufficiency
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8301731/Intensive-Gardening-For-Profit-And-Self-Sufficiency

Joy of Gardening

Indoor Gardening Secrets
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6253964/Indoor-Gardening-Secrets

Wild Edibles – Nutrition & Medicine
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8100611/Wild-Edibles-Nutrition-Medicine

Saving Your Own Vegetable Seeds

Organic Gardener’s Composting, by Steve Solomon
http://www.scribd.com/doc/884545/Organic-Gardeners-Composting-by-Steve-Solomon

Growing & Curing Tobacco
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8227028/Growing-Curing-Tobacco

Organic Tobacco Production
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8226885/Organic-Tobacco-Production

Grow Organic Potatoes

Home Composting Bins
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8330632/Home-Composting-Bins

Organic Insecticides For The Garden- Home & Garden
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8226741/Organic-Insecticides-Garden

Edible Rooftop Gardening
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7797894/Edible-Rooftop-Gardening

Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation Harvesting Curing and Uses by Kains, M. G

Aquaculture

An Integrated Fish Culture Hydroponic Vegetable Production System
http://www.fastonline.org/images/manuals/Aquaculture/Aquaponic_Information/An_integrated_fish_culture_and_vegetable_hydroponi cs_production_system.pdf

Barrel-ponics http://www.fastonline.org/images/manuals/Aquaculture/Aquaponic_Information/barrelponics_manual.pdf

Permaculture

Permaculture Design Course – Bill Mollison

Herbalism

Herbal Manual – Herbal Medicine 1936
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8069412/Herbal-Manual-Herbal-Medicine

Culpeper’s The Complete Herbal
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8067154/Culpepers-The-Complete-Herbal-Herbal-Medicine

Edible and Medicinal Plants
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8150505/Edible-And-Medicinal-Plants-Herbal-Medicine

Survival – how to make herbal preparations
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6535757/survival-how-to-make-herbal-preparations

Holistic & Alternative Medicine 101
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6311011/Holistic-Alternative-Medicine-101

Herbal Formulas for Clinic and Home

Click to access Formulary2.pdf

ONE MINERAL CAN HELP – Potassium Iodide

Click to access _07_sski.pdf

Physicians Desk Reference: Herbal Medicines
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7354348/Herbal-PDRsmall

Healing Pets With Alternative Medicine
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8515671/Healing-Pets-With-Alternative-Medicine

How To Treat and Heal Your Pet at Home?

Herbal/Medical Contraindications- Using herbal remedies and pharma products: interactions

Click to access HerbMedContra1.pdf

Medical & Dental

First Aid Full Manual FM21-11
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4089404/First-Aid-Full-Manual-FM2111

Wilderness Medicine Course
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8149708/Wilderness-Medicine-Course

Ditch Medicine – Advanced Field Procedures For Emergencies (1993)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2205119/Ditch-Medicine-Advanced-Field-Procedures-For-Emergencies-1993

Where There is No Dentist – Murray Dickson
http://www.scribd.com/doc/408523/Where-There-is-No-Dentist-Murray-Dickson

Heating, Energy and Fuel

Solar Water Heaters
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9173638/Solar-Water-Heaters-In-Nepal

Water as Fuel
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4123662/Water-as-Fuel

Run Car on Water – Stanley Meyer resonant electrolysis cell system collection

Wind Energy Systems
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9450845/Wind-Energy-Systems

Wood Burning Handbook
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8096896/Wood-Burning-Handbook-Natural-Living

Water Power For The Farm
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9165207/Water-Power-For-The-Farm

Pumping Water For Irrigation Using Solar Energy
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8617302/Pumping-Water-For-Irrigation-Using-Solar-Energy

Generator Power For The Homestead
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9153427/Generator-Power-For-The-Homestead

How To Make Biodiesel Fuel
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9153517/How-To-Make-Biodiesel-Fuel

Build Your Own Biogas Generator
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8679538/Build-Your-Own-Biogas-Generator

Using A Biogas Digester
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8337831/Using-A-Biogas-Digester

