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Water

Water Overview — How to source, purify, and store drinking water when municipal supply fails — from a 3-day emergency

Atmospheric Water Generation — AWG Technology and Use — Atmospheric water generators: how AWG works, humidity and temp thresholds, energ
Boiling Water for Safety — CDC and WHO-aligned procedure for boiling water: altitude adjustments, rolling b
Bulk Water Storage — Bulk water storage with 55-gal drums, IBC totes, poly tanks, and underground cis
Chemical Water Treatment — EPA dosing for household bleach, pool shock, and iodine tablets — contact times,
Water Containers — Food-grade water containers from 1-gal jugs to 330-gal IBC totes — HDPE resin co
Water Distillation — DIY pot-still construction for removing heavy metals, salts, fluoride, and nitra
Water filtration methods — Comparison of ceramic, hollow-fiber, activated carbon, and DIY biosand filters —
Greywater Systems — Reuse sink, shower, and laundry water legally — laundry-to-landscape, branched d
Ice and Snow Water — Melting and Safety Procedures — Melt ice and snow safely into drinking water. Snow-to-water ratios, core temp ri
Emergency Plumbing — Locate shutoff valves, drain pipes before a freeze, access water heater emergenc
Cistern systems for permanent rainwater storage — Size, select, and build a rainwater cistern: capacity math, five material types, first-flush diverters, overflow routing, and U.S. climate-zone yield.
Rainwater Harvesting — Collection and Storage — Build a rainwater system: collection math, first-flush diverter sizing, cistern
Water Rotation — Rotate stored water every 6–12 months: drain, inspect, clean with bleach solutio
Finding Water — Decision Guide — Decision matrix for water source selection — municipal, well, rainwater, surface
Springs — Development, Spring Box Construction, and Safety — Build a spring box for gravity-fed drinking water. Covers dye testing, upwelling
Surface Water — Sourcing from Streams, Rivers, and Lakes — Evaluate and collect surface water safely. Covers contamination hierarchy, blue-
Water Testing — Test stored water, well water, and emergency sources — home test kits, certified
UV Water Treatment — UV-C at 254nm inactivates all pathogens including viruses. Covers SteriPen proce
Wells — Drilling, Digging, and Hand Pumps — Well types, depths, casing materials, hand pump options (Bison, Simple Pump), wa

Food

Food Overview — How to build a layered food supply from a 2-week pantry surplus to full production capability — stor

Canning — Step-by-step guide to water-bath and pressure canning for safe home food preserv
Comfort food and classics — Desserts, snacks, historical survival rations, and shelf-stable recipes good eno
Composting — Hot and cold composting procedures: C:N ratios, pile temperatures, turning sched
Container Gardening — Container sizing, potting mix selection, drainage, self-watering systems, and re
Cooking Without Power — Off-grid cooking methods — camp stoves, rocket stoves, Dutch ovens, solar ovens,
Dehydrating — Safe food dehydration: temperatures, pretreatment, moisture targets, equipment c
Fermenting — Lacto-fermentation, kombucha, and water kefir: salt ratios by weight, anaerobic
Fishing for Food — Step-by-step fishing guide for beginners: rod setup, hook sizing, bait selection
Foraging Wild Food — Forage safely using the Universal Edibility Test, identify 5 beginner species, a
Freeze-Dried Food — Operational guide to freeze-dried food: shelf life, cost per calorie, rehydratio
Gardening — Resilient household food gardens: raised bed construction, soil mix, succession
Greenhouse Growing — Greenhouse design, glazing R-values, thermal mass sizing, season extension timel
Hunting for Food — Hunting for food: firearm safety rules, licensing, shot placement, 7-step deer f
Food Inventory Management — FIFO rotation, spreadsheet and app methods, par levels, calorie density tracking
Backyard Livestock for Food — Small-scale chickens, rabbits, goats, and ducks: space requirements, feed costs,
Long-Term Food Storage — Step-by-step procedures for Mylar sealing, oxygen absorber sizing, 5-gallon buck
Nutritional Math — Caloric targets, macro balance, micronutrient gap risks, sprouting for fresh nut
Outdoor cooking — Camp stove, open fire, and bare-minimum wilderness cooking methods — from bannoc
Pantry meals — Grid-down kitchen recipes using shelf-stable ingredients — one-pot meals, soups,
Pantry Building — Layered pantry strategy from 1-week to 3-month supply with exact staple quantiti
Permaculture — Permaculture zones, food forest layers, guild planting, no-dig sheet mulching, a
Recipe Hub — Preparedness Cooking — Survipedia recipe hub — pantry meals, outdoor cooking, comfort classics, preserv
Root Cellar — Root cellar construction and operation: temperature targets, dual-pipe ventilati
Salting and Curing — Dry salting, wet brining, and curing with nitrates: salt ratios by weight, equil
Seeds & Seed Saving — Step-by-step guide to seed selection, viability testing, storage conditions, and
Smoking — Hot and cold smoking: wood species profiles, temperature targets, smoker costs,
Soil Building — Soil texture, pH testing, NPK roles, amendment rates, cover crops, and earthworm
Trapping for Food — Trapping for food: trap types, legal requirements, set placement by species, bai
Water-Bath vs Pressure Canning — Water-bath vs pressure canning: pH threshold, USDA food classifications, altitud

