I’ve not been straightforward about some things. I’ve been too nervous to talk about them and worried about what people may think, but not talking about them would be a disservice. We need to learn about pioneer skills. Why?
The world is sick. Sick things and sick games have been happening for decades. The elite and politicians, both sides, have played people against one another and have thoroughly destroyed everything it has a hand in.
Learning Forgotten Pioneer Skills In The Wake Of Disaster
Things are bad, and things are going to get a lot worse. Crime is up, hate is up, bad is good, and nihilism and tribalism has destroyed society and relationships. People are power hungry, full of evil, the family unit is broken, they’ve kicked God out of everything, there is persecution, natural disasters, plagues, food shortages, camps, and more. And lastly there is war and rumors of war.
Things are bad and steadily getting worse. But, we’ve lived good and easy lives. Even our poor do significantly better than most places around the world. We turn a blind eye and act like bad things can never happen here, and now these bad things are quickly spreading here. And still people turn a blind eye.
If something happened like an economic collapse, war, another plague, job loss, whatever… if we had to survive and faced hardship, many of us would die because we no longer no pioneer skills.
Learning Forgotten Skills Out Of Necessity
Whether compliance, ignorance, support, or the hope that someone else will fix it, it is quickly creeping over all aspects of society.
I know some may be rolling their eyes, and that is fine, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t try to help some people prepare, because life is rapidly changing and many are not ready. I am not even sure if I am ready, but I’ll guess we will see.
So, what do we need to do to get ready? How do we learn life skills?
Well, we have lived easy lives where we have usually had what we want when we want and even when we can’t get it right away most of us tend to find a way. This includes me, though my upbringing did require me to learn certain skills that others have forgotten.
What skills do we need to learn?
Growing Your Own Food
Many people don’t know how to grow food or have a green thumb. We hire people to take care of our lawns and we may have a plant or two inside, but so many people don’t know how to start and take care of a garden.
Even worse, even if people start a garden they don’t know how to keep the ground healthy and full of minerals. Or how to protect their plants from pests naturally.
Everyone used to have gardens, and growing up in Arkansas, gardens were necessary still for survival. With food shortages, rumors of war, economic collapse, whatever the disaster may be, having a garden to provide for your family is important.
Raising Animals
People no longer know how to raise animals, know what animals need to eat, or how to keep them healthy. They need protection from predators, protection from diseases, injuries, etc.
You have to be able to feed them and keep them warm in the winter. Animals are a great way to keep food on the table, and there are so many modern resources teaching us how to take care of animals. But learning how our ancestors took of their animals is a must.
Hunting
A lot of people think hunters are these evil people who kill animals just to see them die. There are exceptions and those who do it for purely for sport, but so many people still hunt for food and survival.
It takes skill to hunt animals, to skin them, to cut them open properly, to dismember them, and to process them. And let me tell you, cutting meat, making it into sausage, it takes skill and a lot of energy as well.
Again, in Arkansas and many rural areas, this is how people survived/survive. My husband is an amazing hunter and has been able to provide us meat which has saved us money. Plus, wild meat is so healthy, when properly cooked, it doesn’t have all the antibiotics and additives that store bought meat has.
Fishing
Fishing is another great skill and generally more popular. There are so many jokes and songs about fishing, and if you live on the coast, you will see people lined up and down the water and in boats fishing almost everyday.
Fish is a great way to feed your family and it’s healthy.
But again, it’s a skill the average person doesn’t know how to do, and that needs to change. Not to mention, you need to be able to descale, clean, fillet, and cook the fish you catch.
Every fish is different and needs to be cooked differently.
Making Your Own Textiles
Making yarn, cloth, thread, and then making stuff from those like: clothes, towels, rags, pads, diapers, and wipes, scarves, blankets, socks. Crocheting, sewing, knitting, and weaving are super important.
Learning to take raw materials, turn them into useable products, and learning to make stuff is so important. There may be a time where things are not easily gotten, and having these skills will make you a very valuable asset.
Plus, let’s be honest, even if the world somehow straightens out, it’s a cool skill to have.
Cooking
And by cooking I don’t mind heating stuff up from a can or in the microwave. I mean cooking things from scratch. Rendering down fat to use for later, knowing how to make different types of eggs, making butter. Knowing what temperatures meat are most tender, how to roast, and slow cook foods.
How to cook over a fire, using cast iron, knowing how to take care of it.
What spices go well together, what ones should not go together, how to make sauces, gravies, etc.
How to make different flour from wheat and grains, acorns, and how to make beet sugar when cane sugar isn’t available.
Baking
We currently can run out and buy bread anytime we want. We order cakes from the bakery, and get cookies through the drive through or from little tubes.
But knowing the right temperature to bake things, knowing what to mix, how to deal with yeast, and knowing alternatives when you don’t have what you need.
How to make flat bread, hardtack, things that will keep you going.
Medicine
I’m not saying go and get a medical degree, but many of us have become reliant on doctors and drugs from pharmaceutical companies. Guess what?
For many many years people took care of their own medical needs. I’m not saying all of the medicine and procedures were great, they obviously weren’t.
But people were able to survive and with the threats of medical attention being withheld from some and the shortages, it may be prudent to learn how to take care of yourself through diet, home remedies, poultices, and wound care. Along with being able to take temperature, blood pressure, etc.
House Work
There may be a time where house work is a bit harder. There have been so many solar flares and attacks on infrastructure, and with rumors of war, it may be prudent to know how to clean your house without all the help.
That includes washing your clothes by hand properly, how to keep them from going crunchy from holding soap. Washing the floor by hand, using a carpet sweeper instead of a vacuum, beating your rugs, hand washing dishes, etc.
Repair
Learn to fix your own things. Fix your car, fix your electronics, furniture, computer, your own tools, mowers, etc.
This is one I’m still struggling with and so is my husband. We are not handy people. He more so than me, but my husband often says I’m a gremlin. Technology malfunctions around me all the time.
I’ve never been a technical person, but I’m seriously trying.
Scavenging
Being able to find what you need and being able to find food is important. Knowing what is toxic or poisonous, knowing where to find things.
Preserving Food
Preserving food is a skill that many of our grandparents did. I recall my neighbors also doing it. One neighbor used to give us garlic pickles each year and they were so good!
But pickling, canning, dehydrating, freeze drying, smoking, are all some great methods of preserving food and will ensure you family has things to eat during a disaster.
More Survival And Pioneer Skills We Should Learn:
What are some other things that we should know:
- How to move quietly
- Different Knots
- How To use an axe
- How to chop wood
- How to build a shelter
- How to read the stars/moon to navigate
- know the directions using the sun
- Using animal tendons to make ropes
- making your own tool
- Navigate using a map/compass
These skills are still important. We often make fun of people who know these skills thinking “I can never live like that.” Or that people who live by these skills are beneath us or crazy. But the world is slowly falling apart and quickly. And if you can’t see that, I really hope you take a look around you.
Whether it’s natural disasters or man made disasters, the world is never going to be normal again. Take care of your family, even if the world rights itself and it becomes a utopia and you don’t need these skills, great! Teach the next generation if case they need it.
