What basic trades are YOU learning to prepare against economic collapse?

  I think I'm going to work the chicken farming/cobbler/bee-keeper angle. Eggs, meat, shoes, honey. I originally wanted to be a shaman or a witch-sniffer but both of those (each side of the coin) requires lying to people so they're out.

Are you diversifying your skills with the possibility of extreme economic hardships in mind? Has the thought occurred to you?

Just wondering. I believe we're going to see an increase in the barter sub-economy in America.

PB

I'm ready.

Run, Al, Run!

Besides, with global warming, we'll all be breathing in everyone else's exhaled CO2 and will painlessly suffocate anyway.

opened our windows for the first time since May, so I need to breathe the fresh air tonight.

I think we're as safe as we can be.

that will allow me to save part of each crop and replant them the next year.

I don't think hybrids and GM seeds will meet my requirement.

seed websites
one of my favorites to deal with
http://rareseeds.com /

edited for spelling

www.seedsofchange.com

Will trade or barter for Goats, Chickens and Alpaccas.

Social Cycles, Depression and Revolution (Part II)
March 29, 2007
by Michael Nystrom
http://www.bullnotbull.com/archive/batra-2.html

"The Twin Bubbles of Oil and Housing

While the recent Circuit City story gives a clear example of the handiwork of the acquisitor class, in his book Batra cites the twin bubbles of oil and housing as evidence of tricklism. In the 1970's oil prices skyrocketed due to the collusion of OPEC. Today, he asserts, they have skyrocketed due to supply restrictions by the "five bullies" -- the five oil companies which he says control 60% of global refinery output: Exxon-Mobil, Chevron-Texaco, BP-Amoco-Arco, Royal Dutch-Shell, and Conoco-Phillips,. Just one look at the names of the five bullies should tell you most of what you need to know. Each of these mammoth corporations was formed by the merger of already powerful, highly profitable companies. This, combined with 2,600 mergers in the oil industry since the early 90's, has led to a concentrated industry that colludes to keep supplies tight and prices high...

As Batra sees it, the artificially created twin bubbles allow the elite acquisitors to surreptitiously transfer wealth from the masses to their own pockets via various, mostly invisible schemes. As a result, the acquisitors now have just about everything locked up, and have managed to hypnotize the majority of the people into thinking that the current system is just, good and the way things should be. Through their near total control of cultural institutions and the MSM, the message of supermaterialism is emphasized and magnified. The benefits of wealth are flaunted while the tragedies of poverty -- as well as its true causes -- are hidden and ignored. To this I say, thank God for the internet! "

Which is why basing one's future on speculation is why so many people aren't keen on the stock market right now.

And as with the stock market, of which everybody says "Stay in for the long haul", maybe everyone should stay in for the long haul.

We've survived previous recessions; the lovely crash of 1987 comes to mind...

Why the negativity?

...things so south, economically. Plus, I could use a bit of diversifying. I read this year ago and it seems more important now, than ever:



  I would like to think that things would not devolve so much but...based on the last 7 or so years I can't call it a sure thing.

PB

out of what Robert A. Heinlein wrote, I see there's a lot I've not even thought about doing: plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, build a wall, set a bone, fight efficiently.

But, this is what I want: to live honorably and, if (or when) required, die well.

killed a hog as my hubby hunts but after he field dresses it and brings it home I do the rest. It is really easy and I make itlian, andoui, linguica sausage, canadian bacon, and cured hams. It is not hard .
I have set a bone but the rest is off my list too. I too try to live honorably. I am interested in your definition of die well. It is something I have thought about lately. Go down fighting or gracefull and passively or perhaps both as part of the process.

Diversification is good, regardless of the state of the economy.

Corporate USA's motto: "Wrinkles? No one wants to look at that shit."

it is the addition of peak oil and climate change that make the difference. It makes me a bit edgier than I would otherwise be. I still have a chunk in the market even as I keep my bees and chickens and garden.

about taking up singing but maybe it would be better to practice dentistry on republicans. Sorry, no novacaine today. Also, the drill is the foot operated kind.

