What skills would *you* bring to an off-grid community?

[RetireOrDieTrying]

Easiest question I'll do all day.

I'll be the first to die. I have no outdoorsman skills whatsoever. I don't know how to hunt, fish, or garden. All I can do is shoot well and boil water. That likely ain't gonna carry the day.

We all have our role to play. LOL

[SunnyDays]

Are they going to waste half their human resources because the young women are doing child care?  Twits.

Snort.  I had the same reaction.  It's the kind of decision made by self-important whippersnappers who don't know what they don't know. 

On the contrary, actually.  Most of the members are middle age and up, so they want to inject some young blood.  Plus, they need some strong youngsters to do the grunt work.

[Jack0Life]

I didn't see this yet...
- I can put up a solar array. Free electricity.
- My wife is a seamstress. She can sew anything.
- Best of all, I'm the karaoke king. We can have karaoke night every night. Keep us from boredom.

[RetiredAt63]

Are they going to waste half their human resources because the young women are doing child care?  Twits.

Snort.  I had the same reaction.  It's the kind of decision made by self-important whippersnappers who don't know what they don't know. 

On the contrary, actually.  Most of the members are middle age and up, so they want to inject some young blood.  Plus, they need some strong youngsters to do the grunt work.

Well if they have the young women doing child care they are losing half those strong youngsters.  I know lots of women in their 20s and 30s who are fully capable of contributing physically to this sort of community.

Depending on the community it might be advantageous to look for 3 generations - kids, parents and grand-parents.  Because that is a very effective package.

[RetiredAt63]

Do the "anti-work" Facebookers know how much work is involved in an off-grid community?   Somebody should call the irony police. 

It's like the city people who think country living is the simple life.  Even on-grid and non-farm, country living is not simple.

Reminds me of the cyclists who used to bike along my country road and complain about all the lawns.  That isn't just lawn, that is my leach field.

[Sailor Sam]

I'm good at understanding/directing/mitigating the kind of complex interpersonal shiz that happens inside small, isolated, and cramped communities.

I'm also rrrrl good at shouting mottos, and directing @spartana to put the wrench, for godsake wash your filthy hands, and give me back my poptarts.

Side talents are dealing with young men who are very concerned about whatever is dripping from their penises.

I wonder who would be group leader, you or Mcat? Dont make me vote, ‘kay? Let’s just flip for it.

Happily I only really want to be the leader of ships. Just put me in charge of the Navy, and I'll go away and rarely come back.

[RetiredAt63]

Gaja and I can sit at our looms, after we have washed, carded, dyed and spun the wool.  Also given global warming, maybe we should branch out to flax and stinging nettles. 

I've gotten hold of flax seeds from a museum project that I will be testing this year. They are trying to get more people to grow fiber flax to make sure the seeds survive. The fiber making process is rather complex, with stooking, rippling, retting and breaking, before it can be spun. But it will be fun to try. Maybe I should do a batch of nettles at the same time to see how they turn out. For our community we would also need to grow and process fiber hemp (no, it is not dual purpose). Cotton I know nothing about.

The spinning was traditionally a man's job in my culture. Sure, everybody could spin a bit for everyday clothes. But for the best fibers, most even and thin thread, you needed an experienced man. Same for making decorative cords. With no internet or TV, everybody can do some carding, spinning or knitting when we gather around the fireplace in winter.

There must be a chemist in here who can make us alum for mordant? Until we figure that out, everybody just have to wear grey, brown, white, and orange (from Parmelia saxatilis, doesn't need mordant). And blue, of course. The mordant for blue is freely available if you are willing to work with it.

I can help with weaving, stitching, crocheting and spinning. Also have knowledge about plants (or bugs..) for dyeing.
And if we can be in the right environment to grow indigo then we are set. Everything looks wonderful after a soak in a deep dark indigo vat.

Depending on the location I have growing/gardening skills & foraging knowledge. Can chop & stack wood like a pro.

