Do you 'network' with other Preppers?

**Kacidee** · 12-03-2010, 08:20 PM

Hello, everyone!

Do you 'network' with other local Preppers? Friends, family, neighbors? If so... Do you seek/have you sought them out? Or do you/have you just happened upon them?

Seems like such a good idea to know who the like-minded folks are.. so ya get that whole 'helpin' each other out' thing going... but then again, I know many folks prefer to 'go it alone'.

Was just wondering what your experiences are with this. I know I'd like to know who's close and also prepared, and yet NO ONE I know even gives this stuff another thought. Including my family, but they are hours away, anyway.

Would love to hear experiences and thoughts on this!

Thanks so much, and have a great night

Kaci

**Darlene** · 12-04-2010, 08:12 AM

No networking per say. We are just neighbors taking care of our own and helping each other out when needed. Hubby and I like being as self sufficient as possible working hard to do what's "right" and preparing for just in case. Our neighbor is now a widow and for the most part she stands on her own & is prepared for many things but we look in on her to make sure. I'm all for helping people who try their best to take care and do the right thing but people who just rely on others to do it all for them just rub me the wrong way.
Tried to pass our hard work ethic onto our kids and hope the cyle continues.

So far so good!

**jas** · 12-04-2010, 09:44 AM

No networking here. Don't know anyone in RL who thinks like I do and is in any way prepared. I have a stockpile, but nothing like it should be.

**ladytoysdream** · 12-04-2010, 11:31 AM

Not sure what to call it around here.
Normal type conversation, I think

The family knows we have chickens. And that we garden and freeze a lot of food. And they know I can do a lot of canning when I put my mind to it. Hubby and the sons hunt.

This morning, I was talking to the cousin and asking her about beef heart and liver that I want to can for the dogs. I know she just butchered a beef animal. So she will save the heart/liver for us. And she wanted to work out something with us for some whole corn for our chickens. They just got done harvesting their corn.
She not to long ago, gave us some pototoes. Well it turned out to be a barter because she wanted one of my knitted hats. She likes my newer design.

I was talking to a meat slaughter house this morning, and I mentioned a few things I do when I talked to the guy on the phone about prices, etc. So sometime soon, I will be getting beef heart at .79 pound, and beef liver at .49 pound. We want a little for us, and I can get a better deal for the dogs if I ask for the economy liver and take a quanity.

**brook** · 12-05-2010, 01:42 AM

Originally Posted by Kacidee

Do you 'network' with other local Preppers? Friends, family, neighbors? If so... Do you seek/have you sought them out? Or do you/have you just happened upon them?

NO! absolutely not! let's say things get really bad.. chaos is all around. I had mentioned months or years before to family, friends, neighbors about prepping.... they *shrugged* .. the day has come they ran out of food... guess where they are coming?

I can't store food for everyone! I don't have the money or the space. How am I to support everyone I talked to? and my own family too?

I stay to myself, talk to no one, except in survival type topics because I can stay fairly anonymous.

Originally Posted by Kacidee

Seems like such a good idea to know who the like-minded folks are.. so ya get that whole 'helpin' each other out' thing going... but then again, I know many folks prefer to 'go it alone'.

As I mentioned above, you try to get others to stock up and their response is "why, I will just come to your house"

If things get really bad, you will know who the like-minded folks are! they are the ones not begging!

I don't think anyone can go it alone, but ya can't support everyone! If you think you can hand someone a can of food and send them on their way... honestly.. they now know you are there and have food. You will have to make a decision... bring them in and keep feeding them or feed them to the dogs. *shrug*

Originally Posted by Kacidee

Was just wondering what your experiences are with this. I know I'd like to know who's close and also prepared, and yet NO ONE I know even gives this stuff another thought. Including my family, but they are hours away, anyway.

If you are affiliated with a church, talk to the Pastor or Priest, Rabi or ? , pull up passages in the bible to support your beliefs.. ask him if he is interested. Perhaps a way to start is to ask all the members of the church to bring in food to store. Start using the older canned foods with a church dinner.. charge and the money will buy more food, or maybe donate the food to those in need. Have a soup kitchen once a week or month.

Find out where you local C.E.R.T. program is, get involved that way, you will meet others of like mind.

Be careful sharing what you have with anyone. Word gets out and it could put your family at risk should something happen to life as we know it.

After a life change, I will then decide who I bring into my world and share with.

brook

**KeithBC** · 12-06-2010, 12:40 PM

Most people here are reasonably well prepared for emergencies. You have to be to live here. All it would take is for a docking accident to put the ferry dock out of service for a month and everyone would be forced to be self-sufficient. People know that and prepare accordingly.

What that means is that a degree of preparedness is normal here. It is neither something to boast about nor something to hide. Friends often compare notes on how they cope with different emergencies. Is that "networking" or is it just normal conversation? Heck, when the power is out, it is the only topic of conversation.

It also means that neighbours will help each other in time of need. Back in 2006 when we had the big wind storm that knocked out power for over a week, people with portable generators were driving them around on trucks to run other people's freezers for an hour each day. Being prepared and helping those who can't afford to be is just how we live.

Maybe we aren't real "preppers". We are just prudent rural folk, getting by as a community, as prudent rural folk have done for centuries.

**TheresaRHPS** · 12-07-2010, 12:33 AM

I also wouldn't exactly label it as networking with other "preppers," but rather, good community relations. My neighbors hunt and fish and have a garden. Another set of neighbors include family members that are in the medical field and in the construction/electrical/plumbing field.

Luckily, we all sort of look after one another. I believe we all have separate areas of expertise, and separate stockpile "specialities" that we can continue to help each other out, and barter for goods and services if need be.