On May 17 - 19, 2013, a Heritage Life Skills event was held at the Waynesville, NC fairgrounds. This event was sponsored by Carolina Readiness in Waynesville, NC.
You may ask, what is a Life Skills event?
Simply put, it is all of the skills we use to have to survive before convenience took over our lives.
What kind of skills am I referring to?
Slautering and butchering animals to feed your family. This has been replaced by simply going to the grocery store's meat department. If most people saw an animal slattered and butchered, they would probably go hungry. Hunters do not have a problem with this but 99.9% of Americans do not want to think about the meat they buy from a grocery store was a cute little animal. We are one of the few countries that no longer skin and butcher animals for our evening meals.
Gardening skills. Again, this has been replaced by going to the grocery store. We think if we go to a Farmers Market we have accomplished something tremendous. We still do not know where the food comes from or if it is a GMO product. What's GMO? Does the food you eat and you think is so healthy have herbicides and pesticides in the food itself that you cannot wash off? What really causes ADD, ADHD and Cancer?
Map Reading. Today, everyone relies on GSP in their cars and on their smart phones. No one realizes that America is about the only country that uses GPS for personal use. It won't be too long before the military will not even have map reading skills. Our GPS Satellites are antique. Lord help us if they start to fail. Talk about 'Lost in America'.
Tactical Radio. We rely so much on our cell phones for communication we would be lost if one day they no longer worked. If power and communications are lost for whatever reason, this class is about how we keep in touch with what is happening. There is no greater cause for anxiety than to not know what is going on. This class informs people about scanners, ham radios (fixed and portable) and antennas. It also teaches about the level of license you would need based on what you want to accomplish. Your local ham radio club will be more than happy to prepare you for the test to get your license and help with procuring the equipment you want.
Quilt Making. Are you kidding me. How many people outside of the Amish or Mennonites know how to sew.
Solar Power. Everybody simply expects the lights to come on when they flip the switch or the stove to turn on when they turn the knob. What do you do if that doesn't happen? This class is about how to prepare to be 'Off the Grid'.
Water Purification. We all expect to get our fresh (clorinated, floridated, arsenic laced and 300 other chemical additives) clean water when we turn on a faucet. Lucky us. Do you know how to sterilize water if that clean water doesn't come out of your tap? Did you know you can live only about 3 days without clean water.
Canning Food. Do you know how to can food for long term storage? Vegetables? Beef?
Chicken? Pork? Butter? Jelly? Jam?
Dehydrating Food. Do you know how to dehydrate food for long term storage?
Bread Making. Do you know how to make a loaf of bread?
Cast Iron Cookware. Can you bake that loaf of bread over a campfire in a Dutch Oven?
Solar Cooking. Can you build a solar oven to bake that loaf of bread?
Fire Starting. Do you know how to start a fire if you don't have matches or a lighter? If you don't smoke, you probably don't even have a lighter in your car or at home.
Self Defense. Can you take care of yourself if you are assaulted?
Ammunition Reload. If you cannot buy ammunition, do you have the skill or equipment to reload your own ammunition?
Home Defense. Do you know how to protect your home and your family from intruders?
Herbal Tinctures. Do you know how to grow, process, make and administer herbal tinctures? Probably a big not. You probably think there will always be doctors you can run to when you or a family member is sick.
Bath Soap. Do you know how to make your own bath soap, toothpaste, laundry deterent and softener.
Candle Making. Do you know how to make candles.
Wound Care. Do you know how to treat a wound if 911 does not work? It may require more than just handing someone a bandaid.
Sutures. Can you suture a wound if emergency care was not available.
Bow and Arrows. Do you know how to properly use a bow and arrow? Better yet, do you know how to make them?
These and other skills are what Heritage Life Skills are all about. Getting away from our life of convenience and learning how to be self sufficient. If some major event occurred, would you and your family be a survivor or would you become part of the mob trying to take from others to survive? Just how long do you think you and your family could survive?
But, if you are like most people, you suffer from Normalcy Bias. Which is .... it has never happened before so I think the odds of it happening is pretty high. Ask the people from NY and NJ that experienced Hurricane Sandy what they thought before the hurricane. Ask them if they were prepared for such a disaster and if it was difficult to survive. Remember that Sandy occurred in a small isolated area.
What if a disaster occurred for our entire country. Who would save you? Our government would devote all of their time to keeping the local, state and federal governments running and keeping order. Collateral damage for the american populace would be unavoidable and necessary. Everyone cannot be saved. If you do not prepare ahead of time with your skills and food stores, don't expect any of that to happen after the disaster has occurred. You are ultimately responsible for providing for yourself and your family. Your kids, parents and spouse will be looking to you to provide for their well being and safety. With your current level of prepardness, that is probably pretty scary.
A disaster can strike at a moments notice. It is then too late to wish you had stocked up on food supplies or brushed up on your skills to help your family through the crisis. Make the time now to make an action plan and get started.
If you hear of a Heritage Life Skills event taking place near you, make it a point for the whole family to attend. Do research on the internet, buy books, practice your skills and prepare a litttle at a time.
It is much, much better to be prepared and not need it than to need it and not be prepared.
If you think about it, we have only lost these skills is the past 50 years.
