What’s something you believe everyone should know.

Combined skills is what makes a society function.

When I say skills, I mean it in the broadest sense of the word. It can be a communication skill, a skill on how to work out and execute plans, skills that involve working with your hands such as woodworking, or mechanics, or even survival skills.

While most of us have some basic instincts to survive; we know we need food, water, shelter, dress for the heat or for the cold. When I say survival skills, I mean:”How can you provide for your own needs when you do not have power, and are left to fend for yourself, to try to survive?”

I have been educating myself on how I can personally become as self sustaining and independent from the power grid, from grocery stores, and even from pharmacies. I have studied and continue to study what resources are available around me. There are so many things we can use in nature to continue taking care of ourselves!

Some examples… lye to make soap comes from wood ashes, chestnuts can be used to make laundry detergent, many herbs can be dried, you can make extracts and tinctures, and you can extract their oils. Some herbs like broad leaf plantain can be chewed up, then spit out and put on a sting or a bite as a poultice. Oh, and then do not forget the different plants that you can eat as a food. What leaves would you use as toilet paper? Which herbs would you use to extract a splinter? How would you trellis your beans or vines with natural products? What would you use to make fire?

When you start thinking about survival, there is so much to learn and there are so many areas! Now, with that said, having only a few skills, or having your own skill set of a few combined skills make you a valuable resource both to yourself, your family and everyone around you. Trade schools are examples of an undervalued and looked down upon kind of education, though do not mistaken on the importance that skilled trades have within our society. Without them, you would not have a roof over your head, your car could not be fixed, and you would not have plumbing. Today, the only community who could live off the grid without much effort are the Amish.

Why am I telling you this? our society has become a service oriented society. We depend on commerce and companies to provide for us. The Amazons of the world provide all of our goods to us and your grocery stores, which were convenience stores originally, were blown up to offer a much wider variety of products which has eliminated and replaced most mom and pop shops such as butchers, bakeries, produce stores, and cheese shops. Most of these products are mass produced, prepackaged and thus the local knowledge has gotten lost. Think of how valuable it is when you know how to butcher your own meat, how to make your own cheese, and bake your own bread? What if you did any and all of these without electricity?

Some of my skills are cooking, nursing, herbalism, gardening and growing food, organizing, and create items with natural products, such as soaps. I know how to cook over a fire too. I can do plumbing, and some carpentry, I can fix drywall, I can paint, and I can sew as well.

At the end, it does not matter what your skills are, as long as you have something that you can do and master, you are valuable. What is even more important is that you both master your own skills and that you pass these skills onto younger generations.

What are your skills? Who can you teach your skill to so that your knowledge can continue to help you and others?

Share in the comments!