Communication

Shortwave 101 – How To Listen To World Radio
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9614280/Shortwave-101-How-To-Listen-To-World-Radio

Crystal Radio Project
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8608892/Crystal-Radio-Project

Field Antenna Handbook
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8608089/Field-Antenna-Handbook

Shortwave Radio – Build Your Own

A Handbook On Shortwave Radio And LEO Satellite Communication
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8375638/A-Handbook-On-Shortwave-Radio-And-LEO-Sattelite-Communication

Shortwave Radio Networking When Phones Fail
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3195783/Shortwave-Radio-Networking-When-Phones-Fail

The Complete Manual Of Pirate Radio
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8608511/The-Complete-Manual-Of-Pirate-Radio

Building Related Survival Shelters and More

Seven Survival Shelters That Could Save your life!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3007857/Seven-Survival-Shelters-That-Could-Save-your-life

Building With Stone And Earth – Part 1
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8331565/Building-With-Stone-And-Earth-Part-1

Building With Stone And Earth – Part 2
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8331631/Building-With-Stone-And-Earth-Part-2

Barn Plans And Out-Buildings (1886)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8342942/Barn-Plans-And-OutBuildings-1886

How to build your own underground home

The Complete Book of Underground Houses – How To

Homesteading

The City People’s Book Of Raising Food
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8103864/The-City-Peoples-Book-Of-Raising-Food

The complete book of self sufficiency by John Seymour
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6449749/The-complete-book-of-self-sufficiency-by-John-Seymour

This is a great resource site for homesteaders, people interested in sustainability and survival techniques. There is so much here that the site deserves its own listing.
Downloading directly from the site is free, but does require sign up and some information (including info on what you plan on doing with the materials provided). It’s worth it!
http://www.itdg.org

This is yet another almost incredible information resource for all things homestead. It will take time, but is well worth the dig and everything is available for free download.
http://www.fastonline.org/content/view/12/26

Livestock

Small-Scale Chicken Production
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8422107/SmallScale-Chicken-Production

The Homesteader’s Handbook To Raising Small Livestock
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8680857/The-Homesteaders-Handbook-To-Raising-Small-Livestock

A Poultry Mini-Manual
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8258787/A-Poultry-MiniManual

Small-Scale Freshwater Fish Farming
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8429562/SmallScale-Freshwater-Fish-Farming

Poultry a Practical Guide – Very old, very excellent comprehensive guide
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8942814/Poultry-a-Practical-Guide

Hog trapping – 8 documents and trap plans
http://www.fastonline.org/content/view/88/29/

Poultry raising gold mine! Nearly 100 documents!
http://www.fastonline.org/content/view/50/29/

Raising Rabbits start to finish
http://www.fastonline.org/content/view/52/29/

Small Scale Dairy Production

Click to access 36-e-2003-print.pdf

Why and How to Keep Dairy Goats

Click to access FarmAfricaGOAT%20BOOK.pdf

Constructing a Simple Wooden Cart

Click to access tr24.pdf

Making a Straight Hame Collar

Click to access tr46.pdf

Single Donkey Harness for Cart Pulling

Click to access tr27.pdf

Other Skills and Useful Info.

The Foxfire Books are simply some of the best old time skills books around! –

Foxfire One
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8961411/Foxfire-One

Foxfire Two
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8961376/Foxfire-Two

Foxfire Three
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8961322/Foxfire-Three

The Foxfire Five
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6476078/The-Foxfire-Book-Volume-05

Sharpening Small Tools
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9231295/Sharpening-Small-Tools

Farm Shop And Equipment – This publication offers suggested assortment of tools, special tools, and how to keep and care for them. http://www.scribd.com/doc/9153426/Fa…-And-Equipment

Tools For Agriculture – A Guide To Appropriate Equipment – Appropriate Equipment For Small Farms
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8681208/Tools-For-Agriculture-A-Guide-To-Appropriate-Equipment-

Soapmaking – How To Make Soap
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8304654/Soapmaking-How-To-Make-Soap

