The distance between a "conspiracy theory" and reality is just a matter of years or months... No, we're not conspiracy theorists. Everyone should listen to this pantry chat. Thank you for sharing
It's always been a reality. Lol 😂 I have been making a lot of predictions and it makes me laugh to look back and see that I was right. All my family use to be like he is crazy and now they respect the fact I was right and will say it.
I recently read that book and it did encourage me to keep up the homesteading mindset. I’m 70 years old and my husband and I live on 1/3 acre suburban lot that backs up to a nature preserve. Two years ago I started planting a food forest and got some raised beds. Last year we got 6 chicks (2 more than the citiy’s limit) so I’m a bit of a rebel. I need talks like this to keep me motivated.
We just moved to NC 4 years ago on an acre. I'm 61 and we started 2023 with chickens, building raised beds this winter in time for spring planting. I ordered the book tonight.
We live in South Africa and have farm killings, these farmers product the food, once you take the people who grow the food out what do you have land with no management. We also had looting where huge crowds of people gathered and rushed shops and looted to a very large extent. complete mayhem. We have started on a very small scale to homestead and we plan to grow bigger as time goes.
This is an unfortunate reality of societies in decline. I'm sorry you are having to live this out. Praying for you and your family. Another unfortunate reality in these situations is that you have to have a means to protect yourself, your family and your property. AND, and this is just is what it is, you have to be willing to carry this out and follow through with what I'm talking about. Horrible position to be put in. 😢
Thank you for acknowledging war. So many are afriad to say it. Lets acknowledge it, prepare for it and try and have some joy while we can. We dont have to scare each other about it. Being unprepared for it is scarier I think.
Thank you for attacking this issue without fear mongering, but facing and exploring it realistically. I have actually unsubscribed from the Homesteaders who initially got me into following Homesteaders as their channel has become just loaded with bad news and doom and gloom. I went through Cancer during Covid so it was double disaster going for treatment, sitting apart as our immune systems were compromised and then the isolation as I live alone, so it was a challenging year but am happy to say I am in remission since 2021. Great comment Caroline to say we have to realise our world and countries are not as stable as it used to be and civilizations are cyclic and there are ups and downs and we need to be aware and prepared as much as we can, knowing that there are things we cannot provide for ourselves but making sure we have skills and products we can use for bartering
Thank you so much for this Pantry Chat! Sometimes it seems that my husband and myself are the only ones with "certain beliefs" and episodes like this reassure us that we are on the right track. We made 2021 our "Year of Learning" and in that time we increased our food production on our homestead to over a full acre; joined a herdshare and learned how to make cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc; purchased a dehydrator and freeze dryer; increased our ability to have off-grid heat, light, cooking, food storage, and water; learned how to save veggie seeds, and so much more. Our year of learning has turned into our lifetime of learning and your page has served as our go-to source and as a jumping-off point by providing ideas and reminders of areas we may have forgotten about or not realized in which we were lacking. We truly appreciate the inspiration and your quiet but impactful way of assisting those of us who see what lies ahead, but were unsure how to start taking the steps to be ready for it. The more information you pass along, the more information your viewers can pass along, and the more people there will be to help each other along the way when the time calls. "A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength" Proverbs 24:5
It’s each person’s own responsibility! My husband and I are 74 @ 73. We have extra family living with us in these hard times. But we have tried our best to be prepared. We are poor but very blessed!
You two have instantly become my favorite people. I knew you were great from listening to you over many pantry chats and videos, but as soon as y’all said “test run” I thought, “Yep, those are my people.” 😂 I grew up in Cuba until I was almost 15. I have lived in the US for close to 22 years now, and trust me when I say our country is headed to communism. I hate to say it, but it’s true. 2020 was dejavú for me, and I called it from day 1 when they announced the lock downs. And people have gotten way too relaxed about things again. It pains me to say it because we escaped communism, and we have nowhere else to run to. If the last almost 4 years didn’t wake most Americans up, I am afraid that it’s too late for us. But I truly hope I’m wrong.
