survivalist Archives - Living Off the Grid: Free Yourself

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Ben Fogle’s Off-Grid Experiment

Could your child fell a tree or use a blow torch? TV presenter Ben Fogle travelled to meet families in remote spots — then tried to see if his own children could shape up.

I always thought that in a moment of worldwide crisis I would flee with my family to the Outer Hebrides, where we would build a hand-to-mouth life on one of the islands. And now we are in the midst of one, the reality is rather more prosaic. I am, in fact, holed up with my family in our house in the Chilterns. Still, there is something of the wilderness to it, I suppose: I’m writing this from the children’s treehouse. My son, Ludo, is on his computer in the office while my eight-year-old daughter, Iona, is in the kitchen. Marina, my wife, has taken the front room, which leaves me the treehouse.

Twenty years ago I did spend a year living on an island in the Outer Hebrides as a social experiment for the seminal Channel 4 programme Castaway to see if a group of urban folk could start a society from scratch. We were cut off from the outside world — just the 36 of us, men, women, and children, living together. The experience changed my life and I’ve been fascinated by off-grid, simple living ever since.

As a result, for nearly a decade I have travelled the world visiting people who have abandoned conventional society for a life in the wild for my Channel 5 TV show called New Lives in the Wild. Individuals, couples, families, widows, former convicts, university professors, they have been an eclectic bunch, unified in their desire to break free from the manacles of society. They are all driven by different beliefs — some are introverts, survivalists, environmentalists and apocalyptic preppers — but each has started a simpler life in the wild, cut off from the infrastructure and services of the modern world.

Take the Longs — Robert, Catherine and their children, Robin, then aged 17, and Christan, then aged 20 — sometimes described as New Zealand’s most isolated family. Their house made of driftwood in the Gorge River in the South Island took me three days’ walking to reach when I visited them in 2013.

Or the Burkinshaws, whom I visited in 2018. Mum Rose and dad Jeff and their five daughters, Sarah, Abigail, Julia, Christina and Keziah, live in a remote cabin in the northwest Canadian wilderness, where winter temperatures plunge to minus 30C.

Or the Stone brothers, who lived in a cave in Utah in the US. The identical twins, Bill and Bob, in their eighties, had been holed up in a remote cave system in the desert outback for more than 20 years when I met them first in 2014 before revisiting in 2018.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, over the past few weeks I have found myself thinking …

April 2, 2020 No Comments

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Visiting Outback Prepper + Budget Prepping links

With one phone call, I’ve accidentally ended up in a survival caravan fit out for a nuclear holocaust. But within days, I’m converted, and perhaps you should be too.

It’s pitch dark in a way you only get in the bush as I arrive at the property of a man I met an hour ago.

“This is my base”, he says. “I have everything you need.”

Peering through the darkness, I realise he means it. There’s chickens, a veggie garden that’d put WholeFoods Market to shame, solar panels and septic tanks. And then, “what’s in the basement?”

“Six months of fuel and some basic weapons.”

“Weapons?!”

“Just basic ones.”

Suddenly, I realise what this charming bush cottage actually is.

It’s a “bug out” — a well-equipped base that survivalists keep ready for when “TSHTF” (the shit hits the fan).

And this man? He’s a “prepper” — someone who’s turned “prepping” for disaster into a way of life.

He had needed someone to drive his second car from Perth to the desert, where he lived, deep in a national park, for half of each year — a friend asked could I help him?

I couldn’t resist the lure of a new escapade — my flight (and shower) would have to wait a little longer.

Now, I’m faced with the vehicle we’ll drive 17 hours into the outback tomorrow: a floral-patterned 1970s caravan, full of supplies for a nuclear holocaust.

And I’ll be living out of this caravan-cross-bunker for the next 10 days.

I lift the bed to stash my bags underneath. There’s two months of tinned food and an axe.

I open a cupboard beside the bed. An avalanche of toothbrushes and dental floss rains down on me.

Crouched on the caravan floor, gathering up the toothbrushes like an apocalyptic “pick-up sticks”, I stare up at the prepper, waiting for an explanation.

“Gum health and heart disease are linked,” he says. “No-one ever thinks about dental floss. You’re holding apocalypse gold there.”

In my Gollum-crouch, I grab the floss and try to imagine a world where that could be “my precious”.

