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"Only
from the alliance of the one, working with and
through the other, are great things
born"
-
Saint Exupéry -
- 3
car honks
- 3
bell gongs
- 3
gun shots
- 3
smoke puffs
- 3
whistle blasts
- SIGHT
using
blazes, flags or hand signals
- SOUND
using
a horn, gun, your voice or a
whistle
- LIGHT
using flares, lights or mirrors
- RADIO
using Citizen Band or a Ham radio
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WHAT
WE DO TO AND FOR ANOTHER
WE
DO TO AND FOR
OURSELF
(a
glimpse inside Do-it-Yourself Crisis
Survival)
Regardless of
how self-reliant you already are, launching
full-blown-crisis measures can only be
accomplished if the whole family unit is
involved. Children
need to be
included
too. Even preschoolers will grasp and be
comforted by self-reliance information that is
delivered in a truthful, loving and age
appropriate manner.
•
Community Preparedness:
Once your family
plan is in motion, the larger issues of
community need to be addressed. Whether you live
in the suburbs in a single-family dwelling, a
mobile home in a trailer park or in a co-housing
arrangement in an intentional community, a
neighbourhood network can be an excellent
support system. Joining a group of people
together by a shared vision has numerous
advantages.
•
Some Advantages of
Interdependence:
- Enlarged
thought-pool
- Infrastructure
for delivery of goods and
services
- Bulk buying
power
- Skills
exchange
- Division of
labour
- Protection
from bandits
- Sense of
contribution
- Social
activities
But to insure
the benefits of community and yet minimize the
hazards of large groups of hungry, anxious
people, you'll have to inspire self-reliance,
kinship and co-operation at the community level.
People around the world have organized crisis
survival workgroups for exactly that.
Again, the
particulars of your lifestyle will dictate the
most appropriate action steps. First though, you
need to reduce the larger community into a
smaller, more manageable scale. The procedures
for organizing camaraderie, self-sufficiency and
back-up contingencies within an apartment
building, a suburb or a town are essentially the
same. In fact, many of the issues are identical
to preparing a family. The major difference
between a family plan and a community plan is
the scale. Proportionately, the complexities are
larger, but so are the potential
benefits.
Suggested
Crisis Survival Workgroup Agenda:
- Gather
relevant information
- Schedule a
community meeting
- Circulate
self-reliance information
- List skills
of each member
- Build
confidence and morale
- Determine
the most critical issues
- Develop a
plan
- Create a
barter exchange program
- Act together
in sub-groups
- Develop
community cohesiveness
The size,
emotional closeness, inherent weakness, group
dynamics and philosophical climate of a
community all factor into the effectiveness of
the plan. But capable leadership is essential.
If you're one of the champions who present
themselves, remember that you may have to fight
the battle more than once. People want to
restore their faith
in the future,
but most people are stuck in a negative web. To
encourage people to take decisive action will
require compassion, conviction, and initiative.
Consult survival workgroup resources for
guidelines.
Organize or join
a preparedness gathering at your local community
centre or library. Exchange ideas with
participants and work through the beginnings of
crisis survival in work groups. Chances are
you'll find a few new friends and many good
chunks of information you can use to further
everyone's growth toward self-relaince,
community-conscience and global
cohesiveness.
Helping to
prepare the people in your immediate community
is not only the right thing to do, it will
increase your ability to survive
crisis.
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