When I first signed up with the site and introduced myself, I mentioned how I've evolved as I've gotten deeper in the prepping lifestyle. I also mentioned my current, ultimate goal is to establish a working homestead and cooperative economy within a small community, which is what I'm posting on today. I'll only be divulging limited areas of it here, but my master plan to achieve this has 12 areas of concern. For the curious, those 12 areas are: Food; Water; Shelter; Morale/Welfare/Recreation (MWR); Sanitation/Hygiene; Medical; Communication; Navigation; Transportation; Barter; Physical Security; and my Financial Needs.
There are numerous reasons I've chosen to go this route, chief among them being a very base instinct to protect my friend's and family. I struggled for a long time on how I could accommodate all of them should the need ever arise. It does a few other things for me too though. When I'm fully up and running, I'll be working for myself. I'll actually like my boss! Additionally, I'm a strong proponent of charity, though I'm very selective as to where I contribute. To borrow a term, it is one area where I'll "Think globally, act locally".
One of the most obvious areas a homestead can impact is food. As prepper's most of us lay back some level of store's. My personal limit, not yet achieved, is a 2 year supply per person in my household, which currently numbers at 3. If nothing happens before the kid grows up, she'll have something like an expanded hope chest, which will include a 2 year stock of food to ease her into her first years as an independent adult. However, if something does happen. I'll have enough food on hand to feed my household through two winters and a failed growing season.
Looking outward, I'll also have enough on hand to comfortably feed any one or all of my immediate family and friends for 3 months. During a short term situation I could potentially feed upwards of 100 people. That's just on what I'll have stored, and doesn't factor in fresh foods, but all of this brings me to my next level of assistance: My community.
I have several ways beyond storage food that I can impact the community around me . Through charity, and selling to the more fortunate at a price below the local supermarket. In charity, I can give actual food, but also some of the seeds I'll have stocked, so they can produce their own. I can also use it to barter for goods and services which will benefit either myself or others. I can even extend this to products and services provided for in my general store, which I'll be setting up as the hub of my activities. I want to process my livestock myself, so I'll be able to offer that as a service. The processing equipment will otherwise sit dormant a good bit of time. I figured I can even pay someone or work out a barter agreement with them to do the work for me as it comes in. In example:
Frank has a deer, but doesn't know how to process it, and comes to me. I'm busy, so I call Joe, who I know can process the deer and could use some money. All I want is the hide, which I've asked Joe to tan for me in return for floating him some business.
The ultimate goal is to wage a "hearts and minds" campaign, and win it. I want Frank and Joe to develop a habit of coming to me when they need something. I want them to do it because I need for it to happen on a community level. My theory behind this is simple. People are creatures of habit, and if I can cultivate and develop habits before an emergency, the people will fall back on that habit during one. I want to be viewed as a community leader and benefactor. I've seen the effect that can have on a population first hand in my area. Its awe inspiring.
To this end, I plan to provide as wide an array of goods and services as I can, to get as wide a demographic coming to me as possible. Not only will I have various food operations going, I'll also have the general store mentioned above. From there, I could run some greeenhouse operations, do firearm transfers, provide hunting/ fishing gear, etc. I can run a PT locksmith business from there, and give access to a shop building housing equipment and materials for auto, metal, and wood work.
If I build a large enough livestock barn, I could board horses. I already know I'll have a few of those for personal use. Not my choice exactly, but an element in my family want.
Finally, I could host events there and elsewhere, such as a weekend flea market or little festival.
It is a very ambitious plan, and one that will take years of research and development to pull off properly. I'm hoping to have several key elements in place within the next few years, but try to work on something for it every day something shiny doesn't distract me. This is one step in that process, and I'm hoping by posting here I can get some commentary, (constructive) criticisms, and directions to follow. So with that, thanks in advance for your help, thoughts and opinions.
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Good to be here.
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