I also have first aid training and wilderness skills. Please let me in.

Oh, and I'm trained in massage--this usually initially makes me quite popular when people find out on long hiking trips, etc. :)

I know someone who sells woad seeds.  Not as much dye by weight, but tolerant of a shorter growing season.  Some members of my guild grew flax last summer and took it to linen thread.  Both are a lot of work.  If we have alum, goldenrod and birds-foot trefoil both make nice yellows, if we don't want to waste garden space on yellow dye plants.  Woodruff grows well here and the roots make a nice red.

We will need to establish the dye works downwind.   ;-)

Gaja, women were professional spinners in England, back in the day - that is where the term spinster comes from.  They were usually unmarried (or widowed) since a married woman had too much else to do to spin all day for pay.

In colonial Canada the household weaving was done by women but there were professional travelling male professional weavers who had larger looms and could do wider fabrics.  Things like carpets and bedspreads.

[Laura33]

Are they going to waste half their human resources because the young women are doing child care?  Twits.

Snort.  I had the same reaction.  It's the kind of decision made by self-important whippersnappers who don't know what they don't know. 

On the contrary, actually.  Most of the members are middle age and up, so they want to inject some young blood.  Plus, they need some strong youngsters to do the grunt work.

Well if they have the young women doing child care they are losing half those strong youngsters.  I know lots of women in their 20s and 30s who are fully capable of contributing physically to this sort of community.

Depending on the community it might be advantageous to look for 3 generations - kids, parents and grand-parents.  Because that is a very effective package.

Sounds like it's not so much excluding people like us as it is saying they have enough people like us already, and they need to balance out the demographics more.

[Dicey]

Incidentally, my uncle founded and has run a commune for nearly 40 years.

Winner!

[RetiredAt63]

Are they going to waste half their human resources because the young women are doing child care?  Twits.

Snort.  I had the same reaction.  It's the kind of decision made by self-important whippersnappers who don't know what they don't know. 

On the contrary, actually.  Most of the members are middle age and up, so they want to inject some young blood.  Plus, they need some strong youngsters to do the grunt work.

Well if they have the young women doing child care they are losing half those strong youngsters.  I know lots of women in their 20s and 30s who are fully capable of contributing physically to this sort of community.

Depending on the community it might be advantageous to look for 3 generations - kids, parents and grand-parents.  Because that is a very effective package.

ALOT of older and middle aged people - especially women - are fully capable of doing hard chores and aren't likely to want to be sitting around playing granny to little kids all day. I'd be opting out asap. Skills are probably more important then strength anyways but even the strength needed to build and maintain things is relatively minimal. Plus it's like going to the gym - free workout by hefting stuff around all.day long ;-).

Oh sure - look at how many of the gardeners here are older - plus you should see the membership of my local garden club.  My friend and I used to joke about how fit we were by the end of gardening season.  But my point was more how are they going to get the best use out of younger families if child care is all on them?  There is a reason the kibbutzes in Israel had creches.

On a more serious note, younger people with children might be happier to join something like this if their parents are also welcome. 

[Cranky]

I have lived in a commune, and I wish you well. ;-)

[Omy]

Cooking, cleaning, organizing, sewing, fishing, building, painting, troubleshooting. When and where?

[JupiterGreen]

well aside from the ones everyone has, building, caring for animals, cooking, and baking bread from scratch, I have a lot of wild stories so I could help keep everyone entertained.

[JustFixIt]

I’m pretty good at fixing things, just need to have a look at it.

Can help with the cooking - eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, and make the best milk gravy (no, lumps).
Have a few family specialities that most would likely enjoy.

Can handle wrenching, light electrical, woodworking and know my way around power tools.

Have programming skills, but old school languages as I’m, well, let’s call it seasoned.

Would be thrilled to join the homestead.

[Captain Cactus]

I can cook anything.  That's probably the skill I can bring to the table. 

Washing dishes?  Someone else is going to have to handle that. 