I’m not convinced it’s a world I want to live in. But in a few days, that all changes.

Aussies are getting ‘prepped’

“Doomsday prepping”, or “survivalism”, is on the rise.

This is despite “preppers” being widely met with ridicule or fear (as the , prepping reality TV shows “are full of people lovingly cradling their weaponry, which in many cases is frighteningly extensive”).

Preppers make themselves easy targets, between the YouTube tutorials on how to make a crossbow from a ski, and the graded sequence of Mary-Poppins-meets-Bear-Grylls survival bags.

If you’re a minimalist prepper who’s just read Marie Kondo, you might get by with just the BOB (“) and the INCH (“). And yes, preppers have more acronyms than the public service.

As we dragged our catastrophe-caravan to the …

July 16, 2019 1 Comment

Map of range of Electro Magnetic Pulse bomb across america

Self-Sufficiency

Electro Magnetic Pulse weapon threat to USA

For years North Korea has sought to be a nuclear power. Now it is thought that the hermit nation has another weapon which could wreak havoc on our electricity, satellite and communications grids in North America – an Electro Magnetic Pulse bomb.

This weapon might be well known to some, however, it appears to be regularly overlooked by mainstream media services in the west.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon which has the potential to disable the complicated and intertwined grid we rely on every single day.

During a US Homeland Security hearing last week, experts told Congress that North Korea is capable of launching an EMP attack on the United States and warned government officials not to ignore the “doomsday scenario.”

Chairman Dr. William R. Graham and Chief of Staff Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack, said that such a weapon could “shut down the electric power grid for an indefinite period, leading to the death within a year of up to 90 percent of all Americans.”

Although some critics of the report have associated the 90 percent figure with a popular novel titled, “One Second After.”

According to the Congressional Electro Magnetic Pulse Commission, North Korea has been working on Electro Magnetic Pulse technology for a while and maintain that the rogue regime has probably been testing such weapons since 2006.

An EMP Weapon isn’t like the dreaded Hydrogen bombs which have recently been tested. It is instead designed to emit gamma rays which cause the EMP effect, and is a very small device in comparison to hydrogen bombs and doesn’t need a large explosion to detonate it.

However accurate the figures or statements are, the potential for such a weapon provides even more rationale to the Off-Grid argument.

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October 30, 2017 No Comments

Prepping, prepper, survivalist, survival, off-grid, expo,

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A Survivalist’s Top Prepping Tips

Last month hordes of prepping enthusiasts and survivalists turned out for the Survival Expo in Richmond, Virginia. Vendors like Preparedness Essentials were present selling prepping products from long term food storage solutions to solar power to tactical gear. One of the vendors was Joe Fischer, a firefighter and air force veteran turned business owner who promotes survivalist training. His business USURVIVEALL also sells survival equipment like the Firestarter which retails at $25.00.

“Preparedness is a way of life.”

Joe is a strong advocate of versatile items in a grid down situation. The essentials in the trunk of his car include pouches of tuna, rice and beans and tea lights. But two key pieces are his bandana and some black tape. Why? They are versatile! A bandana can protect your face from bugs, act as a water filter and be used as a bag to carry berries or other food. Whereas, black tape can be used as a bandage, for repairs or lashing things together to make a shelter or some other construction.

Fischer doesn’t prep for civil unrest, economic collapse or the end of the world, he simply wants to be ready for a particularly bad storm, tornado or power outage. Versatility he believes is the key to surviving.

His top prepping priorities are:

Fire – not only for heat and cooking, fire is an important resource for purifying water. It also has soothing abilities; anyone who’s sat by a crackling fire knows how calming it is. Therefore, it helps put you at ease, as Fischer points out, “every animal on earth is afraid of fire”.
Knife – common sense prevails, this is an extremely important tool for any survival situation and can get you out of some sticky situations.
Shelter and water – a product like a mylar blanket not only keeps you warm but can be set up as a shelter. It can also be used to collect water. Plus, it’s cheap and easy to pack, folding down into a small square for transport.
Cordage – something that doesn’t cross everyone’s mind, but is just as important urges Fischer. Cord can help you string up a shelter or a rain tarp. Not to mention if you need to do some climbing (up or down) this can be the difference between life and death.

