Industrial Chemistry, Primitive Pharmacology, and a bit of Gourmet Cooking on the side.

Well, I have been doing a bit of research at the moment - hardly out of the ordinary for me, I admit, but plants aren't my field of primary training, so learning more is essential. Restate that - learning more is always essential, but building up the basics in additional fields is often necessary.

The twist to it is that I'm looking beyond growing plants for food - yes, essential to do, but easy to forget that they're not only needed for sustenance. The other applications are (as not-subtly suggested above) industrial chemistry and pharmacology. Well, if we don't count fuel, building materials, cotton or hemp for clothes...

Plants are their own little chemical factories, and in a long-term survival aspect we might as well be able to take advantage of what we have at our disposal.

Want to have clothes be other than dust coloured? Grow and use indigo, woad, or any number of other plants. Remember to find suitable mordants, used to fix the dye to the fabric, ideally ones that are easily obtained in your area.
Want to create plastics? Caseinite, created from milk and the right acids, is a possibility. Henry Ford (well, at least his company) apparently created a plastic from Hemp. A number of plant oils can be used as mechanical lubricants...

Consider also the fact that many medicines come from plants - willow, menthol... so many, many others. Paw-paws contain papain, useful for helping people with digestive problems digest proteins. Menthol, a very useful plant... Aloe Vera a hippy favourite.

As bad luck would have it, though, camphor is a proscribed plant in this area - meaning that it's recognised as a pest species, invasive and difficult to get rid of once it's in. So, despite its usefulness, a problem - both to get and to keep under control.

The problem is, though, that there are a number of chemicals still required... Sulfuric acid can do a lot, in an industrial environment, but if you are short of it, you may be reduced to making it yourself - which is fine, if you have a source of sulfur or iron sulfide; if not, you've few options.

At least I'm about twenty kilometres from the ocean - sodium chloride should be easy enough to source... That's something... I guess... Plenty of uses for it...

Slapping one's self about the face...

I must admit to recently having had a drop in morale. Certain doors have closed, at least for now - doors that I was trying to keep open. There is nothing more frustrating than having something, that you want to do, no long be an option.

Self-pity is an indulgence, really. In a struggle between life and death, self-pity will destroy. The world feels no pity, and your competitors will feel no shame in taking advantage of a moment of laxity. As an act, it does little to help you, and only occupies time and energy.

Once in an emergency, decisive action is all that matters.



We aren't in an emergency situation, though. At least not yet. There is still time, and room, for a little self-indulgence, as long as it doesn't stop your preparations.

There is an upside to this, too - it means that my time will not be split, and I will not be at risk of spending weeks away at a time. Preparations can be continued at their current pace; gardens can be improved, equipment obtained...

A Statement of Values

After careful consideration, I have decided to lay down what I believe in my preparations...

I believe in rebuilding, rather than just surviving. I believe that isolationism will not help you in the long run, but that you need a community to help get things back on track.

I do not believe in a divine armageddon, but that it might come about through those believing in the divine - and acting in support of their beliefs.

I do not believe in acting illegally, but recognise that some tools, techniques, and information required for survival may be contrary to current laws.

I believe in watchful awareness, not paranoia.

I believe that, in a post-cataclysm world, we will need to make new friends and welcome new people into our community; I do not believe that we should be required to accept and feed everyone that comes our way.

I believe that, in a post-catalclysm world, knowledge will be key to survival in the long term, but that weapons may have to be used in the short.

I believe that gaining the knowledge, skills, and tools to survive is more important than stockpiling; stockpiling is necessary for short-term survival, but then what?

I believe that it is important to educate friends, family, and neighbours about self-sufficiency, but not to end up sounding like the archtypal conspiracy theory nutter.



I know that some of this will irritate that hard-core of survivalists...