Making sugar from sugar cane. Rounding up hogs. Making clothes out of flour sacks. These are some of the skills that helped my father’s family through the Great Depression on their ranch in TX. One of my favorite things to do is ask him about those days, and hear about how self-reliant the family was, back in the day. Not to be a gloom-and-doomer, but it’s struck me that there are a few skills I’d like to polish (or pick up) so I can feel more confident in advance of the coming depression/end of oil/global food crisis/zombie apocalypse, etc.
- Growing organic food.
- Animal husbandry.
- Baking bread. (Been working on this one lately.)
- Sewing.
- Knitting. (Or maybe I should leave this one to my husband.)
- Making cheese.
- Canning.
- Salting meat.
Any other ideas?
UPDATE: To add to the list — butchery!
UPDATE: More on keeping old skills alive from Simple Mom.
Operating firearms? Or maybe you already have that down?
Operating firearms? Or maybe you already have that down?
Awesome suggestion, Justin. Growing up in TX, I do have some residual firearms experience, but brushing up never hurts. 🙂
Awesome suggestion, Justin. Growing up in TX, I do have some residual firearms experience, but brushing up never hurts. 🙂