Basic Survival

[remy]

In the wake of a new earthquake in China leaving behind 400,000 homeless, i wanted to approach our survival universe with a kit that has been in use by refugees and homeless alike throughout the world.

[endurance]

Great post and I hope the beginning of a great thread.

I, too, have been an observer of the refugee, from Ethiopia to New Orleans, and you captured the core of their necessities well, although there's probably variations from continent to continent around the world.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the pot and in a perfect world, a pan, too.

Here's a couple thoughts I'd add:

Machete vs. axe: Maybe I've been exceptionally hard on the two I've owned or maybe I bought inferior stuff, but I've never been nearly as impressed with a machete as I have been with just a good, solid single bit axe. While I preferred a double bit with the forest service because it was easier to always have a sharp side in the field, a single bit has served me better in my personal life because I could use it as a hammer and it was easier to sharpen in the field without the benefit of a vice. I've also seen plenty of refugees with them around the world.

Iodine-While not the preferred method of water purification, nor first aid, the utility for both would warrant a look. This is not a firm endorsement, but rather an item to consider. I'm not about to open the can of worms mentioning potassium permanganate would bring, oops, I just did. Guess it's out there now.

Beans and rice-As long as we're mentioning living like the third world, why don't we mention some of the best long-term storage foods that supply billions of people around the world the cornerstone of their diet. Forget MREs and freeze-dried chicken stew. Pound for pound, you can't beat beans and rice for nutrition. They are two complimentary proteins that provide all the essential amino acids. All you need is a little fat and you have all your macro nutrients covered. Oil might be a good thing to add, for both its cooking utility and for the easy source of fats. Add a bottle of multi-vitamins and you could go for months without adverse health consequences.

Rugged shoes and durable clothing-This is where one has to be careful in their choices. As much as I share the concerns of experienced folks in the back country regarding cotton, my experience has shown that it outlasts every synthetic fabric out there. Wool certainly has its place in colder climates, but with the kind of hard living one might be doing, I doubt a pair of wool pants would last a single month of summer, no less you wouldn't want to be wearing them in the heat anyway.

[Rick]

Excellent post, Remy. Well thought out and well worded. I don't dare add anything to it.

One of the reasons fishing weirs is outlawed in virtually every state is because they are terribly efficient ways of catching large numbers of fish. And they require very little work. Sometimes, if you look closely, you'll find natural weirs along the coast line. Nets, lines, etc. isn't really necessary. Knowing how to build a weir in any body of water will usually reap huge rewards.

Man has come to use sticks in the ground but piled stones can serve the same purpose. Even dirt berms will work.

[Rick]

It's really about comfort for us, isn't it? That and the hypnosis of advertising.

Here's a thread for you. What's the best cooking pot (no references to plants, please).

[crashdive123]

Very well thought out posts.

[crashdive123]

I think I read that the WOK was the best all-around pot.

Well.......until you drill holes in the bottom of it.

[crashdive123]

Sadly, so much of the "advice", like the video that you saw comes from people with absolutely no practical experience. I know that Hope and others comment on this often, and while the internet is good for source material, it cannot replace practical experience. Sadly, to the inexperienced looking to develop a plan they have no way of knowing the the information they are viewing (like the BOB video) is not going to serve them well. The points you made in your original post are spot on. I've traveled a little, and while the touristy places in the Islands were nice, the rest of the population lived with the bare essentials. A pot, hammock, roof, ability to fish. While many had jobs, they were surviving on $500 a year and seemed quite content. All in how you are raised and what you become accustomed to I imagine.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

Great post Remy! I am just sitting here soaking it all up!

[Pict]

Excellent post.

Our basic needs are not that hard to figure out, demystification is in order.

In Brazil we don't have a refugee problem but we do have millions of people that are classified as "economically inactive" they neither produce nor consume. That is a politicians way of saying unemployed and destitute.

Universally they collect exactly the things listed in the original post. They also eat a diet of mainly rice and beans. Mac

[Sourdough]

Well done Remy.

[Ole WV Coot]

Excellent post Remy. I do admire how thoroughly it was thought out. I would not attempt to add or subtract. You covered many books in one post. My congratulations on a job well done.

