Monday, November 26, 2012

Honey for Food and Medicine

Honey. Top Pick for storage. Every prepper should have some. I would have several gallons.

 Honey has been used as a food and a medicine for thousands of years.

First  as a food. It is a natural sweetener. It is significantly sweeter than sugar. Cooking with honey takes a little practice. Its strong flavor will change how things taste and may take a little getting use to.  It can be used in bread making, baking,  drinks and sauces. I like it on bread with peanut butter.

Honey is a natural antibiotic in the care of a wound.  If the wound is gaping open, will not stop bleeding, or is serious in any way go immediately to an Emergency Room. This post is not meant to take the place of emergency medicine. This post is for use only when there is no longer a medical system in place to use. 

For a small cut wash the cut, then you can apply a small amount of honey to a band-aid and place it over the wound Use about the same amount of honey as you would an antibiotic cream.

For larger wounds.
First wash your hands with soap and water.
Clean the wound with soap and pure water to clear as much bacteria out of it as you can.
Then pour honey into the wound till it is covered.
Next cover it with a clean and sterile dressing.
Be sure the dressing is secured in a way that helps the wound to stay closed.
Do not put the dressing on so tight that it cuts off circulation.
The honey will help protect the wound from bacteria.
You should change the dressing 1 or 2 times a day and if it becomes soiled. Each time rinsing out the old honey and replacing with new until the would is healed.
Never use diluted honey it should be full strength. Some research suggests that unpasteurised honey or honey made from certain plants will work better. It may. However, use what you have and even pasteurised honey from a big box store will work to kill the germs. You can also use sugar in the same way. It will work just about as well.

The down side of honey is the smell will attract bees, flies, hornets and other insects. If you use honey on a wound stay where the bugs can not come looking for a snack.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Starting a prepper group

You may be wondering how to get together a group of preppers. You want to start with family then friends, then people you know who have something in common with you.

If you are concerned about a national or world wide catastrophe you need to choose your group carefully. Your group needs to be made up of people you can trust.

Start you prepper group by listing the people in your family who are the contributors. The ones who are there for you and will stand with you in times of need. You should also list all the children under 14 years of age.

Now look at their skill base in the event of a loss of electrical and gas power for the long term. Who has skills that will support survival.

Having some kind of weapons training is one of the most needed skills. In a small group everyone should be able to defend themselves.

Do they have skills in first aid, herbal medicine, growing food, keeping animals, making weapons? primitive cooking?  The more skills they have the better they will contribute to your group.

Having modern skills is good but, if the modern parts of the skill are not available there is no skill. For example, Many groups want an ER doctor or nurse. They are valuable. However without modern medicines, X-rays, IV fluids, blood tests and scans they may have no value at all. They would also need to be able to do their job in a primitive setting. If they have also trained in traditional, herbal medicine or first aid they may have more value.

This is where you can have some very difficult decisions. Every family has members some where in the in laws, outlaws, cousins, children, siblings even spouses who do not contribute. They are for some reason unwilling to do their share and expect to be feed, clothed and pampered by the rest of the family. Can you lock them out? If things are bad will you be willing to continue to carry them?  If you are going to let them in you will need additional supplies for them to use and you will need to make it part of the over all plan. If you lock them out can you live with yourself and the rest of the group. Best to make your plan early so they will not expect to be let in if you have decided to not include them. Be sure your group agrees with the plan and can support the very difficult decisions.

Now look to your friends. Who is on board with being a prepper? Who has skills and is willing to use them for the good of the group? Also consider who has children your children could marry if there is a long term break down of society.

A group of people you may be able to trust are people from your church. Do any of them have concerns for the future, are any of them already doing things to be ready in the event of an emergency. Invite them to be part of your group if they will be a good fit for your group.

Look for people with as many similarities as possible. family, religion, race, education levels. This is not a time to try to include everyone and have diversity. You need a group who have shared goals, beliefs and ideas. The person you do not want to be in the group is the one who is different. Different is not good if there is trouble. You do not want to be the first one asked to leave if things get tight, or worse the first one eaten if your group turns zombie.