I am previous military myself, US Army Transportations Corps, so I could potentially handle our transportation needs, but I see myself in a kitchen working over a large grill and several large iron skillets. 

[sisto]

Jack of all trades, master of none has been my motto for as long as I can remember. I am a fast learner and have done many things. Usually it just takes the nerve to try, failure is how you learn and grow.

Military background here too, so I know how to live and work with people from all backgrounds
Decent construction skills. Framing, doors, windows, sheetrock, electrical, plumbing, and tile. I'm also really good at fixing things and solving problems. I've installed a small solar array. I'm decent at gardening and basic farm work, but not a fan of it. I'm also a good cook. Lastly I have a background as a mechanic and spent nearly 30 years in IT and engineering.

[Cassie]

As retired at 63 mentioned us older people were the children of depression parents so we have lots of useful frugal skills in the homemaking and childcare/school department. There goes our golden years:)). I could bring my second ex husband who like IL’s husband can fix or make anything work.  He would definitely be an asset even though older.

[HeyMickey!]

Love this for us - *this* is the mustachian spirit!

I'm a canner, so I'll put up the food all our gardeners are growing. Oh, and can maintain Food Safety, Inspection, and Integrity :)

[Laura33]

Can handle wrenching

I swear I read this as "wenching."  Thought that would be a particularly unique kind of commune. 

[GuitarStv]

I spent a lot of my youth snaring rabbits and hunting partridge, but am not sure that I'd want people depending on these skills.  I'm pretty good at sewing stuff together with dental floss (will never break, unlike regular thread).  I have some experience in extreme cold, and have built and stayed in an igloo overnight.  None of this seems particularly useful though.

Acerbic wit would likely be my greatest contribution to the community.

[Metalcat]

I spent a lot of my youth snaring rabbits and hunting partridge, but am not sure that I'd want people depending on these skills.  I'm pretty good at sewing stuff together with dental floss (will never break, unlike regular thread).  I have some experience in extreme cold, and have built and stayed in an igloo overnight.  None of this seems particularly useful though.

Acerbic wit would likely be my greatest contribution to the community.

Ooh, I've built and slept in an igloo too, but yeah, that's not actually all that useful. Lol.

We did the igloo thing at our school, grade 6 iirc. We didn't have to sleep in them overnight, but we had the option to if our parents consented.

Can't imagine schools can get away with that kind of shit nowadays, lol.

Actually, I'm not sure schools generally got away with that kind of thing back then either. I went to a school in the woods, I don't think normal rules applied to us.

[nereo]

I spent a lot of my youth snaring rabbits and hunting partridge, but am not sure that I'd want people depending on these skills.  I'm pretty good at sewing stuff together with dental floss (will never break, unlike regular thread).  I have some experience in extreme cold, and have built and stayed in an igloo overnight.  None of this seems particularly useful though.

Acerbic wit would likely be my greatest contribution to the community.

Ooh, I've built and slept in an igloo too, but yeah, that's not actually all that useful. Lol.

We did the igloo thing at our school, grade 6 iirc. We didn't have to sleep in them overnight, but we had the option to if our parents consented.

Can't imagine schools can get away with that kind of shit nowadays, lol.

Actually, I'm not sure schools generally got away with that kind of thing back then either. I went to a school in the woods, I don't think normal rules applied to us.

You pretty much lived the stereotype us American kids had of Canadians.

[Missy B]

I can do the drinking water. Finding it, getting it places, making sure it is safe enough to drink regularly.  I could probably be convinced to let everyone flush their shit in it too, because fuck, why not poop in water safe enough to drink.  Nothing like pooping in a scarce, valuable, necessary for life, resource...

Actually, if I am doing the drinking water, then no one gets to poop in it.

+1

[Metalcat]

I spent a lot of my youth snaring rabbits and hunting partridge, but am not sure that I'd want people depending on these skills.  I'm pretty good at sewing stuff together with dental floss (will never break, unlike regular thread).  I have some experience in extreme cold, and have built and stayed in an igloo overnight.  None of this seems particularly useful though.