[BENESSE]

I have felt for a long time that "SURVIVAL" should be a mandatory course
taught in K-12. Can't imagine anything more important.

A 21st century version of peace-time draft (men & women)
needs to be the law--even if it's for only 3 months.
Think of it as a semester.
No exceptions, no deferment!

We've gotten fatter, lazier and more dependent on Uncle Sam
to solve all our problems.
Making us learn how to fend for ourselves would be a good start.

[crashdive123]

We've gotten fatter, lazier and more dependent on Uncle Sam
to solve all our problems.

Well, two out of three?

[BENESSE]

All I'm guilty of is having been lazier in the past.
That is quickly changing.

[Rick]

I think there is some basic fantasy of being the lone survivor when everyone else dies. I get that sense that some folks WANT to be out there with a .308 walking patrol on the deserted street of a city or sitting high atop a ridge line some place.

Frankly, I don't harbor such illusions. If something that bad happened I know I'd probably be called a victim along with everyone else. If by some special grace I wasn't then I'd be looking for others to try to put the pieces back together.

[BENESSE]

I'd hate to be a lone survivor but being a victim
due to my own stupidity would suck as well.

[loki]

I have to agree with the rest as I enjoyed your post and welcome how you brought us to many of the basic of what is needed for survival. Yes we in the west share many advantages and carry BOB of 45-85 pounds, and while these extras that we have and include give us more luxury in our survival, you showed that with a few basic items we can and have as a species have proven ourselves resilient and have survived for sometime now. I have also thought of a pot as a long term survival item and it is the reason I have purchased a dutch oven to accomodate my boiling and cooking needs and have place it in my BOL. I do not have a pot in my bag as I assumed I would be able to make it to that location but in light of your post I see that is just wishful at best thinking. Thank you for awakening me to another aspect of a default in my prep list. I must now find a way to incorporate a pot into my BOB that I carry in my SUV. This one though will be stainless and light. Come to think of it a emptied coffee can might serve as the perfect item to fit that bill. I could drill to holes in the top to affix a wire clothes hanger as a handle and walla I have a efficient light pot that is small and light enough yet durable enough to travel anywhere and meet my boiling needs to hydrate my family. I will also probably include a regular sauce pan pot but I want to remain open to adaptibility of using items around me, in case of loss, damage or theft. These items such as coffee cans can be found thrown out behind any restaraunt, coffee shop and even at the local dump. We are talking survival. Thanks for bringing back simplicity and refreshing us on the survivalist adaptability.

[chiangmaimav]

Very excellent posting and a very good discussion. I work with Burmese refugees here and my girlfriend escaped from Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and they know a great deal about survival. It is also true that rice makes a very good MRE. Sticky rice is a very good food source to carry and any edible plant or vegetable or meat can be added to rice to make a nutritious meal. During Vietnam War the Vietnamese would carry live chickens or ducks with their beaks taped shut tied to their belts when they went on a long march.

[endurance]

Do you know how much rice and beans you could have for that money ? Do you know how long you could feed a family of 4 with $70 worth of beans and rice ?

Actually, about 67 pounds of beans and 67 pounds of rice at $0.52/pound (what I paid for Jasmine rice and pinto beans my last trip to Costco). That works out to be about 213,663 calories, or enough to feed a family of four at a bare subsistance level of 1,200 calories per day for 44.5 days.

Compared to 12 MREs, which at one per person per day would last three days.

Yep, I'm with you. Sometimes simpler is better. We've been trained to be consumers. We do it well. I'm certainly not going to slight someone if they want a few comfort items but they should recognize the difference between comfort items and necessities. As you said, a simple pot to boil water in would be a great place to start. Too often they blow right by that pot and start looking at camoflage netting to hide their truck in case we have a Red Dawn invasion.

Again, many thanks for the well thought out post.

[BENESSE]

67 pounds of rice and beans are swell if you don't have to carry them on your back.
Let's keep things in perspective.
What works in one part of the world may not work in another.
It's good to know the basics but be aware of ALL you options and be flexible
and realistic.