Actually, the blacksmithing/metalworking part involves making swords and armour, so I guess it'd be handy if we end up going REALLY far back.

I think that's brilliant. When I go camping with friends, someone ALWAYS wants to swap food for a beer or two. I'm not kidding.

for the past five or six years I have been preparing for a worst case scenario. I can live for at least one year without even leaving my house. Granted, that's only one year, but it's a start.

Also, when I was just out of college I realized how buying power diminishes over time, so I began to horde or collect basics such as clothing, shoes, and keep an ongong, recycled storage of medical supplies, batteries, all the basics.

I also try to keep a very low profile locally. Nobody has any idea who I am, what I do or what my financial health is.

And I live frugally, and have saved and invested. I own my home outright, so I don't get hassled by creditors.

I keep my mouth shut about my preparations (except my family knows).

Oh, most importantly, I have no debt.

So my latest diversification has been "container gardening".

I'm thinking that knowing how to grow food in buckets
anywhere the sun shines might be a handy thing to learn.
I did potatos for my first attempt- I think I learned
enough to do it successfully next time around. Time will tell!

stack 3 together and fill with dirt.
I've been checking out square foot gardening sites. Nutrient rich raised beds, gonzo harvests apparently.

I've accumulated a large number of the 5-gallon plastic buckets
their kitty-litter comes in, so that's what I'm starting with.

They're small enough to move around, so I can start things inside
the house early next spring. Right now I've got 4 habañero plants
in two buckets that I've been bringing in at night, because it's
getting too cold for them and they've still got peppers ripening.

Sprouts have all the protein and all the enzymes.

Easy as 1,2,3...

Everything can be sprouted.

edit:

There is a book somewheres about subsistence sailing.

Whatever they couldn't fish for nutrients, they grew (as in sprouting).

It's entirely dependent upon a regular & uninterrupted supply
of seeds to SPROUT.

In an actual "social collapse" situation, basic Game Theory
says I should save my viable seeds for Spring planting.

In the event of a "worst case scenario", I'd resort to cannibalism
before sprouting, to ride out the Winter months.

My seed stock is minimal, but a few of my neighbors strike me as
slow-moving, well-marbled B*sh supporters.

There's a LOT of meat on those B*sh supporters, y'know.

if there aren't complicated electronics involved. I've been making a few extra bucks recycling other peoples throw away stereo's, DVD players, record players, musical instruments, etc. I recently repaired an old 1960's Framus (Made in W. Germany) acoustic guitar someone had made a table out of and just today I'm putting the finishing touches on a Fender Squier Strat someone did a Pete Townsend smash-up on. It's not really worth much, but I've always wanted a strat, and this one, cheap as it is, will do. My next project is going to be making a 110 volt generator out of a lawn mower motor. It doesn't look all that hard and I,ve got almost everything I need for it. And I'm dusting off the squirrel rifles just for the heck of it. I'd like to think I'd be able to survive for a while if things got nasty, but if it ever gets that bad, all bets are off really. And if it ever came down to the people vs. a blackwater type force, well, then just fuck it.

and know lots of crazy people who have military training, are expert hunters, or are ex-cons.

we'll probably band together and take other people's shit.

PB

sentiment. Really would be helpful in a crisis situation to know one could count on you to help the community. Not.

niceties like "community" will morph into "tribal factions."

but this is all largely conjecture.

i know this much though: a complete stranger matters very little to me when it means them or me. or them or my family or my people.

will to survive. I have planned ahead. You are saying that you are ready to take what others have when instead you could plan ahead. And yes, I think it would dissolve into tribal factions of small neighborhoods which could eventually interact with other neighborhoods to the common good but it probably would be after the fallout of the immediate crisis. There would be a need of good leadership to make it come out good. Everyone for themselves would not accomplish this.

meter must be broken. I have had a bad week...

