As promised in our previous article, there are other forgotten survival skills that still matter, and since I don’t want you perishing on my watch, we’ll have to look at all of these.
You can guess ahead: what could any of these skills be?
I hope you’re not thinking of killing a lion with bare hands. I can’t do that with you, as my hands are not bare.
You don’t have to guess anymore: let’s look at skills that nearly everyone has forgotten, but all of which would hold excellent value should SHTF today — or tomorrow — or the next. Or on your birthday.
6 Forgotten Survival Skills that Still Matter
Natural First-aid Administration Methodology
In the days of elixirs & the endless search for immortality, long before multi-billion pharmaceutical companies came into existence, natural medicine was the savior, and modern medicine was ironically taking the back seat. In the absence of standard healthcare access & insurance coverage, illnesses, wounds & infections were treated to using herbs.
For example, thyme used to be a sold-out herb for coughing, while cayenne pepper helped stop bleeding (explains why our forefathers fought wild animals without fear of blood loss). Today though, these natural remedies are no longer paid any attention.
Moving Around In the Unavailability of a GPS
Since the launch of Google Maps in 2005, everyone has stopped bothering with the study of maps (except for students of geography). In fact, no one even owns one these days. What’s the essence of knowing self-navigation when a simple address input in your GPS will show your location & direct you to it regardless of where you are in the world.
However, have you considered that you may lack access to technology someday? You may have to actually get by yourself somewhere. There are some of us who can’t drive from home to work without a Google Map. Have you seen Jexi? That’s about what we all are: vegetables when we can’t control or access technology.
I suggest now that you do more map studying now — or at least know how to read one. Depend less on GPS & take walks around your community without using tech. Learn to travel with a map & a compass. This will be a very valuable skill when disaster strikes.
Self-maintenance of Your Home
These days, there’s always an app to help you find a plumber, roofer, or carpenter close to you. You no longer have to wait for long before any home problem gets fixed. Undeniably, this is easier living, but with sure consequences. Let it not be a surprise that those who are considered handymen will do much better when the poop hits the fan & it becomes every man for himself.
You need to acquire basic skills that’d help you fix your home should any automatic service stop functioning. You need to know how to board up windows & doors in case of a hurricane, how to seal your home, how to turn off the water supply to your building, how to put off your gas supply & many other essential skills.
Phone Number Memorization
The easy access to smartphones & cloud storage has obviously made living much easier. With unlimited storage space available now, you can store information as much as you want without bothering your brain. How many of you are even still sure your brain still commits info to memory?
You need to understand that there’s the possibility of what we call a “grid collapse,” which is the loss of everything technology. A single EMP attack is enough to do this.
You may also lose access to your smartphone when disaster hits. Should this happen now, I’m betting you have serious problems reaching out to valuable people. I am strongly suggesting that you start saving important numbers in your head.
Save your kids’ contact numbers in your head, save that of your doctor & who else matters. You can also write them down in a book that you’ll keep safe. Learn to save hard copies of your documents too in waterproof containers.
Bartering
Bartering is one of the oldest skills known to man. I think it comes right after survival. Before any form of currency was established as a means of exchange, bartering was necessary to get things from others. It was the system of offering what you had in return for what you didn’t. Of course, this meant that you needed to find a person who had what you wanted & wanted what you had. We can look back at the great depression to see more recent examples of this.
You need to realize that bartering will always come into play when the world faces a major problem. It may be an economic challenge or natural disaster — whatever hits home; you’ll have to negotiate with people to get something in exchange for yours. And if you’re poor at this, there’s no extent to which you may shortchange yourself.
You need to pick up & refine your bartering skills now.
Foraging
We have become very convenient to buy our foods from supermarkets & stores. If we can’t make it there physically, we can always have them delivered to our doorsteps. Easier living for us; a job for the delivery man. However, you need to realize that there used to be an era when this was unavailable & people had to source for food — and I’m not talking of Klaus or any other vampire.
Foraging involved leaving home to find food out in the wild or wherever they could find food. These people knew what plant was safe & which wasn’t, so they avoided eating poisonous foods. You have to learn more about plants and the instruments that you need to pluck them when you go foraging.
Concluding the Forgotten Survival Skills that Still Matter
Survival has always been hinged on the skills you have at your disposal. A poorly skilled person will find it harder surviving a disaster than a man who can fashion out buildings at will & find meals to eat — thanks to his array of skills. Technology may not be available when SHTF, and that’s why we continue emphasizing relearning the forgotten survival skills that still matter. Heads up: there’s one last part to this topic.