Acerbic wit would likely be my greatest contribution to the community.

Ooh, I've built and slept in an igloo too, but yeah, that's not actually all that useful. Lol.

We did the igloo thing at our school, grade 6 iirc. We didn't have to sleep in them overnight, but we had the option to if our parents consented.

Can't imagine schools can get away with that kind of shit nowadays, lol.

Actually, I'm not sure schools generally got away with that kind of thing back then either. I went to a school in the woods, I don't think normal rules applied to us.

You pretty much lived the stereotype us American kids had of Canadians.

Lol. Meanwhile the vast minority of Canadians live anywhere rural. I mean, about 40% of our population lives in just our 5 biggest cities.

Your typical Canadian kid will be more adept ordering Sri Lankan food off of Uber eats than building an igloo or making a fire.

[lutorm]

Hmm, do we need any astronomers or spacecraft software programmers in this community?

[Missy B]

I'm just pausing here for a moment to reflect on the poor, sad bastards from the original, post-inspiring Facebook page who imagine going to live on a commune or off-grid community is actually *less* work.

Now... gardening, (which is not farming, which is critical for a truly self-sufficient off-grid community), vegetable canning, herbal preps, sewing, cooking, basic knitting. Natural dye experience, willing to work occasionally with urine on windy days. Good work ethic, likes to learn. Sing, play quitar.

I wonder how many people you'd actually need to be sustaining in terms of your own cloth, food, water. Glass making. Medical personnel.

[Metalcat]

I'm just pausing here for a moment to reflect on the poor, sad bastards from the original, post-inspiring Facebook page who imagine going to live on a commune or off-grid community is actually *less* work.

Now... gardening, (which is not farming, which is critical for a truly self-sufficient off-grid community), vegetable canning, herbal preps, sewing, cooking, basic knitting. Natural dye experience, willing to work occasionally with urine on windy days. Good work ethic, likes to learn. Sing, play quitar.

I wonder how many people you'd actually need to be sustaining in terms of your own cloth, food, water. Glass making. Medical personnel.

100% there's a reason this former woods-dwelling, igloo-building, wood-chopping, animal-birthing, bear-dodging, deer-dressing, get up at night to keep the fire going, country girl now lives in the core of a major city in a concrete sky box with several hundred neighbours in one building.

I'm too lazy for off-grid life. Too much brutally hard, never ending work. 

[Chris Pascale]

Has anyone said nun-chuck skills yet?

[RetiredAt63]

I'm just pausing here for a moment to reflect on the poor, sad bastards from the original, post-inspiring Facebook page who imagine going to live on a commune or off-grid community is actually *less* work.

Now... gardening, (which is not farming, which is critical for a truly self-sufficient off-grid community), vegetable canning, herbal preps, sewing, cooking, basic knitting. Natural dye experience, willing to work occasionally with urine on windy days. Good work ethic, likes to learn. Sing, play quitar.

I wonder how many people you'd actually need to be sustaining in terms of your own cloth, food, water. Glass making. Medical personnel.

100% there's a reason this former woods-dwelling, igloo-building, wood-chopping, animal-birthing, bear-dodging, deer-dressing, get up at night to keep the fire going, country girl now lives in the core of a major city in a concrete sky box with several hundred neighbours in one building.

I'm too lazy for off-grid life. Too much brutally hard, never ending work.

We were 3 weeks without power during the ice storm - getting up in the middle of the night to keep the fire going is a definite requirement when it is -30C out.  Someone had to be home at all times to keep the fire going without having a house fire. 

It's not even the off-grid.  I was rural on-grid for decades.  I am now in an urban high-rise.  No septic system to worry about.  No well and pump to worry about (if the power goes out I still have water!!!).  No long long driveway to clear in winter. No acre of grass to cut in summer (ticks like long grass, I don't like ticks).  And I had it soft, we had garbage collection, I didn't have to worry about taking it to the dump.  I've stayed at cottages where the weekly dump run was a thing.

