Tomorrow is never certain.  We never know when there might be a dissonance which can disrupt the comfortable nature we are used to on a daily basis. There are many different emergency events which some people prepare for but, unfortunately, most of us tend to ignore. At some point in our lives, we will have to deal with some form of natural calamity, and that is exactly why we put together this post.  In the following article, we’ll highlight some of our favorite survival skills for natural calamities for you to learn from.

Survival Skills

1. Making Shelter

You should consider your situation before planning or building any survival structure. Your shelter must be able to provide protection from excessive wind, sun, rain, snow or any kind of weather. A shelter is mostly for comfort and protection. It should protect you against animals, weather or from insects. Likewise, it must be relatively comfortable since you will have to sleep in it.

A shelter may have many different forms:

• Natural shelters include caves or fallen thick-foliaged trees
• Intermediate shelters include a ditch dug next to a tree log and covered with leafs, debris shelter, or snow caves
• Completely man-made structures which may include houses, tents or tarps

2. Gathering & Filtering Water

Human beings are able to survive for an average of 3 to 4 days without water intake. Water is highly needed in hotter temperatures. The need of water also may increase with exercise. A normal person may lose between 2 and 4 liters of water in a day under the normal condition – more in extreme weather conditions. It is suggested that you consume between 3 and 6 liters of water per day to stave off dehydration.

In survival situations where running water is not available, you need to have an adequate water supply or a way to consistently produce clean water. Without clean water, you won’t survive a prolonged calamity and therefore, you need a source that will not only provide clean water but also easily accessible every time without going long distance. Other sources of water may include; having secrete water reserves, rainwater harvesting, or storing the large quantity of clean water.  There are numerous ways to generate clean water from questionable sources filtering, purifying and boiling.

3. Creating Fire

Fire have been recognized to significantly increase an ability to survive from both the mental and physical states. It can help you warm your body, boil water, cook food, or dry your clothes. In addition, fire can also provide a psychological support by creating a sense of the safety and security.

Lighting fire without matches or lighters is a common subject in survival books and courses. You should, therefore, practice the fire making tactics before venturing to wilderness. Making the fire in adverse conditions have been made easier by introductions of fire equipment such as fire piston and solar spark lighters.

4. Food Storage

You might be surprised seeing food being low on a survival skills list. We can survive without food for much longer compared with other basic needs. According to the rule of three, a typical person can survive for up to three weeks without food.  That being said, surviving and being somewhat comfortable can be two very different things.

Having food stores in place prior to a calamity is the best way to ensure you don’t go hungry during a natural disaster.  In the off chance you’ve run out of everything, you can resort to the following means of food acquisition:

• Hunting
• Foraging
• Trading

Please make sure you can properly identify edible plants if you intend to forage.

5. Improve Your Outdoor Skills

The more you understand the nature, the better you will be able to survive. For instance, to effectively locate wild animals you will need highly tuned wildlife tracking skills.The best way to acquire basic natural knowledge is to read about plants and animals in your area and then get outside and tune your knowledge. This approach will allow you identify means of survival in the outdoors in good times or bad.

6. Improve Your Attitude

Attitude is very important in survival skills. It can even determine whether you are going to make it out of a situation alive. Your attitude will help you plan for your situation and, by doing so, you will keep your body and mind active. A positive attitude is also contagious.  If you are in a group of folks who are in dire straits, a positive attitude may help bring people together and allow them to get to safety.

7. Build Your Relationships

Solid relationships with other community members is an essential aspect of survival and readiness. One individual can’t do as much as two can do. If you involved your friend or a neighbor about it, they might agree and create a readiness plan for the entire community. Solid relationships will add an extra reliability which will help you prepared for anything.

8. Communication Is King

Communication is one of the most critical survival skills to keep up to date with.  Ensure that you have backup forms of communication such as radios, radio phones, auxiliary phone chargers or satellite phones. All these are a flexible and viable form of communication.

Moreover, have a communication plan and make sure that you practice in calm times to make sure that your plan works when things go sideways.

9. Have An Escape Plan

Having a plan to escape from different situations is key in a survival situation.  Your plans should start with your central location – do you have an escape plan for your house if it’s on fire – and build outwards.  Where do you go from work if there’s a disaster? Where do your kids go if they are at school? Where do you go if your primary escape route is blocked? Do you have a tertiary escape route?

10. First Aid Knowledge

Don’t let its ranking fool you – first aid knowledge is one of the most critical of the survival skills that you should develop. Build up your first aid kits both in your homes and in your vehicles and, above all else, build up your knowledge to treat everything from simple to severe situations. You can enroll in basic first aid classes and other natural survival tactics at some of the institutions such as Red Cross. Additionally, you can read more books that provide first aid information. Once you’ve developed your basic first aid skills, you may want to develop a knowledge of medicinal herbs and remedies.

Conclusion

Natural calamities come at the most unanticipated times.  Only developing proper survival skills will allow you to make it through these situations as unscathed as possible.

What do you think of these tens tips? Let us know in the comments below.

