Riots and Looting are Nothing New, but This Time May Be Different.

In the midst of a global pandemic, riots and looting have returned to the streets of the United States. In some areas, they’re becoming the norm. Once again, the trigger for the civil unrest was racially driven, but other factors simmering beneath the surface come into play.

Currently, the presidential election is probably the biggest factor. America often becomes very tense in election years, but this election is unprecedented. We’re in a situation where both sides view a loss as the end of democracy as we know it. People on the left think Trump will become a full-fledged dictator if he’s reelected, and people on the right think the deep state or radical left will take over the government if he isn’t reelected.

But on top of that, we have a situation where Trump could look like the clear winner on election night, but as the mail-in ballots are counted in the following days, it could look like Biden is the actual winner. They’re calling it a red mirage, and it could happen because there will be far more mail-in voting than usual due to the pandemic, and Democrats are more likely to use mail-in ballots.

But can the mail-in ballots be trusted? Will there be widespread voter fraud? Both sides are worried about these issues and suspicious of the other side. If Democrats or Republicans feel like the election is being stolen from them, the powderkeg that is America could ignite.

So how likely are we to see riots and violence in the coming months? In order to understand the current situation, we need to look at what sorts of things have caused riots in the past.

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Five Factors That Have Led To Riots In The Past

In a number of studies, the underlying factors that move peaceful protests to the violence of a riot have come to light.

1. Economic Factors

In the past, poverty and unemployment contributed to many instances of civil unrest. This simmering anger driven by economic disparity is what has made looting a part of most riots. People living in poverty are often desperate, and when groups take to the streets to protest, they join because they’re filled with anger and resentment at a society that seems to have left them behind.

The second great blackout hit New York City in 1977 when the grid went down. The first blackout to hit the east coast was peaceful. The second led to a night of arson and looting resulting in 4,500 arrests and $300 million in damage.

2. Political Factors

Extremists on both sides of the political spectrum often take advantage of civil unrest to further promote their agendas. In these instances, the motivation for the civil unrest is immaterial and the unrest simply provides a backdrop to demonstrate extreme and unrelated ideas and feelings.

The Seattle riots of 1999 were the result of anti-globalization activists protesting the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference. It resulted in 157 people arrests and $20 million in property damage.

3. Criminal Factors

Where there’s chaos, there’s money to be made, and criminals take full advantage of times when police are overwhelmed. When that happens, the rule of law seems to break down.

Looting is the primary activity, but crimes generally rise during times of civil unrest for the simple reason that there are fewer police officers available to respond. Just look at what happened when the police in Montreal went on strike.

4. Radical Factors

Anarchists step into periods of civil unrest and often aggravate the situation to further their agenda of disruption. Arson is often the result, as well as an escalation of violence.

It’s believed by some that a fake hand grenade thrown at National Guard troops at Kent State University in Ohio in 1970 is what triggered the Ohio National Guard to open fire.

5. The Mob Mentality

Even everyday people behave differently in a mob. The actions of a mob are erratic and unpredictable. Anonymity allows people to engage in activities they would normally never pursue. Leadership within mobs shifts quickly and to the loudest voice.

Here again, deep-seated resentments, long-term frustrations, and long-standing disappointment galvanize some to lash out and immerse themselves in the rage of the growing mob.

Danger Ahead

As you can see, all of these factors are playing a part in the current riots and protests. It’s creating a situation where peaceful protests could quickly turn violent. And these aren’t even the only factors at play.

Four New Factors That Could Lead To Riots

1. The COVID-19 Economic Depression

The official unemployment rate as a result of the pandemic is about 8.4 percent as of September 2020. However, many people believe that the real unemployment rate is even higher than it was during The Great Depression at about 28%.

People out of work have nothing else to do and are free to join protests or riots. Unemployment and economic disparity have been a hallmark of past periods of civil unrest. The current economic downturn is unprecedented, and the question is to what degree further civil disturbances will result.

2. The New Anonymity

“Everyone must wear a mask.” It’s ironic, but the masks that have become so common to prevent transmission of COVID-19 are the traditional mark of a rioter around the world.

In the past, someone with a mask was looked upon with fear and suspicion. The new normal of wearing masks in public makes it easy for anyone to feel anonymous and has no doubt motivated some of the looting and violence in recent months.

3. Increased Stress

The pandemic lockdowns and the threat of coronavirus have created a new type of stress that is affecting almost everyone. It has led many to behave irrationally in a variety of ways.

The choice to become a part of a demonstration or even a potential riot can be motivated by high stress levels. Worse, high stress affecting a mob can motivate it to take actions that are increasingly confrontational.

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4. The Presidential Election

I already covered the election in the intro, but something I didn’t mention is the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Since Republicans refused Obama his final Supreme Court pick, Democrats feel it’s only fair to deny Trump his (potentially) final Supreme Court pick.

I’m not taking sides here. I’m just pointing out that no matter what happens, one side is going to feel cheated, and some of them are going to take action. You don’t want to be around when that happens.

The Perfect Storm

With a total of nine factors that could lead to civil unrest, we really are in the perfect storm. At this point, I would be surprised if there wasn’t violence and civil unrest. So now, let’s talk more about what to expect and how to prepare.

How Long Do Riots Last?

Past precedents indicate that most riots last a day or two, although some extend to a week. A lot depends on the motivation for the riot.

Many riots have been motivated by (of all things) sports. From Vancouver to San Francisco to Denver, when sports teams win or lose a major championship, riots often result. All of these riots proved to be one-night occurrences and things soon returned to normal the following day.

Riots motivated by injustice similar to the situation surrounding the death of George Floyd have usually lasted for longer durations.

• The Cincinnati riots of 2001 lasted 4 days.
• The Detroit riots of 1967 lasted 5 days.
• The Watts riots of 1965 lasted 6 days.
• The Los Angels riots of 1992 lasted 6 days.

In most instances, the appearance of the National Guard finally quelled the riots.

Will This Time Be Different?

The National Guard has already been called up in 23 states this year, including Washington D.C. The question is whether the coming riots will subside after a short period of time or continue for weeks or even months.

Hopefully, the presence of the National Guard will eventually quell any civil unrest, but time will tell. In the meantime, you need to think about how to keep yourself and your family safe given the pattern of current events.

7 Ways to Prepare for Civil Unrest

Some of the steps we’ll outline below are common sense. Others are a bit extreme—like bugging out—but a lot depends on where you live. People living in a large metropolitan area are most at risk while suburban and especially rural locations are typically far removed from the threat of riots and looting.

These recommendations assume a worst-case scenario for someone living or working in a city where rioting, arson, and looting can potentially occur.

1. Stay Home

Again, the irony of the lockdowns for the Coronavirus pandemic makes this a fact of life in many parts of the country. However, as the country reopens and people return to work, many may find themselves confronted by a demonstration that devolves into a riot.

If you live in an area where demonstrations or riots are taking place, you should only leave home when absolutely necessary. This is already the pattern for many people due to pandemic precautions, but the potential to walk or drive into a violent situation should give you added pause.

2. Stay Informed

Local news broadcasts on TV, radio, and the Internet give daily updates not only on the circumstances surrounding rioting but on the locations.

As hard as it is to listen or watch the news these days, it’s important to know what’s going on in your area. If any demonstration or protest is planned for your immediate vicinity, lockdown and don’t go out.

3. Stock Up

Many are already doing this, but the addition of civil unrest to a pandemic makes it all the more important to reduce your need to travel to any destination for groceries, medical supplies, or other necessary items.

Order online as much as possible and, when you do go out to make purchases, try to think long-term. There are limits on many items these days, but if your neighborhood is a hot spot, buy the maximum allowed of any items you need to reduce your overall travel.

4. Lock Up

It’s one thing to lock up at night, but if you live in an apartment or neighborhood in close proximity to potential demonstrations or protests, keep your doors and windows locked at all times. Most rioters and looters tend to focus on businesses rather than individual homes or apartments, but as civil unrest grows, the direct threat can increase overall.

Some people choose to re-enforce their doors and windows and even go so far as to put up barricades on all entrances. That depends on the situation and the individual. If you have to resort to that level of security, don’t forget to make sure you can make a quick exit in the event that arson causes a fire to reach your location.

5. Keep a Low Profile

That’s easy to do if you stay home, but think twice about any signs in your front lawn expounding a political belief or opinion, and maybe it’s time to get rid of those bumper stickers spouting similar sentiments. It also helps to keep your opinions to yourself. At a time of high stress and violence in the streets, some people are looking for trouble. Don’t give them a reason to find it with you.

The same is true when walking through an area of demonstrations, protests, and especially civil unrest. Don’t take sides because there’s a good chance that both sides will be in the vicinity and you rarely know who you’ll encounter.

If confronted by someone asking you whose side you’re on, tell them you’re on their side and slip away as calmly and quickly as possible. You may also want to think twice about any clothing that makes specific or polarizing statements about controversial ideas or positions. Here again, the best way to stay out of trouble is to not ask for it. If you do, you may as well join the protest, but this is about preparing for and avoiding a riot—not starting one.

6. Don’t Get Caught in the Middle

If you find yourself in an unfolding situation of violence or civil unrest, calmly walk away and out of the situation. Keep a low profile. Don’t intervene with looters or take direct exception to what someone is saying or doing. Find a way to get out of the area and away from the violence.