Village Technology Handbook
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8681380/Village-Technology-Handbook

Advanced Gunsmithing, 1940 – W.F. Vickery
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8697640/Advanced-Gunsmithing-

Manual Of Bicycle Repair
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9452394/Manual-Of-Bicycle-Repair

The Formula Manual – Make your own recipes for almost everything other than food.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9452986/The-Formula-Manual

Land Clearing
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9450761/Land-Clearing

Axe Manual of Peter McLaren
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9356136/Axe-Manual-of-Peter-McLaren

Crosscut Saw Manual
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9450723/Crosscut-Saw-Manual

Basic Plumbing Skills
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8604200/Basic-Plumbing-Skills

Basic Plumbing Course
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8603975/Basic-Plumbing-Course

Hoppe’s Guide To Gun Care
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8457633/Guide-To-Gun-Care-

Pistol Preventative Maintenance Guide
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8457777/Pistol-Preventative-Maintenance-Guide

Emergency Sanitation At Home – Interesting DoD publication from 1958
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8259039/Emergency-Sanitation-At-Home

Spinning With Simple Tools
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8452139/Spining-With-Simple-Tools

Introduction To Spinning
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8451949/Introduction-To-Spining

Natural Dyeing Of Textiles
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8337045/Natural-Dyeing-Of-Textiles

Handloom Construction
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3799907/Handloom-Construction

Blacksmithing Basics
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8336508/Blacksmithing-Basics

Practical Blacksmithing 1891
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8802150/Practical-Blacksmithing-1891

Farm Blacksmithing 1921
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8802051/Farm-Blacksmithing-1921

Alternatives To Portland Cement
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8331447/Alternatives-To-Portland-Cement

How To Make Candles
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8304539/Candlemaking-How-To-Make-Candles

Candle Making
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8303763/Candle-Making

Hide tanning – 4 documents
http://www.fastonline.org/content/view/89/29/

Pond Construction and Management – about 50 documents
http://www.fastonline.org/content/view/35/29/

Fighting fires

Click to access FightingFire.pdf

The manual of free energy devices and systems (?)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3152210/the-manual-of-free-energy-devices-and-systems

Mobile emergency power

After reading about what worked and didn’t work from people who when through hurricane Sandy it made me start thinking about a few things I could do differently or should do differently.

Steve Harris of http://www.Solar1234.com and http://www.batteries1234.com is a huger source of information and must give credit to information I learned from there and the TSP forms and podcasts http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com.

I had a spare car battery in my garage I wanted to use but couldn’t quite figure out how.

We recently purchased 2 power inverters to supply power to our house in the even we lost power or if we needed to do work remotely without power. We purchased off the recommendations of Steve Harris from his site, but got 1000W inverters (one for each car) instead of the 800W. Now we have two generators (our vehicles) we can use to power things in the house, are more quite than gas generators and have dual purpose of a vehicle.

Based on what I read from Sandy they all wanted a way to have power at night without running an engine or generator. Here is where the battery in the garage comes in.

I was killing time in a Rural King one evening and say a batter replacement box in the auto section. I had the idea now.

I bought the box, extension cords, 3 way power splitter and a trickle float charger.

I mounted one of the inverters to the lid of the battery box. That way if I want to use it on the car is easily transported. The box has openings on the top to run the cables out. I leave the battery connected to the float charger and if there is ever a power outage I have mobile power for; fan for my fireplace insert in winter, DVD player and TV for kids, radio, charge cell phone etc. Is silent, and can run quite a bit for a while before needing recharge. Can recharge during day from cars, or from generator when people are awake to watch for thieves.

If I had to make it all with new components would be about $200, but I already had the battery. I could go cheaper on the inverter etc.

1 12V battery

1 1000W inverter

2 25’ grounded power cords

2 3 rectangle way power splitter

2 3 way square power splitter

1 float charger.

1 batter box.

I will be making another one in the future, and will be using the larger farm battery box instead of truck/car box. Even though the batter fit in the box, I would also like to store the extension cords, and splitters when not in use so the whole setup is in one box.