You will not have the luxury of eating what you feel like when a catastrophe hits. In such situations, you should know what survival foods are best in terms of nourishment, vitality, energy and taste.  They should be also easy to carry around in case you need to bug out.

Here is a list of six survival foods regarded as the best by some of the top preppers:

Top Six Survival Foods

Canned Alaskan Wild Salmon

Salmon is rich in protein and sound fats like omega 3s. Many variations of Alaskan wild salmon will come canned with little to none of the contaminants that can appear in cans of other types of fish. The Inuit people (local individuals of Alaska and northern Canada) regularly eat Alaskan wild salmon.  Likewise, they are known for low rates of heart attack and stroke.  This phenomenon is credited to their regular salmon consumption. Like tuna fish, you can eat canned Alaskan wild salmon right out of the can without cooking. Leftovers must be refrigerated and will keep for 3 – 4 days.

Dried Beans

Many beans are high in calories and contain a decent amount of protein per serving.  They also contain key vitamins and minerals.  You could try these beans if you’re interested:

• Kidney Beans
• Garbanzo Beans
• Black Beans
• Lima Beans
• Pinto Beans

The main thing to remember is that most beans need to soak for a few hours before eating. Finally, dried beans have a long shelf life. Dried beans will stay great in the back of your vehicle, your office survival unit and, obviously, your survival foods home pantry.

Brown Rice

Brown rice is high in calories and also contains key vitamins and minerals. As a dry, non-perishable food item, it additionally has a long shelf life. Simply add high-temperature water and let it soak for 1 – 2 hours, or until the rice extends(eat rice after it’s extended).

Bulk Nuts

Look for bulk nuts in the seed/nut area of your supermarket.  You should look particularly for unsalted and unshelled nuts. Peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and various different nuts/seeds ordinarily sold in food markets are high in fundamental vitamins, minerals, vital unsaturated fats and have a decent amount of protein. They’re also lightweight; a serving size may be as little as a 1/4 container.

Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter is packed with protein and crucial unsaturated fats. It also contains numerous fundamental vitamins and minerals. For the best wellbeing, pick natural brands that are well known for organic food. A few tablespoons a day of peanut butter can provide assistance with surviving during long durations of constrained food intake. Amid a debacle, one of your procedures to survive needs to incorporate an understanding that it’s an ideal opportunity to cut calories. Many people eat a greater number of calories every day than they really need to survive. Cutting calories implies your food will last longer.

Energy Bars and Chocolate Bars

There’s an energy bar for each taste these days. Search for brands with a high-calorie count as well as a lot of protein. Chocolate bars can be a quick source of vitality and an awesome morale booster among children while being liberal in calories.

Conclusion

As you can see, these six survival foods are nutrient and calorie dense foods which are easy to carry and store.  They can be acquired for relatively little money and allow you to build a quality survival food pantry relatively quickly.

Do you agree with our suggestions? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!

I hate long-term storage foods. If you know me, you know I like to cook and eat food that is made from scratch. Long-term storage food never tastes that way. So, to say I was skeptical when Valley Food Storage approached me and asked if I would try their White Bean & Lime Chili product would be an understatement. I had every expectation that I would greatly dislike their product and expected to write a negative review even though the reviews I read online were all positive.

Fortunately – for me and for Valley Food Storage – I was way wrong. Their product was great!

Valley Food Storage – Initial Impressions

Given my background, most ‘stored’ food I’ve eaten in the past has been backpacker-ish meaning you don’t need much heat or water to get going. That is not the case with Valley Food Storage White Bean & Lime Chili. The directions call for 2-1/4 cups of water and specify boiling it on a stove top for 15-18 minutes. You’re not doing that with a backpacking stove. This package was definitely a prepper food!

The second impression I had was the smell when you opened it. Normally, when you open other backpacking and prepper food, you don’t smell anything as tasty. After looking at the ingredient list, I realized there was a reason why this product smelled so good. Valley Food Storage uses ingredients that you can pronounce and know what they are! There weren’t a lot of processed additives or ingredients. Image that – natural food, squared away for 25 years of storage. Awesome!

Cooking Process

Cooking the Valley Food Storage White Bean & Lime Chili couldn’t have been easier. I brought the 2-1/4 cups of water to a boil on my stove, added the ingredients of the package, whisked it up and let it site in a gentle boil for about 17 or 18 minutes. At that point, I removed the chili from the heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes. I followed the process exactly as outlined on the bag and it couldn’t have been easier.

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Taste and Wrap Up

Wow! Most long-term storage food I’ve tasted has been fairly bland. This chili was not. I really enjoyed this meal. It was fresh and tasty. The beans were a bit strong (for lack of a better word) and you could tell they were rehydrated. That being said, a little meat would have offset them perfectly and made this dish awesome.

What I did not taste was a strong salt content. That’s great. My experience has always been that meals like this are heavy in salt. This one from Valley Food Storage wasn’t. That was a pleasant surprise.

So, would I recommend the Valley Food Storage White Bean & Lime Chili? Absolutely! Moreover, I would recommend Valley Food Storage overall because of their ingredients and the wholesome taste of their products.