UK collective retreats

[Paul]

(15 May 2012, 01:47)Tonka Wrote: Personally I think other people in need of guidance can be a valuable resource after TSHTF...

Every group needs those in need of guidance and a few sheeple.
Who else are you going to offer up as sacrifices to the sun gods!

[James Jackson]

i personaly think it would be use to have 3-5 people as a group, if one location was to hot then they could work as a team to protect each other, move stocks, farm, if one person was ill or had a trip/break then the other two would be able to carry the tasks needed to survive. The other very important thing is sleeping, its harder as a single person to feel secure then it would be for a small group. farming and gathering will be easyer.

[HunterNurturer]

(12 May 2012, 17:17)Skean Dhude Wrote: There are a few out there. Mainly in the deserts of Oz and the US. The ones signing up seem to be millionaires though. That says something.

Definitely truth in this.
I just started working for a new company where I work closely with the big boss who's a very successful guy. A few days ago he said "Screw banks, I try to only use them for business purposes. If they went down tomorrow, I'd still have my property, land, metals and guns."
Was quite poignant to me to see such a rich guy admitting the frailty of the system that made him rich.

[Tibbs735]

My pipe-dream is to form an ideal tribe size group of around 20 -30 people on a large plot of land, not a commune, everyone still has personal property etc, they just live together to pool skill sets and resources, for mutually assured protection, along with drills in precipitation for things like attack by raiders, external threats etc. Hopefully I will meet more likemined people at university, and be able to form a group. The posters I have put up around college have attracted very little interest (It makes me rather sad.)

[David075]

If i had the cash i would buy some fairly remote land for a retreat but i cant see that being an option the only way i could ever afford it would be to buy a share of some land for a emergancy retreat chip in with a few other people but would it work out thats the thing.

[Hrusai]

personally im very much on the side of tibbs ....ideally i would have a group of 20 people that i know, but anything more than 1 is good xD...the only conditions in my group would be, im the leader (unless theres people who are as good or better than me, in which case it should go to group consensus) everyone pulls their weight, if you dont know a certain skill thats fine, as long as your willing to learn it...to me someone who is willing to learn to gut an animal is almost as good as someone who already knows, the willingness makes them worthwhile

also if anyone is interested in starting a retreat and getting to know eachother beforehand im totally up for it, im planning to go any meets that SUK has whenever they are ^^

[bigpaul]

i dont like being in large groups of people NOW..i think i may be claustraphobic .....so thats the last thing i want after TSHTF when everyone is struggling to survive.

[Hrusai]

(7 July 2012, 11:50)bigpaul Wrote: i dont like being in large groups of people NOW..i think i may be claustraphobic .....so thats the last thing i want after TSHTF when everyone is struggling to survive.

nor do i mate, but imo it depends if you want to survive, or to thrive, 2 people will survive, but probably not thrive, whereas a small group of 4-5 will almost certainly thrive, depending on preperation and expertise among the group, the simple thing of division of labour and enabling specialisation for each person will ensure that your post SHTF community will have much better odds of survival......after all is you and OH are living in a cottage or something and a group of 3-4 20 year old males come along with weapons, despite your preperation and expertise, you have a lesser chance of coming out the otherside, especially without perimeters set up or a constant lookout, whereas add a couple more people into the mix and chances are you'll all be fine!

basically im just saying that a group of 5 has an exponentially greater chance of survival than a lone person, or group of 2

[HunterNurturer]

(7 July 2012, 11:55)Hrusai Wrote:

(7 July 2012, 11:50)bigpaul Wrote: i dont like being in large groups of people NOW..i think i may be claustraphobic .....so thats the last thing i want after TSHTF when everyone is struggling to survive.

nor do i mate, but imo it depends if you want to survive, or to thrive, 2 people will survive, but probably not thrive, whereas a small group of 4-5 will almost certainly thrive, depending on preperation and expertise among the group, the simple thing of division of labour and enabling specialisation for each person will ensure that your post SHTF community will have much better odds of survival......after all is you and OH are living in a cottage or something and a group of 3-4 20 year old males come along with weapons, despite your preperation and expertise, you have a lesser chance of coming out the otherside, especially without perimeters set up or a constant lookout, whereas add a couple more people into the mix and chances are you'll all be fine!

basically im just saying that a group of 5 has an exponentially greater chance of survival than a lone person, or group of 2

For some reason when I read this, I was reminded of the scene in The Beach where the guy develops gangrene from a leg wound, and they take him out to the woods and leave him there to die...

The more people you're with, the more potential there is for infections to spread etc. and of course much more pressure on the hunters of the group to feed everyone.
I'm confident I could catch enough squirrel/birds/fish etc. to keep myself strong and healthy enough to keep surviving, but the larger the group gets the higher the likelihood of people having to go hungry, which could cause dissent.

And what about when somebody dies? There's sure to be arguments about whether to waste that meat... but as soon as you put humans on the menu, you better sleep with one eye open

[Hrusai]

(7 July 2012, 12:52)HunterNurturer Wrote: For some reason when I read this, I was reminded of the scene in The Beach where the guy develops gangrene from a leg wound, and they take him out to the woods and leave him there to die...

The more people you're with, the more potential there is for infections to spread etc. and of course much more pressure on the hunters of the group to feed everyone.
I'm confident I could catch enough squirrel/birds/fish etc. to keep myself strong and healthy enough to keep surviving, but the larger the group gets the higher the likelihood of people having to go hungry, which could cause dissent.

And what about when somebody dies? There's sure to be arguments about whether to waste that meat... but as soon as you put humans on the menu, you better sleep with one eye open

personally i take the view of although we lost our civilisation theres no need to lose our humanity, cannibalism depends on the situation, if theres a group and one of them breaks a leg or spine or dies and your far from a camp or civilisation with no food and little water then i'd make a pre-arranged decision amongst everyone that under the circumstances where one of you cannot go on, then the others may eat him/her...i already have these agreements in place with some friends, if you are at your BOL and have some food growing and hunting and someone dies, then bury them, your all still human and some rituals no matter how nonsensical, it is still important to carry them out, it gives a feeling of closure, a way of saying good bye and honouring that group members contribution to your tribe...anyone will be swayable to this way of thinking, it appeals to peoples good sides and enforces positive feelings which will be important in such scenarios

as for infections its wise to get some medical training for every member, and even better include a trained doctor/medic in the group, this is the value of prearranging your group is that you can cover these bases, i also recommend having caches with plant seeds, and not just food ones, but medicinal plants too, as medical supplies you stockpile and gather will not last forever.

also remember the value of having more carrying power independent of vehicles, whilst one person can easily carry enough to survive, spreading out a few more "luxury" supplies such as a foldable toilet and solar showers and things can make life much much more bearable.

as for food i recommend everyone begins growing foodstuffs in their gardens to practise their horticulture, personally im just about to start a "survival garden" at the bottom of my local garden centre, ill grow multiple food stuffs, as well as several medicinal plants, to learn the basics, as well as specifics to certain plants....also experience with hunting is vital, get a friend who knows what he's doing and ask to go out hunting with him, wether it be birds, rabbits, deer stalking or whatever, its valuable experience.

the other thing is, difficult choices will be inevitable, at some stage your going to have to do something that conflicts with the strictures that modern society has imposed upon us, wether it being leaving people behind, refusing help, killing or all manner of other moral dilemmas, you have to be strong in your will to survive and have faith in the strength of your convictions, mental fortitude should be a priority on your survival skills list.

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anyways thats a bit more of my reasoning