In modern times people are becoming more dependent on artificial things. Every basic stuff that we should know how to get is being provided by companies. This is the reason why most of us don’t even know the basic skills for survival.
So for this article, I’ll give you a list of old survival skills that are necessary for surviving when shit happens.
1. Gardening
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In the older days majority of the US, the population lives in rural areas and does farming for their living. But today, almost half of the total population lives in urban areas and this is expected to grow.
In fast pasted living conditions of cities, people have stopped practicing any kinds of gardening activities. Because they can easily find food in the supermarket without working in the field.
However, gardening Ais a skill that can provide you a substantial amount of food. This will save you some money and provide you a healthy lifestyle.
But for that, you have to learn things such as
1. Soil conditions
2. Crop rotation patterns
3. Pruning
4. Composting
5. Sun exposure charting
6. Seed germination
7. Planter building
8. Pest control
9. Tool care and maintenance
2. Raising Animals
Raising animals is a good practice if you want to learn how to be more responsible and follow a daily schedule. Our forefathers have these qualities which enable them to make our country greatest in the world.
When you look after an animal, you learn everything that is necessary to keep it healthy. You will have to learn to diagnose and treat animal diseases if the doctor is not available.
You will also have to good with shelter and fencing to prevent them from running away.
3. Hunting
In the past, as much as hunting was a pastime activity, it also provides food on the table. But today things are very different and one cannot do that easily.
There are a lot of regulations and strict laws that govern hunting. But you should learn in spite of these restrictions because it is the easiest way to have food.
This skill requires a lot of hard work, patient, and learning. You have to be very familiar with animal habits and tracks that then leave behind. You also need a basic understanding of hunting tools and a whole lot of quietness to hunt an animal.
4. Preparing Meals from Scratch
According to a survey, approximately 70% that Americans eat is include processed food. There are many people who do not know how to prepare a meal from scratch.
As much as this is surprising, it is also very sad. This is something that everyone should know in order to have a fresh meal every day.
Therefore, you should learn to cook basic stuff like bread, pasta, rice dish, etc. to feed yourself. Do not deteriorate your health by eating fast food that only gives you calories but no nutrition.
5. Preserving Food
Thanks to our freeze storage we can have seasonal fruits and vegetables year-round. But our ancestor does not have this luxury. Instead, they utilize different techniques to preserve seasonal foods.
They also do this to use surplus food for times of scarcity. You can also learn this skill and save you some money.
To be a master in this skill you have to learn different types of food preservation methods such as
- Lacto-fermentation
- Pickling
- Smoking
- Dry salting
- Curing
- Drying
- Cellaring
6. Sewing
Sewing is not something that is necessary for survival but it is good to know things. In older days people do not even consider a skill but some that women supposed to know it.
But it is so surprising that today people do not know how to mend their clothes without the help of anyone else.
Thus, everyone including men at least knows how to sew their damaged clothes. This is not only economical but also makes you more self-reliant.
7. Natural First Aid
There at least thousands of natural first aid items available around you. But most of us did not have any knowledge about that. Before the modern era, people don’t have easy access to doctors for minor injuries.
They used to treat themselves with things that they have. Knowledge of this skill can be very useful if you are far from civilization. Or if you if just want to save money on minor illness.
8. How to Navigate (without a GPS)
Navigation plays a big part in our day to day life and without it, many of us might not reach our destination in time.
Today almost everyone uses some kind of navigation device whether it is our phone or GPS device. But because of this, people have forgotten how to find their way without these modern devices.
Therefore, you should learn how to navigate without GPS. The easiest way to do this is by learning to read a map.
If you master this skill, you can easily go to unknown destiny without the fear of getting lost. This will increase your chances of survival in an emergency situation and give you a life long skill.
9. Home Maintenance
Home maintenance is probably one of the most valuable things that you can learn. This can save you a ton of money and in some cases can save your life.
And by maintenance, we do not mean to keep your house clean and tidy. But to be able to repair your house if a major disaster strikes.
To learn this skill you have to have a knowledge of basic carpentry skills to replicate broken parts. You should also know how to fix them to avoid further damage.
This will be very useful in a local disaster such as a hurricane which happens quite frequently.
10. How to Reuse Everything
During the time of great depression, people of the family reuse their clothes to avoid spending money on nonessential things. But today people are ready to discard their belonging even if are unable.
This not only creates a burden on our resources but also make less resourceful. Thus, you should learn how to reuse everything and make new things out of it.