It could get you ahead for a while, but at some point a bigger and meaner group (or Mel Gibson and his sawed-off shotgun) will come along to beat you down. A better approach is to use your armed group to pacify your area, guarantee the security of everyone inside, and convince neighboring areas that you can help them out as well. You gather new recruits and extend your dominion like a post-apocalyptic Alexander the Great.

Of course, some people would oppose your efforts, but it won't make a difference if you have enough popular support. If you want to make order out of chaos, you have to generate goodwill as well as ill will; the experiences of the Romans, the Ottomans and pretty much every other empire is history have borne this out.

Economy goes tits up, I'm going hunting!

so does the supply chain for groceries.

you either will have to hunt for food or get it somehow.

if there are hundreds of other whackjobs trying to get food, me and my people aren't going hungry.

I'll raise fish for the community, and run a still too. I'm also not a bad shot and I have my own guns.

http://www.tightwad.com /

and Affluenza

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluenza

Simple Living

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_living

I need heart medicine to stay alive, unfortunately. Without it, my blood turns to gravy.

Too bad, too, because I can sure raise a butt-load of insects of various types for food/bait (highest return on investment protein-wise) and I was an Eagle scout with all of the attendant skills.

..previous post. I don't know what I'd do in a situation like that. Like all matters of this type, some areas are more likely to be harder-hit than others. I suppose massive quantities of garlic just wouldn't cut it. I dunno.

PB

helped me.

The wonderful thing about a girl/boy scout program or similar program is the emphasis on each girl/boy discovering them self without getting caught up in competition with its one winner and the rest losers syndrome.

Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute

PB

SNL, from the late 70's.

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/78/78ofredgarvin.phtml

Will prevent most people from working anyway. The goal will probably be just to survive with what we have. It is not even a certainty that we will be able to get our money from our banks, let alone receive paychecks and be trusting enough to deposit them.

It's necessary to really prepare. And it takes time. It's not something most of us can do in a week or two.

I know wild foods and herbs. I also know how to build simple shelters, and read the clouds. I also know how to navigate by the stars.

two bags of tortilla chips, a can of chili, and some ravioli! Bring it on!

Somewhat OT, but what would you advise someone who is prepared for a catastrophe but does not own a firearm?

I've been struggling with this for at least two years now, and received tons of advice from every side of the question. I've been ridiculed and made to feel terrible for even asking the question, even though I have never even touched a real gun.

On the one hand, I think it is ridiculous to prepare everything and have no way to protect myself, or to use the gun in some necessary, horrible situation. Not just to harm another person, but to use a gun as necessary to curtail the suffering of a beloved animal or human or myself following a cataclysimic disaster where no medical help is available.

Yet, to own one would go entirely against my spiritual beliefs.

and sometimes admit animals people bring to me that are too damaged to survive. I euthanize them to relieve their suffering using an anesthesia medication. I think of it as doing a kindness what ever the method is... as long as it is quick and painless. It helps me get over having to do it. So I have taken life directly.

You always have the option of bow and arrow, pepper spray etc for self defense which would work on someone without a gun I guess. If it gets that bad we are in a world of hurt unless people band as a community to help eachother out. No one family can do it alone. Even with food, it would be much better if people grew a variety and bartered as opposed to one family trying to grow everythhing they would need. During the depression people in some places had to guard their crops at night.

You definitely understand what I'm thinking about. This happened after reading Cormac McCarthy's "THE ROAD." I just can't stand to see people or animals that I love suffer. I even have pacts with my sisters about this.

But I have no desire to ever, ever kill out of anger. I think I would rather die. If things get that bad, it's time to move on.

There's no absolute truth on firearm ownership.

It's all on your own thinking about the concept.

I own firearms.

I don't advocate that everyone does.

Ultimately, it's a decision for you alone.

The best thing is to become educated concerning firearms. Decide your personal reasons for prospective ownership.

