Choosing other preppers to form a community

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montanabill

montanabill

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I have just about given up trying to find other preppers who want to come together and form a group for the coming hard times.....and i think the hard times are here and going to get a lot worse very quickly this year.
It seems people either are thinking they are set up just fine in their apartment or they are looking for someone that will provide them with everything including a place to live without having to chip in any money.
Hopefully there are others who are well set up and can take care of their family just fine. I just tend to think there are many people out there who are younger, don't have the perfect homestead and have younger children. Location plays into the scenario as well, people living close or in a major city (over 100K people) are not going to do well.
I have a pretty good setup here in sparsely populated montana which could support a few more people for a couple of years.
I guess i will just keep monitoring local people so i have a clue who would be trustworthy and able to work in a group if things go bad quickly and they are left out in the cold.
Does anybody have any ideas how to cultivate some other like minded preppers? I know about the civic organizations, shooting ranges, gardening groups etc.
 
I have thought about this for a long time. I reflect on my life experiences with various people to think about the potential successes or problems.
How does one create a safe situation?
Who do you let in, and who do you not want in, but others do?
Who is the boss? Who has the final say?
Who owns the property? What happens in a situation where it is collectively owned and one of the owners dies, but the heirs are less than desirable?
What if someone becomes difficult to deal with? Or their spouse does? Or their children?
What about someone who runs their mouth and doesn't respect OPSEC, but did enough to get in, and then their special friends and family start showing up?
How is labor divided up? How are resources kept, protected and shared. What happens if life conditions become dire and you have to start rationing, but some want to be treated special?

There are many aspects of doing this that requires well thought out ideas.
 
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First, MT Bill, you are not alone. I think preppers are a funny crew. I doubt you will find a "commune" like setting. (There was a time I was interested in finding such a place.) My observation: I think preppers are a more reserved bunch than to openly share and come together and become a larger target. I know there are more out there than what we think/see. The things that have disappeared from the stores is just one indication. An example: I told Hubby, I mention canning my own veggies and people look at me like I'm from another planet, but I know other folks are canning because jars and lids and other canning supplies sell from the stores. Where are these folks - I know not. But when it all goes down, they will be the ones still around.
I've said it before, but well worth repeating - that's one of the things I appreciate about this site. I know y'all are out there even if you're not here.
 
I have had a interest in communes and intentional communities for many years. I am well aware of the intricacy's of working with others. Right now I am in a position of having many assets and very few people even interested in some dialogue.
So tomorrow it's new chicken time and work on the big pile of firewood to get it positioned and covered up. Life goes on.
 
I have some ideas. I do not know if they are good ideas or not
I have belonged to a forum whos members live in my State. i have been a member for over 12 years
We meet, as a group 2 or 3 times a year, and in-between those times we meet up 1 or 2 people at a time
We have established a well oiled ''mule'' system through out our state, If a member in the south buys from member in the north
someone will be headed in that direction. .and it gets passed off till it arrives.. [ we have a classified section]
We have all agreed that in the event sftf we will contact each other via CB
Anyway. that is how the group started and relationships grow or dissolve from that point
Who do you need in your prepping group?
Health care professionals- to heal
Tradesman- to build
knowledgeable persons in local plants and bugs
Mechanics
farmers
hunters
people who can rebuild a society
people not needed. anyone who is of low morale character, thieves, druggies, politicians democrats and liberals

Who rules the roost? EVEREYTHING is voted on. Until a proper Government is established majority rules
A leader will emerge on its own given time.. I am of the philosophy it is better to wait than snatch the shiny object.

If you do get group in your area together. then we should talk, I think having linked groups could be a good thing for trading and protection
 
Linked groups can cause one small groups to be over ran by larger, more needy groups. Ever watched the walking dead.
I trust no one, even less out side my group & I question everything.
 
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I feel the need to develop groups and agree with what @montanabill is saying 100%. I am a man of limited resources who is anchored to a place that is not sustainable. I see the community around me as being full for takers but lacking doers. I have tried to develop a network of folks locally but find everyone has that "the government knows best" mentality. By the time I am ready to move to a more sustainable location I feel I will no longer have the energy to restart. I have considered buying some land some place and spending vacations and holidays developing it into a homestead, but my wife's medical conditions are such that she cannot travel and she can not be left alone for more than an hour or 2. So I do all I can to make my little place sustainable and defensible. Sometime I feel like I am on a fool's errand, running against the wind.......
 