And don’t give the police or the National Guard any reason to see you as a threat. They are not there to protect you. They are there to disperse the crowd and break up the riot. If they see you as part of the problem, they will act accordingly. Don’t run but move quickly.

If you’re driving and find yourself in a riot, stop if you must. Drive slowly and carefully. Don’t say or demonstrate aggressive or provocative behavior. If you must, lock and abandon your car. You want to blend in and not stand out from the crowd while you get out.

7. Have a Plan

It’s uncomfortable, but it’s worth discussing the overall situation with your immediate family. How should you individually and collectively respond to a variety of possibilities? It’s probably best to not include small children in all of these conversations, but they should be aware of the fact that you may have to act quickly.

• What do we do if we hear gunshots?
• What do we do if there’s a knock at the door and who should answer it and how?
• What do we do if the neighbor’s house or the apartment building we live in catches on fire due to arson?
• Should we tell any friends or neighbors about our plans and emergency supplies?
• What other things are you worried about and what else should we discuss and plan for?

Having a plan for events will give you some degree of peace-of-mind, and the last thing you want to do is panic at the moment something unexpected occurs. Take the time to stop, think, and anticipate so you can form a plan for events.

Bug Out?

This is always easier said than done. If you’re one of the few who have an established bug out location like a vacation home or farm in a rural area, your biggest challenge is getting to your location safely.

If you don’t have an established bug out location and the situation in your area becomes so desperate that you feel compelled to leave, you still have a few options.

• Consider staying with a relative or friend who lives in an area safe from civil unrest.
• Consider an extended stay motel or hotel. People are hesitant to occupy a motel or hotel space during the pandemic, but if you stay put and sanitize the rooms, it will be safer than staying in a hot spot of civil unrest.
• Go camping. If the weather and location permits, you can always set up camp in a remote area and hope the duration of any civil unrest winds down.
• Other options for bug out locations include national forests, mines, ghost towns, and abandoned factories.

Before you bug out, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

• Don’t tell anyone you are bugging out and try to make your house or apartment appear to be occupied. A house or apartment that is obviously deserted at a time of civil unrest is a quick target for looters and vandalism.
• Lock up and barricade your house as much as possible and take any items of value to your bug out location. The rule in that regard is simple. If you don’t want to lose it, then take it or hide it.
• Don’t assume your bug out location is an automatic safe haven. Continue to practice due diligence and anticipate events that could occur there.

What About Weapons?

At home, arming yourself to defend yourself and your family is a good idea. In your car, that depends on where you’re going. If you’re bugging out, definitely. There are two in particular you should take with you.

On your person? That’s a really big question. Even if you have an open-carry permit or live in an open-carry state, you may want to think twice about displaying a weapon in any way. The police and especially the National Guard will not see you as a wise and prepared person acting to simply defend yourself in an emergency. There’s a good possibility they will see you as a threat and at times of civil unrest, they rarely stop to ask any questions.

Wearing a pistol on your belt can be provocative, and while it may give you a sense of confidence, if shots ring out anywhere in your vicinity, it won’t take much for law enforcement to assume you may have been the shooter. The last thing you want is to become the reason for the next round of riots.

Final Thoughts

I wish I had some inspirational words or reasons for optimism, but I don’t. This is a dark time in American history. My only hope is that when it’s all over, we’ll find a way to become the United States again. In the meantime, take care of yourself and your family.

Today I’d like to share with you a “3-second survival hack” you can use to skyrocket your chances of protecting your loved ones during ANY crisis.

This technique is so powerful it can give you almost superhuman powers during the ugliest nightmares imaginable….

From natural disasters like earthquakes or tornadoes…

To explosive situations like mass shootings or even nationwide martial law.

And It doesn’t matter if you’re out of shape…

Or have no equipment…

Or even if you’re disabled living in a wheelchair.

This technique has been tested and proven by elite soldiers and real world “miracle” survivors from around the world.

The late afternoon light is shining through your window and the scene outside is quiet, just the way you like it. You are about a month into a serious collapse and thus far your preps have held up. Power has been out for 2 weeks; you don’t plan on ever having power again. You prepared for that.

As the sun sinks closer to the horizon you hear one of the most terrifying sounds of all: A knock on the door!

Your family finds their places and weapons, you leave from the backdoor and flank whoever might be on your porch. To your surprise it is your cousin! You haven’t seen him in years, but he is here. He looks rough and he has his disheveled family of three along with him.  He also doesn’t seem to have any food or supplies with him.

This is one of the prepper scenarios we all have thought about. However, it might not be as bad as you think!

Today I’d like to share with you a “3-second survival hack” you can use to skyrocket your chances of protecting your loved ones during ANY crisis.

This technique is so powerful it can give you almost superhuman powers during the ugliest nightmares imaginable….

From natural disasters like earthquakes or tornadoes…

To explosive situations like mass shootings or even nationwide martial law.

And It doesn’t matter if you’re out of shape…

Or have no equipment…

Or even if you’re disabled living in a wheelchair.

This technique has been tested and proven by elite soldiers and real world “miracle” survivors from around the world.

People Are Power

So, what do you do when someone unexpected comes knocking? Now, that is an interesting word to use in conjunction with preppers. UNEXPECTED. The whole point of prepping is to consider the unexpected.

In a true SHTF situation people bring you power. Your community should be like a hive. Hardly worth the trouble of any small group that might wish to steal or worse. You must be able to sustain them or have them sustain themselves but there will be tremendous power in numbers. Big jobs become easier, you can make an area more secure with more people, and you have more brains to put towards a problem.

Of course, its not heaven. With people come people issues like fights, jealousy, and the like. However, good leadership and preparedness can give you the upper hand on things like that.

You must first make an honest list of “survival dependents” or people who will come to depend on you when everything goes to hell!

Trust me, your list is bigger than you think.

Survival Dependents

While it is nice to imagine that the calamity will never cross your threshold, the reality is that many more people depend on you than you think. Chances are, even if people don’t know you’re a prepper, you are the type of person who has it together. You are likely the person people go to for answers.

No matter how strong your OPSEC protocols are if you are a good and solid person, than people will look to you in times of crisis. These might be people you love or just people you know.

Now is the time to sit down and create a real list. You must take off the blinders and truly consider all the people who will depend on you in an SHTF situation. It would be perfect if your list consisted of 4 people but when you break it down you have groups of people to consider.

• Immediate Family
• Extended Family
• Friends
• Co Workers

Your group of survival dependents could include people from each of these categories. How they depend on you may vary but this list will help you understand that there are more people than just your immediate family who will turn to you in times of calamity.

Can You Support People?

Of course, the question that comes to mind after you create a list like this is: Do I have enough?

For most people, the answer is no. It can be over burdensome to assume that you can prep for all the people who might be on your list of survival dependents. When these people show up asking for food, though, you need to have something!

Experts predict that an EMP strike that wipes out electricity across the nation would ultimately lead to the demise of up to 90% of the population. However, this figure begs an important question: if we were able to live thousands of years without even the concept of electricity, why would we suddenly all die without it?

Unless you subscribe to the idea that you are going to turn everyone away who comes to your door. If that is your game plan than you better also prepare for some serious backlash. How many fathers with kids can you turn away before one of them says, “No, we are coming in.”

What happens next cannot be good, with lots of harmful outcomes.

This doesn’t mean you should be a pushover and let any old person into your home and feed them.

Tip: When people approach you to ask for something, if they come to your door or see you outside, simply ask them for something first! Open the door and ask for food and medicine: “Oh, I hope you brought some food, we haven’t eaten in a week!”

Put Them to Work Immediately

From that list of survival dependents, you will likely choose people who you will bring into the fold. However, don’t let them in free of charge. The best way to handle someone who comes asking for help is to immediately give them some form of work to be done.

This is also a great gauge of the depth of that person. Those who are outraged by the work that needs to be done at “their new home” are people that you can easily weed out. Just make it truly clear up front that there is plenty to do and if they cannot do what is asked, they cannot stay.

By the way, there will be plenty to do! If you manage a household of four and all the sudden it jumps to ten you will have lots of extra work. It is not so much about room but about dishes, laundry, food production, security detail in the neighborhood, general cleaning.

In an off-grid situation, it might be about things like water procurement and sanitizing, renewable energy system maintenance, gardening, canning and everything in between.

There will be a serious list of chores to be done and the last thing you want is a house full of freeloaders laying around all day while you are red in the face.

Using a basic Excel spreadsheet, you will be able to create chore lists TODAY for issues that might come tomorrow. Print a stack of them and save them. They can be filled out by hand when the time comes or if you know the system you could print them with the duties listed.

It’s high time we stop looking at neighbors and friends as threats in the downfall. Many people can see something resembling collapse just on the horizon. Its hard not to look around and wonder how the unprepared will react to a future of scarcity, uncertainty, with up close and personal violence.

If America is facing balkanization or civil war it will be particularly important that you have a secure neighborhood with plenty of able-bodied individuals. Many neighbors will leave for a safer environment and you must be aware of that. However, that might free up homes and living areas for more of your survival dependents.

