Self-Reliance

In the current context of building lifeboats, we might think of individualism as "survivalist" self-reliance and collectivism as "communal" self-reliance. On one hand, "God provides for those who provide for themselves." At the same time, "In time of crisis, those who have not prepared to turn to each other, will turn on each other." In either case, the future will probably be one of small scale and possibly more directly democratic. The mix of individualism and collectivism will hopefully maximize the freedom of the human spirit.

Solutions to Peak Oil range between technological miracles and conquest of the Middle East, all in an attempt to maintain the status quo. What is required instead is a rapid change to a low-energy lifestyle. Such a way of life is not only necessary, it is also highly desirable.

At this conference you will:

• Hear from leaders who have begun working on changes in the critical areas of agriculture, cities and small communities.
• Learn how you can begin making changes in your home, life and community.
• Understand the geopolitics of oil.
• Be a part of creating a vision for the future.

East Wind Community

"Today, as in the past, many people are interested in creating an alternative society based on a vision of peace and social justice. Once thought to be a relic of the sixties, the communal living movement is enjoying renewed interest. There are now hundreds of 'intentional communities' spread through-out North America.

East Wind is one such community, owned, operated and governed by its members. All income and expenses are shared in common. We are located on 1045 acres of land in the beautiful Ozark mountains of southern Missouri. Presently we number about 60 adults and 10 children.

We are currently accepting New Members."

The WWOOF program was started in the U.K. in 1971, by a London secretary Sue Coppard under the name 'Working Weekends On Organic Farms'. The idea was to provide urban dwellers of London with an opportunity to experience the organic farming and gardening movement occurring in the countryside, for just a weekend. Since the establishment of WWOOF in the U.K, WWOOF programs have been started in over 28 countries around the globe."

[The program is also known as "Willing Workers on Organic Farms."]

Walton Feed

Survivalist Books

Bison Newsletter "E-mailed to you weekly with all the information fit for the self-sufficient and paranoid"

"Another misconception is that survivalists are predicting world disaster. On the contrary, we seem to be the optimistic minority that is predicting world survival. We are hard pressed to find any well recommended historians, economists, political scientists, sociologists or military strategists that can come up with a scenario that gives even a fifty-fifty chance of avoiding a large-scale catastrophe, yet we survivalists dare to be optimistic about the future. We survivalists do not need to predict the probability of disaster anymore than we need to predict the sun setting."

Tools for Building Lifeboats

What follows is an outline of a few key tools for self-reliance. While these topics are covered on most self-reliance web sites, we have also listed a few particularly good pages.