The next Expo coordinated by RK Prepper Shows is being held in Springfield, Montana on June 24^th and June 25^th. Tickets are priced between $12 – $14.50 for adults and $5 – $7.50 and can be purchased online.

Surviving societal collapse

Even though Fischer doesn’t believe in prepping for end-of-the-world scenarios, two South Carolina law makers have a different view. Josiah Magnuson and Jonathon Hill have set up the “Virtue Solution Project”, a group which aims to save America… or survive societal collapse. Based on a mix of religion, …

March 30, 2017 1 Comment

Bad news: Its Doomsday – Good news: You will die in total Luxury

DALLAS 11 Nov – AP – A Texas investor group is building a $300 million luxury fly-in community replete with survival tools – the underground homes and air-lock blast doors will be designed for super-rich families worried about a dirty bomb or other disaster.

The Trident Lakes community has begun with a flourish northeast of Dallas near the Oklahoma border: A statue of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, holding a golden trident will stand some 50 feet above a massive fountain billed as one of the largest in the world.

Subtlety won’t do for Texas. Although the organisers are curiously self-effacing, and few photos exist, if any.

“The initial perception is that it’s defined as a doomsday scenario,” said James O’Connor, CEO of Dallas-based Vintuary Holdings, which represents the collection of investors backing the project. “I’m trying to change the perception to a long-term sustainable community, with the concept of a 200-year community. We’re not looking at just putting all our residents underground; we’re looking to put together a beautiful place to live that’s also secure.”

The standard luxury amenities will apply: 18-hole golf course, high-end spa, gun ranges, zip lines, shops and restaurants, and not just a single helipad but a row of them. But plans call for the 700-acre spread to also include an equestrian center, polo fields and 20-acre lakes with white-sand beaches. The entire compound will be wrapped by a 12-foot wall and have private security manning watchtowers. The project has received the necessary approvals, O’Connor said, and people are expected to take up residence in 2018.

Developers intend to construct about 400 condos that have 90 percent of their living space underground. Most would cost in the mid-six figures and each topped with a terrace overlooking one of the lakes. The community could have as many as 1,600 residents who, should disaster strike, can rely on water and energy production that’s off the grid. O’Connor said designs and concepts may change as the project progresses, but a navigable tunnel network and an air-purification system are planned.

As is a DNA vault. The vault is an opportunity for “family sustainability,” said Richie Whitt, spokesman for Trident Lakes.

“You can take DNA and preserve it, where if something should happen, then technology down the road could take DNA and replicate a person,” he said. “It’s kind of science fictiony but it’s also not that far in the future.”

Whitt said Friday that Vintuary Holdings has purchased land in Ohio for a similar community and investors hope to expand the idea to other states. He didn’t provide further details.

It’s not clear just how many similar bunker communities are open for business in the U.S. or other countries. The Vivos Group, based in California, has six in the U.S. and one in Germany.

“It’s definitely something, anecdotally, that we’re seeing more and more of,” said …

November 12, 2016 No Comments

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Montana retreat near Canadian border

If you want to unplug and enjoy the breathtaking scenery that Montana has to offer, head to The North Fork. Located only a mile from Glacier National Park and three miles from the Canadian border, this small community operates on off-grid generators and solar power, with no cell phone reception for miles.

“That’s exactly why we chose to build here,” said Bill, owner of a three-level log home. What attracted Bill and his wife Luann to the area is also what created a unique challenge for builder Scott Leigh. “To get to the site, we had to drive 60 miles up a gravel road, sometimes in terrible weather, and then have no cell phone reception the entire time we were there,” Scott said. To minimize the difficult commute, he would stay onsite with his workers four days a week and then drive back to his office on Friday and gather more building materials.

The layout and design of the three-bedroom, three-bath log home was a collaborative effort that included Scott, Bill and Luann and designer Eric Bachofner whose company provided the 12-inch Swedish cope, hand-hewn lodgepole pine logs.

Because the site had an unspoiled view of Kintla Peak in Glacier National Park, the scenery was a major influence on the design. “Bill’s big push was centered on how the house was oriented,” said Scott. “He wanted the bay windows to face the mountain range, so we sat out there together with a compass and the floor plans and made it happen.”