There is a DU forum for posing such questions - it's the Outdoor Life Forum here on DU (the Gun Forum is only about the politics of gun laws here in the US).

Look in the lobby for the Outdoor Life Forum.

benEzra and krispos42 (both long-time DU'rs) are a wealth of reasonable information.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

my ex and I (both professional cooks) used to joke about this scenario. It's not so funny anymore. But I can cook just about anything from absolute scratch including biscuits, bread and pasta, butcher-if I had to, grow my own food and I have a treadle sewing machine that still works and I can sew like a mofo. My mom left me a ton of cloth and patterns. Y'all ready to barter? I just wish I had a farm to go to. My father's family were farmers during the depression and most of the city relatives went to live with them. Not many farmers left in the family, tho.

The rickshaw can be used for commerce, transportation and as a jitty for income. A still is best know for making distilled spirits but its' real value would be for distilling potable water source.

My plan is to band together to form a roving group of murdering bandits who travel from town to Ganghis Khan style. We will take what we please, and kill all those who do not bow before us. Gradually we will build an army, and I will be known as Humungous. Eventually we will be strong enough to enslave thousands to build grand idols as a testament to my greatness. I am pleased to see my future sheep preparing so diligently. You will all serve me well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V30tyaXv6EI

popular front.

Canning and some gardening, too, but the knitting and spinning are my best.

I have a drop spindle. Can I barter with you?

I've seen it with my students. The other thing is that some learn best on a spinning wheel while others learn best on a drop spindle. See if you can get on a wheel at a shop or at a guild meeting and try it that way, preferably with a spinner nearby to help.

Sure we can barter. I suck at knitting afghans and scarves. I'll make yarn for something else if you'll do the afghans.

Of course I have to brush up on my draft horse skills but saddle and light harness I can do.

Without society, I will lose my two sons who are insulin-dependent. We need to keep society functioning or literally billions will die from various medical dependencies. If global society collapses into chaos such that we lose global infrastructure, the consequences would be too devastating for too many people.

The key would be localization. There must be many, distributed pockets of repetitive, self-sustaining societies. We are very far from that, but we need to look in that direction. A redundant, fault-tolerant, society needs to be established and replicated across the world. As a world population, this would make things more efficient and coupled with modern technology is actually achievable today. A driving factor will be clean, renewable energy that can be universally obtained. Without that, we have to keep shipping a rapidly decreasing resource around (using that resource up while we do so).

for just that purpose, of having enough to last during a crisis.

I agree with what you are saying, but the main problem I see is that our society is driving us further apart from each other, into isolation, rather than closer together.

I don't know most of my neighbors.

I hate it when the phone rings because nine times out of ten is it a creditor trying to reach the person who lived at my number six years ago, who I have never met.

The world is falling apart.

if you've got Bo staff skills.

For when they're not busy "spreading democracy" or indulging in other good causes like torture.

first mo-fo trying to light a book in my libraries' on fire to keep warm dies, period. that book is a history of our people and will be our foundation to rebuild our world. and i don't play nice when i'm mad, though i will befriend to keep you off-guard until i'm ready to wipe you out. first Mad Max band that tries to comes through my libraries will be dead before they hit the periodical aisle -- i know my poisons and knots, and i know how to hide in plain sight. your guns mean nothing when you don't even know you've been attacked...

I'm thinking very rural and self-sufficient. With chickens. I like chicken.

handheld weapons skills, and, of course, chess.

people will always need to maintain a good image.

This is an important thread, or I would not keep posting on it. (sorry, but it is one of my areas of obsession)

What makes anyone here think trades will matter?

Transportation is the only sector I can think of, other than emergency response, that will benefit from a domestic disaster.

Thinking ahead, storing, hoarding (as unfortunate a word as this is) and strategizing are the only things that will save us.

everybody should have at least a few.

My entire philosophy may pose a bias towards this question that is unfair. I'm totally committed to being self sufficient. Even though, under some circumstances, I am aware that is a fantasy.

But anyone who has trades to barter for, I am sure that I will be bartering for them.