Your survival dependents are not the burden you once thought. Believe me. While you know the flaws of the people around you, they have two ears, two eyes and a heart that wants to survive. If you can find it in you to lead these people they will provide you with a true survival group that will keep you and yours from being acted upon by anyone with a group larger and better trained than you and your spouse!

You might be living in one of America’s deathzones and not have a clue about it
What if that were you? What would YOU do?

In the next few minutes, I’m going to show you the U.S. Nuclear Target map, where you’ll find out if you’re living in one of America’s Deathzones.

Our little prepping universe has been hit with a bunch of newbies, who are either fully on board, or are looking for a reason to do prepper-related kind of things. Many of these new preppers are just looking to act in a way that will help them sleep at night.

Never forget that the average American went from staring into their phones and complaining about their jobs to losing or nearly losing their jobs, being stuck inside a packed home, teaching their children, watching riots and a pandemic from their front porch, and wondering “What comes next!?”.

Many new preppers don’t have the money to put towards prepping, so there is a real struggle to get off the ground in prepping on a tight budget. The good news is, I am here with 30 days of no money preps that really make a difference.x

#1. ERP (Emergency Response Plan)

When you start a business, you need to create an ERP or Emergency Response Plan to assure your employees know how to react to a variety of emergencies.

From things like fire drills to active shooters, you need everyone to know where the ERP is and what’s inside of it.

So as long as you have access to a computer, you can start writing an ERP and making a difference. It costs you no money. Written plans are highly underrated in the prepping and survival world. They save lives all the time in the business world. Build an ERP.

#2. Go for a Run

While this might seem simple, going out for a run does a number of things. It gives you some time to think about the nation, yourself, and the world around you.

It also gives you an opportunity to clear your mind and get into the meditative motion of plodding one foot in front of the other. Most importantly, you are training endurance every time you run and trust me, you will need it.

#3. Meetup with Your Neighbors

This doesn’t have to be a prepper meetup. It doesn’t have to be a meetup to discuss how you are going to defend your neighborhood from riots. Of course, we all want to be ready if something like that happens.

Start with a cookout, a picnic, a block party, and the like. Be sure that you can get out and look the people who live around you in the eye, and enjoy spending time with them! From there a deeper relationship will be much more effective.

#4. Workout

Your physical fitness is essential to your level of preparedness. Fitness is not a piece of the prepping puzzle, instead, prepping is just a piece of the fitness of the puzzle.

Fitness is a testament to your overall health and without that you have nothing. Take care of yourself, do some pushups, squats, and sit-ups every day.

#5. Wild Edibles

Whether you use a library book, a computer, or a phone app, you can spend a couple of hours in the woods or around your neighborhood learning about and tasting wild edible plants.

#6. Useful Trees

While wild edible plants are great, trees are even better, because they are around all year. After that first frost 90% of your wild edible knowledge is useless. If you understand medicinal and edible trees, you can keep that wild foraging going year-round.

#7. All Your Blades

If you have a stone or a sharpener, you can spend a day simply sharpening all your blades. If you have a chainsaw sharpener and a puck style sharpener, you can head into the shed and sharpen up things like axes and chainsaws.

#8. QA Bugout Bags

When was the last time you opened your bugout bag? Do you have any idea how old those granola bars in your bugout bag are?

At least once a year you need to open that bugout bag and take everything out. Lay it across your kitchen floor and have a look at the contents. Modify the contents to what you truly need.

#9. Conduct an Area Study

Popularized by Sam Culper of The Forward Observer, an area study is free to conduct and will explain your area to you in deep detail. It takes time and thought, but you can basically knock the whole thing out without any money. There are some great YouTube videos on how to create your own area study.

This is a task that most people do not want to undertake because you have to find out about resources, crime and even gangs in your area. You might not be thrilled with the results.

#10. Zero Rifles and Firearms

5 million Americans bought firearms in the month of July. That means there are a bunch of people who have guns that aren’t yet zeroed. Are you one of those people?

You can zero a weapon for free, if you have bore sight and a quiet place to focus.

#11. Free Mobile Apps

There is a slew of great preparedness mobile apps. You can organize your preps, learn about bushcraft, or even practice some tactics on a survival game. Don’t deny the benefit of a little survival simulation gaming.

#12. Your Pantry

You haven’t had company over in a long time. People have been hiding from you because masks and riots and inequality and so forth.

When you stare into your pantry, do you see something you’re proud of? Remember, the more organized you are, the more space you have for more preps!

#13. Library

The library is full of free books where you can read about history, prepping, nature, and survival.

If your library is closed, than you could also use the application called “Hoopla”. This allows you to take eBooks and audio books out from your library without going there.

#14. Freecycle for Preps

Check the local classifieds, craigslist, and other similar websites to see if there are local free preps you can pick up.

Gardening tools, firewood and building materials are always great options.

#15. Free Classes

There are lots of free classes online and free classes in your immediate area. One of the best examples of this is the annual first aid courses in your local area.

You can also visit Red Cross to see the free courses they offer.

#16. Make Some Money

You probably have a little foothold on your preparedness knowledge. I am sure you have at least one thing you can teach the people around you.

So, knowing that, you can create a course that you can charge money for, or just teach for free on sites like UDEMY.

These courses also help you fortify your prepping knowledge.

#17. Free books

These things are everywhere! You might have to sacrifice an email, but you can get a ton of free prepping eBooks just by search “free prepping books”.

#18. Meditate

Prepping can drive you completely mad! If you are not careful, a diet of disaster and apocalypse will just destroy you.

One of the best ways to deal with this is to find a quiet place and just run a mantra over and over in your mind. Do it for 5 minutes to start and just try to keep your mind clear of thoughts.

#19. Hike with Your Bugout Bag

A simple walk, ruck, or hike with your bugout bag on is great for fitness and a better understanding of your gear.

#20. Go Fishing

If you have some old fishing gear or new fishing gear, get out and have some fun catching fish.

Remember, every fish you catch is food in a survival situation. Fishing is an underrated survival skill, but it’s one that will really make the difference.

#21. Walk or Drive to Your Bugout Location

It is never a bad idea to take a trip to the old bugout location. Whether you run, walk, or drive there, you can learn so much about your route/routes by simply heading there.

Don’t wait ‘till you have to go in a hurry.

#22. Practice Bandaging a Wound

Make a red dot on your arm or the arm of a family member. This is now a wound that is bleeding profusely. Bandage that wound with your current first aid preps.

What do you need more of, or what do you need to learn?

#23. Tap Water

Storing tap water is just a matter of having some clean empty containers. Store these out of sunlight, as they can grow algae if exposed to light.

#24. Sell

We all have too much stuff! Someone might really enjoy the old thing that you have been holding onto for years. Have a yard sale, or put some items for sale online.

You might be able to make some cash for more preps.

#25. Build a Fire

There is always the option of working on the craft of making fire. A fire is not only a great skill to practice, but setting down by a fire is a great feeling.

#26. Free Checklist

The internet is full of free prepping checklists and they can go a long way in helping you understand some things that might be missing form your preps.

#27. Gather Seeds

If you have a garden out back, spend a day just harvesting seeds from the plants. Now is a great time for this. Collect seeds and store them in an organized fashion for next year’s garden.

#28. Battle Tracking

The next time there is a riot you can sit down, and battle track that riot. You can use things like social media, the Broadcastify app, and other intel sources to follow the riots in an area in real time. Twitter is great for this.

Bring up a map of the area and try and pinpoint the location of riots. Then, using intel, follow the riot in real time and follow the police actions, too.

Mark up your map to show you where the violence, fires, police, firemen and other things like road closures might be. This is a great little learning activity.

#29. Survival Caches

All preppers can benefit from spreading their preps into new areas. Having everything in one place is a tough situation to be in. Lots can go wrong.

You can make a survival cache with scrap PVC and epoxy, and bury some preps in a special place.

#30. Always a Great Option

Camping is always a great option. Your local wildlife management area or public lands are great places to go to and camp for free!

As you can see, there are all kinds of things you can do for free that will bolster your level of preparedness. While money can really help you make great strides in prepping, you don’t need a deep bank account to spend a full month prepping away and preparing for what could come.

First, let me give you a little background.

I am a retired Army Senior NCO, Retired Master Peace Officer, drug interdiction officer and for the last 4 years, a military-contracted counter explosive canine handler in Afghanistan and Iraq.

My job depended on finding things people did not what found. I have literally searched, and taken apart thousands of vehicles in my career.

This article is about where to hide your stuff in the vehicle. Since carrying a weapon in your vehicle is legal in most of the USA, this article is geared more to hiding your weapons from those uninvited looters and scavengers who are inevitably going to come around in a social/government breakdown situation. Yes, I’m talking about the proverbial SHTF times.

So, let us set some ground rules. We are going to talk about two types of vehicles, handguns and long guns, as well as ammo. These are no concealment techniques that let you get to your firearms at a moment’s notice. This is about hidden storage that others, unless very skilled, will not find. This is for storage.

Imagine the following scenario: your vehicle is broken down and you have to leave it for a period of time as you need to find, tools, parts, or fuel. You can’t reasonably carry everything, so you are counting on your hidden cache of weapons to still be there upon your return. Or, your vehicle is parked outside, the looters and scavengers come through the area and ransack every vehicle on the block taking what they can easily steal. You don’t want them to find your stuff that was hidden. This is what this article is about. That being said, let’s get to it.