Plus "the simple life" means so much stuff.  All the cooking/food preserving equipment.  All the gardening equipment.  All the yard maintenance equipment.  All the snow clearing equipment.  You are not a minimalist in the country.  If you get into real self-sufficiency then you get into the farming equipment, and the fabric equipment, and the livestock, and just so much. 

Plus our equipment is basically geared to electricity and fossil fuels.  So going off-grid is harder.  Visit Upper Canada Village  or equivalent - they had all the equipment geared to their resources.  And it is obvious that life was a lot of work, and a lot of planning.  If you are going to need a bucket, the time to make the bucket is not when you need it.  There is a cooper at Upper Canada Village.  And a blacksmith.  And a tin worker.  And and and.  It is a real eye-opener.

I remember in elementary school how shocked I was that in the medieval period an apprentice got only one new set of clothes a year - plus as many hand-me-downs as needed/available.  But now that I have taken a fleece from shearing to yarn to finished item, I know how much work would have gone into that one set of new clothing.

[GuitarStv]

I spent a lot of my youth snaring rabbits and hunting partridge, but am not sure that I'd want people depending on these skills.  I'm pretty good at sewing stuff together with dental floss (will never break, unlike regular thread).  I have some experience in extreme cold, and have built and stayed in an igloo overnight.  None of this seems particularly useful though.

Acerbic wit would likely be my greatest contribution to the community.

Ooh, I've built and slept in an igloo too, but yeah, that's not actually all that useful. Lol.

We did the igloo thing at our school, grade 6 iirc. We didn't have to sleep in them overnight, but we had the option to if our parents consented.

Can't imagine schools can get away with that kind of shit nowadays, lol.

Actually, I'm not sure schools generally got away with that kind of thing back then either. I went to a school in the woods, I don't think normal rules applied to us.

Heh.  I also went to school in the woods where we learned a lot of this stuff.  We actually had a wilderness survival thing in each grade from 1-8 (how to light a fire, what kinds of stuff was safe to eat/poisonous, building shelter).

[Omy]

Almost forgot...if there's clay, I can make bowls and plates for everyone.

[ChickenStash]

I'm pretty good with building and fixing mechanical, electrical, or technological things, I can learn new things, and take direction from SMEs. I can also lift heavy things and don't mind (maybe even enjoy) hard, dirty work. I'm terrible at actually growing things, though.

That said, based on similar conversations with folks in the real world, I would never choose to be off-grid to much of an extent and wouldn't join an off-grid community/commune with people that think it's a good idea.

[Hall11235]

The ability to die quickly and easily due to my lack of any applicable off-grid skills whatsoever.

[ixtap]

Do the "anti-work" Facebookers know how much work is involved in an off-grid community?   Somebody should call the irony police. 

This is usually my reaction to ERE threads, anti work and even homesteading. After a few years of it my sister in law said homesteading wasn't like Little House on the Prairie and all I could think was that I was glad my brother didn't nearly die in a blizzard and none of my nieces went blind from a childhood disease. Nothing in those books ever made me want to try it out!

That being said, between us DH and I can fix just about anything. But we also recognize that the right tools and parts make fixing things far, far easier than always gerry rigging.

I could give lectures on Spanish and Latin American literature and culture and general humanities. This far out from reviewing anything, the dates and some other details might be made up, but it is only for entertainment purposes, right? I kind of like the idea of writing my own encyclopedia from memory to have that partially made up version become canon in our community. Borges would be proud.

[Miss Piggy]

Do any of you know that Billy Currington song, "I'm Pretty Good at Drinking Beer"?  I got mad skills.

I'll also keep all of our bicycles in tip-top shape. And I'll paint, clean, garden, and do minor to medium DIY projects. I'm a jill-of-all-trades type.