One of our society's biggest issues is that the majority of our people do NOT know any history past their own lifespan. They can't recognize trends repeating from previous generations because they don't know that history.
We had Homestead at one time. It was Great. We did it on Smaller Scale than You. High Desert.. We had Great Neighbors also. We Gardened, Raise Rabbits. Chickens, a few Goats n Horses, aswell as Fished. We had Neighbors that we would Traded and Bartered with. They were Young n Old. I Canned and Dried, He Made the Meat ready for Cannng and Freezing, Plowed N Made ready the Garden, I did aswell. In Late Summer n Early Fall we would go up the Mountains a few times and Gather Berries, Apples, Pears n other Fruits. From Deserted Honesteads. There were very Little Nuts Grown in our Area, but there were Vendors that Brought and set up in our Area and Sold many things we didn't have in our area. That was Great. They also were Great about a little Bartering. We would mostliky still be Living there if things didn't Change. Sometime you get Lemonade instead of Sweet Tea. Anyways. It is a Great way of life. We also had Full time Jobs n Kids. It isn't an hour ever other day or so thing, it is Daily and sometimes a Night Deal. Wish we could have started up elsewhere but, wasn't in our Future. But we sill Gardened on a Much Smaller Scale, Canned Dried and Dehydrated. I Still Garden, n such.mostly Container and Raised Bed. Never get rid of the want to do.
Loved this podcast, I always learn so much from you both. My husband and I are going to be moving to Idaho to retire and homestead. So excited to get there, most of my family is there already.
I have been working for 8 years on my homestead and I have a serious punch list for this year to try to finish up where I will feel a bit more prepared for what ever is headed our way.People constantly ask me why I keep adding things that are less grid dependent. I think the less we need the better off we are. Thanks for addressing this topic.
What a great pantry chat! Joel is such a profound thinker. I could listen to him talk for hours. You guys are great! It's time we start addressing these topics in the homesteading community. I totally agree, this is the calm before the storm.
So so glad you spoke it!!! I feel like the realities on the horizon are this huge elephant in the room no one wants to talk about... you both handled it graciously.. thanks
I'm on my homestead learning journey and really appreciate you both! I help small businesses create emergency plans for their company because they are the ones that need to keep moving through a disruption. I also teach disaster preparedness through our local Office of Emergency Management, so I totally understand and relate to what you're saying. I'm currently in an apartment, and am doing what I can now to learn about growing what I can grow. At some point within the next few years, my plan is to buy a piece of land, build a house and have a small homestead. Speaking of disruptions, I was in the grocery store the other day and there was not a single carton of eggs in the entire store... not one. I obviously can't have chickens in an apartment, but am looking forward to having chickens someday for my own eggs.
Thank you. Every country thinks that this is their unique problems, but in reality it is a worldwide problem. In my country (South africa) the power grid is so far the biggest problem. Due to mismanagement of funds and corruption in our government our powerstations are not serviced as should be and thus the grid is not stable. In the last year we only had 13 days without rotational power cuts (they call it loadshedding). We went through periods where we were without power for 10 hours out of a 24hour cycle, 2.5 - 4.5 hours at a time. And when the power is down, no water can be pumped. The underground powercables are getting old and can not handle the constant shut downs. They explode. The whole town is without power and then it takes days to fix. If you are not experiencing it, you can not imagine what it is like. A few days without power is a challenge. Try day in, day out for a year. Get backup systems while your grid is still working. It can get really bad, really quickly.