Sedan

The modern sedan has plenty of places to hide weapons. I will start with the accessible places inside the vehicle.

Under the center console. The center console is held to the floor in most sedans by a series of plastic clips or a few Phillip’s screws. Remove those and the console lifts up exposing a compartment that will house a rather large pistol and a couple boxes of ammo.

Seat Backs. The modern car has bucket seats. The back of the seats has a cover that simply snaps onto the seat and covers the springs. This area will conceal a pistol, ammo, and a short barrel long gun like an MP5 or Uzi.  Snap the seat back in place and no one will know it is there. This is also very fast to access if needed.  No tools required.

Under seats. I’m not talking about just on the floor under the seat. What we are talking about here is attached to the underside of the seat by tape, zip ties or something else. This keeps it out of sight if someone looks under the seat but it is still there if you just know where to look.

Other examples:

Inside door panels. You can hide a shotgun with a folding stock or a short rifle here. Clips and a couple of screws hold the door panels in place. You could remove the screws and leave them out but a sharp eye will notice something is amiss. My advice is to always put everything back the way it was so there will be no “giveaways” that there could be something behind the panel that is worth hiding.

Behind the radio. The radio will have four holes in the corners. Look at yours and you will see them. Most folks don’t realize all you have to do is insert metal rods, about the size of a wire coat hanger in these holes and the entire stereo slides out, leaving a very large cavity to hide weapons and ammo behind.

Now for the outside of the vehicle

Outside. The bumpers, front and rear have cavities under them that will hold a shotgun or rifle. Duct tape is a wonderful thing and you will be using it.

Open the hood. Inside the fender wells, you will see several places to hide your firearms. Inside the air cleaner box is a good place for a pistol.

In the trunk. I don’t really suggest this area as it is very easy to detect but in a pinch, it may do. Pull the carpet away from the sides of the trunk. It will be attached to a cardboard backing. Place your weapons behind this, in the cavity that is in the lower part of the rear fender, and replace the trunk lining. If you have done this carefully, it will be undetectable to the untrained eye. I also suggest throwing some old rags or a little dirt in the area to make it look as if it has not been disturbed.

Other examples:

SUV or Truck

You have many more places to work with here. Count all of the same places mentioned for the inside of the sedan above. Those hiding places are common to just about all vehicles.

Starting at the front

The Front Bumper. Under the front bumper is a very large area to store weapons.  Tape them in a secure place. You can hide a lot of stuff here.

Front Fenders. From under the hood you have access to a very large area to place a rifle bag full of goodies.  It will fit in behind the fender well and be very hard to see without knowing it is there.

Air Box System. This is a common place for pistols and ammo. Placing a weapon here will not affect the operation of the vehicle.

Under the vehicle. The modern SUV/Truck frame is an I Beam type structure. This is a natural shelf for all sorts of things.  A few large black Zip Ties will hold a rifle, shotgun, and a lot more. These will not be visible from just bending down and looking under the vehicle. A person would have to get under the vehicle and really look for them to find your hidden arsenal.

Roof. The roof of all modern SUVs and Trucks is actually hollow. Remove the third stop light that is at the top and rear of the cab. Pull that out and you will see a vast area to hide magazines, ammo, and other items. The way to do this is to tape a string to each item with duct tape and string them together.  Replace the stop light after you have hidden your items in the roof section. Make sure you tape the end of the string to the back of the light or to an area that is concealed but you can reach again. Then to retrieve, all you do is take out the light, pull the string and the items come out one after another.

Tailgate. This is hollow. The inside can be accessed through the latch assembly OR by splitting the tailgate by removing the screws and bolts that hold it together. I have seen tailgates that were split and then resealed with silicone. To open you just cut the silicone with a razor-blade and pull the two halves apart. Not all tailgates are the same, so you may have to adapt to your situation.

Rear Bumper. Like the front of the truck, there is a vast amount of storage space.

Spare Tires. Placing something inside a tire is a real pain in the rear, but hiding an item on top of the tire is easy. Lower the spare tire; most are cranked down to the ground with the jack handle. Once on the ground you can place your items inside the rim and crank the tire back into place. This is a simple and readily available storage area.

Depending on your ingenuity, time you want to spend, if you want to modify the vehicle or not, it is not hard to make your vehicle a rolling arsenal and no one would ever suspect was holding weapons and ammo in every corner.

End thoughts

If you really feel this may be something that you have to deal with, I suggest throwing your roving horde of scavengers off the trail. If you have to abandon your vehicle and you are pretty sure it will get at least looked at, give them something to go after. Leave a useless (as in not functioning) pistol or something in plain sight. Let them take that and stop searching. Basically, throw them a bone. The whole point about concealing your weapons so that the looters won’t find them is just that: concealment. Make sure you leave no signs, no pointers that say “Hey, Look Here!”. Do this and when you return to your vehicle from something as simple as a walk into the woods to take care of bodily functions, you can rest assure when you get back your stuff with be safe and secure.

When people talk about trading after the apocalypse, usually they start discussing whether you’re better off stockpiling extra ammunition or some surplus food. These are both great trade assets – for a while. Eventually they’ll run out, though, and then what? The guy who’s been bringing you fresh eggs every day isn’t going to keep doing it when you’ve run out of shells for his 12-gauge. Trading surplus supplies might be essential from time to time, but it’s never going to be a long-term solution because, in the end, your supplies will be gone.

How about gold and silver? Some preppers have a touching belief that they’ll be highly prized after society falls apart. I’m not so sure. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be too keen to trade a handful of rifle bullets or a sack of flour for something that’s basically just going to sit around looking shiny.

No, if you want a real trade asset, you can’t beat skills. Once you’ve learned a skill you have an inexhaustible supply of it. If you fixed someone’s generator today in exchange for a bag of apples from his tree, you can get more apples by fixing it again tomorrow. Years from now you can still be fixing his generator every time it goes wrong, and trading your time for his surplus fruit (unless he decides you’re either not so good at fixing generators or a bit too fond of his apples). Skills won’t run out, and in a prolonged emergency that makes them far more valuable for trade than anything else.

Here are 25 skills that are going to be in demand if we’re all thrown back on our own resources. Some of them will be valuable right away; others will kick in when hoarded goods start running out. Learning all 25 of them is probably beyond most of us, but if you get pretty good at three or four you should be able to barter your work for anything you need after the apocalypse.

1.Vehicle maintenance

Being able to keep cars on the road is going to be a vital skill. With society in disarray, most regular workshops will be closed. If you have a reputation as someone who can keep engines running that’s going to be a valuable skill – and you’ll be able to fix generators and pumps, too.

2. Electrics

If the power grid stays down for a while people are going to start looking for alternative sources of electricity. It might be a solar array, generator or wind turbine – in any case, it’s going to need wired up. That can be difficult and even dangerous. If you know how to adapt and extend house wiring, people will pay for that skill.

3. Electronics

If people have electricity they’re going to want gadgets that use it – but eventually they’re going to go wrong. You probably aren’t going to be able to make a new microprocessor, but some basic soldering skills can fix a surprising number of faulty appliances. Their owners will be pleased.

4. Plumbing

When plumbing goes wrong things can get pretty unpleasant in a hurry. That’s why everyone’s immediate reaction is to call a plumber. But what if the world as we know it has ended, and the plumber isn’t answering the phone? If you can help people out with that, they’ll be glad to help you out in some other way.

5. Medicine

Life is dangerous when society collapses; disease and injury will be more common, and the consequences of not treating them are more severe. Any medical assistance you can give, from basic first aid to advanced surgical skills, will make you a valuable asset to the community.

6. Amateur radio

Most of the communications we rely on aren’t going to survive a major social collapse. Without people to run its infrastructure, cell phones and the internet will go down in minutes. Landline phones – the ones that haven’t switched to VOIP – might last hours or even a couple of days. If you have the skills to use radios, especially CB or ham radio, that’s going to be a skill lots of people will want access to.

7. Mending clothes

Nowadays, if our clothes get damaged we just throw them away and buy new ones. Our ancestors, even a couple of generations ago, fixed them instead. If you can repair rips, replace broken zippers and even make alterations for size, you’re not likely to run out of customers willing to trade.

8. Foraging

There’s a lot of food out there if you know what to look for, in the form of edible fruits, berries, leaves, fungi and other plants. The problem is, if you don’t know what to look for you can get in a lot of trouble. Mistaking a death cap for a mushroom is a mistake you’ll only make once. If you have the right skills you can either teach them to others, or trade part of what you collect.

9. Hunting

Not everyone has the skills or equipment to harvest their own meat. If you do, you have a valuable source of food that you can trade for other things you need.

10. Fishing

If you’re elderly or infirm, and can’t do more physical jobs, you can still build up a tradeable food surplus with a fishing pole and some bait.

11. Crop growing

Not too long ago most families had their own vegetable garden. That’s a skill most of us have lost. If you still have it, it’s a valuable asset. Grow more than you need and trade the surplus, or look after people’s plots for them in exchange for a share of the crop.

12. Animal husbandry

Some livestock is a valuable asset, but it takes skill to keep it alive and productive. If you’re good at looking animals you can help out people who don’t have your experience. The most efficient way to do this is to keep their animals with your own and give them their share of the milk, meat or other products.