Here are some pictures. Sorry for the quality.

One is of all the components unassembled.

One is how the box looks ready to use.

One is the lid off powering my insert fan, charging a kindle, and cell phone. I could have put the lid on, but afterthought.

Emergency plan

With the recent events on the South side of Indianapolis it makes me wonder if my family is really prepared for an emergency as much as we think we are. We have made the Bug Out Bags (BOB) and Food totes with enough food to feed our family of six for 3 days and they are all placed in an easy to grab location, but is this enough? We have made copies of all of our important documents and have copies stored off site in case something would happen. What about all the pictures and other memorabilia is there that if lost could never be replaced; kids pictures, baby’s first pair of shoes, or a child’s favorite blanket or stuff animal. Knowing and planning is part of the solution. Yes we have thought about some of these things but we have never put them into practice. So we are given only a few moments to get not only ourselves but anything we may need out of our house, can you do it? Can you do it in the middle of the night after waking up from a dead sleep? I can say that I am not sure I could. So how will I combat this: Practice, Practice, Practice and Practice! Just like in sports you have to practice to get better and having an emergency plan for your family is no different.

First make sure you have your BOB and food supply in a location that you can grab it easily as you go out of the house. Have it packed with the essentials that you will need and make sure you look through it every 3 to 6 months to see if your needs have change. Example is we have a BOB for our toddler. When the bag was first set up she was still a baby so we have had to update it with larger diapers and clothes that will fit her now. Don’t forget to make a BOB for any pets that would have to go with you. In our case we have already determined that the family dog would go so she has her own bag in the form of a dog back pack that will fit her containing food, extra leash and a collapsible bowl.

Those important documents, what are they and where to you store them? The following is a list that our family came up with that we felt we would have to have in case of an emergency:
Copy of Driver’s license
Copy of SS Cards
Birth Certificates
Marriage certificate
Kids ID Cards
Health Insurance Cars
Titles
Family Photos on flash drive
Tax returns- last 3 years first 2 pages
Insurance polices
Pet ID and vet info
Phone numbers-relatives, Employer, insurance agent, doctor,
Bank Account Numbers
Home Inventory
Wills

Now for the hardest part: find time to practice what you would do in the event of an emergency. Make sure to include older children and teens that may play an important role in getting your family out and to safety. Include where you will meet and what each person is in charge of. Have a chain of command. If mom/dad (whoever is usually the leader for prepping) isn’t there what to do next. If mom and dad are injured what to do? Do not make yourself the biggest liability. If you are the only one who knows where everything is, the evacuation route, what preps are where and you are not there, someone else needs to know. What is you are injured, out of town etc. Remember the rule 2 is 1 and 1 is none.

Now with some practice hopefully my family and I will have our plan nailed down and be able to execute it when and if an emergency come up.

Upcoming free classes/meetings at ISD

Prepping 001 Intro to prepping

New to prepping? Think prepping is one of “those” tin foil hat people? Come see the light. 20+ topics covered, along with tips, techniques, handouts, notes, web resources and great discussion and dialog. Meet some other like minded people and network. Spouse or significant other not on board? Maybe this will help. It is free and sell it as cheap entertainment for an afternoon.

Free class/discussion at

Indiana Self Defense.

Class starts at 4PM roughly 1-2 hr depending on how lively our discussion is.

8017 E Washington St
Indianapolis IN 46219

Bring a chair, there are a few at the store.

November 17th

Kids and Prepping
Are your kids ready to bug out? What do you pack for them? What do you tell them? What if something happens while you are at work? What is your plan? How to talk to them and not scare them? Do you kids know what to do in case of a fire? Do your kids know what to do if something happens to you? This is not a put fear in you type discussion. This is a cover you basis so you are prepared if something happens. Preparation is the best defense in an emergency situation.
Free class/discussion at

Indiana Self Defense.

Class starts at 6PM roughly 1-2 hr depending on how lively our discussion is.

8017 E Washington St
Indianapolis IN 46219

Bring a chair, there are a few at the store.