Shelter

Shelter Overview — How to make your home survivable without grid power, build emergency shelters with minimal tools, an

Basements & Safe Rooms — Step-by-step guide to hardening a basement or building an interior safe room to
Bunkers — Step-by-step guide to designing, building, and outfitting an underground bunker
Cob Building — Complete step-by-step guide to building with cob — mixing clay, sand, and straw,
Shipping Container Homes — Convert ISO shipping containers into livable shelter — site prep, structural cut
Debris Shelters — Build an emergency debris hut from forest materials in two hours. Step-by-step g
Earthbag Construction — Step-by-step guide to building with earthbags — fill, tamp, and stack polypropyl
Fire-Resistant Construction — Harden a home against wildfire using defensible space zones, Class A roofing, em
Flood Protection — Step-by-step guide to wet-proofing and dry-proofing a home, installing flood ven
Insulation — Specify and install residential insulation correctly — R-values by material, vap
Shelter Lighting — Design a layered shelter lighting system — lumen requirements by task, battery r
Root Cellars — Build and operate a root cellar for year-round food storage — site selection, op
Sanitation Systems — Build off-grid sanitation systems — composting toilets, sawdust buckets, outhous
Snow Shelters — Build a quinzhee or snow cave for overnight survival. Step-by-step procedures, i
Storm Hardening — Harden a home against hurricanes and severe wind using Simpson hurricane ties, i
Tarp Shelters — Set up a tarp shelter in any configuration — A-frame, lean-to, or diamond — with
Timber Frame Construction — Step-by-step guide to timber frame construction — joinery, bent assembly, raisin
Tiny Homes — Decision guide for tiny homes on wheels and foundation builds — costs, specs, zo
Vehicle Shelter — Use your car, truck, or van as emergency shelter safely. Covers CO poisoning pre
Waste Management — Manage household waste without municipal services — burn barrel rules, vermicomp
Weatherproofing — Seal a shelter against air, water, and cold — caulk selection, door sweeps, wind

Energy

Energy Overview — How to keep critical systems running when the grid fails — from portable battery backup through full

Batteries — How to size, choose, and maintain battery banks for off-grid and emergency backu
Biogas — How to build and run a small-scale biogas digester for homestead cooking fuel —
Energy efficiency — Cut energy demand before adding generation — phantom load audits, LED upgrades,
Firewood — How to select, split, season, and store firewood for off-grid heating — BTU by s
Fuel storage — How to safely store gasoline, diesel, propane, and kerosene for emergencies — sh
Generators — How to size, fuel, and safely connect a generator for emergency and off-grid pow
Insulation and heating — Reduce home heat loss through insulation, air sealing, and window upgrades — R-v
Inverters — How to choose, size, and wire a DC-to-AC inverter for off-grid and emergency bac
Manual power — Human-powered tools and machines for off-grid and emergency use — bicycle genera
Micro-hydro power — How to assess a small hydro site, calculate power output, choose the right turbi
Passive solar design — How to use south-facing glazing, thermal mass, overhangs, and insulation to redu
Portable power stations — How to size, recharge, and use portable power stations for outages and off-grid
Home battery systems (power walls) — How to size, select, and install a home battery backup system — Powerwall, Enpha
Rocket stoves — How rocket stoves work and how to build one for off-grid cooking and heating — c
Solar basics — Solar panel types, efficiency ratings, peak sun hours, and system components exp
DIY solar installation — Step-by-step DIY solar sizing and installation — load audit, panel count, batter
Off-grid solar systems — How to design a complete off-grid solar system — architecture decisions, autonom
Small wind turbines — How to assess your wind resource, size a turbine, choose the right tower, and in
Wood heat — How to select, size, and maintain wood stoves and pellet stoves for off-grid and