Just to add, it is quite likely my town will run out of water in the next few years. I actually never planned to live to be very old anyway. Maybe that belief is contributing to my apathy.

trouble is i have to acquire a taste for politicians and i just cant seem to quite do that.

I already keep chickens, have a garden, live in an energy efficient small house, heat with wood, have gravity fed water from a spring, live in tiny community where people help each other out, and live in Vermont, one of the safest places in the country.

learning how to survive off the land. That is truly what I consider the ideal way of living.

Congratulations, and you have my utter respect and admiration.

is that about right? nt

I have really been struggling with this like you can't even imagine. I'd love some guidance on this issue.

probably 2 or 3 times a month. It's organic from a friend down the road who raises grass fed beef. And someone raises lamb nearby. I also eat chicken from time to time. I love fish, but don't love farm raised salmon or swordfish with mercury or not knowing where it comes from, so I eat very little fish. I have a another friend who almost always gets a deer, and I usually get a little venison off of him.

I like meat, but I don't like how we raise or slaughter animals in this country.

I've had a difficult time trying to give up every sort of living creature, specifically chicken.

I truly admire what you have accomplished, your intellect and your self sufficiency. That is an ultimate goal of mine, but I doubt I will be able to reach it in time. You inspire me to at least try, or rather try harder. It seems like such a long journey sometimes.

my lifestyle, like so many of the people I know. And I'm hardly self-sufficient. I don't even strive for that anymore. Once upon a time, I was far more self-sufficient. For two years I lived in a cabin without running water and with no electricity. The pump in the kitchen was my most prized possession.

Truly, I wish I could something like that, and have some self confidence I could exist like that.

about 1000 sq ft.- but it's cozy in winter.

We could start a commune! LOL! Build some small one or two room cabins with a community kitchen and bathroom/washroom area like at a campground.

But maybe I'll move to the mountains and teach snowboarding to the rich people's kids. They'll still be plenty of 'em. In the summer, I can play bongos on the beach and sell paintings to tourists for weed and beer money.

.

Even in the late eighties when I was trying, it seemed to be nothing but struggle. I'm sure it is even worse now.

Artists are the conscience of the earth, and I can only tell you I respect the hell out of you.

I'm proud to say I only worked in a corporate office for 4 1/2 years of my entire 30+ year career! I've been self-unemployed the rest of the time!

.

I've spent over forty years of my life perfecting my trade.

who all have names so they are safe. The eggs are wonderful. They are easy to keep and a source of constant amusement. I hope you get your chickens.

And then I hung out with them. Goat milk is about the only dairy I can digest without an upset tummy, I hear goat meat is really tasty (I cool a fair amount of Mexican food and would like to try it carnitas style) and they don't require as much land as a larger livestock animal.

Also, on a less utilitarian note, most goats I've met remind me of my cat. Mellow and prone to butting their head into you or anything else nearby...

PB

carpentry, electrical, plumbing, tiling, welding, etc...i can do all of them just fine, thank-you.

we have a few acres to garden on, and we're investing in/converting to a full-power solar system, as well as a geothermal heat system. we're working to be as green and self-sufficient as possible, so that when the collapse happens we can hit the ground running.

and yes, GUNS are part of the package and the plan. a fairly big part.

Near master Carpenter.

Near-Journeyman Electrician.

Some plumbing. Plumbing's easy anyhow. 'Cept for the shit.

Avid organic Farmer/Gardener.

Avid hunter/proficient in firearms.

I have means and ways to hookup central woodburning/water heating (as is my own house).

I also have means and ways to home-manufacture wind turbines (as is my own house).

Anyone who wants the details/plans of how to manufacture/produce a working, efficient wind turbine/wind farm for their rural area can PM me.

That includes hanging drywall, tile work, hardwood floor installation and repair, filing, typing, upholstery, teaching and cooking for restricted diets. I can also weave pine needle baskets, translate Middle English and Spanish, and sex kittens.

lol

I'm not diversifying my skills. They've diversified me.