[SunnyDays]

I spent a lot of my youth snaring rabbits and hunting partridge, but am not sure that I'd want people depending on these skills.  I'm pretty good at sewing stuff together with dental floss (will never break, unlike regular thread).  I have some experience in extreme cold, and have built and stayed in an igloo overnight.  None of this seems particularly useful though.

Acerbic wit would likely be my greatest contribution to the community.

Ooh, I've built and slept in an igloo too, but yeah, that's not actually all that useful. Lol.

We did the igloo thing at our school, grade 6 iirc. We didn't have to sleep in them overnight, but we had the option to if our parents consented.

Can't imagine schools can get away with that kind of shit nowadays, lol.

Actually, I'm not sure schools generally got away with that kind of thing back then either. I went to a school in the woods, I don't think normal rules applied to us.

Heh.  I also went to school in the woods where we learned a lot of this stuff.  We actually had a wilderness survival thing in each grade from 1-8 (how to light a fire, what kinds of stuff was safe to eat/poisonous, building shelter).

"Outdoor Schools" are actually becoming a thing now, especially with Indigenous populations.  I guess it keeps kids more interested and participating, where pure academics does not.

ETA:  I've watched a lot of homesteader TV shows, like Alaska the Last Frontier, Mountain Man, etc and< while I see the romantic allure in such a lifestyle, I always wonder, "Why are you all reinventing the wheel, didn't people do everything we could to get past all that hard, brutal work?"

[GuitarStv]

I'll also keep all of our bicycles in tip-top shape.

Not off grid you won't.

Unless you're stamping your own chainrings, forging your own chains, and tapping rubber trees to make your own tires.  Bikes are awesome, but maintaining a bike depends on getting on the grid buying replacement bike parts pretty regularly.

[RetiredAt63]

I'll also keep all of our bicycles in tip-top shape.

Not off grid you won't.

Unless you're stamping your own chainrings, forging your own chains, and tapping rubber trees to make your own tires.  Bikes are awesome, but maintaining a bike depends on getting on the grid buying replacement bike parts pretty regularly.

Off-grid is fine as long as the drive to town and supplies isn't too bad.  Trying to live in the 1800s or earlier is not the greatest idea.  My Dad was alive when electricity came to the prairies, he said it was wonderful.

I actually know a couple who are off-grid.  Hydro was going to charge an exorbitant amount to get power to their new house site (over $40,000, more than 15 years ago).  They built the house to be very energy-efficient.  They have solar/wind, storage batteries, and a diesel generator for backup.  A casual visit would never show that they are off grid.  They have all mod/con including internet.  They are just very very careful about their electricity use.  And they never have to worry when Hydro One loses power.

[lutorm]

Off-grid in the sense of make your own electricity is pretty easy if you can buy solar panels and batteries. I thought the original question was starting from a plot of land. (I like to think of it as the "build a colony on Mars" problem, although there you get to start with a bunch of spacecraft full of stuff. Of course, on the other hand you have no air or water...)

It's pretty silly because if you are only allowed to start with a plot of land, then you'll be stuck at prehistoric levels. You're not going to be making metals, so everything will be made of wood, stone, or clay. If you live in anything but a tropical climate and don't have an enormous area to work with, you'll quickly chop down all the trees and kill off all the large animals and then you'll all likely die.

[Metalcat]

I spent a lot of my youth snaring rabbits and hunting partridge, but am not sure that I'd want people depending on these skills.  I'm pretty good at sewing stuff together with dental floss (will never break, unlike regular thread).  I have some experience in extreme cold, and have built and stayed in an igloo overnight.  None of this seems particularly useful though.

Acerbic wit would likely be my greatest contribution to the community.

Ooh, I've built and slept in an igloo too, but yeah, that's not actually all that useful. Lol.

We did the igloo thing at our school, grade 6 iirc. We didn't have to sleep in them overnight, but we had the option to if our parents consented.

Can't imagine schools can get away with that kind of shit nowadays, lol.

