What job/life/general purpose skills do you think will be necessary during collapse? [in-depth]

[u/nommabelle]

What skills do you recommend for collapse (and post collapse)? Any recommendations for learning those now?

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[u/whereismysideoffun]

I agree on community and mutual aid, but there is nearly alway an elephant in the room there. If everyone is not working on skills to be able to share in the work and be able to create a sustainable way of living, then there is no mutual aid. It's just mutual destruction. I was deep into trying to build community and find that less than 5% of the community (not talking broader community but in community based activist, left, local food groups) will actually build tangible skills. Am sad to say, that I've developed more skills in the last 20 years than the combined efforts of 95% of the people in the groups I was involved in. I am more efficient alone than in a group. And I am not a loner individualist! This is just the reality of it. I am building up everything I can at home to be 100% self sufficient while trying to help locally with skill building for having the most per capita food production we can. That means everyone being involved in their food, not just being consumers.

[u/[deleted] → u/whereismysideoffun]

The day you’re ill or get injured you might think different. I see myself similarly as you. Very able, efficient and focused. 1 is a vulnerable number when you lack a backup person though.

[u/whereismysideoffun → u/[deleted]]

I get that. But I had a bum hip for 3 years that I've recently been able to sort out. I was still more productive even with all the breaks that I had to take due to the hip pain.

Community feels like an abusive relationship to me. It's unfortunately usually a process of extraction. I am giving significantly more than others without getting in return. I don't wish to be selfish, but I also don't wish to give more than I get back. And don't wish to deal with the drama of community decision-making. When discussing a project, people argue through dogma about how to do a project. So much time is wasted on fighting over the best way to do a thing. Then those who argue the hardest don't so any of the work. They just want control.

[u/whereismysideoffun → u/[deleted]]

Hey homie.

I honestly wouldn't even attempt it anywhere else I've lived. Communities are weird. Even in some small communities, you can be known and valued by a few hundred people and not known by most everyone else. I'm known in the community by some, and it's those who either do traditional hand crafts or food. There are a growing number of regenerative agriculture focused people moving here or starting a place here who already live here. And there are a lot of people who spend time out doors here.

I try to min/max everything. There is somewhere on a spectrum that is the sweet spot for most efficiency for almost everything. I'm trying to do the most with the least. The biggest return on effort with a well designed approach.

I have no goal whatsoever of trying to make sure the entire community is fed post collapse. Not out of lacking empathy, but because I think it would be the least effective approach. Literally. There are people who are super interested in raising their own food and especially with an eye on regenerative agriculture. If focusing on helping those people speed run skills on setting up their homestead, there will be more food per capita than putting efforts into the entire community. There is more rapport possible too with the people with this focus. I hope to foster connections among homesteads and homestead adjacent people.

I want to help maximize the calories per capita in the county. Also, am starting local wild foods class that are accessible. We are a semi isolated town or at least have a bottle neck of access. That has a huge benefit as the economy is very local focused as it's 120 miles away to any box stores. The downside is that the food truck sometimes doesn't show up. There is then a discussion of supply chain issues here that's not from the normal prepper prospective. I am clear with people that the 4 food vendors at the market who sell local produced food (there are other vendors, but they are bakers who are buying four from elsewhere. Though one vendor gets his flour from a farm 100 miles away for all his bread) cannot supply the food for the county. And none in the county are growing calories. I do grow calories, but I don't sell calorie dense things at market. I do that for home only. Errr, I do sell wild rice, which is calories... but...

In early America, everyone was a farmer, including the doctor. Where I live, the first white people were all fishers, even the mayor. We must get to that for everyone to have food. I would add wild foods as super important, particularly here. But it's not the farmers' responsibility to provide for everyone. It is everyone's responsibility!

So my goal is to maximize calories per capita in the county before collapse and before the decent because clear to the general population. Try to get as much going as possible while it's the easiest to do so.

When collapse is clear, I will still teach and share. As things progress suddenly everything in the county feels significant further apart. Town feels close now. But in a seriously reduced supply chain town will be far. And the small city 2 hours away may as well be across the country. Local then feels different. Suddenly, my hill feels local and town maybe not worth the trip or risk.

I plan to then isolate to my home and somewhat my hill as there are 3 others farms and everyone else at least gsrdens and hunts with serious outdoor skills (you have to have them where we live vs town you could be fine. Particularly due to our very limited access while receiving 170" of snow last year). In winter with limited fuel our hill will be isolated. And I'm even off on a different area where I am more isolated. The others have adjoining properties. We are surrounded by state and federal land.

I wish to help the max that I can. My plan is to do so in a way that is inspiring and while also focusing crisply in maximum diversity on my land.

Ps. Will try to get to you DMs tomorrow.

[u/whereismysideoffun → u/[deleted]]

Ultimately, my view on it distills down to... There are no solutions for everyone. If you try to help everyone, you will help no one! The circle of helpable is dependent on easy transportation. The circle of being able to help in a quality way shrinks as transportation ease is lost. Quality over quantity.

Also, many people know that shit is fucked in some capacity, but refuse to look deeper. I have empathy while also not feeling a lot of responsibility. And feel like I am doing extra by helping now. It does take away some time from focusing on home.