Pros and Cons of how your BOB looks to others

[Texan-]

I imagine the size of your group also matters, a group of 10 is probably safer than 2

 

[bigpaul]

I imagine the size of your group also matters, a group of 10 is probably safer than 2

the more people you have in your group the more mouths you have to feed.

 

[Brent S]

the more people you have in your group the more mouths you have to feed.

Yes, but there's also more hands available for things like finding food, hauling water, gathering firewood, and really important, security.

 

[bigpaul]

Yes, but there's also more hands available for things like finding food, hauling water, gathering firewood, and really important, security.

yes, but its a never ending circle, the more people you have the more food you need the more land you need to grow food on so you need more people to work the land and so it goes on. that's IF you can get them to do the work in the first place , most will sit around complaining.
small isolated family groups would be the norm in the UK, 10 would be a large group here!!

 

[Brent S]

yes, but its a never ending circle, the more people you have the more food you need the more land you need to grow food on so you need more people to work the land and so it goes on. that's IF you can get them to do the work in the first place , most will sit around complaining.

Those are the ones you fire.

 

[bigpaul]

Those are the ones you fire.

then they know where you are and what you have got, they tell others, what then?

 

[Brent S]

then they know where you are and what you have got, they tell others, what then?

I was only joking about firing them, latrine duty for a week will usually motivate someone. Seriously though, you have to sleep sometime. You have to have a few to share the workload. Three guys with guns can take a couple, but are less likely to attempt to take a compound.

 

[bigpaul]

the only REAL group will be a family "unit", whether that is just the 2 of you, 2 +2 children or an extended family, a group made up of unrelated people just isn't going to work and they generally fall apart long before TSHTF. I have personal experience of this.

 

[bigpaul]

I was only joking about firing them, latrine duty for a week will usually motivate someone. Seriously though, you have to sleep sometime. You have to have a few to share the workload. Three guys with guns can take a couple, but are less likely to attempt to take a compound.

I think this is the difference between groups in the US and those in the UK. groups in the UK will be smaller than those in the US.

 

[grayghost668]

I imagine the size of your group also matters, a group of 10 is probably safer than 2

a bigger group is ok but when a few decide they want it all,,,,what the hell do you do then,,,,,,for me this is simple pick a isolated location,install a bunker and trust no one but the dog

 

[bigpaul]

couldn't agree more, especially if said group is made up of non family members.

 

[Hippophibia]

People naturally band together in times of distress as you need each other. I don't see groups being a problem - humans have always survived and thrived better in groups. More skills and if you get injured can look after each other. Living of the land is mostly a pipe dream, very difficult and physically demanding, and it drops your life expectancy due to the harshness. If you look at the survival shows where people have to fend for themselves the vast majority of well trained survivalist fail, and they all lose lots of weight, that is in high bio-diverse areas. It is not sustainable.

If one takes veg and grain seed, chickens or rabbits - quite easy to set up a sustainable community.

 

[Silent Earth]

I think of it this way, in the immediate aftermath most of us wil survive using foods we have already cached so we will be able to get by for a while in small family groups. BUT when we start to rebuild and want to grow / raise our food I think we will need the mutual support of others to help with farming and GUARDING our crops and critters. Especially as we MAY not have motorised or power assisted tools to help us farm.

 

[bigpaul]

yes but can you TRUST them? that's always been my problem.
in times of adversity people will try to take advantage of others, its human nature.
which is why I want to be as far away from other people as I can get.

 

[Hippophibia]

yes but can you TRUST them? that's always been my problem.
in times of adversity people will try to take advantage of others, its human nature.
which is why I want to be as far away from other people as I can get.

Yeah it comes down to trust. Things like natural disasters and war bring out the best and worst in people, in relativity large groups like +15 the group strength outweighs any few individuals. If a few persons want to behave badly the group sorts them out quickly, it is overwhelming numbers - majority of people will do the right thing.. If you have a group of less than 5 and two individuals go crazy or decide to split from the group due to a disagreement on an issue it is problematic for the rest to sort them out.
It might be a surprise but I think big groups are easier to manage. But like any group there needs to be one or two strong leader and rules have to be set.

People will tend to gather in racial or religious or political groups. Just read today about the super-dome experiences some had at Katrina after the cyclone hit. People stuck together in like groups for safety never moved around by themselves.

 

[bigpaul]

i don't think we can assume "people will do the right thing", it might be nice to think that any disaster will bring out the best in people, but I think it will bring out the WORST, and I will act on that basis.
I heard there was a lot of killing and raping going on in the superdome, not that I ever intend to get myself put in any "rescue centre".

 

[Brent S]

I think of it this way, in the immediate aftermath most of us wil survive using foods we have already cached so we will be able to get by for a while in small family groups. BUT when we start to rebuild and want to grow / raise our food I think we will need the mutual support of others to help with farming and GUARDING our crops and critters. Especially as we MAY not have motorised or power assisted tools to help us farm.

Can you imagine trying to hoe just one acre by hand? Then have to go gather firewood to cook with or boil water. Then stay up all night to guard against those that will kill you for a single chicken. It just can't be done alone.

 

[bigpaul]

Can you imagine trying to hoe just one acre by hand? Then have to go gather firewood to cook with or boil water. Then stay up all night to guard against those that will kill you for a single chicken. It just can't be done alone.

why an acre? I suppose it depends on the size of your group, but most people over estimate how much land is required, we wont be growing large fields of wheat and corn post SHTF, we will be growing smaller areas with a variety of crops, more like allotment growing in the UK, raised beds and growing in containers like tyres/tires will be the norm.
people tend to think too big that's why they assume they need loads of people, the more people one has the more land they need. which is why I believe in the KISS principle. the larger the group the less they can stay undetected.

 

[grayghost668]

Can you imagine trying to hoe just one acre by hand? Then have to go gather firewood to cook with or boil water. Then stay up all night to guard against those that will kill you for a single chicken. It just can't be done alone.

a garden will not have to be that big,my one Uncle made a garden every year it was a 1/4 acre and he kept 11 people supplied with vegies,,,,,I figure at least 1 year before the city folk that survive start to venture very far from the cities,by then if you have been in your area for a few years before the fall it will give you time to see which of your neighbors survived the SHITF,,,,I will make my alliances after the fact,,,IE,,,the radiation has become a non factor,,,,,

 

[grayghost668]

If you look at the survival shows where people have to fend for themselves the vast majority of well trained survivalist fail, and they all lose lots of weight, that is in high bio-diverse areas. It is not sustainable.

If one takes veg and grain seed, chickens or rabbits - quite easy to set up a sustainable community.

now not saying anyone here is fat,,,,,but I could deal with losing some lard,,,,

as for living off the land ,there wasn't always the local market to get your grocery's, they were grown or hunted,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I really don't see a problem