Actually, I'm not sure schools generally got away with that kind of thing back then either. I went to a school in the woods, I don't think normal rules applied to us.

Heh.  I also went to school in the woods where we learned a lot of this stuff.  We actually had a wilderness survival thing in each grade from 1-8 (how to light a fire, what kinds of stuff was safe to eat/poisonous, building shelter).

I went to school in the Canadian woods too (very small town in NE Ontario with an all grades in one classroom thing). All I remember about it was trying not to fall thru ice, trying to avoid moose and bears, and trying to not be carried off by enormous blood sucking mosquitos and the even larger bitting black flies.

well shit, aren't we all just perpetuating stereotypes about Canadians here...

Also, there must be some correlation between between Canadian, growing up in the woods, and ending up prolific posters on this forum, because yeah, seriously, to any Americans reading this, going to school in the woods in Canada is NOT the norm.

[GuitarStv]

I spent a lot of my youth snaring rabbits and hunting partridge, but am not sure that I'd want people depending on these skills.  I'm pretty good at sewing stuff together with dental floss (will never break, unlike regular thread).  I have some experience in extreme cold, and have built and stayed in an igloo overnight.  None of this seems particularly useful though.

Acerbic wit would likely be my greatest contribution to the community.

Ooh, I've built and slept in an igloo too, but yeah, that's not actually all that useful. Lol.

We did the igloo thing at our school, grade 6 iirc. We didn't have to sleep in them overnight, but we had the option to if our parents consented.

Can't imagine schools can get away with that kind of shit nowadays, lol.

Actually, I'm not sure schools generally got away with that kind of thing back then either. I went to a school in the woods, I don't think normal rules applied to us.

Heh.  I also went to school in the woods where we learned a lot of this stuff.  We actually had a wilderness survival thing in each grade from 1-8 (how to light a fire, what kinds of stuff was safe to eat/poisonous, building shelter).

I went to school in the Canadian woods too (very small town in NE Ontario with an all grades in one classroom thing). All I remember about it was trying not to fall thru ice, trying to avoid moose and bears, and trying to not be carried off by enormous blood sucking mosquitos and the even larger bitting black flies.

Several times while walking our small spaniel I had to yank the leash to pull her back from the clutches of the black flies that were flying off with her.

[tygertygertyger]

I spent a lot of my youth snaring rabbits and hunting partridge, but am not sure that I'd want people depending on these skills.  I'm pretty good at sewing stuff together with dental floss (will never break, unlike regular thread).  I have some experience in extreme cold, and have built and stayed in an igloo overnight.  None of this seems particularly useful though.

Acerbic wit would likely be my greatest contribution to the community.

Ooh, I've built and slept in an igloo too, but yeah, that's not actually all that useful. Lol.

We did the igloo thing at our school, grade 6 iirc. We didn't have to sleep in them overnight, but we had the option to if our parents consented.

Can't imagine schools can get away with that kind of shit nowadays, lol.

Actually, I'm not sure schools generally got away with that kind of thing back then either. I went to a school in the woods, I don't think normal rules applied to us.

Heh.  I also went to school in the woods where we learned a lot of this stuff.  We actually had a wilderness survival thing in each grade from 1-8 (how to light a fire, what kinds of stuff was safe to eat/poisonous, building shelter).

I went to school in the Canadian woods too (very small town in NE Ontario with an all grades in one classroom thing). All I remember about it was trying not to fall thru ice, trying to avoid moose and bears, and trying to not be carried off by enormous blood sucking mosquitos and the even larger bitting black flies.

well shit, aren't we all just perpetuating stereotypes about Canadians here...

Also, there must be some correlation between between Canadian, growing up in the woods, and ending up prolific posters on this forum, because yeah, seriously, to any Americans reading this, going to school in the woods in Canada is NOT the norm.

Too late! I now have an entrenched believe that all Canadians go to the school of hard woods.