Now where did I put my copy of the Venerable Bede?

pipefitting, commercial roofing, welding, operating boom trucks, cranes & heavy duty, all terrain high reach forklifts (LULL), tile work, stone work, etc, etc.. I could barter work for food or other things. I can also grow vegetables.

I live on 12.5 acres, mostly wooded, and have deer, turkey, rabbits, squirrels, dove & quail all over the place. I don't hunt them now, but would if need be. I could get a few cows, hogs & chickens very easily. In the summer, I have blackberries growing all over the place around my property. I also have my own well, so I don't worry much about water. If there was no electricity, I could always put a hand pump on the well. I've got plenty of "blowdowns" and other dead wood available for firewood. I can cook ANYTHING on an open fire or a grill.

I think I'll be alright.... as long as that Nuclear Plant 10 miles from my house doesn't blow up...

Plenty of ammo,
A band of loyal allies (also well armed),
And probably a reliable means of transportation.

Then I would go out, rob rich d-bags, and spread the wealth to the people.

not to mention that you'll also have to fight with other bands of armed allies with the same goals- although a lot of them will have not have the altruistic intentions of sharing the wealth.

And I'm not above being a manwhore for rich older women.

arthy... ack they're stuck. Nice.

I figure I'll travel from town to town, bringing them the gift of fire (for a small fee) so they can cook their food, keep themselves warm, heat their water, cauterize wounds, temper their steel, and burn down the village just down the road so they can steal all the livestock.

In other words, I'm screwn.

My job at the hospital will be there as long as there's a hospital. When it's gone I'm prolly gonna rob hikers on the AT trail.

to enter the the L.V.N. program. Whether I stay at an L.V.N. level or go on to the R.N. program I figure nursing is pretty much depression-proof/recession-proof and age discrimination-proof.

what the pre-req topics are?

but I'm doing this one through the local adult school (tuition free!). The pre-reqs are: Medical Math, Medical Terminology, Anatomy and Physiology and CNA Certification. They tell me the entire program will cost me a whole $1500.00 -- including books and lab fees. Between the LVN classes & the pre-reqs, it takes about two years.

nt

and that includes suburbs--

should have already been planting edible landscaping. Plums, peaches (they have them for northern climes too) blueberries, raspberries, strawberries all thrive and provide food that's as close as your yard. Pawpaws are native to much of the midwest. If you have more produce than you need, donate the overflow to a local food bank. Nasturiums are annuals, but also a good source for salads --the flowers taste like cukes. Some ppl consider dandelions a standard salad ingredient.

if you live in a suburb, or anywhere else, STOP PUTTING POISONS IN YOUR SOIL. And maybe have a meeting with your neighbors about settling for grass with some weeds because of the dangers to ground water. (don't need to bring up survival fears.)

Everyone has horse stables somewhat nearby. You can get the best manure and let it "cure" in black plastic bags if you go and shovel it yourself. Again, this is about organic growing, not survival, tho the two relate, don't they? Why buy manure when it's available for free? Healthy plants are also able to fight against predators better. Compost your appropriate food scraps, grass cuttings, leaves.

Plant shrub rose species that create rose hips, (those little pods) instead of the hybrid just for show kind. Rose hips are a great source of nutrients and make a good tea. Willow is the source of aspirin and it is also very easy to grow. People grow willow gazebos for their gardens by weaving branches together. Willow water (you make it yourself-- leaves and water in the sun-- is also a good source to encourage rooting of seedlings.

Perennial herbs are great for landscaping and for cooking. they have various benefits (i.e. St. John's Wort or Rue or Peppermint..mints are invasive, btw - so are raspberries.

Save rainwater runoff from your gutters with rainbarrels. You can put some charcoal filtering if need be and use that water for plants. Do container/sq ft gardening so that you only use the water where it's actually needed.