13. Butchery

Yes, this is the part of keeping livestock many people hate. It’s easy to buy Percy the pig as an investment in your future self-sufficiency, but a lot harder to whack him on the head with a hammer and chop him up. If you can do that for them, they’ll be happy to reward you with a few choice cuts.

14. Canning

A lot of people will manage to find or grow food, with or without your help, but won’t have the skills they need to store it safely. If you’re a canning expert you can make yourself useful by processing their surplus so they can build up stockpiles for the winter – maybe by trading your skills for a share of their crop.

15. Carpentry

It’s amazing what you can make with some timber, a few basic tools – and a bit of talent at woodworking. A good carpenter can put together anything from a storage box to a serviceable timber frame home. In other words, lots of things people will need and be happy to trade for.

16. Blacksmithing

This is a really rare skill nowadays, but it’s going to be in huge demand if the economy implodes. There are still a lot of horses round, and they need shoes – but a good smith can make a lot more than horseshoes.

17. Gunsmithing

Weapons are going to be essential when the SHTF – but they’re complex things, and sometimes they go wrong. Any good shooter can clear a stoppage, but what about repairing a broken trigger mechanism or re-crowning a barrel? Gunsmithing skills are pretty rare – and very valuable.

18. Reloading

There’s a lot of ammunition in the USA, but it won’t last forever. When stocks start to run low a lot of people will be willing to trade for more. If they can bring you their spent brass, and have it remanufactured into ammunition, that’s a very valuable skill to have.

19. Fletching

In a sustained collapse, stocks of modern weapons and ammunition will eventually be gone. To help them last as long as possible, and replace them when they’re exhausted, bows make a viable hunting – and even defensive – weapon. If you can make arrows you’ll find plenty of people willing to trade for them.

20. Soap making

Did you remember to stockpile a large supply of soap? Probably not, but that doesn’t matter – you know how to make it, using lye and any handy fats. Do you think everyone else in the neighborhood remembered to stockpile soap? Unlikely, but never mind. They can trade with you for the surplus you made.

21. Candle making

A year or two into a major collapse electric light will be a lot less common than it is now. Help your neighbors keep the darkness at bay by trading home-made candles. They’re a lot brighter – and safer – than a crude oil lamp.

22. Leatherworking

If you know how to make things from leather, you’ll never be short of work. Everything from shoe repairs to making new tack for horses will be in demand.

23. Teaching

Civilization might have collapsed, but you can help rebuild it by passing on the knowledge the next generation will need. You don’t have to be a qualified teacher, but if you have knowledge and the enthusiasm to pass it on you can turn that to your advantage.

24. Playing an instrument

No matter how bad things get, people need entertainment. In fact, when it’s really bad entertainment is more valuable than ever. If you can play a musical instrument you can do a lot to boost morale, and human nature means people will want to show their gratitude.

25. Spiritual comfort

If you’re good at choosing an uplifting piece of scripture, or making an inspirational speech, that can be a valuable skill. It might not be essential to life, but it can make people feel a lot happier about their situation. In a major emergency death is a real possibility, for example, and if you can give someone a proper send-off their loved ones will cope better.

Ask any financial advisor, and they’ll tell you that you should have at least enough money in savings to cover three months worth of bills. That’s before you start working on any real investments. We are all prone to the possibility of losing our jobs, having a downturn in our business, or having an accident that keeps us from working. Should any of those things happen, that money would keep us afloat, while we got a new job or made other financial arrangements.

There’s nothing wrong with that advice, from a purely financial standpoint. If you or I should suffer any sort of personal catastrophe, it is likely that we will need money to help us through. That’s the idea behind such advice and it’s good advice up to a point.

The problem is that advice doesn’t take into account anything other than a personal financial crisis. Should we find ourselves dealing with any other sort of crisis, that money may not do us the least bit of good. That would be especially true in a situation where we are faced with a financial collapse or the general breakdown of society.

In those cases, there’s a very strong possibility that people won’t be accepting cash and may not be able to accept payment electronically. So much for that cash reserve; doesn’t look too useful in that light.

Even so, the basic idea of having a reserve is a good idea. I mean, isn’t that what we preppers do all the time? Isn’t the foundational premise of prepping that of making sure we stockpile things of value in good times, so that we will have them available to us in the bad ones?

So how do we keep our money safe, through those situations, while also keeping it accessible so that we can use it when those situations arrive? That can be challenging, but there are some strategies that we can use:

As Far as Cash Goes

To start out with, always keep some cash on hand. There are many emergencies we can face in life, which can be solved by just having cash. If you can, try to have about $1,000 in your home at all times. If that’s too much, then keep what you can.

When a disaster first strikes, chances are pretty good that you’ll need some cash, even if it is for nothing more than to fill your gas tank. Even in cases where there is a total collapse of society and our monetary system, people will still accept money for a few days. The trick is noticing that you’re in such a time and spending the money on anything you need, before people decide to not accept it anymore.

The other advantage of keeping cash on hand is that it won’t be affected by a run on the banks or the banks closing down. Considering how low interest rates have been the last couple of years, it’s not like you’re losing money by having it hidden in your home, rather than having it hidden in a savings account somewhere.

Buy Ahead

Any other money that you have needs to be invested. But just how should you invest it? You need an investment that not only protects your money from market forces, but also protects it in the midst of a major disaster; what we call a TEOTWAWKI event.

Of course, investing in silver does that, but that doesn’t mean that you want to invest all our money in silver. Personally, I’d recommend against it. It may take time, after a disaster, for people to start accepting silver in trade. During that time, your silver isn’t doing anything for you. It’s just sitting there, taking up space and requiring that you keep it safe.

Here’s a different way of looking at that: invest in buying things that you’ll need sometime in the future, by buying them today. Doing so means that you are able to buy those things at a cheaper price, than if you bought them in five to 10 years. Then, when you use those things, you can take the money you would have had to spend on them as a profit.

The key here is knowing what you’ll need in the future. Buying a wheelchair, because you might need it in the future probably isn’t a good idea, because you really don’t know if you’re going to need it. The same can be said for many other things. Your investment has to be in something you’re sure you’ll need.

Make an Investment

Ok, so how do we get from that $1,000 to the three months worth of expenses that investment experts say we should have on hand?

We still might find ourselves in the situation where we need that money for a personal financial disaster, so it makes sense to have it. But at the same time, that much cash isn’t going to be useful in a TEOTWAWKI event.

The only way to accomplish both is to invest that money in something that is easily liquidated and will be valuable in both normal times and a post-disaster scenario. That means precious metals, specifically, silver.

While both gold and silver are easily converted to cash and will most likely be acceptable for barter in a post-disaster world, there’s a huge difference between trying to barter silver that’s worth $15 to $20 an ounce, and gold, that’s worth $1,500 to $2,500 an ounce. Unless you are trading for something valuable, like buying a vehicle or property, you’re going to have a hard time using that gold in a world where people are bartering for what they need.

While some people may be unwilling to barter for silver in a post-disaster world, especially at the beginning, there’s a high probability that it will gradually become the medium of exchange, as people become accustomed to the new normal. That may not happen quickly, but it will most likely happen.

One of the Best Investments to Make

Believe it or not, one of the best investments we can make today is food. While the overall consumer inflation rate has been hovering around one percent per year for the last several years, food has gone up by an average of eight percent. That’s a faster rise in value than just about any other investment you can find.

What this means is that if you buy $1,000 worth of food today and keep it for five years, it will be worth $1,469.33. That’s almost a 50% increase in value, assuming that the inflation rate of food remains constant. With a low overall inflation rate, that’s a huge amount of gain.

Investing in food does two things for you: it increases your stockpile, ensuring that you’ll have food to eat in the future and it provides a good investment. Since you will always need food, you won’t need to worry about being able to sell your food to someone else, in order to cash in on it.

You can literally “sell” it to yourself, taking the money you would otherwise have had to spend on food and use it for other things. In other words, you can invest $1,000 today and pay yourself back $1,469.33 or so in five years.

Expand that to Barter Goods

You don’t have to limit that investment to food either, you can also invest in barter goods of all kinds. Anything that is likely to be in shortage in the wake of a disaster is worth investing in. I’ll guarantee you, if I had known there would be a run on toilet paper, I would have invested heavily in it last December, before the rush.

In any post-disaster world, people will not only be looking for toilet paper, but a host of other things as well. If you’re the one who has them, then you can trade what you have, for what they need. People can literally become rich this way.

During World War II, people in the cities of occupied Europe would travel out to the farmlands with suitcases full of silver and other valuables, for the ostentatious purpose of visiting “family”. The family they were visiting were farmers, who were willing to barter hams, sausages, cheese and butter for silver on the black market. When the war was over, many of those farmers became rich, selling all the silver they had bartered for during the war.

The key, of course, is to have what people will need. While some things (like TP) are obvious, some are not. But even the obvious things may not be all that profitable, if there are a lot of other people who have it too. A hoard of 4,000 rolls of toilet paper isn’t going to be all that profitable, if you’re across the street from a warehouse full of 20,000 rolls.