Weedygarden said:
Maybe. I used to watch him, but something about him bothers me. It has been a few years since I quit watching him and don't really remember why I quit.
Click to expand...

Pastor Joe provided some useful information, but to me, something about him just wreaked of CULT. Maybe it was the religion. I just had the feeling it was more cult than prepper community.

montanabill said:
I have just about given up trying to find other preppers who want to come together and form a group for the coming hard times.....and i think the hard times are here and going to get a lot worse very quickly this year.
Click to expand...

I have never been much good at trusting others. I think your heart is in the right place wanting to help, but I would just take it very slowly, and maybe let them seek you. Weedygarden brings up some excellent points that should be carefully planned. Finding like minded people through similar interest groups or through your church may be a good place to start. I wouldn't push it. Let the friendships build over time before approaching the topic of a Mutual Assistance Group.

From a personal standpoint, we are not part of any group, and do not intend to be. We are very guarded about what we do, and very few people know.
 
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To solve this, the first thing required is to, "Tell the Truth". Preppers can't look at truth, it is simply to repulsive and ugly.

So just like this thread subject, preppers start with, "What they CHOOSE to believe". What they "WISH" for their future.
 
Trusting anyone new would be the problem. It isn't about what they know or how well-stocked they are; it's whether or not they'll become a threat.

I started prepping 20 years ago and got several close friends doing it, too. These are people I trust with my families' lives. I suspect that'll be the best it gets for me, which is fine.
 
Been thinking, and it's sad thoughts. There is only 1 person I trust completely, we have been married for over 3 decades. There are a few other friends I would hand a gun too. Many others would be turned away.

I don't know any preppers, but of course they don't know I am one either, so it balances out.

Been a couple of "Prepper" nets on the radio, they both crapped out over a couple months.
 
montanabill said:
I have just about given up trying to find other preppers who want to come together and form a group for the coming hard times.....and i think the hard times are here and going to get a lot worse very quickly this year.
It seems people either are thinking they are set up just fine in their apartment or they are looking for someone that will provide them with everything including a place to live without having to chip in any money.
Hopefully there are others who are well set up and can take care of their family just fine. I just tend to think there are many people out there who are younger, don't have the perfect homestead and have younger children. Location plays into the scenario as well, people living close or in a major city (over 100K people) are not going to do well.
I have a pretty good setup here in sparsely populated montana which could support a few more people for a couple of years.
I guess i will just keep monitoring local people so i have a clue who would be trustworthy and able to work in a group if things go bad quickly and they are left out in the cold.
Does anybody have any ideas how to cultivate some other like minded preppers? I know about the civic organizations, shooting ranges, gardening groups etc.
Click to expand...

A lot of what you are thinking about was a topic that Mel Tappan wrote extensively about in his 1970’s Personal Survival Letters (PSL). He influenced a lot of this type of activity and there was some migration by preppers to places like Idaho and other places. After his death, people he influenced like Rawles continued this line of thought, and I Rawles coined “American Redoubt” for a location for this type of migration and community development. Decades ago this was where my mindset was at. My though pattern has shifted to be more in the line of what Ol’ Remus advocated, such as staying away from all humans.

If you are indeed interested in forming such a community, I’d get a copy of the entire PSL series and read it. A google search should locate the PDF of this massive compilation of Tappan’s guidance on this. Reading Rawles work might be useful, but Tappan was is considered the source. Again, this is not what I advocate, as I sense time is running out for such activities like Tappan advocated. But this is just me.
 
Great comments and I do feel for the people who are medically restricted.

A few questions for those who trust no one and are going to go it alone or with immediate family.

Do you have enough hardened people to stand guard duty 24/7?

I envision a council of elders to run the day to day group duties and decisions and a war chief to tend to matters of security.
 
montanabill said:
Do you have enough hardened people to stand guard duty 24/7?
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In a word, NO. But we have prepared as well as we can. There are only three of us; me, wife, mentally challenged son. We will stay together, and if this is our Alamo, so be it. We will make our peace with God, and put our fate in His hands.
 