[Valley of Plenty]

Glad to so many people enjoying the thread! I went and did what I usually did and posted a thread then forgot to check it for multiple days. Oops!

In response to the people who have asked what type of community I'm envisioning, it's not anything specific. I'm interested in what skills everyone has that could be of use in any sort of scenario.

Some skills would be helpful no matter the circumstances, while others are more situation specific. If you possess specific skills that would be useful in a specific scenario, share those as well :)

Loving all the responses so far! The prospects for our hypothetical community are looking *much* better than the one in the Anti-Work group (they had about 20 supervisors for every 1 tradesman, and a dozen artists for every person willing to dig holes)

[Valley of Plenty]

Reading this thread made me feel like i"m definitely not ready for the apocalypse.

I think one potential benefit of this thought exercise and reading the responses of others is that it can show us valuable skills and make us painfully aware of the fact that we do not possess those skills.

I recently developed an interest in backpacking and cultivating the skills to survive off grid, and came to realize that if for any reason I ever had to survive on my own away from civilization for more than a day or two, I would be in serious trouble. Part of the whole process is coming to terms with how much I don't know, and putting in the time and effort to learn.

I personally believe that everyone should learn basic survival skills. How to navigate with a map and compass, how to make/find shelter, how to hunt/forage for food, how to purify water, and how to perform basic first aid, to name just a few. And what could be more Mustachian than having the knowledge and skills necessary to rebuild civilization from nothing using only your bare hands?

I too am definitely not ready for an apocalypse. But I hope that one day I will be. Or at least, confident that I don't need society or civilization to keep myself alive.

[Valley of Plenty]

Do the "anti-work" Facebookers know how much work is involved in an off-grid community?   Somebody should call the irony police. 

If you need a checking forward for the community hockey team, I can do that.

Some of the responses were downright delusional.

There were several people who felt expecting everyone to contribute was wrong and that simply existing should be enough to warrant inclusion and access to group resources.

There was one person who said that they were on board with the idea of starting an off-grid community, so long as they still had internet access and cell service. They didn't seem to be joking.

About 25% of the comments said something to the effect of "I'm very good at supervising people and instructing them on what to do" with no other skills listed.

[Valley of Plenty]

Easiest question I'll do all day.

I'll be the first to die. I have no outdoorsman skills whatsoever. I don't know how to hunt, fish, or garden. All I can do is shoot well and boil water. That likely ain't gonna carry the day.

We all have our role to play. LOL

If you can shoot well, you're well on your way to knowing how to hunt. And you're perfect for guard/patrol duty! Knowing how to boil water means you will probably not die of cholera, which is better than many people would do :)

[Valley of Plenty]

- I can put up a solar array. Free electricity.

Fantastic! Now we just need a team of raiders who can go steal a solar array from another community.

Any volunteers?

[Valley of Plenty]

Hmm, do we need any astronomers or spacecraft software programmers in this community?

We might eventually, if we're being very optomistic!

The Mustachian Space Program would be a pretty great end goal for our starting-from-scratch community. I'm sure we can speedrun from stone age to space age in far less time than it took the normal homosapiens to do it :D

[Serendip]

well shit, aren't we all just perpetuating stereotypes about Canadians here...

Also, there must be some correlation between between Canadian, growing up in the woods, and ending up prolific posters on this forum, because yeah, seriously, to any Americans reading this, going to school in the woods in Canada is NOT the norm.

+1  (grew up in a log cabin in the woods in the west..I have skills and experience for rural/near-off grid living but I don’t romanticize it due to my childhood and upbringing. One of my first jobs was tending to sled dogs)

[LifeHappens]

Hmm, do we need any astronomers or spacecraft software programmers in this community?

We might eventually, if we're being very optomistic!

The Mustachian Space Program would be a pretty great end goal for our starting-from-scratch community. I'm sure we can speedrun from stone age to space age in far less time than it took the normal homosapiens to do it :D

Have you read the Parable series by Octavia Butler? Because you seem to want to live it :)