Solar-powered water purifiers
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #146 • March/April, 2014
Most of us can stay alive up to a month without any food if stranded, but we could not live longer than three days without water...
Moving on: A small town can be a haven during a depression
By Claire Wolfe
Website Exclusive • September, 2010
One day last summer, I departed Last-Chance Gulch and the high desert, a U-Haul trailer bobbing behind. I aimed for my beloved Pacific Northwest where a friend had...
Emergency planning beyond the bug-out bag
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #157 • January/February, 2016
In many emergency situations, simply staying home can be your most sensible choice. After all, most of us have stocked up on a good supply of food in...
Preparedness for travelers
By Brad Rohdenburg
Issue #81 • May/June, 2003
When the subject of preparedness comes up, do you think of having a stock of supplies in your kitchen pantry in case of a storm? Maybe a backpack...
Emergency treatment for fire-related injuries
By Joe Alton, M.D.
If confronted by a fast-moving wildfire, your chances of avoiding death or injury depend on a plan of action that is easy to understand and quick to implement. Some form of...
Caring for wounds in the field
By Bill Glade, M.D.
Issue #75 • May/June, 2002
The beautiful remote Canadian lake has provided a bountiful supply of fresh fish. You are cleaning the catch when a moment's inattention allows the knife to slip...
Survival infection control
By Joseph Alton, M.D.
Issue #151 • January/February, 2015
For several months now, news regarding the devastation that the Ebola virus is causing in West Africa has been in the headlines. A disease once found only...
Bartering for bad times
By John Silveira
Issue #138 • November/December, 2012
Bartering may not be a part of your life, right now, but if there's a deepening of the recession, or it becomes a depression, or we enter a...
Circle of friends
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #111 • May/June, 2008
Hardcore survivalists cherish what I call the "George Romero Scenario." It goes like this: The proverbial poop has hit the propeller. Cities collapse into chaos. But we, the...
Dollar Store to the Rescue
By Jeffrey R. Yago, P.E.
Summer 2019, Self-Reliance
I have talked with emergency responders who have traveled all over the country to volunteer their rescue efforts at disasters like the recent flooding in Texas. While much...
Disaster preparation!
By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S.
Issue #74 • March/April, 2002
Are you prepared for a disaster that could affect the daily function of your life or the lives of your family members? Or do you even...
Medical kits for self-reliant families
By Jackie Clay
Issue #60 • November/December, 1999
There may be a time, as close as tomorrow, when your loved ones need medication or medical treatment and there is no drug store open or doctor available....
Start a fire in any weather
By Charles Sanders
Issue #161 • September/October, 2016
Most of us living in the backwoods are comfortable with utilizing fire as a tool. We use fire to heat our homes, burn brush, power our forges, help...
Food security 101, part 3: Why I love my vacuum sealer (and more)
By Rowena Aldridge
Issue #140 • March/April, 2013
In parts one and two (Issues #138 and #139), we covered basics and homemade convenience foods. Now that you've become so proficient at making delicious, nutritious, and economical...
Start your food storage on $10 a week
By Alan T. Hagan
Issue #59 • September/October, 1999
If Old Mother Hubbard had had a food storage program before she went to her cupboard her poor dog would have gotten his bone. Given the fact...





