The other key essential was a dining bay with 14-foot ceilings that Bill saw on another floor plan and wanted to incorporate into his own log home. The room features large windows with a 270-degree view of the horizon. Western larch logs provide structural support for the roof, but also create a unique “speckled” design leading up to the ceiling.

Not to be outdone by the dining bay, the kitchen boasts amazing views that “look straight out into Lewis and Clark country,” according to Bill, and is decorated to transition seamlessly into the dining and great rooms in the home’s open design.

To complement the logs, Kurt Kress was brought in to create the kitchen’s custom cabinetry from knotty alder. He applied several layers of stain, glaze and lacquer before heavily distressing the doors to give them an antiqued look. He chose a deep brown hue with green undertones that plays off the copper farm sink framed with two handmade newel posts. Seeded-glass panels were inserted into several upper cabinets as accents. Crema Bordeaux granite countertops complete the rich look of the space with copper features that mirror the same accents found throughout the home.

If you want to disconnect from the wired world, Bill and Luann’s home is certainly the place to do it. And you couldn’t ask for a better backdrop than some of the most spectacular …

April 29, 2016 No Comments

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Do what you love, love what you do

What is your passion? If money were no object (and just what does that actually mean anyhow???) what would you be doing right now? Now, how can you turn this passion into your living?

Something I enjoy doing is taking pictures, I fully intend on turning this passion into a living. The first thing that makes this possible is I have to take better pictures than the average person, my photos have to be of a quality that someone will want to part with their money to posses one of my photos.

Most EVERYONE has the ability to take pictures with little trouble, nearly everyone has a smartphone and some of the those phones can take some great pictures. But not everyone knows how to take really good pictures, look on most phones and you will find dozens of selfies and mediocre shots.

I did not go to school to learn how to take pictures, what I did was I looked at other photographers to see how they take fantastic pictures, I looked at how they framed their shots, I have learned about lighting (morning and evening tend to be the best times to take outdoor pictures), framing and lighting are the 2 biggies, being in the right place at the right time, I am always making note of a particular place that would make a good shot, but knowing I’ll come back at a time of day when the lighting would make for a great shot.

I have also learned about filters, color enhancing, basically taking a good picture and making it fantastic, something special. This requires a LOT of experimenting, taking lots of pictures, lots and lots. I would say that if I would take 1 picture of a scene, I actually take 20 or more shots of that same scene, using different filters, different angles, sometimes the difference between a mediocre shot and a prizewinning shot is just a matter of a slight angle change.

I also know that some days I may come home with a memory stick full of duds, and that’s OK too. I am not at a point where I can just go out merely to snap pictures, but since the job I do requires me to drive all over west Texas in some very scenic areas, and since I have a very flexible schedule, I have the opportunity to get some wonderful pictures. Honestly I would be taking these pictures anyhow, I love doing it, it’s my passion and in the year I’ve been doing this, my skills have improved greatly.

So now I have all of these pictures, how do I get money for these images? I plan on turning my photos into postcards and such for the tourists that pass through our towns. Living in such a scenic area, much of the income that comes into these towns come directly …

July 30, 2015 No Comments

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Apocalypse Then

* Hundreds of survivalists and ‘Preppers’ gathered in Salt Lake City last weekend to forestall the Apocalypse

* Shown underground bunkers, tactical weapons and an armed $2,500 Motoped Survival Bike

* Taught how to store food and dressed as zombies for special contest

Hundreds of survivalists and “preppers” were gathered in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy for the first PrepperCon, last friday, featuring demonstrations of underground bunkers, food storage and armoured vehicles.
Scott Stallings, one of the show’s founders, says the event was inspired by the success of ComicCon and is amping up the entertainment with the hope of attracting younger people who may not be enthusiasts of food storage and other survivalist strategies.

Among the expo’s main events is a zombie apocalypse costume contest and appearances by actors from the AMC hit show “The Walking Dead.”

During the two-day expo, visitors were shown specially-equipped underground bunkers, learned new methods of storing food, tried out solar powered flashlights, knives of all shapes and sizes, hi-tech gadgets, food storage units, first aid supplies and armored trucks. There were also live demonstrations and a survival cooking contest.

Motoped employee Ken Stone showed off the Motoped Survival Bike, described by the company as a ‘tactical blank canvas’ with a 500-mile range, 200mpg efficiency and a heavy-duty universal rack.