Alaskajohn said:
A lot of what you are thinking about was a topic that Mel Tappan wrote extensively about in his 1970’s Personal Survival Letters (PSL). He influenced a lot of this type of activity and there was some migration by preppers to places like Idaho and other places. After his death, people he influenced like Rawles continued this line of thought, and I Rawles coined “American Redoubt” for a location for this type of migration and community development. Decades ago this was where my mindset was at. My though pattern has shifted to be more in the line of what Ol’ Remus advocated, such as staying away from all humans.

If you are indeed interested in forming such a community, I’d get a copy of the entire PSL series and read it. A google search should locate the PDF of this massive compilation of Tappan’s guidance on this. Reading Rawles work might be useful, but Tappan was is considered the source. Again, this is not what I advocate, as I sense time is running out for such activities like Tappan advocated. But this is just me.
Click to expand...
When I talk about, That Prepping has gone in a very deeply "FLAWED" direction, this is the core of that. The entire prepping movement is now and has been for slightly more than 40 years a flawed movement, as it was high-jacked by "Madison Avenue" marketing for profit.
 
bkt said:
Trusting anyone new would be the problem. It isn't about what they know or how well-stocked they are; it's whether or not they'll become a threat.
Click to expand...
I worked with someone for more than 20 years and thought she was a good friend. One night several of us went out to dinner, and another former colleague and I realized just how wrong we were about her. You can know someone for a long, long time, and not really know them. Stress and hard times will bring out the worst in people, and sometimes, people keep their true nature under wraps.
 
montanabill said:
Great comments and I do feel for the people who are medically restricted.

A few questions for those who trust no one and are going to go it alone or with immediate family.

Do you have enough hardened people to stand guard duty 24/7?

I envision a council of elders to run the day to day group duties and decisions and a war chief to tend to matters of security.
Click to expand...

No, but it doesn't matter in the long run. You make do with what/who you have. I envision an underground bunker, nuclear reactor and hydroponic gardens with a fully trained and armed security team, but I got an old fat guy and his wife and a neighbor or two.

It is what it is.
 
Weedygarden said:
I worked with someone for more than 20 years and thought she was a good friend. One night several of us went out to dinner, and another former colleague and I realized just how wrong we were about her. You can know someone for a long, long time, and not really know them. Stress and hard times will bring out the worst in people, and sometimes, people keep their true nature under wraps.
Click to expand...
I been there, lost some friends, got the T-shirt. You think somebody has your back, and when there is the slightest bit of stress, you see em turn tail and run.
 
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Weedygarden said:
I worked with someone for more than 20 years and thought she was a good friend. One night several of us went out to dinner, and another former colleague and I realized just how wrong we were about her. You can know someone for a long, long time, and not really know them. Stress and hard times will bring out the worst in people, and sometimes, people keep their true nature under wraps.
Click to expand...

JMHO but the word/term "friend" is grossly overused. I can count my friends on one hand and have fingers left over. Everybody else is an acquaintance. People I know. People I associate with. They are not friends. I don't want to sound overly critical, Weedy, and this is no reflection on you, but if you think you have friends at work, change jobs, and see how many people keep in touch. This can sometimes be a shocking and painful realization. Again, JMHO but hose people are not friends. They are just people you work with.
 
Someone left Paul Wheaton group, because they said, Paul did not want them talking to towns people. It was a big thing for a minute, then nothing. The site has good information & stuff I find to be silly, anything
that good has to be dug out of the stuff it is buried in.
This is an example of people worship & that we need to watch out for, all men have feet of clay.
 
dademoss said:
I been there, lost some friends, got the T-shirt. You think somebody has your back, and when there is the slightest bit of stress, you see em turn tail and run.
Click to expand...

I been hung out to dry a few times by "friends".

Some more by "family".

Only true friend I've had was in a fox hole wearing same color clothes as me.

Thanks , but no thanks, me and my bride gonna build a 3' thick , 100 ft tall , wall around our whole place with a gate that only we can open.

I don't trust anybody , and don't want to be around anybody. Especially in shtf teotwawki.

Y'all all on your own.

Jim
 
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