The Bare Fundamentals for a new prepper

[NorthernRaider]

The Bare Fundamentals for a new prepper
NR © 2013

OK you have decided you wish to become a prepper for whatever reason that motivates you, before you get to getting the family involved, before you get to caches and stockpiles, before you buy a place on top of a mountain, before you go galloping off buying all the latest Gucci kit first of all you need to sort yourself out.

All you are actually attempting to do is to equip yourself with sufficient skills to help you get through a period of time in which you may no longer have access to food shops, petrol, electricity, pumped water, medical care or law enforcement, health and emergency services or transport systems for a prolonged period, to what level you want to develop your skills and for how long you plan on living as a prepper is entirely down to you.

Firstly I believe you need to try and become as HEALTHY as possible , note I say HEALTHY and not as FIT as possible we are not trying to create super soldiers or John Rambo we are trying to help an ordinary everyday people improve their chances of surviving a catastrophe. You need to be as healthy as you can be given your own current circumstances, age etc so you are in the best possible condition to give you the best chance of getting through the tribulations ahead and be able to take care of your loved ones and fellow survivors.

So gerroff the fags and cut back on the booze, if you cannot see your toes it’s time to start doing just a bit of gentle exercise to gradually improve your health especially your cardiovascular system etc. If you cannot comfortably squat or kneel down for a few minutes, or lay down in the prone position to handle a rifle you need to get yourself toned up a bit. Gentle walking, a bit of swimming and the odd bimble about on a bicycle will quickly improve your health thus improving your overall chances of survival. Whilst you are at it start eating a bit more healthily because regardless of your age or condition you are what you eat so a healthy diet will help you develop a healthy body and mind.

Next you need to start gaining various life-saving skills as a foundation to build the rest of your preps upon.

In no particular order you really need to get a decent introduction to

First Aid Training and skills
Navigation, Map and Compass reading skills (vehicle and pedestrian)
CB/PMR/Ham Radio operation skills
Car and Motorcycle operator skills (extra points for a 4x4 driver’s course)
Basic vehicle maintenance and breakdown skills
Horse, Bicycle, Boat and Canoe operation skills
Wilderness Survival skills (inc shelter building, fire lighting, hunting etc)
Camp craft and Fieldcraft skills
Hiking skills (river, obstacle, gulley crossing, fell crossing)
Improvised cooking skills (Camp cooking)
Domestic hygiene skills without access to power, shops or running water
Edible food and plant identification skills
Safe handling and use of knife skills (basic butchery and rope work etc)
Basic self defence skills
Recce and recording skills
Threat and Risk assessment skills
Skill at arms training with shotgun / fire arms
Skill at arms with archery equipment
Skill at arms baton / staff
Food cooking, prepping and preserving skills (salting, canning, smoking etc)
Basic home DIY skills (carpentry, basic electrics, basic plumbing etc)
Basic Veg gardening skills (extra points if basic animal husbandry course)


From that basic foundation of skills you can begin to develop a survival plan to meet your own needs and that of your family, once you have started learning new skills you can use those new skills and experiences in conjunction with using good prepper forums to seek out information and advice on what equipment tools, clothing and supplies that will also best suit your own individual needs.