To make sure that you have things which will be profitable to have, be sure to diversify. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Rather, select a number of different things that you can invest in to help ensure that you will get a good return on your investment.

Since this is a dual-purpose investment, I’d recommend trying to invest as much as possible in things that you can use. That way, if you never barter those things in the wake of a disaster, you can still make money off of your investment, just like we talked about with food. It might be 20 years before you decide to start using those 4,000 rolls of toilet paper, but when you do, you’ll save a whole lot more, by not having to buy it, than you invested in it in the first place.

How to Survive A Famine

Economic collapse can lead to a breakdown of society and mass food shortages. Severe drought or weather, natural disasters, or a man-made catastrophe like an EMP can also bring on food shortages, and famine, followed by starvation. Millions go hungry. Countless people to die.Most Americans have only experienced the consequences of massive famine on their television screens. In 1981, in the movie The Road Warrior (played by Mel Gibson), this survivor in the apocalyptic wasteland of Australia experienced the results of widespread famine first hand. His way to survive: Dog food. Canned dog food.

I can’t remember the brand name. Alpo maybe. But does it even matter? The point is this: In a time of mass famine following nuclear war or some catastrophic disaster that takes place, people who survive may find themselves eating things they would never imagine themselves ever capable of eating. Or you simply starve to death.

Famine – A social and economic crisis that is often accompanied by widespread malnutrition and starvation which leads to epidemic and significantly increased mortality.

Here are a few good tips for preparing for a famine of Biblical proportions, a famine that experts believe could be a direct consequence of a widespread disaster, economic collapse, or even a nuclear terrorist attack, which is a growing risk today to the U.S.

Famine from EMP

The much talked about and feared EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) could also lead to famine, at least in the nation affected by the EMP. It’s not that an EMP will cause food to stop growing: Instead, a famine will take place when transportation comes to a halt and food out in counties and states where farming is plenty suddenly have no way to transport seasonal harvest to several million people out in distant cities.

Mass starvation on a widespread scale is a very real threat and can threaten your very survival. That includes your family and friends.

It also include your neighbors, yes that couple that seems so well put together. When pets start disappearing from around your neighborhood, it might be your neighbors behind the disappearances. After about 1 day without food your neighbors may resort to asking other neighbors for food, and then begging if no one is willing to hand over much.

Hungry People Group Up

What happens if you have a few neighbors that are unprepared? Those without may band together, and go after those who have. Guess what? If your neighbors don’t see you out looking for food, begging for food, and instead simply locking yourself inside your home, in their minds they’re going to suspect you’re sitting on a bunch of food.

If enough hungry people band together, they may decide to take it from you by force.

Finally, after about three days of your neighbors going hungry it’s possible that someone will mention “pets”; when day five rolls around, and still no food, there’s a good chance that it’s going to be open season on pets, I’m talking cats and dogs.

Have Stocks of Food, Water to Combat Famine

Do you understand now why it’s important to have at least a few weeks of extra food and water on hand? A famine resulting from any number of disasters has the potential to wreck havoc fast on Western nations. Having not experienced true hunger before, it is likely to affect Westerners more than it does say people in third world countries.

It may not happen right away, in the first few days of food shortages. But after several weeks food may start becoming sparse around the neighborhood; local church pantries may start running dry (outside of a miraculous provision from God, which is always a possibility, looking at the Bible). And then the day is going to come when there is simply no more food around the neighborhood.

Knowing how a few of your neighbors may act, you might want to buy yourself a ton of cheap bulk food like rice and beans, in addition to your typical emergency food stocks. That way you can at least have something to give to your neighbors, and hopefully keep them from turning on you, should they suspect that indeed you actually have quite a bit of food.

The End of the Old Kingdom- In the mid 22nd century B.C., Egypt was a hot bed of activity with a large population of people, which translated into a lot of mouths to feed; farming in the region provided food and the Nile River was a chief provider of water. Out of nowhere a brief change took place in the local climate that impacted Egypt’s food supply during the time of Unas (2381-2345). No one really understands what caused the weather problems; however, the results of this climate change seem clear.

Lake Moeris dried out, the Nile lowered, and bad harvests followed. Unfortunately for ancient Egypt, that spurred on a great famine throughout their lands. All of these factors also led to civil unrest and that meant crime and revolts.

The Old Kingdom never fully recovered.

Famine, Modern Day

The Causes of Famine and Mass Starvation

Famine can be caused by any number of factors. One of the most common reasons behind famine is climate change (as previously noted). When that happens drought, crop issues, and pestilence are often culprits.

Famine can also be brought on by war and political problems.

Politically, at different times in history, choices have been made by governments that have resulted in famines. Many times those in power have literally deprived the middle income and poor. In fact, many believe that the North Korean famine of the 1990s was a direct result of government actions forced on the people.

There are many who believe that almost all famine is — in essence — truly compelled more by politics than nature (in other words, problems that cause issues in the food supply can be handled by a pro-active government; one that is adequately prepared for a disaster and any food shortages that may arise).

Regardless, with the natural changes occurring all around us — some say climate change or global warming, others say the hand of God and the Bible “end times” of the modern world — the possibility of widespread famine due to climate change or widespread disaster is becoming more and more plausible, even in the United States of America.

What Does It Take To Survive A Famine?

Historically, the United States — unlike countries such as North Korea, for example — tries to make decisions that are in the best interests of its people.That’s the hope anyway; hope coming from the American people.

However, you shouldn’t assume that the United States will be able to come through for you. After all, if it wasn’t completely clear to you after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, we are not in charge of nature.

Still, political policies will play a huge role in determining whether or not we survive a famine. However, since that is in essence outside of our control (with the exception, of course, of the voting process) let’s talk about three other things that could help during a famine. Namely, these are growing food, storing food, and hunting, trapping and fishing.

Growing Food During A Famine

This one is tough to talk about simply because the task of growing food may be why the famine you’re dealing with is even happening. That said, consider that there may still be ways to grow food, at least on a small scale.

The Green Revolution — Okay, the Green Revolution basically refers to the spread of technologies for subsistence agriculture to countries that needed them: Things like pesticides, irrigation projects, and nitrogen fertilizer. These concepts and materials first spread to Mexico in 1943.

Now you’re probably asking what this has to do with surviving a famine on your own. Well, simply follow suit. In other words, you’ll need some know how, strong seeds (when shopping for seeds, ask for seeds that have the best chances to grow in sub-prime conditions), land, and pesticides / fertilizers.

If you’re worried about a famine in your neck of the woods, call a garden center and ask them what crops, pesticides, and fertilizers would work best in your area.

Regardless, during a famine growing food will almost certainly be a tough prospect. After all, if it were easy, then the famine wouldn’t be occurring, right?

Becoming A Survivor: Hunting, Trapping, And Fishing

In the CBS television show, Jericho, the story unfolds around a small Kansas town and its challenges trying to survive following a nuclear attack that has decimated the United States of America. As a result, the town of Jericho, Kansas begins to starve as a result of food shortages; at the same time, there isn’t an abundance of wildlife in the area, to provide food.

In other words, there’s not much to hunt. Even if there was, several towns and cities have too many people; there would just be too much competition between hunters in the early days and weeks of a disaster and famine; hunting in an area would be short lived and for most people unsuccessful. Those who went after big game (deer, elk, etc.) first would likely face the most challenges as a sudden increase in hunting would drive many of these animals out of the area.

Small Mammals, Birds, Snakes, And Insects On The Menu

Those willing to forgo big game instead for small animals like rabbit, duck, turkey, squirrels, cats and dogs (in a worst case scenario), stand to have the best chances of bringing home a meal in a time like this. In most communities, there are a number of small mammals and even reptiles like snakes that make a tasty meal in a time of need. You just have to be willing to look outside the traditional Western diet and you’ll find a number of foods, even things like insects and earthworms, to get you by on days when there’s simply nothing to eat.

If you learn to think like a survivor, you’ll find that these things are actually a lot easier to eat than you might believe today.

With small mammals, birds, snakes and insects on the menu, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any big game out there; as covered in a previous article on hunting big game, you’re going to need to go to remote areas — the more remote the better.

That’s because experienced hunters will target prime areas (which will be semi-remote) first; because they know how to hunt, and they understand the dynamic of “hunting pressure” and how it drives big game quickly out of an area. As a rule of thumb, if you want to hunt in a time like this, seek out wilderness areas that are deep in the wilderness and beyond those semi-remote areas. Now you’ll have the best chances of finding big game that hasn’t been spooked by a drastic increase in “hunting pressure”.

Finally, when it comes to hunting, those with experience and knowledge of the land stand to do best. Those without experience or basic knowledge, stand to fail miserably.

For all of you non-hunters, there’s one thing you need to know right now.

You’re going to need hunting gear and weapons.

Tools Of The Trade

If you believe there is a chance in the coming months and years that a famine might occur in your neck of the woods, then seriously consider purchasing a gun. As back-up, get yourself a crossbow with a good scope. After all, both a rifle and crossbow are proven tools when it comes to hunting. A crossbow is relatively easy to shoot and you can do quite a bit of urban hunting without alarming local town folk with sounds of gun fire.

Of course, you may need a gun to defend yourself. Count on a firearm first, before a crossbow, in purposes of self defense.

