Survival Skillset #7: Make & break

This is part seven of a continuing series of articles devoted to survival skills, the beginning of which can be found here.

Building a New World

Everyone has a different idea of what the world will look like after a catastrophic event.  But in the end, it doesn’t matter exactly what causes it, or how it plays out. No matter what else, you can be sure the world will not remain the same. Society, if it continues to exist, will regress and become more primitive. in many areas there may not be any society at all, merely a handful of people spread out through the ruins living like nomads to survive. In a post-collapse world, your abilities and skills will have to be such that they make you different from all those other survivors. Knowledge will be the power to keep you alive. Skills will help you manage life in this harsh new environment and even thrive as a part of it.  When a lethal pandemic, nuclear war, or other cataclysmic societal collapse event happens tomorrow, are you going to be prepared?

Building it Up and Breaking it Down

As the name suggests, the Make & Break skillset is one composed of all those little abilities humans have learned to make things and to tear them down. Carpentry, welding, plumbing, masonry, blacksmithing… this is a very long list. And there is no way anyone can be a master of all of them. The general goal we are looking for with this skillset is to become something of a handyman. A good knowledge of tools and their uses, basics for things like woodworking and simple construction, as well as a decent understanding of mechanics and electronics on some level.

Many of you will already have a primary skill of some sort within this field, but the goal will be to expand your abilities as much as possible to encompass as much as you can. Usually, just learning the basics of a craft will be enough to start the process of teaching yourself more advanced concepts later on, provided you have the necessary instructional materials stashed away digitally or on hardcopy as part of your earlier discussed knowledge base skillset.

Having the skills to manufacture new tools or to repair items that you scavenge from the ruins will be hugely beneficial in a world in which normal production facilities and methods have ceased to exist.  As an example, to make farming tools, weaponry, structural components or other essential items, expertise in metalwork, welding, and smithing will be a big advantage, including providing you with the ability to create items for whatever barter economy may emerge down the road.

Maybe computers and such are your thing, especially in today’s networked and connected world. You might not think that such skills have any value after the collapse of civilization, as in a post-collapse environment, electronics and other high-tech machinery will mostly be out of commission. However, there could still be a use for computers, and you can also be a person who knows how to repair and maintain other types of electronics or machinery, like components used for farming equipment, water pumps, and power generators. You could also learn how to build radios, which could come in handy for communicating with other people and settlements. And let us not forget the value of solar panels and primitive power grid systems.

As another example, the post-collapse world is going to be flooded with abandoned cars and trucks, covering the streets and freeways. If you have even basic auto mechanics skills, you will be able to identify parts, diagnose malfunctions, and repair the vehicles that you encounter in your travels. You could even learn to repair small sailboats, planes, or even trains. This could be extremely valuable in a world where fuel is in short supply and electronics are fried. Basic mechanical skills aren’t just limited to vehicles, though. They could also help you identify and repair other machines, like farming tractors, irrigation systems, and simple construction equipment. All of these could become essential in the post-collapse world of tomorrow.

Take some time to figure out where your own innate talents and abilities may lie. Many people never know they have a knack for a particular skill because they never really try it out, and often that is because they do not have a reason to. Why bother learning how to repair old cars from the 1970s when those are hardly in use anymore? That is some of the modern normalized thinking you have to fight against. it isn’t about what is used in today’s world, it is what was used in the world of yesterday, which will soon become the low-tech and ruined world of tomorrow.

Collecting Skills

Always look to learn new things. you do not have to take up an entirely new trade or career to get some basic knowledge of the skills that are a part of them. One great way to acquire new abilities is to simply try things out or enhance your participation in events going on in your life already. Got a friend who is renovating a home? Go over and lend a hand. Are you renting an RV for a vacation? Delve into how the generator works. Learn how to install and use a simple solar panel power system. Don’t call a plumber, watch some YouTube videos and try and fix that leaky pipe at home yourself.

Again, like most of my advice, the key is to be unconventional. To do things in ways that are not common in modern society, things that fall outside the so-called “normal” goals we all have as part of civilization. You have to start thinking in terms of what you will be doing when there is no civilization, only the ruins of one.

So, get a bit weird with it.

Take something like earthbag building. That may even be something you were not aware existed until right this minute when you read the words here. The process of building with earthbags (basically sandbags) is both old and new. Sandbags have long been used, particularly by the military, for creating strong, protective barriers, or for flood control. The same reasons that make them useful for these applications carry over to creating housing. Since the walls are so substantial, they resist all kinds of severe weather (or even bullets) and also stand up to natural calamities such as earthquakes and floods. Talk about excellent post-collapse accommodations…

Conclusion

What you know and what you are able to do with your skills will have more to do with your survival post-collapse than what you may have in the way of supplies. After civilization comes apart, there will be plenty of tools and materials lying around, but do you know how to use them? If you want to survive in a new world without society, you will have to master as many skills as you can, some of which you may never have considered before. Skills that aren’t very common in modern civilization, like building wagons, erecting windmills, and fabricating machinery out of scrap. The skills you choose to cultivate could determine whether you live or die in that new post-collapse world.

So make ’em count.