Medical

Medical Overview — How to handle injuries, illness, and medical emergencies when professional help is delayed — from ba

Allergic reactions and anaphylaxis — Recognize anaphylaxis across all severity grades, administer epinephrine correct
Improvised and alternative medicine — Evidence-based improvised wound care and plant adjuncts for austere settings whe
Emergency medical assessment — MARCH and ABCDE protocols for emergency patient assessment — vital signs, AVPU,
Bleeding control — Stop life-threatening bleeding with direct pressure, wound packing, and tourniqu
Burn assessment and treatment — Assess burn depth and BSA, cool correctly, dress by tissue layer, and manage flu
Serious chest injuries — Recognize tension pneumothorax, open chest wounds, flail chest, and hemothorax —
Emergency childbirth — Emergency delivery procedures for when no hospital is reachable — normal birth,
Dehydration assessment and rehydration — Assess fluid loss severity in adults and children, mix the WHO ORS formula, appl
Dental emergencies — Step-by-step procedures for toothache, abscess, lost fillings, knocked-out teeth
Veterinary antibiotics in austere medicine — Fish and veterinary antibiotics as last-resort preparedness tools — equivalencie
Fractures and splinting — Field identification of fractures, CSM assessment, splinting by body region, com
Gunshot wound field treatment — TCCC-based GSW field treatment — MARCH protocol, tourniquet and wound packing, c
Heatstroke recognition and cooling — Identify exertional vs classic heatstroke, apply cold water immersion cooling, a
Harvesting, drying, and storing medicinal herbs — Harvest timing by plant part, drying methods at correct temperatures, moisture t
Herbal medicine safety and drug interactions — Drug interaction table, pregnancy contraindications, children's dosing rules, po
Medicinal herbs for preparedness — Plant profiles for 15 medicinal herbs — identification, growing conditions, prep
Home medical kit — Build a tiered home medical kit for emergencies — OTC medications, trauma suppli
Field hygiene for disease prevention — Prevent infection and disease in emergencies with hand hygiene protocols, waste
Hypothermia staging and rewarming — Recognize hypothermia using the Swiss staging system, apply safe rewarming proto
Individual first aid kit (IFAK) — Build a TCCC-compliant IFAK for emergency trauma response — tourniquet, chest se
Wound infection recognition and treatment — Identify wound infection stages, recognize sepsis, and apply field treatment — i
Medicinal garden design and layout — Site assessment, raised bed layout with north-south tall-to-short arrangement, c
Pandemic preparedness — PPE protocols, home quarantine setup, symptom escalation criteria, and 30-90 day
Herbal preparation methods — Step-by-step ratios and procedures for tinctures, infusions, decoctions, salves,
Shock recognition and management — Recognize compensated and decompensated shock by vital signs, identify the type,
Medical supply stockpiling — Stockpile medications and medical supplies with shelf-life data, rotation schedu
Medical training for preparedness — First aid training ladder for emergency preparedness — Stop the Bleed, CPR, Wild
Triage in mass casualty events — START triage for mass casualty events — RPM assessment, RED/YELLOW/GREEN/BLACK c
Wound care — How to clean, close, dress, and monitor wounds in emergencies — irrigation press

Skills

Skills Overview — Survival skills and self-reliance crafts for emergency preparedness — fire, navigation, knots, carpe

Blacksmithing — Learn to forge metal with heat and hammer — from lighting a coal fire to complet
Carpentry — Hand-tool carpentry for off-grid building and emergency repairs — wood selection
Making and using natural cordage — How to make strong natural cordage from plant fibers using the reverse-wrap tech
Spinning and weaving plant fiber — How to spin yarn from flax, nettle, or wool, weave cloth on a simple loom, and m
Cooking over fire and coals — Step-by-step fire cooking techniques — coal bed timing, heat zones, dutch oven c
Fire starting techniques — Step-by-step fire starting for four methods — lighter, stormproof matches, ferro
Fire lay types — Six fire lay types for survival and camp use — teepee, log cabin, star, lean-to,
GPS navigation — How to use GPS for wilderness and emergency navigation — choosing a unit, markin
Knives for field and preparedness use — How to choose and maintain a field knife — blade geometry, steel types, handle m
Essential knots for preparedness — Step-by-step instructions for 8 essential knots — bowline, clove hitch, prusik,
Lashing for shelter and field construction — Square, diagonal, shear, and tripod lashings for building shelters, ladders, and
Map and compass navigation — Read a topographic map, take and follow a compass bearing, triangulate your posi
Natural navigation — Navigate without instruments using sun, stars, and terrain — shadow-tip method,
Field pottery from raw clay — Find and test natural clay, hand-build pots with pinch and coil methods, and pit
Hand sewing and gear repair — Hand sewing for gear repair — needle types, thread selection, running stitch, ba
Sharpening knives and tools — How to sharpen knives and edged tools on a whetstone — grit progression, angle t
Small engine maintenance — Small engine maintenance for off-grid use — spark plug diagnosis, air filter ser
Survival swimming and cold water safety — Cold water survival skills — survival float, HELP position, the 1-10-1 rule, clo
Animal tracking — Identify North American animal tracks by print shape and gait, age sign in the f
Reading weather without instruments — How to read clouds, wind, and terrain for field weather forecasting — cloud type
Welding basics for field repair — How to weld for off-grid field repair — process selection, safety equipment, sti

