If you are lucky enough to live on a homestead, there’s no doubt you’ve probably learned some very impressive skills. Homestead life can be tough, it can be challenging, but it can also be highly rewarding, especially when the skills that you’ve learned can be put to good use elsewhere.
It’s interesting to note that there are a lot of homestead skills that can be transferred over to survival skills. This means that if you fancy becoming a bit of a prepper, you should already have a lot of skills and knowledge that will help you to get through a survival situation.
Some of the skills that transfer over can be found below:
The Homestead Itself
What better place to start than your little haven? A homestead is THE IDEAL for most survivalist and preppers who aspire to be on their own in the event a disaster should happen.
Think about it – you’re much more self-reliant, you have skills most city-dwellers can only dream of possessing.
And, when things turn sour, where would you prefer to be? On your homestead or stuck in the city with millions of others trying to get out? I know which one I’d prefer – which is why the simple act of running a homestead puts you at a great advantage.
Not only is it a great way to live but, should disaster strike, you are much more prepared to wait out the storm than most folk.
Water Storage and Rain Catchment Systems
We are all aware of how important it is to store water, so that our crops and our animals have enough even during the driest months. And, it is an essential skill to have considering the long term droughts that seem to be affecting so many parts of the country. This is one of the hugely important homestead skills that can easily be transferred over to survival skills.
If you are used to storing as much water as you can, chances are you’ll find it very easy to store water in the event of a survival situation. You may need to purchase the water, rather than simply storing rainwater that falls for simplicity of storage. That’s not always a bad thing, as it means you’ll have enough to go around, should you need it.
Alternatively, you may want to think about storing some of the rain water, or even water from the city water supply. The trouble is that using these sources will not always guarantee you have clean water, particularly if the city water supply has been contaminated, or it’s somewhat questionable.
Storing as much water as you can, could ultimately save your life, so why not think about buying an extra water tank, and filling it up? You should also think about purifying or distilling the water too, as it’s unlikely to be drinkable if you’ve stored it for a long time.
Canning food
When it’s time to bring in the harvest and can food for the winter, you know you have a lot of work on your hands. The process of canning food ensures that it does not go bad and rot. Previous generations canned as a way of life before the time of mass produced foods and the industrial food complex.
If you’ve been reading Summer Acres for a little while then you have probably canned before. For a quick refresher, check out the epic tutorial on canning green beans with a pressure canner.
You can usually get a starter set and canning equipment plus jars for under $40 so the barrier to entry is very low.
The process of canning food means that you and your family have enough to eat through-out the winter months. Canning food will also mean that you potentially have enough to eat in a survival situation. You will be able to can a wide variety of foods such as fruit, vegetables, soup, and meat.
When you have a canning session, why not add a few cans of food to your survival food pantry? This way you’ll have food to spare should you find yourself in an emergency situation, and the food will be made just how you like it too.
Paracord
If you have never used paracord, then where have you been? Paracord is an amazing survival tool that is being used in homesteads all around the world. With approximately 550 pounds of strength per 100 feet, this type of cord is incredibly useful in a wide range of circumstances.
Paracord (also known as ‘Parachute cord) has been used by the military for many years. Paracord is strong enough to withstand the weight of a human body, while ensuring it remains attached to an airborne parachute. This just goes to show you how strong this material is.
Paracord has a lot of uses in the homestead that can easily transfer over to survival skills. It can be used as boot laces, a fishing line, a dog leash, and even used as a lanyard to hold your keys and other belongings.
If you are using paracord on your homestead, then you’ll find that it is particularly useful for all kinds of things, and the same goes for survival situations too.
Knives and Firearms
If you frequently use knives to help you skin rabbits, and firearms to help you hunt and kill other animals for the plate, then these skills could potentially be lifesaving in a survival situation.
Knowing how to use a knife and a firearm could help you to ward off attack from animals and other people, but it will also ensure you can catch, skin, and gut animals should you need to hunt in order to survive.
If you’re not sure how to use knives or firearms for this purpose, it’s well worth the effort finding out how. You can even explore getting a Concealed Carry Permit – check your local laws.
Animal Husbandry
Dealing with animals on the homestead doesn’t only benefit you today, but it can mean the difference between your family just surviving or thriving in a survival situation. Depending on the severity of the scenario you face, being able to look after animals such as chickens, goats, cows, and even horses can make life so much easier when the chips are down and food is scarce.
You can source eggs and meat from chickens, while goats can provide a great source of protein and calories from their milk, which can be drank or turned into cheese. There are other smaller animals too, which are becoming more popular on the homestead, such as quail, ducks and rabbits. All of which are super easy to look after and they don’t take up much space on your land, perfect if you’re running a small homestead or are short on space and time.
The horses can provide a means of travel should a fuel shortage occur, which if you listen to the media and their ‘fossil fuel doom-mongering’ we’re quickly running out anyway!
Wrapping It Up
Homestead skills can easily be applied to and transferred over to survival situations. If you’ve lived on a homestead for a while, chances are you’ll have more survival skills than you realized.
Why not make training for survival situations a part of your life? You never know when those skills may come in handy.