Great video. We do need to be prepared, rather it is a natural disaster, made made disaster, or financial issues. The ideal of fires suddenly hitting chicken factories or the so called bird flu. A niece of mine showed me a picture of a field full of lettuce that her boyfrield would had helped pick, but they were told not to touch it. They let it rot, then suddenly prices jacked up for lettuce because it was not as available. That is one time situation but yet how many other situations were there and the big question is WHY. Years ago, my ex mention how other countries were coming over to buy land and buisnesses because they wanted to control the USA. I laughed about it, thinking he was just being paranoid. He was in the military and knew things that he was not to talk about. What is scary, is he was so right and we are seeing things that we never thought we would see.
Great info. When I freeze dried cranberries the last time, I knew I needed small pieces so I put them through my food processor and pulsed them so they weren’t to small. They went through the freeze dryer great and are easy to use. I made cranberry pear jam that is delicious with them.
My mother in law grew up in Cuba and she said that oil and cotton were the hardest products to get. She said everything from clothes to feminine products were impossible to find. I've taken alot of the unfortunate knowledge she has and applied it to my stocking list.
We need to talk about things. All the things. We need to always be aware that history can and usually will repeat. And by not talking about it, most people block those things out completely. They may not happen IN OUR lifetime. But they may in the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren. And the more we know and the more open mind we have, the more we can teach the next generation. Knowledge is passed. By not acknowledging it doesn't make it not go away. Knowledge is power. Love you guys ❤
I do agree that as a society we don’t seem to have learned a journey altering lesson with covid. The food shortages are still happening due to drought and the inability for food to travel it’s normal rout. 85% of the nations produce travels the Mississippi River but it’s in a severe drought. This ties into the cost increase and scarcity of items. I drive across that river daily and it is really low. Chain of rocks pump houses should be almost covered in the spring but they were almost completely exposed. They still are. The river bank is dry. When it’s dry the barges can’t move up the river. It’s seeing some snow and rain but if we don’t have a wet spring the river will stall the barges again. We will see increased prices due to alternative routes of distribution or shortages due to stalled barges. It’s just one of those little things that affect a wide range of people.
A few shipping companies already announced that they are avoiding the Suez Canal. South Africans have been trained in grids being down for years now. It is important to live in a way resilient to outages. This is quite a brave Pantry Chat. Love it!
Just a comment on antibiotic resistance- Friends check the ingredients in the foods you buy and the foods your loved ones buy. An example for you is store bought shredded cheese: it is coated in antibiotic to suppress mold growth in the bag…which means you and your nacho loving kids are eating it too. Information is power which is, in my opinion, the whole point of this pantry chat. Thank you Josh and Carolyn.
Kudos for taking on this subject. Resiliency has not been in the Western mindset for so long that the greater population has become utterly dependent on some other entity for every provision, be it government, education, medical, utilities, etc. I'm never going to be a "homesteader" in the grand sense of the word at this stage of my life, but have always had the drive to learn and do everything myself to not become a slave to that complacent mentality. That drive has turned this 130 y/o suburban house and small backyard into a food producing & preserving model for my neighbors, as well as taking great steps to address potential grid-down events through alternate backup generation. It gets very cold here in NY and while wood burning is not possible in my home, I've employed other alternatives to keep warm. Hopefully, more people will begin to seriously consider how they might become resilient in the face of these events they've not experienced before but are seeing happen a bit closer to home everyday.
Thank you guys for this chat. You are addressing current events in relation to homesteading. I appreciate your being straight forward in the discussion and not trying to scare everyone. I want to get Joel's book and read it. Joel Saladin is so eloquent in how he presents himself I am sure it will be a great read. Stay warm and blessings to you.
You two are excellent at discussing these potential problems without being sensational and fear mongering. SO much easier to listen to than many others online. Thank you for that and the great info and ideas you provide.
Good talk. I began a “homestead “ or preparing attitude when I moved to Alaska, just outside Anchorage for 12 years. It’s at end of long supply chain. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are not uncommon. Electric grid goes down every winter. After moving to northern Rockies and retiring, I have my own generator for electricity,wood heat, 6+ months of food and 10 acres of pasture. Local food to buy from small dairy , vegetable farmers , my garden and ranchers. Plenty of available public land to hunt and fish. Much tougher climate than west coast, but better place these days. The cities are less than a week from civil strife if electricity and food is cut off. Just look at current breakdown in rule of law in large US cities. No quicker way to overthrow the current Constitution and system than making all the little people scared and wanting security.