Gear & Tools

Gear Overview — Essential tools, kits, and gear for self-reliance — what to own, how to carry it, maintain it, and i

Axes — How to choose, use, and maintain an axe for firewood, felling, and field tasks —
Bug-out bag — How to build a 72-hour bug-out bag: what goes in, how heavy it should be, how to
Chainsaw — How to choose, safely operate, and maintain a chainsaw for storm cleanup, firewo
Come-along and rigging — How to use a come-along hand winch and basic rigging to move heavy loads, recove
Everyday carry (EDC) — What to carry daily for practical readiness — the core items, how to choose them
Fasteners & Repair Supplies — The consumable materials that hold everything together: adhesives, tapes, fasten
Garden tools for food production — The essential garden tools for growing food in an emergency — what to buy, what
Get-home bag — How to build a get-home bag that gets you from work to your front door on foot —
Hand tools for home repair — The essential hand tools for emergency home repair — what specs matter, how to b
Improvised tools — How to build functional tools from available materials when manufactured options
Knives for preparedness — How to choose, maintain, and carry the right knife system for preparedness — fix
Emergency lighting — Build a layered lighting system for power outages and field use — headlamps, lan
Tool Maintenance & Repair — Seasonal maintenance routines, edge tool and hand tool care, storage and rust pr
Measuring tools — Essential measuring tools for emergency repairs, shelter building, and field wor
Multitools — Choose and maintain a multitool for emergency use — comparing plier-based and kn
Hand saws — Select and use hand saws for firewood, storm cleanup, shelter work, and trail cl
Vehicle emergency kit — Build a vehicle emergency kit for roadside breakdowns, evacuation, and winter dr

Security

Security Overview — A five-layer approach to personal and home security — from situational awareness and OPSEC through p

Alarms and early warning — Design a layered alarm system with the right sensors, control panel, siren, and
Security cameras — How to design a home camera system for coverage, identification, and resilience
Cyber security — Household cybersecurity: password managers, MFA, IoT network segmentation, encry
Displacement security — Security practices for shelters, hotels, relatives' homes, campsites, and vehicl
Guard and alert dogs — How to select, train, and manage dogs for home security — breed roles, training
Door hardening — How to harden residential doors against forced entry — ANSI deadbolt grades, str
Firearms for home defense — How to select, store, and train with firearms for home defense — platform tradeo
Legal framework for home defense — Castle doctrine, stand-your-ground, use-of-force limits, and booby trap law — th
Neighborhood security networks — Build a neighborhood watch and mutual security network that reduces crime, accel
Night vision and low-light security — Compare night vision generations, thermal imaging, and digital systems with real
Non-lethal defense tools — Pepper spray, stun guns, personal alarms, and batons compared by effective range
OPSEC for prepared households — Apply the five-step OPSEC process to your home, social media, supplies, and rout
Perimeter security — Layer fencing, natural barriers, lighting, and detection to create a home perime
Privacy and document security — Protect your identity documents, digital footprint, and financial records agains
Safe room design and readiness — Design a safe room for tornado shelter or intruder resistance, with FEMA P-320 s
Self-defense training — Build practical self-defense skills through martial arts, firearms training, and
Situational awareness — Train situational awareness using the Cooper Color Code, baseline calibration, p
Threat assessment — Build a personal threat matrix using the probability × impact × vulnerability fo
Travel security — Practical travel security from day trips to international travel: hotel hardenin
Window security — Harden your windows against forced entry with security film, upgraded locks, bar

Threats

Threats Overview — A probability-ranked assessment of natural disasters, infrastructure failures, economic disruption,

