I’m not a prepper, and I’m not an expert on prepping—and I’m not sure I want to be, for reasons you’ll gather as we go. Prepping is a fascinating, if sometimes dark, subject, and I’ve gone deep enough to share the broad outlines. Prepping, like resiliency, is about retaining functionality (and maybe comfort) for 1–3 months through mild-to-medium disasters. Those disruptions might include loss of power, fuel, food supply chains, internet, and transportation. But prepping also

The Great Depression followed the Roaring Twenties, a time, like now, when Americans believed the party would go on forever. During the Great Depression a lot of people did not have enough to eat. That situation was somewhat resolved by World War II. But food remained in limited supply, especially for the troops, so the government started the Victory Gardens program. The program was very successful. By 1944, there were over 20 million Victory Gardens producing about 40% of t

The Inner Side of Resilience Whenever I get the chance to share something that matters to me, I often begin with the “spiritual” dimension. It’s not always appreciated, but to me we are nothing more than consciousness, expressed uniquely through each of us. We may appear to do this or that, but there is never really anything happening other than this consciousness. When one understands this, consciousness itself becomes the focus of attention. When I study “my own,” I see tha

Before diving into my prescription for food preparedness, I have a few caveats. Like 99% of Americans, I do not grow food for a living. I make my living as a contractor/laborer and my life partner is an online teacher. These vocations supply the money we need to be resilient in the information-technology world we live in. While we have time to garden, for fun and for fresh summer produce, we prefer to concentrate on higher value activities like renovating the house or exercis