Folks who are paying attention have lost the illusion that we are or can be 100% safe from everything. We’ve put our faith in faulty systems because they seemed to be keeping us safe, or at least it wasn’t our problem if something did go wrong. We could blame someone else and were usually “rescued” from what was making us unhappy or dissatisfied. Folks who are not paying attention are Pooh-poohing or rolling their eyes at me and folks who are taking simple steps to be more independent such as gardening in our yard or dipping in to solar power. I love that phrase from a weatherman on RU-vid when bad weather is in the forecast, “Don’t be scared, be prepared.” I love your similar approach which is why I watch you. I enjoy your videos and learn a lot that I can apply even to my little 1/2 acre. Thank you!
Thank y'all for this chat. One thing I've learned over the years. Just when I think I have prepeared enough. be it canning, storing wood etc... something happpens to show me... prepare more! And I press on. Be encouraged in this new season. Totally agree with 1% little leaps!
Beware of local community knowing of what you are doing when it comes to homesteading Doug and Stacy have a vlog out that shows a Amish organic farmer who once again is being harassed by authorities and they raided his farm taking food…… Shame on those officials that allow the freedom of the people which they are suppose to protect get tramped by corrupt officials. Keep your food storage and amount of animals, your gardens and storage facilities private….. The other week we had a drone flying over our farm at 3 am…..why……you can Google your homestead and it’ll show pictures of your whole farm, outbuildings etc….nothing is private anymore. I pray for all that are trying to teach homesteading because you’re on their radar…..🙏
I am so glad to hear you touch base on the topics in this video, particularly mentioning the change in societal degradation. Very important for people to realize stability is the greatest gift that can be given to your family! Also, the high probability that lockdowns can be used for any number of reasons now is a very good reason preparedness for our families is a very important essential. Blessings to you and yours! Thank you for sharing!!!
In the UK, there are national emergency laws that are invoked in times of war or society breakdown. The first is all farms and growing areas being sequestered by the government and all food becomes rationed. For example, smallholders and homesteaders will have to grow exactly what government says they must grow. Farmers have to relinquish all produce to authorities including eggs, for example. Farmers are rationed as civilians are. So, it’s always best to plan to grow carbohydrate and protein food that would be suitable for your community and cities. Always best to have horses too. And bicycles. Don’t for one moment think that growing food in emergencies will belong to you.
All of those BBC shows with Ruth, Peter and Alex are wonderful. I just bought one of Peter's book Slow Tech, The Perfect Antidote to Today's Digital World. It's about making things from nature. I have learned a lot from the book and those shows. Wish we had some series based in the U.S,A like they have. I guess we have RU-vid and you to watch! :) Thank you for this!
By far one of my favorite videos you two have done. I feel like you guys give fantastic advise on all levels. This discussion fills the gaps for people who may be living with their head in the sand. At this point if people don’t get it then they may be the next to be put out to pasture.
If I was 30 years younger or even 20 years younger I would consider it. I would love to do it. But I will settle for my veggie garden that will hopefully go in on our new build this year. And we have a generator. We now live closer to farms that have eggs etc.
I do not understand why acknowledging and addressing realities is deemed as negative or fear mongering. It makes no sense to me. This is a fallen world. There are problems. If we know the problems and have the opportunity to prepare for the or at least expect them, it is much easier to get thru them. I guess it goes back to knowledge is power. Thank you for this discussion. The Lord is in control. Fortunately
We are working on our homestead and still building and decided to be fully off grid. From water, to solar and septic, we made that choice and do not regret it. It is actually for us in rural area cheaper then getting the poles to our homes.
