Archive for the ‘Survival; Primitive Living’ Category

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Lessons of the Loess Plateau (video)

Tuesday, June 7th, 2016
Loess landscape prior to restoration

Loess landscape prior to restoration

By Catherine Haug, June 7, 2016 (Image, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

On this primary voting day for Montanans, we need to elect leaders who will guide and help us create a sustainable future. To this end, we can learn from others, important ideas and techniques.

Many are in denial that our current way of living and treating the planet is not sustainable, and delays progress. But there are others who have taken a leadership role in this primal work of restoring lands and water systems ruined by the hands of man.

One such important project comes from China’s Loess Plateau at the headwaters of the great Yellow River. Watch and be inspired by this  documentary on YouTube. Short (10 minute) and long (52 minute) versions follow. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Community, Ecology, Survival; Primitive Living | No Comments »

Gathering Summary: Survival Skills: Water in the Wild and at Home, by Doug and Chelsey Luehr, May 15, 2013

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

by Catherine Haug, May 23, 2013

This is just a short synopsis; you can find more detail in the complete, printable pdf file: [a link will be added here when available]. See also presentation handouts:

This presentation was in two parts:

  1. Doug Luehr on water gathering and purification methods when in the wild or away from home; and
  2. Chelsey Luehr on how to live without running water, specifically hygiene and waste management at home.

See also their business website SurvivorGeek.com.

Posted in Compost, Emergency Preparedness, Gathering Summaries, Home & Ranch, Survival; Primitive Living | Comments Closed

Long Term Storage of Foods

Thursday, December 13th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, December 10, 2012

We are hoping to have a presentation on long-term storage of foods in 2013. This is a great and pertinent topic to our mission.

I stumbled upon an informative site: Preparedness Advice Blog. It has lots of pertinent articles on “emergency preparedness, ‘prepping,’ and long term food storage.” For example, The Long-Term Bug-Free Storage of Dry Grains. It has advice on natural things to add to your grains to keep bugs away, ideal low-moisture level for grain storage, and best type of containers for grain storage.

If you encounter any great info on Food Storage, please send it my way so I can share with our readers as a “Kitchen Hint.”

Beware: While there is lots of food-storage information available on the internet, some of it is mis-information.

Posted in Emergency Preparedness, Fermentation, Culturing & Curing, Home & Ranch, Survival; Primitive Living | Comments Closed

Cold storage of foods: a review

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

by Catherine Haug, July 21, 2012

It’s that time of year again when we start thinking about preserving summer’s bounty. What can you keep in a root cellar?

  • Many fresh foods can be kept through at least part of the winter in a root cellar; these include root veggies, fall cabbages, and apples. (I still have some honey crisp apples from last fall; they are getting a bit soft but still sweet and delicious).
  • Home-canned foods can be stored there;
  • Cured meats, such as from a fall hunt, can be cured and stored in a warmer part of a root cellar.
  • Eggs that have been brushed (of bird poop) and rinsed but not washed. See ‘Egg Note’ below.

I’ve written on this topic before, but I just came across a couple links on other sites that might be of interest to you:

Read on for links to articles and printable pdf files on these topics. (more…)

Posted in Fermentation, Culturing & Curing, Food-Nutrition-Health, Home & Ranch, Survival; Primitive Living | Comments Closed

Back Porch View Magazine, Spring 2012 Issue

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

by Catherine Haug, March 2, 2012

The new quarterly issue of the local Back Porch View Magazine just came out, and is worth a look. And not just because I have a story published in it (The Great Cribbage Tournament of 1958, pages 6-7). There are several articles on sustainability topics, and it has a great local community feel. You can find free copies at various businesses in Bigfork, Somers, Lakeside Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Libby. Or you can subscribe (see their website).

Here are some articles in the Spring 2012 issue, pertinent to ESP’s mission: (more…)

Posted in Community, Energy, Home & Ranch, Recycle, Repurpose, Shop Local, Simplify, Survival; Primitive Living | Comments Closed

Garment Creation: the Sloper & Block

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

by Catherine Haug, February 12, 2012 (All diagrams and sketches by C. Haug, unless otherwise noted).

Today, we can just go to a fabric store or online to purchase a pattern for the garment. But what if this was no longer a possibility? Or what if you wanted to make something for which there was no pattern? Or what if commercial patterns just don’t fit your body (this is my problem…)?

This is the second article in a series. See also:

This discussion includes:

  • Supplies
  • Drafting or draping a sloper
  • Drafting a block form a sloper or other blocks
  • Grading (to change the size of a pattern up or down)

 

(more…)

Posted in Sewing & Fiber Arts, Survival; Primitive Living | 3 Comments »

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