An idea I had . . . any suggestions?

[mom of 3 angels]

I was visiting with another mom this morning and discussing the election results, etc. She's very concerned and not feeling at all prepared for any trouble that might be coming (doesn't know how to make bread, has very little emergency food stores, etc.). So I suggested we get together every other week or monthly or whatever she wants while the kids are at school and practice or learn some skill that will help us better provide for our families. I'm inviting a couple of other moms to join us. Should be fun. I told her to make a list of the things she wanted to learn and we'd start with those. We'll see what she comes up with. Any suggestions on what to practice? She's really a novice, I'm not so much. I'll keep you posted on how things progress . . . the more I share preparedness now the fewer people who will be sending their kids knocking at my door in the event we ever need to use our skills . . .

[HK4U]

Cooking from scratch, canning and food storage, first aid and of course self defence would be somethings that come to mind. Keep us posted on how it goes.

[Red Hat]

Get some fresh fish and live chickens. Learn to kill and clean them then cook them. A grocery store may not have anything so you have to do it yourself.

[squisher]

Originally Posted by Red Hat

Get some fresh fish and live chickens. Learn to kill and clean them then cook them. A grocery store may not have anything so you have to do it yourself.

Good plan, but you may have to work your way up to that kind of thing. Some of the more "urban" moms may balk at that kind of thing (My wife doesn't even care for the fish at the grocery that's not pre-fileted because she'd rather not know what it looks like before she eats it).

If you're going to go that route, fish is a good start. Maybe progress your way up to whole frozen chicken before you go for a live bird. It will depend on the comfort level of your "student" however.

I grew up on a farm, so none of that's an issue for me :)

[boris]

first aid and self defense. give or make a list of food for her to store. if you are able to shop with her that can be better. maybe even sewing.

[mom of 3 angels]

These are some great suggestions--thanks guys!

Yep, she's not quite ready for the "turn a live animal into tonight's dinner" lesson yet. We'll have to work up to that. She once came over while I was cutting up a deer hind quarter on my counter and the look on her face was priceless! She prefers her meat looking like a steak or hamburger, not still in the shape of an animal. Too funny. Fish would probably not be too difficult for her to stomach. We'll see.

I've got a couple other ladies interested also who are not so novice--we're starting Monday with bread.

[boris]

i might also would give her things she can study and take notes ,especially some of the mormon websites. i have strong theological disagreements with them, but boy do they have the preparedness thing down. and do some wilderness camping with her.

[toreskha]

In a lot of SE Asian countries, they just cook the whole fish, head on, and then eat off of it using chopsticks, working around the bones. It might be best to practice doing it that way, which is the most realistic if you're in a survival situation and don't have the time or tools for much processing. After you do that, everything else is easy.

Come to think of it, you might want to get proficient in using chopsticks while you're at it. Forks and knives aren't always easy to come by, but you can easily make good quality chopsticks out of a simple piece of wood.

one thing to keep in mind is preparing mentally....we have become very comfortable with our abundance in this country, try to empahsize the likely hood that it will become necessary to make do with less; dont waste anything!!! leftovers from meals, if not for yourselves can be used to feed the dog, the chickens etc.
you'd be surprised how much you can do without when you put your mind to it and have to.......fasting is a great example, besides being Biblical, it is actually very healthy. try to make sure the foods you are storing are focused foods, whole foods with out chemical precervatives and not laden with artificial flavorings etc. Vitamins that are food based and not synthetics. Foods that will build your immune system, heavy in Omega 3. there is a wholefoods supplement base called Omega3Basic that you mix with juice, water or whatever that is a great example of this idea.

[Husky Girl]

You might also look into various community courses for preparedness advice. I coordinate a program called CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) that teaches disaster preparedness, first aid, search and rescue, and fire supression. You can find more info at: Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

Most communities have something like this program, even if it's under a different name. They are usually run through city or county government under the police or fire deparments. You can also check with your local emergency management agency. There is a ton of information out there and many of the govenrment agencies have info/brochures/classes and sometimes even supplies for free or very low cost.