THE MOTOPED SURVIVAL BIKE

The Motoped Survival Bike is described as something in between a ‘hard-core downhill mountain bike and a fully-fledged motorcycle’.
It can be pedaled or motored without stopping to make a change, and can ‘go where stand alone bicycles or motorcycles can’t’.
Unit weight: 132 pounds
Range: 500 miles (805 km)
Efficiency: 200 mpg (1.2 L/100km)
Top speed: 24mph
Engine Displacement: 49cc / 125cc
Max Horsepower: 49cc – 2.41 HP @ 7500 RPM / 125cc – 7.78 @ 7500 RPM
Front Suspension: Adjustable DNM USD-8 Forks (8″ travel)
Rear Suspension: Adjustable DNM Burner – RCP2 Shock
Seat Height: 35″ (Adjustable)
Cost: $2,499
Source: Motoped
The $2,500 bike can be pedaled or motored without stopping to make a change, and can ‘go where stand alone bicycles or motorcycles can’t’.
But with a top speed of 24mph, could it outrun zombies?
The company certainly appears to think so. ‘This bike was built for the creative survivalist. Apply your favorite gear and escape with your life,’ an online description of the vehicle reads.
Following PrepperCon, Miller, 15, told KUTV that she thought the expo had been ‘really cool’ and that Salt Lake City was a ‘gorgeous’ region.
‘I enjoy meeting the fans and getting their perspective on the show,’ she added.
The North Carolina teenager was joined at the event on Saturday by her co-star, Theo Crane.
Celebrity survival expert Mykel Hawke, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer who is best known for his role on the reality TV series ‘Man, Woman, Wild’, also made an appearance.
On its website, PrepperCon describes …

April 27, 2015 No Comments

A preparedness shopping list

Preppers a real boost to the canned goods industry

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February 12, 2012 11 Comments

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Off-Grid living in the UK

How many people are living off the grid in the UK?

In 2010 Off-Grid.net estimated there were 100,000 living off the grid in the UK. We think it has increased since then to 200,000, mainly due to the increase in mobile off-grid living – in vans, boats cars and buses. But also due to a growth in the number of off-grid communities and the increasing size of each of those off-grid communities.

Types of off-gridder

There are many reasons for living off-grid – the most common is wanting to live an ecological life – reducing your carbon footprint- – but there are also survivalists and preppers who think they are protecting themselves against the coming social collapse. Then there are those who live this way because they have no choice – they are living off-grid to save money. Even if that is not the primary motive you are likely to save money when you cut out Utility bills and remembering that off-grid properties are likely to be cheaper to buy or rent than connected properties. The environment will supply you with energy, heat, water, and food.

It may seem daunting as you contemplate setting out on your off-grid life – but remember: over a billion people already live off the grid around the world. And their challenges are probably far greater than your own.

But let’s not underestimate the problems.

UK Off-Grid Living, Living Off the Grid in the UK – Which is the Correct Phrase & What does it all mean?

In the UK we tend to say “off-grid”. In the USA they prefer to say “off the grid” except when talking about technical energy infrastructure arrangements.

It makes a huge difference where you choose to go off-grid – every part of the planet is different and UK off-grid living is vastly easier than, say, off-grid living in Alaska where the extreme cold magnifies the problems. There is an initial cost of setting up and it is greater in the UK than for example going off-grid in India. And it is hard work – in general, the less you pay, the harder the work. But if you intend to live off the grid in the UK, there are no insurmountable obstacles.

You will be adding to your workload when you run your own power supply, water supply, and deal with your own waste. You may miss the urban support systems – but in exchange, you will be spending more of your time in nature than you did before stepping outside the system. You find you feel closer to nature, as the weather on any given day will affect your life much more directly, in terms of your renewable energy production as well as the temperature.

You may also decide to produce your own food – but that is not necessary, and can add an extra back-breaking load to an …

October 11, 2011 5 Comments

Land

Stay small to survive

Its hard to stay neat and clean in a trailer

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July 14, 2009 9 Comments

survivalist

Ben Fogle’s Off-Grid Experiment

Visiting Outback Prepper + Budget Prepping links

Electro Magnetic Pulse weapon threat to USA