I can’t say I share all your political views but you both made some very good points. I will take them to heart. Potential attacks on our infrastructure, both physical or cyber in nature, has me worried enough that I’m watching more and more of this type of content to prepare. Also realizing how vulnerable we are in regard to our food systems is more than concerning. Last year I grew my biggest garden yet and used some of your instructional videos on preserving to learn new skills. This year I hope to expand what I can grow with a community garden plot. I have also signed up myself and my teenage son for a hunter’s education course. I’ll do the same for my girls when they’re old enough. I would enjoy watching sewing and mending videos too if you made them, Carolyn. We have lost so many valuable life skills in just a few generations and with the uncertainty and instability going on in the world right now, that’s not a good position to be in. I want to make sure our children and future grandchildren can truly take care of their own basic needs. Thank you both for putting this valuable information out there. Much love from Colorado 🩵
What a great pantry chat, thank you for taking the time to encourage us all! I was curious as to which trees you planted last year and what ones you are planting this year, if you care to share? Thank you for your channel! :)
From Michael Hopf's post-apocalypic novel “Those Who Remain”: “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
Thank you! This was a really great chat and I am so glad that you guys spoke out about these issues. Your channel was one of the first places that we went to when we decided to learn more about homesteading and I am so thankful we found it. I think this chat was definitely a positive as so many of us that are aware of these things happening in the world feel like we are in it alone. Your video and the comments here show that there are many of us on the same journey. God Bless and we look forward to the next one. 👏🏻👏🏻
Josh and Carolin, I completely agree with you about the weakness of the grid, the way modern farming practices have poisoned the land, and the systems of control that have been put in place to heard us where they want us to be. It is all so wrong, and we all let it happen right in front of us. Now we need to fix this, heal the Earth, and remove these systems of control. Thanks for all the great info! Hugs, Zanna
I actually saw the pandemic coming. I have seen so many reports of this and wasn't surprised. You have to be aware! Not panic or over the top just aware. You teach this very well. Agree with 100% how tech. Is being way to counted on. Even in the lack of kids not learning basic skills.
It is also important to create healthy pastures for animals to eat and stay healthy and give better meat. Meat is so nutritious for good metabolic health.
Although I understand the reality of what you're talking about, as I lived through life without a polio vaccine and was one of the kids hiding under my desk from the atom bomb in school (I'm 74), I was saddened that there was not even one positive reason to homestead. I have been a homesteader and clean eater for about 4 of my 7 and a half decades, wish it were more, but there you go. My point is that I do not want to survive, I want to thrive, and I believe the BEST way to do that is through living on my land and growing my own food. It is a sad reality that we live with great insecurity hanging over our heads, but I strongly urge you to remember that every generation has had huge shake-downs and threats to its security. Ours is just one of the first to be able to be inundated with opinions about how to do what we do to be secure. I generally find your videos very thought-provoking, this just seemed a little fear driven, no offense intended. We can do fear, or we can do resilience, and they are very closely related, really.The difference is in where in your soul the motivation is happening. Perhaps I read you wrongly, and if so, I apologize. You guys always come at things with good intent, I know. 🌻
My recipe for a cup of hot cocoa: heaped 1t of dark cocoa, ⅛t of cinnamon, ⅛t vanilla, ¼t instant coffee, small pinch of salt, tiny pinch of black pepper. Mix dry ingredients with a bit of cold water into runny paste, and top up with hot water. Sugar, milk of cream to taste. I mostly prefer neat, as I am used to coffee and green tea neat.
You have too keep canning and growing too preserve for the seasons too come,because last wasn't as good of growth as the year before . But thankfully we are getting more rain this winter for spring. I had 2 years I couldn't do a garden and I paid the price of a higher food bill. I can only raise rabbits, but I sure will try raising them for sure this year they do double fold for food and garden soil boost. You have too keep preserving at all times. My mothers and fathers families pulled together during hard times always canning veggies and harvesting wild games and using the bones and peels for our dogs foods. Mothers family was 10 out 17 kids and Dad's was 8 kids and all of their families plus us 7 kids. So yes you will have too prepare extras for all families for sure.