Squeamish about guns? The good thing is that there are alternatives (like crossbows, long bows, and compound bows, for example). Though, to be frank, nothing works better for hunting than a firearm.

What else should you have on hand for surviving a time of mass famine? Here’s a list:

1. Fishing pole and nets, or just strong line and plenty of hooks (know the water sources you’re likely to fish and then have the proper gear on hand to give yourself the best chances of success).
2. Traps and snare wire
3. Bait for whatever small mammals are most common in your area and most palatable
4. Crabbing gear (if you live in an area where crabbing is possible)
5. Camouflaged clothing (choose colors that best blend with the wilderness areas you’re likely to hunt).
6. Hunting knife

And there are a host of other things that might come in handy depending on what you’re hunting for and the area of the world you live in. Talk to experienced hunting guides in your region or the region you plan to relocate to in a time of disaster. Discuss everything from big game and small mammals to wild birds and even predators.

Then talk to some fishing guides. Discuss everything from lakes and rivers, to even streams (crawdads, crayfish), and finally the coast, if you live near the ocean.

Storing Food

Preparation is the key to everything from coaching a football team to rallying your friends and family to survive during a famine or mass starvation. Thus, if you’re worried — and if you look around, you’ll probably realize that you should be — you might want to start buying non-perishable food items with a shelf-life of several years. At the same time, keep a revolving supply of non-perishable food items with a shelf life of just a few months. You can eat that food first, and then turn to foods like freeze-dried food after you’ve gone through the good stuff.

After all, growing food and hunting when the demand is high will probably not always go your way. Most people are going to be unprepared and just unable to make growing and hunting food a tool to count on in a time of disaster.

Along with this, it would be prudent to get your hands on foods like white and brown rice, wheat, and beans. When appropriately packaged and stored, these foods can sometimes last for decades. Speaking of storing dry foods appropriately, here are some things to consider:

1. Have #10 cans on hand (so you can do your own canning).

2. Have foil pouches (made multi layer laminated plastic and aluminum).

3. Buy a number of bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PETE bottles). These are used for long term dry food storage.

Further, dry foods should be stored at a temperature of 75 degrees F/ 24 degrees C or lower (recommended). If this prerequisite cannot be met, the foods should be rotated. Beyond that, moisture should be kept to a minimum (one way to help this along is to keep containers off the floor).

Also, keep things like cooking oil and long term storage items (oftentimes in PETE bottles) out of the light. And, of course, keep all foods protected in pouches or bottles (as this will serve many functions, one of which is to protect from insects / rodents).

Finally, to help reduce the threat of moisture, include oxygen absorbing packets in food storage containers.

There are several ways you can use these, so read the directions carefully. In fact, teach yourself the proper ways of using oxygen absorbing packets. Serious problems can occur when directions aren’t followed correctly (this is true for food storage in general, not just oxygen absorbing packets).

When in doubt, check with professionals in the field.

Last, but certainly not least, there’s the perishable items. Obviously, meats will need to be stored frozen. Further, it would be prudent to consume these first. The same can be said for fresh vegetables and fruit. Don’t go into your dry food stash until it’s needed.

Famine is a broad topic that can come about for a host of reasons. The way to combat famine can change depending on the situation.

Famine Caused By Natural Disaster Or Nuclear Attack

If your area is hit by a devastating natural disaster, such as an earthquake or tsunami — or worse even an asteroid or massive volcano eruption in the region — or if multiple cities are destroyed in a nuclear attack, access to food can shut down across the country overnight.

In a situation like this, you can find yourself quickly without food (and without drinking water, depending on the severity of the disaster). Seriously consider a back-up supply of food and water to support you and your family for up to 90 days or longer.

Just in case things get really chaotic in the world, you may want to have a back-up supply of food and water that can last you and your family six months or more, and then plans for resupplying your food and water as it runs low.

With disaster and probable famine looming on the horizon, due to the number of threats all seemingly lining up with the times we’re living in, stocking up on non-perishable foods , large jugs of water, and cash — if your bank is closed indefinitely or there is no power for an extended period, credit and debit cards will be useless — as well as things to barter with like ammunition, water filtration devices, and bulk coffee may be a smart move.

First, let me give you a little background.

I am a retired Army Senior NCO, Retired Master Peace Officer, drug interdiction officer and for the last 4 years, a military-contracted counter explosive canine handler in Afghanistan and Iraq.

My job depended on finding things people did not what found. I have literally searched, and taken apart thousands of vehicles in my career.

This article is about where to hide your stuff in the vehicle. Since carrying a weapon in your vehicle is legal in most of the USA, this article is geared more to hiding your weapons from those uninvited looters and scavengers who are inevitably going to come around in a social/government breakdown situation. Yes, I’m talking about the proverbial SHTF times.

So, let us set some ground rules. We are going to talk about two types of vehicles, handguns and long guns, as well as ammo. These are no concealment techniques that let you get to your firearms at a moment’s notice. This is about hidden storage that others, unless very skilled, will not find. This is for storage.

Imagine the following scenario: your vehicle is broken down and you have to leave it for a period of time as you need to find, tools, parts, or fuel. You can’t reasonably carry everything, so you are counting on your hidden cache of weapons to still be there upon your return. Or, your vehicle is parked outside, the looters and scavengers come through the area and ransack every vehicle on the block taking what they can easily steal. You don’t want them to find your stuff that was hidden. This is what this article is about. That being said, let’s get to it.

Sedan

The modern sedan has plenty of places to hide weapons. I will start with the accessible places inside the vehicle.

Under the center console. The center console is held to the floor in most sedans by a series of plastic clips or a few Phillip’s screws. Remove those and the console lifts up exposing a compartment that will house a rather large pistol and a couple boxes of ammo.

Seat Backs. The modern car has bucket seats. The back of the seats has a cover that simply snaps onto the seat and covers the springs. This area will conceal a pistol, ammo, and a short barrel long gun like an MP5 or Uzi.  Snap the seat back in place and no one will know it is there. This is also very fast to access if needed.  No tools required.

Under seats. I’m not talking about just on the floor under the seat. What we are talking about here is attached to the underside of the seat by tape, zip ties or something else. This keeps it out of sight if someone looks under the seat but it is still there if you just know where to look.

Other examples:

Inside door panels. You can hide a shotgun with a folding stock or a short rifle here. Clips and a couple of screws hold the door panels in place. You could remove the screws and leave them out but a sharp eye will notice something is amiss. My advice is to always put everything back the way it was so there will be no “giveaways” that there could be something behind the panel that is worth hiding.

Behind the radio. The radio will have four holes in the corners. Look at yours and you will see them. Most folks don’t realize all you have to do is insert metal rods, about the size of a wire coat hanger in these holes and the entire stereo slides out, leaving a very large cavity to hide weapons and ammo behind.

Now for the outside of the vehicle

Outside. The bumpers, front and rear have cavities under them that will hold a shotgun or rifle. Duct tape is a wonderful thing and you will be using it.

Open the hood. Inside the fender wells, you will see several places to hide your firearms. Inside the air cleaner box is a good place for a pistol.

In the trunk. I don’t really suggest this area as it is very easy to detect but in a pinch, it may do. Pull the carpet away from the sides of the trunk. It will be attached to a cardboard backing. Place your weapons behind this, in the cavity that is in the lower part of the rear fender, and replace the trunk lining. If you have done this carefully, it will be undetectable to the untrained eye. I also suggest throwing some old rags or a little dirt in the area to make it look as if it has not been disturbed.

Other examples:

SUV or Truck

You have many more places to work with here. Count all of the same places mentioned for the inside of the sedan above. Those hiding places are common to just about all vehicles.

Starting at the front

The Front Bumper. Under the front bumper is a very large area to store weapons.  Tape them in a secure place. You can hide a lot of stuff here.

Front Fenders. From under the hood you have access to a very large area to place a rifle bag full of goodies.  It will fit in behind the fender well and be very hard to see without knowing it is there.

Air Box System. This is a common place for pistols and ammo. Placing a weapon here will not affect the operation of the vehicle.

Under the vehicle. The modern SUV/Truck frame is an I Beam type structure. This is a natural shelf for all sorts of things.  A few large black Zip Ties will hold a rifle, shotgun, and a lot more. These will not be visible from just bending down and looking under the vehicle. A person would have to get under the vehicle and really look for them to find your hidden arsenal.

Roof. The roof of all modern SUVs and Trucks is actually hollow. Remove the third stop light that is at the top and rear of the cab. Pull that out and you will see a vast area to hide magazines, ammo, and other items. The way to do this is to tape a string to each item with duct tape and string them together.  Replace the stop light after you have hidden your items in the roof section. Make sure you tape the end of the string to the back of the light or to an area that is concealed but you can reach again. Then to retrieve, all you do is take out the light, pull the string and the items come out one after another.

Tailgate. This is hollow. The inside can be accessed through the latch assembly OR by splitting the tailgate by removing the screws and bolts that hold it together. I have seen tailgates that were split and then resealed with silicone. To open you just cut the silicone with a razor-blade and pull the two halves apart. Not all tailgates are the same, so you may have to adapt to your situation.

Rear Bumper. Like the front of the truck, there is a vast amount of storage space.