December 6th

Essential Oils AND Medicinal Herbs
If you missed out on the October date for Essential Oils, Mother Wolf Herbals aka BBK76858 will be offering the same presentation (with a few extras) and combining with medicinal herbs. Learn about essential oils and growing, harvesting, and using your own medicinal herbs. 2 for 1 deal and bonus it is a FREE class and discussion. Made possible by the generosity of Indiana Self Defense. Free hand outs, notes, resources, and as always active discussion.
Class starts at 4PM roughly 2-3 hr depending on how lively our discussion is.

8017 E Washington St
Indianapolis IN 46219

Bring a chair, there are a few at the store.
December 8th

Other upcoming classes/discussions
· Prepping with Kids
· Medical/First aid
· Gardening basics From apartment gardening to aquaponics
· Growing medicinal herbs
· Water purification and storage (repeat)
· Fire (repeat)
· BOB (Bug Out Bags) II follow up to the first class, bring your updates, new or revised bag.

Stay tuned for updates.

Fire starter

So this weekend I decided to make fire starters now that winter is upon us. We make our own and have no need for kindling.

We use:

Empty toilet paper rolls,

Candles,

Wood pellets.

The toilet paper rolls we save when the rolls are don. We also use paper towel rolls, or other small cardboard containers.

We get the candles from good will during color of the day (50% off) or 50% off Sundays. It doesn’t matter the color, size, or smell. Stick candles 0.25, med candles 2.99, and often 10-15 lb candles for 5 bucks or so.

Wood pellets you can get from almost any hardware store, but usually get them much cheaper during the early fall or summer. Usually 3.99/50 lbs

Stack the rolls on end and fill with the wood pellets.

I use a double boiler. I picked up a roaster from again good will on 50% off day and use a #10 can. Stuff the candles in the can, allow to melt and pour into the tubes. Since it is open in both ends you will need to pour just a little in each one and allow to harden and cool. Repeat once cool. Eventually there will be enough wax to seal the end.

I also use plastic tubs and do the same thing for larger fire starters then split later.

Using this you can make fire starters for about 0.25/0.50 each. Compared to 3-4 bucks at the store.

Hillbilly wannabe

Just like being a prepper isn’t a bad thing being termed a redneck or hillbilly shouldn’t be either. Lets look at each of these and you tell me who is better off? The suburbanite cube dweller watching on demand real housewives while eating at Mcdonalds to keep the kids quiet. Or the true self sufficient country dweller working the farm, watching the sun go down, and telling to kids to play with dirt and a stick, and they are happy about it.

The Appalachian American, aka hillbilly, aka redneck are for the most part self-sufficient. Typically they will live out in the sticks away from cities and services cities provide (police, fire, medical), stores, grocery etc. You rely on your family and neighbors. If you need something you make it, fix it, grow it, harvest it, process it or do it yourself. If you don’t know how to do something you either ask family/neighbors for assistance who teach you to do it, because they sure as hell won’t do it for you, or you figure it out on your own. Redneck engineering? It may not be pretty, but it works, did the job it was intended to do, cost little to nothing, and did it on their own.

Most can hunt, fish, forage, or grow their own food.

Most live simple lives without the need of TV, electronic gadgets, or other means of entertainment, spending, or waste.

Most have knowledge passed down from generation to generation about healing, medicines, and cures for what ails them. They know what plants are good for what. They don’t have many of the issues a lot of us do because they don’t eat all the chemicals and crap that we do.

Almost none accept or want government handouts.

Security isn’t as much of an issue because 99% of the time they are armed, can shoot better than most trained individuals, and people generally know not to mess with them. Country justice is a pretty good deterrent. That and there isn’t much worth stealing to most modern criminals. Because they live in a close community, know their neighbors, and friends/family are all over where they live, chances are if something goes on, either you know who did it, or someone you know, and it will get back to you.

Your family, friends, and neighbors are there for you in your time of need, as you are there for them. If a storm knocks down a few trees across the road and takes out power, they will have it cleaned, power back on, and business as usually before the city dwellers can even coordinate because of the levels of government, permits, etc. who is doing what, who is responsible for what. It just gets done.

