[RUSTYME]

Ok , so nobody knows what is going to happen when the system crashes , ( we are at the start of it now ! ) ,  or to what degree the changes will be . 
  To many people in the world , things will carry on as normal .  But to most in the uk , things will be very different indeed .
 I just wondered  what people on here were planning to do , if anything ?
Sit and wait for it to all blow over ?
Sit and wait for the end ?  Or just pretend that it is all ok and things will carry on as they are , till the shtf !
 As you all know by now , i will just roll up in a ball and wait for the end !
  But what will you do ?

[doganjo]

I'm with you Rusty, if I have enough time to release my animals to the wild I will, but if not I'll turf every bit of food I can find out into the paddock and let them free in there, then curl up into that ball.

But I am an ostrich.

It will never happen! 

[deepinthewoods]

im  not so sure the worlds gonna end! but i do think that there will be a major change in how the world is organised and i think that that means we will all have to become alot more self reliant, i judge my efforts on how long i could feed and warm myself for without having to go to the shop and without eleccy, i believe that communities will pull together when they need to, and we WILL get thro!! you never know, maybe these 'occupy' demonstrations are a sign of this starting.
 my daughter whos nearly 12 is my inspiration, she can track game and grow veg, shes not a bad shot either.
there is always hope!!!

[RUSTYME]

I don't think the end of the world is happening either , but i am 99% sure that the system is about to collapse , somewhat like the twin towers , and therefore the unsustainable consumer/£ driven economy will end .  What happens then  is what i am curious about .
 Not a lot changes for me really . I have 3-6 months tinned/dried food in store, which is why i wasn't too bothered when the cows ate this years veg !   
 I already live with almost no money , and i am not relient on the system for much at all really , although i do need my eyes testing and  new specs , bugger ! 
 If i had to , i could easily survive off the land , just eating what i could find in hedges/woodland etc , but i don't think many could . Will it come to that ? ? ?

[suziequeue]

I'm just plodding away at trying to develop the skills that I'll need to be self sufficient I such as husbandry, butchering, veg growing, preserving food without using electricity, generating my own electricity, coppice crafts etc.

We are on LPG and one of the things I would like to do is to start accumulating a store of LPG. Currently one bottle lasts us about a year.

Hopefully we will get PVs, solar panels and a ground source heat pump. My biggest ambition would be to get the ground source heat pump running off the PVs and developing/affording a way of storing electricity rather than being attached to grid. We are also looking at wind and hydro. We have some (but limited) capacity for generating electricity this way. I want to learn to make wind turbine blades.

I strongly agree with DitW - we (our lane) will pull together as a community. We probably have enough expertise between us (about 20 of us all told) to be self sufficient and protect each other. Everybody has land and livestock, private water, LPG, some forestry for coppicing etc etc.

I think about this issue frequently

[deepinthewoods]

sq, knowledge is power!

ive now got a small pot bellied woodburner in the kitchen and its easier to cook on, so all my heating and cooking could be without electricity. but my water is pumped up using electric so a water supply is my next concern.
 my decision to take on this house was definitley influenced by the pending economic crisis, ive sort of known something was coming for about the last ten years and the skill set ive sought has been based around self sufficiency. i just dont get electricity tho, scary stuff but im learning!

[RUSTYME]

A small wind/water driven pump,  would pump enough water.   Lpg is good , as long as it is available and affordable.
 Pv panels are ok at the moment , as long as you can afford both them and the batteries ?  Wind or water would be better way to produce leccy if the shtf big time . Both can be made and repaired diy , pv and bats are a different matter .  Wood for heat and cooking is far easier to do than making huge amounts of leccy.  Willow will supply your baskets and wood for cooking etc .

[suziequeue]

I'm keen to take as much advantage of modern technology as I can but be mindful of the fact that we may not have petrol and electricity forever so - learning how to cut trees down by hand and milling/grinding my own corn etc .....  and getting good tools now that are built to last before they start to become premium items etc.

I can make my own charcoal and can forge metal a bit - I'm no blacksmith!! but I can mend tools and peen a blade

Oddly enough - all the technology for pulling up water without leccy is avaiable hand over fist from charities operating to assist small farmers overseas.

I'm going to look into that

Good idea DitW 

[colliewoman]

I'm lucky enough to have been taught foraging by my late father, and am a dab hand at native medicinal herbs. We wont starve, hubby taught survival skills in the services so shelter isnt a problem!
Fear is what is going to cripple most people, and I truly hope that those with the skills and knowledge will help out those who dont. People are fast learners when they need to be 

[knightquest]

Bearing all this in mind, especially helping folk out, is there any way that we could set up a system to communicate with each other on here?
We're all of a similar viewpoint so can 'owt be done?

Ian

[RUSTYME]

I grow wilow for basket making , firewood and charcoal , which fuels the forge . Spruce etc will make charcoal for a forge but may not get hot enough to smelt iron in a small foundry , although i have smelted aluminium with softwood charcoal .
 I grow  an old variety of wheat for flour and for thatching straw . Barley , oats and rye are easy to grow to , although i live at nearly 900 ft so it is touch and go with the wheat.   
 For cutting down trees , a 30" bow saw works very well as long as you dö't want to cut down huge oaks , use a good axe or two man crosscut saw for big stuff .
 Old hand tools are still easy to get , but avoid chinese crap , they fall to bits !

[doganjo]

Bearing all this in mind, especially helping folk out, is there any way that we could set up a system to communicate with each other on here?
We're all of a similar viewpoint so can 'owt be done?

Ian

Semaphore?

[deepinthewoods]

recycled tin cans and a rather long piece of string??

[RUSTYME]

Pigeons !

[doganjo]

OK, I'll get my dogs to catch a few - chap who built this house bred the damn things and left a few behind when he moved