One of the best chats so far. Reality information is so valuable for those that are like-minded and unaware of the world as it is now. I research world war history and see a common pattern for those that are somewhat prepared and knowledgeable in terms of history repeating itself and those that have no clue about the past or preparedness. The unprepared seem to suffer far more than those that make the effort to learn and prepare. You mentioned good sources to watch and read. BBC's Wartime Farm and kitchen and Joel Salatin's new book are very helpful. I have been following your videos for a couple years now and I like what you offer. Lots of self-sustaining lessons in gardening and food prep. I live in Southern Oregon and we keep a close eye on Idaho. Its good to have a neighboring state that still has a conservative hold in today's chaotic world. Keep on living the good life and thank you for sharing.
You both look so good and are a great representation of the homestead lifestyle. Josh, you look so much younger without the scruffy beard and cap! I enjoy watching you two.
It’s scary to hear a lot of this because so much of it is reality. Every morning when I turn on my computer to start working and the news page comes up, there is ONE MORE food item that has been recalled for some disease or another. and the list keeps getting longer and longer. This has to be a sign of either the FDA not doing their job correctly or someone sabotaging our food sources as you mentioned.
Carolyn, another tea that you should try is licorice root tea (Traditional Medicinals). It doesn't taste like licorice but is naturally sweet and helps with digestion.
I know that many states have recently and 'silently' passed legislation concerning who can own land. My own state of Ohio being one. However, the legislation is loosely written and any individual the state decides might be an enemy or threat to the state can lose their land and the state would sell it for profit. We already have OHID which I have issues with its Mark of the Beast connotations. We are definitely living in unstable times. You just never quite know which way the table will tilt.
Here in Maine, older, small to med. farms and more concerning PASTURES are purchased cheaply and SOLAR panels are installed. One day I see pastures and it seems quietly, over night solar panels...on hundreds of acres and acres of pastures. +JMJ+
Thank you for your reasoned talk. I appreciate you not being hysterical like so many other homesteading channels. As far as China owning U.S. farmland, they do not own much. They rank #18 with many other countries owning much more. Most all of those countries are allies. (Canada owns the most) The problem is where their U.S. land is located, which we haven't kept track of, unfortunately. For instance, how much is near our military or major infrastructure installations? Nobody knows. It is concerning.
99.9% of this episode was so spot on. I subscribe to your channel because you usually do a great job of not bringing politics into the conversation. By spotlighting left-wing violent protests without also mentioning right-wing violent protests you did bring politics onto the channel. I’m a very centralist person, and I get my news of the outside world through multiple news outlets. I use yours to learn more about homesteading. This show was valid because it gave very strong reasons for homesteading. But, perhaps mentioning the political unrest as “violent protests on both sides of the political spectrum” would have been a better term to use. Another RU-vidr that I followed fervently suddenly started spouting political hate speech that turned me off so much I had to turn them off. I hope you will take this as the constructive criticism it is meant to be. Peace and love ❤.
For a moment, I thought you were talking about Sout Africa. The grid is a disaster. We need to go off the grid, but land is very expensive. Big farmers are buying all the possible land and leaving no room for self-sufficient farming.
I agree with you in everything. And speaking of how there's more push on electric (yes, odd) I was in a FB group that one of the Admins was saying how good it was that her state of NY wS going to be banning all gas appliances. Unheard of ridiculousness! She said it was good that we don't rely on fossil fuels. I wrote "disagree" and she suspended me from the group for 3 weeks. This is the mentality of the other side. Ignorance. I have missionary friends in Myanmar (old Burma). The govt decides when to shut off their electricity. No stability for refrigeration, etc.