Spare Tires. Placing something inside a tire is a real pain in the rear, but hiding an item on top of the tire is easy. Lower the spare tire; most are cranked down to the ground with the jack handle. Once on the ground you can place your items inside the rim and crank the tire back into place. This is a simple and readily available storage area.

Depending on your ingenuity, time you want to spend, if you want to modify the vehicle or not, it is not hard to make your vehicle a rolling arsenal and no one would ever suspect was holding weapons and ammo in every corner.

End thoughts

If you really feel this may be something that you have to deal with, I suggest throwing your roving horde of scavengers off the trail. If you have to abandon your vehicle and you are pretty sure it will get at least looked at, give them something to go after. Leave a useless (as in not functioning) pistol or something in plain sight. Let them take that and stop searching. Basically, throw them a bone. The whole point about concealing your weapons so that the looters won’t find them is just that: concealment. Make sure you leave no signs, no pointers that say “Hey, Look Here!”. Do this and when you return to your vehicle from something as simple as a walk into the woods to take care of bodily functions, you can rest assure when you get back your stuff with be safe and secure.

As coronavirus spreads in Latin America, indigenous peoples find themselves at imminent risk of annihilation should the pandemic break out in their communities. The Coordinator of Indigenous Organisations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) has written to the governments of countries which share the Amazon rainforest to enforce control on movement in and out of the indigenous territories, to help prevent a possible contagion.

However, the virus spread is not the only danger for indigenous communities. In Colombia, unknown assailants killed two indigenous people and wounded two others. All victims were in their home observing quarantine. Far-right paramilitaries are suspected to have carried out the attack, with full impunity from the Colombian government due to its reluctance to investigate criminal activity and the targeting of the indigenous populations on their lands.

Indigenous representatives have asked the government to implement a ceasefire to regulate the precarious political situation. Failure to regulate hostilities would exacerbate the already violent conditions under which indigenous communities live, especially with the virus threat looming.

In Ecuador, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorean Amazon (CONFENAIE) closed access to the rainforest for non-indigenous people and companies, demanding a complete halt to industrial activity as a means to prevent the coronavirus from reaching their communities. Two cases of coronavirus – both tourists who visited the forest – have been confirmed, thus raising the alarm and a possible threat of extinction for indigenous people in the area.

Across Latin America, indigenous populations are emulating Ecuador’s approach, with communities taking the initiative to protect themselves by blocking access to their lands and staying on their territory. The action taken by indigenous communities is a form of resistance which governments have criminalised in the past within the context of multinational companies’ exploitation of land and natural resources. For indigenous communities, the current protection for their own well-being to prevent a coronavirus outbreak is also the means through which a statement can be made about land ownership which, in Brazil and Chile for example, will be in direct confrontation with the governments’ plans for industrialisation of the Amazon and the Araucania, respectively.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has taken the coronavirus spread lightly, prioritising profit over health and refusing to set strict quarantine rules. The poor are suffering the most, rationalised the president who has squandered Brazil to neoliberal profits. Bolsonaro has also threatened to fire Health Minister Luis Henrique Mendetta after the latter emphasised the importance of quarantine and refused the president’s rhetoric that coronavirus could be treated with medication used for malaria.

Refuting pandemic evidence constitutes additional dangers to indigenous communities in Brazil’s Amazon. An indigenous woman from the Kokama tribe in Brazil’s Amazon has contracted the coronavirus, raising fears of the spread among the communities. If industries – notably mining and agribusiness companies – disregard quarantine which the president himself is not taking seriously, both the risk of contamination and the risk of violence against indigenous people will be heightened. Undoubtedly, the communities will be on alert for any disruption that could jeopardise their communities’ health. However, with the government offering no protection, it is possible that there will be an escalation of violence committed with complete impunity from the government.

The danger for indigenous communities and environmental activists is unlikely to drop in the coming months. Colombia is one example of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to target indigenous people. For right-wing governments in the region, the pandemic presents an opportunity to combine two deadly weapons – a virus and state impunity – to criminalise and target indigenous communities and their activism. Always elusive, governments’ accountability in this period is likely to become even more inaccessible through state and multinational violence cooperation, if there is no complete cessation of incursions into indigenous terrain.

How long will the pandemic last?

This question has caused more panic than any other, since the beginning of the outbreak. We have heard everything from 3 months to 2 years.

Our president spat out ’18 months’ at a press conference. Of course, we have no idea what any of that means.

The question people really want to be answered is, ‘how long will it be till things go back to normal.’

No one knows. So, we must prepare and plan to have food for months whether the supermarket has some food or no food. We are preppers.

This is what we do. However, when you start making big plans like adding 6 months of food storage to your plan there are some things to consider.

Preference

I am going to tell you about caloric intake equations, nutritional balance, and foods that store well. Remember, your food storage plan is YOURS and it should be built around preference. One of the things I lean on heavily in my own preparedness plan is oatmeal.

It’s a multipurpose food and a highly nutritious complex carbohydrate breakfast that is great for feeding the body. It can be made delicious with a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon. If you hate oatmeal than don’t store it!

You and your family should be storing the food you like to eat above all else. This is food storage lesson #1.

When I first started prepping, in 2011, I found tons of blogs telling me about the importance of hard red wheat. Everyone needed buckets of hard red wheat! If you didn’t have it, you were unprepared for the coming collapse.

I had never used hard red wheat before, nor did I have a grinder at the time. I bought a Super pail anyway because I was influenced by fear and by others who proclaimed its necessity.

Mind your preference when it comes to food storage.

My Top Food Storage Picks

These food storage items are my preference and I chose most of them because they are multipurpose and provide my family with a variety of nutrients. These are also supplemented by gardening though we calculate for needed calories without the garden.

The garden is caloric and nutritional bonus.

• Rice
• Beans
• Eggs
• Oatmeal
• Cornmeal
• Flour
• Sugar
• Salt
• Oil

Calculating 6 Months of Food Storage

Let’s start with the basics. We should first calculate how many calories we are going to need, in total, to feed our families for 6 months. That is the most important step in this process. If we are unsure about the total calories needed, we will vastly underprepare because 6 months of food is A LOT!

The RDA is 2000 calories per person per day. Preppers could argue for 2500 to 3000 because of a greater workload in SHTF. Then again, you might want to take a rationing mindset and prepare for 1500 calories per person per day.

Preference

We are going to look at these equations based on a 2000 calorie diet just to keep it easy.

2000 calories per day X the number of people in your home. This will give you your daily caloric needs.

8000 calories per day for a family of 4 X 31 days in a month gives you 248,000 calories per month

For 6 months you are looking at 1,488,000 calories for 6 months if you are feeding a family of four with 2000 calories per day.

Nutritional Balance

Of course, things are a little more complicated than just stacking up calories to the roof. Have you ever heard of rabbit starvation? It can happen to people who don’t get enough fat in their diet from eating very lean rabbits only.

Rabbits are a great protein source, but you need other things to eat alongside them.

Your food storage will need to include things like fats and proteins in the right amounts to assure you have the proper nutritional balance. So, what does that look like? I am going to give you some figures for this nutritional balance. These numbers are for an active person. A sedentary lifestyle will require less.

Protein – A good average for protein intake is going to be around 80 grams. You will need less if you are a small person and as much as 100 grams or more if you are a big active person.

Carbs – The best balance for healthy carb intake is right around 100-150 grams per day. However, in a survival situation you might up that to deal with the rigors or simply to cope with the serious stress of it all. You might also be eating more carbs because that is what you have stored up.

Fats – I often wonder how many people put their bodies through utter hell by cutting all the fat out of their diet in the 90s. Fat is incredibly beneficial to your diet. You want about 400 calories per day from fat. Based on a 2000 calorie per day diet you are going to want around 55 to 80 grams of fat.

A great ration to remember is 30:30:40 and that is 30% fat/30% protein/ 40% carbs. Of course, this will be adjusted if you are dealing with some sort of carb excluding diet. However, for planning and prepping purposes keep this in your back pocket.

Learning to Cook

One of the core skills that all preppers should practice is cooking from scratch. When you look at the list of ingredients above you should be looking at a world of possibilities. You can make all sorts of bread, pastries, tortillas, tostadas and full meals with just those ingredients above.

I see that list as unlimited potential because I spent years making foods with those ingredients. Now is the time for you to become proficient with the mixing bowl and in front of the oven.

We all have at least one complaint about isolation. If you are feeling bored spend some time baking something new. Cook a big pot of beans and see how they turn out. We store a lot of rice and beans but most of America eats beans out of a can.

Tactical training is cool, bushcraft skills get respect but food production and cooking have been the driving force behind all-conquering armies and civilizations throughout all of history.

6 months of long-term food storage is a pretty decent goal for any prepper. It’s very rare that we face a catastrophe that cuts us off the food supply for more than 3 months let alone 6 months. Of course, there is always the threat of that one event that changes the world forever.

Still, in a situation like that, you are eating off food storage while you set up your own inputs for food production. If the whole world goes offline you won’t be sitting around waiting for Walmart to open back up. You will either be hunting, farming, homesteading or some amalgamation.

Since I started prepping there are a handful of preps that truly help me rest at night. Food storage is one of those preps. Having extra food on hand for hard times is one of those things that I would have done even earlier if I knew how good it would feel to have that prong of my preparedness plan sharpened up.