You use the barter system and there is a code/honor system. You trust and respect each other.

If the entire financial/economic system collapsed tomorrow would it affect them? Probably not, just no more taxes on their land. So they just may benefit from it.

Pandemic, many are so isolated may not even reach them.

No water, most drink from wells, ponds, creeks, streams or rivers anyway. They grew up on this water, and are immune to anything living or present in the water.

Terrorist attack, too far and few between targets in the country. Not an issue. Most would look sideways at someone not from the area, and if the individual was viewed as a treat, would be dealt with. No tribunals, no asylum, no apologies for offending their country. Come to my home to do me and mine harm, and well al-Qaida we got a gravel pit/mine shaft with your name on it.

Food sources wiped out? Usually stocked up, and if not, can hunt, gather grow their own. (Book title same name by Jason Akers, Hunt Gather Grow, not calling Jason a hillibilly in a derogatory way)

No power, no worries, most do with little to no power to start.

OMG the internet is down….Most don’t even use it today, and in some cases even know what it is.

Look at you own lives, and could you do all that they do? Do you have the community, the know how? I cannot, but I wish I could, and am trying to educate myself to have a simpler life, a more self-reliant life, a more prepared life. I even say a better life. Would I give up the city, cube, stressed out life to live out in the country with good neighbors, friends and family. You bet.

So maybe before so many use redneck, hillbilly or other term in a derogatory way or look down our noses at them, we should look up to them as how really knows how to survive adversity and disasters.

One of “those” people

People ask Are you a…a….”prepper” or You are one of those survivalist people.

Damn straight I am!

I am not one of those crazy people you see on Dooms day Prepper or the other TV shows. I am a normal person. I prepare for the unknown. As Jack Spirko states the threat matrix. Is it likely a meteor will hit the earth? Not likely. Is it more likely that one of us will lose a job, or get injured and cannot work, yes. I prepare, by storing extra food, so that I can feed my family and not have to worry about the kids going hungry while income is tight. I prepare so that if a tornado hits, I can get my family out, have all the documents we need and can be out of our house for at least 72 hrs while repairs are being made. I am not going to be one of those people in a bathrobe stating I lost everything and all I have is this robe. The wife, kids and I will get through. I hate to keep quoting him but Jack does have some good advice. We prepare in case times get tough or even if they don’t.

If we lost a job, were quarantined due to pandemic, or other natural disaster hit, we could stay in our house for about 6 mo maybe longer with NO ASSISTANCE from anyone or any government agency or any utility. I think of Katrina, how FUBAR things were in New Orleans because people relied solely on the government. Even FEMA will tell you they cannot get to you for at least 72 hours and you need supplies for at least that long.

If something happened today, where are your critical documents, insurance papers, birth certificates? If you were in bed, and a tornado hit. You were sleeping in your bed and your house got wiped out, how would you prove who you were? How would you prove you lived there. What is your insurance agent phone number and policy? Who would you call? Are all your numbers stored in your phone which was just taken by the storm? Your kids are hungry, you have no cash or credit cards. The storm took it all. What are you going to do? Stand around and wait for help? How long is help delayed? If you are not injured, and neighbors are, who gets helped first? Where will you go? Where will you stay?

That is a mild scenario. What if you are injured. What if your kids are injured? Do you know what to do? Do they know what to do?

Being a “prepper” or “survivalist” isn’t a bad thing. It is a responsibility you have to take care of your family. No one can predict the future. No one knows what will happen next. It is just risk mitigation and ready for anything. I am not going to be one of those people in my robe standing around without a clue what to do next. The wife, the kids and myself all know we have a role and will be taken care of BECAUSE we are prepared, BECAUSE we will survive.

I would much rather have a label as “one of those people”, be prepared, and kick the unknown square in the teeth, than that useless blob on my front yard who doesn’t have a clue on what to do next and unable to take care of my family waiting on some hand out which may or may not come for a government agency. What kind of person are you going to be?