SELF SUFFICIENCY FOR EVERYONE

 

 

I have been watching the preppers lately on television. At first, it was entertaining, something different. Some are extremists for sure. But then, you stop and think that maybe we all should be taking this a little bit seriously, just not to the extremes.

There have been many natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and just plain thunderstorms that have left many without resources for extended periods of time.

In this modern age of electronics, we have come to rely on others for many of our needs such as electricity, food, water and other essentials. But, what if a major terrorist attack or natural disaster left us without these resources for an indefinite amount of time?

The idea of living “off the grid” has gained popularity in recent years. I am not ready to take that big of leap, but I have come to the conclusion that being self sufficient is not such a bad idea. I also know that you don’t have to do all or nothing, there is some middle ground. That said, there are some things that we can all do to make our home more prepared in case of an extended emergency.

 

POWER

When you have no power, basically you are shut down; no using major appliances, no charging devices and no water if you live in the country and have your own well. I remember the blackout that knocked out power for fifty million people across the eastern United States and parts of Canada in 2003. Power shut down in just three minutes and it lasted up to two days, depending on location.

Fortunately, it was caused not by terrorists, but rather by limbs touching power lines in Ohio which caused a domino effect. However, it very well could have been the worse scenario. The good news is that it drew attention to flaws in our power grid. What about next time, though?

Generators have become popular in light of recent power outages…and one is on my list. These are either stand-by ones that come on automatically or portable ones which you hook up when needed. They are powered by either natural or propane gas and can be supplemented with solar. These fill the void well if there are no gas shortages.

Wind and solar are popular options too except you have to have sun and wind for them to function. So, to depend on these sources, you need the heart of any off-grid renewable energy source…batteries. They allow home owners to store energy that they generate for when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow.

 

Another drawback to solar power is that it must feed the power it generates back to the grid before it can be used to power a home. This renders it useless when the grid goes down unless you have a solar power system that works off-grid and uses large battery packs to store the surplus energy.

 

Cost used to be prohibitive when considering solar panels. However, due to falling manufacturing costs and market competition, the price of solar panels has dropped by up to 40 percent in recent years. This makes them more accessible to home consumers.

Sometimes wind turbines are a better bet for supplemental energy. A typical system in a good location can easily generate more power than light electrical appliances use. However, these systems are usually connected to the grid and are used to supplement power.

If you live by a river or stream, you are in luck. Water power is free and is always running. It can be harvested with just a little effort.

The ideal situation is creating a hybrid power system by combining wind and solar or other power sources to provide power for places that are far from utility lines or in cases of emergency.

 

WATER

If your water supply is from your own well instead of a municipal water supply, then you have no water when you have no power. Again, a generator will run the well pump but the generator is only as reliable as its fuel supply.

Fortunately, there are other alternatives. It may be a good idea to have a manual well pump, like those you see in all the western movies. They worked in the old days with no power grid and today they may still serve a greater purpose than just being a yard decoration.

A hand pump will work if the water level in your well is 25 feet or less. The water level is not always the depth of the well. To find your water level at any given time, lower a small bottle on a string until it hits water and then measure the amount of string it took.

To use the hand pump, simply lower the hose into the well and pump. If you have a two-inch well, you may have to pull out the suction pipe used with your pump to have enough room to drop the hose in. Wells that are four inches or larger should pose no problem.

A homemade well pump can be made out of simple PVC pipe. There are two types of these; positive displacement which makes the water move by trapping a fixed amount and forcing that water into the discharge pipe and a vacuum type which creates a vacuum source to draw water up a hose or pipe.  A positive displacement type will draw water from a deeper well but a vacuum type is easier to build. Plans for both are on youtube.

Another method is the sleeve bucket. These are slender plastic or metal sleeves that you lower into the well on a cord. They have foot valves at the bottom, allowing the bucket to fill with water and to retain that water when lifted.

Any of these methods will ensure fresh water for use as well as drinking in case of emergency.

 

FOOD

Power and water are the big ones, but equally important is having a supply of food. This is probably the easiest one to maintain. There are also many storage options for food such as freezing, canning, dehydrating, dry canning and fermenting. The shelf life of all of these methods vary. Freezing is the one not to depend on for long term food consumption simply because it depends on having power.

As a home canner, I try to put up at least two years’ worth of each particular item. That way, if we have a bad year for one particular crop, we still have an ample supply. It also ensures that we will have that item in a long-term emergency.

For foods that I don’t preserve myself, I try to pick up extra when they are on sale. Canned beans, pasta, rice, etc. can be stored long term. I buy what we need and a few extra and store them on a back rack in the basement. The following year, if we have not needed them, we use them and replace them with a fresh supply.

I also do this with cleaning supplies and paper products. It’s not like I am wasting money because they can always be used.

Some of the preppers are way out there in left field…or are they? No one knows what is to come. Events of this last year have made us even more aware of shortages and emergencies. I prefer not to go overboard and be eccentric but leaning toward self sufficiency is a good feeling.