A rustic market in eastern Nepal.
Why is this important? Peter Grant over at Bayou Renaissance Man had a recent post where he provided a reality-check about how long we might expect to survive in the event of civil war.
One social "innovation" that will significantly increase the odds of seeing your next birthday will be a viable "market" system.
Economies-of-scale, specialization, guns-or-butter, Econ 101 and all that.
Old-dudes might not be able to dead-lift twice their body weight but they can still sit in a dark corner and provide security or they can be on one end of a fishing pole while a worm drowns on the other end. Fish (protein) can be traded for other needed items.
Every family does not need to grow their own tomato seedlings or make their own soap or distill their own tractor-fuel or raise their own replacement laying-hens.
Capitalism can be a glorious thing because it incentivizes human interaction. Little-old-ladies with pasture get to meet young families with animals that need pasture to graze. Weavers and sewers get to connect with people who will appreciate their skills.
Planting potatoes and making soup in Ukraine
Why is this important? Innusya forages for nettle greens, harvests over-wintered spinach, peels potatoes, chops onions, reconstitutes dried mushrooms and dried fish to make soup. An older couple (her parents, maybe?) cultivate her garden using a team of horses. She plants potatoes.
The garden plots are half-to-quarter the size of the ones in the fictitious Copperhead Cove. The various garden plots are scattered between small orchards.
Storage of kettles-and-pots in overhead spaces are interesting.
A (Catholic) priest in eastern-Ontario (Canada)
Dumpster diving.
And starting a fire in the woods
It was refreshing to see a clergy-man getting back to basics.
One of the reasons I decided on buying a portable sawmill for my business endeavor is the same reasoning: in the coming situation, being a producer of something useful, will be crucial.
ReplyDeleteMid-level HR office drones good at filing paperwork will be hard pressed.
Man, just watching the first couple I am seriously struck by how different life could be in the future. How people in general are likely to adapt to the idea of subsistence living? How many younger people will sit there and complain until they starve to death (shades of Copperhead cove!)? How many would satisfy their current urge giving no thought towards surplus and the future (preserve or trade - thinking about that giant jar of dried mushrooms and the dried fish used to prepare the meal).
ReplyDeleteA pretty young Ukrainian woman unmarried and living with her elderly parents?
There are no young men in that country anymore... Thats sobering.
That soup/meal was likely the (largest) for the day. It contained 1 small dried fish to share between 3 people, and a lot of carbs. Contrast that to most American diets. The vegetable matter alone will wreak gastro-havoc they've likely never seen!
Not a fat person waddling anywhere in either of those videos. Plenty of commentary just in that observation!
Thanks for the food for thought, Joe!
The fire starting was okay for basic info, but I would say he used way too much birchbark, and should have made more airspace under his twigs and dry wood. And most people won’t be carrying that butane lighter, more likely to use matches - or they should at least have matches. Smaller and easier to carry. Magnesium fire sticks work great, and are readily available too.
ReplyDeleteSouthern NH
Enjoyed the Ukraine video making soup and bread and planting potatoes. I used to make ‘something from nothing’ soup, stock with vegetable peels, leftover tablespoons of vegetables, meat, soda bread. Nice lunch made for pennies worth of food.
DeleteSNH