Install solar panels with solar cell batteries if your area gets enough light. Have house fans that run off of these. Have a house fan in your attic that pulls out hot air in the summer. If you are building, site your house for maximum benefit of solar power and plant evergreens on the north side to block wind in winter. Plant shade trees on the other sides to block sun from windows in the summer but allow winter sun. Use concrete for floors and install geothermal heating coils under that. If you build your house with one side under soil you will help your house maintain a comfortable temp year round. Check out some of the new building going on. Online sites have some great examples. Concrete floors, for instance, that look like expensive tile.

None of these things are really "survival" things. They're about living in coexistence with the land where you reside. They are beneficial for you and others. It saves you money. (well, the solar thing takes some time, but oil and gas prices don't seem like they're going to be falling anytime soon...)
Learn to live in your house by using as little energy as possible- thermostats that mean you wear socks and sweaters inside in the winter. Why should people have houses so hot in the winter that people walk around barefooted?

I found canning equipment at a garage sale, and want to start canning my own produce. This is how many americans lived for a long time. it worked for them then and it can work now.

Do you know your neighbors? It really helps to have friends, whether something bad is on the way or not.

...and when the guy and his posse, above, come calling, you'll have plenty to share.

Robin Hood-like. I've always wanted to re-distribute wealth.

We have 19 fruit trees-cherry, apple, fig, peach plus we have marion berries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes and wild blackberries. We are planning on putting in new veggie beds in the spring & should have a good crop as in previous years. I'd like to get some chickens, though I'm not sure if we are zoned for them.

I sew, hook rugs, and have done upholstery work and furniture repair. Dh has carpentry skills, electrical & plumbing knowledge and can easily fix wiring & plumbing problems. I think we should be able to barter some of our skills....that is I hope we can.

when the end of the world comes" and it's been so long. Last time I played was in 1970 or so and my answer was "stock up on acid and go to the woods." Since I am much older and more mature and far more prepared, my current answer is "stock up on vodka and go to the woods."

I can also make beer/wine and distill.

Clearly distillation will be the most valuable skill in the end times.

What's difficult is getting the result to be palatable. It can take years in oak barrels.

as long as it gets you blind stinking drunk.

who is not averse to eating acorns in a pinch.

My mom owns a house with good soil, so I'd go to her house and grow veggies in the yard, maybe get some chickens too. She lives near the river, so water wouldn't be a problem. Of course the dam would probably fail and kill us all, but snakes on a plane, ya know?

Worst case scenario: if you're female you're ALWAYS got something to offer.

Kicking, recommending & responding so I can come back & read in depth later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steady_state_ (macroeconomics)

Actually, steady state was on the mind of Mill prior to Solow's Nobel Prize. Also see Kenneth Boulding, Herman Daly, and many more. The non-Austrial schools of economics, guys like Leon Walras, were also heading in this direction.

John Stewart Mill and Ecological Economics
http://books.google.com/books?id=W8IrfPJLihEC&pg=PA32&l...

Steadystate.org
http://www.steadystate.org/Links.html

skills. I can build furniture using hand tools, cut hair, lay tile and wood flooring, repair plumbing, cook, garden, sew, make rugs, replace windows, quilt...and so on. (Jack of all trades.)

My biggest fear of a societal breakdown is how to get insulin and supplies for my child with diabetes.

Fish proteins and some veggies you can trade for your fish is all you need.

also know all the wild and edible and medical plants, how to harvest, use and store them.

have my horses, a cow, chickens ...moved from NYC 20 years ago and started to work my way off the grid

learned many other skill too

because we've always been interested in off-the-grid living and survival skills. We grow and preserve most of our own veggies already, have a flock of hens for eggs and my husband is a hunter. He's also very skilled at woodworking and construction. It's hard to tell what skills might be needed, though, if economic chaos comes into play.

...excellent (especially being able to preserve stuff for the winter) and good for bartering for what you can't make yourself.

PB

i wanna enjoy my work.

...finding the right clientèle could be difficult.

PB