Biological hazards — How to prepare for pandemic disease and biological threats — PPE, home isolation
Cascading & compound disasters — Why the second event after a disaster is often deadlier than the first, and how
Chemical hazards — Recognize HAZMAT incidents, read warning placards, shelter in place, and deconta
Civil unrest — How to stay safe during civil unrest and riots — situational awareness, home har
Communication & internet blackout — How communications infrastructure fails by cause, how long each tier stays up on
Infrastructure cyber attacks — How cyberattacks on power grids, water systems, and hospitals affect everyday li
Drought — How to prepare for drought — water conservation, household supply hardening, rai
Earthquake — How to prepare for earthquakes — home hardening, gas shutoff, Drop-Cover-Hold On
Economic collapse — How economic crises — from currency failure to banking freezes — unfold in pract
Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) — How natural and nuclear EMPs damage electronics and the power grid, with practic
Flood — How floods develop, when to evacuate versus shelter in place, and what preparati
Grid-down scenarios — What happens when the power grid fails for hours, days, or weeks — causes, casca
Heat wave — How to survive extreme heat events using cooling strategies, hydration protocols
Hurricane — How to prepare for, survive, and recover from hurricanes — from Saffir-Simpson c
Landslides, mudslides & avalanches — How to assess slope risk at your property, recognize the warning signs before a
Nuclear threats — How to respond to nuclear detonations, dirty bombs, and reactor accidents — blas
Pandemic — How to prepare for pandemic-scale disease events — transmission reduction, home
Supply chain disruption — How to build personal buffer stock that protects your household when JIT supply
Tornado preparedness — How to survive a tornado using EF-scale awareness, shelter decisions, and a hous
Tsunami preparedness — How to recognize tsunami warning signs, execute a fast coastal evacuation, and u
Volcanic eruption preparedness — How to prepare for ashfall, lahars, and pyroclastic hazards — understanding aler
Wildfire preparedness — How defensible space, home hardening, and early evacuation decisions protect lif
Winter storm preparedness — How to survive winter power outages, frostbite, hypothermia, and carbon monoxide

Mobility

Mobility Overview — How to move people and supplies when roads are compromised — vehicle readiness, fuel strategy, evacu

Body armor for civilians — How NIJ protection levels, weight trade-offs, and legal restrictions shape reali
Bicycles for emergency mobility — How to choose, load, and maintain a bicycle as a resilient mobility option when
Boats and watercraft — How to select, prepare, and operate small watercraft for flood evacuation, coast
Bug-in planning — How to decide when staying home is safer than evacuating, and how to maintain ho
Bug-out planning — How to set departure triggers, plan primary and alternate routes, build a load-d
Supply caches — Build, place, mark, and maintain supply caches that extend your operational rang
Emergency planning with disability and access needs — How to build evacuation and shelter-in-place plans that account for mobility imp
Evacuation planning — How evacuation zones work, when to leave early, how to plan routes with contrafl
On-foot travel in emergencies — How to plan realistic daily ranges, manage load, prevent blisters, and sustain m
Fuel storage and management — How to safely store, treat, and rotate gasoline, diesel, and propane for vehicle
Horses for emergency mobility — When horses provide real preparedness value, how to plan daily range, feed and w
Vehicle maintenance for preparedness — How to inspect, maintain, and carry spares for your vehicle so deferred maintena
Navigation without digital tools — How to navigate using printed maps, compass bearings, and dead reckoning when GP
Strategic relocation — How to evaluate relocation candidates, scout before committing, plan a phased mo
Vehicle choice for preparedness — How to evaluate ground clearance, drivetrain, fuel type, cargo capacity, and rel

Mindset

Mindset Overview — How to build the psychological resilience, decision-making discipline, and stress tolerance that det

Boredom in extended emergencies — How unoccupied time triggers conflict, anxiety, and bad decisions in prolonged e
Children in emergencies — How to communicate, assign roles, and watch for stress signals in children ages
Managing fear in emergencies — How the amygdala hijacks clear thinking under threat, and specific techniques to
Physical fitness for preparedness — How to build functional endurance, strength, and load-carrying capacity for emer
Grief and adaptation after loss — How grief operates during and after emergencies — including loss of home, normal
OODA loop for emergency decisions — How Col. John Boyd's Observe-Orient-Decide-Act cycle prevents freezing and overr
Prioritization under pressure — Why prioritization fails under stress and specific frameworks — triage logic, sa
PTSD and trauma recovery — How PTSD develops after disasters, how it differs from normal stress responses,
Building resilience — What psychological resilience actually is, how it differs from toughness, and th
Routine in chaos — Why daily structure is a psychological survival tool during disruptions — the ne
Scenario planning — How to build and test emergency scenarios that expose planning gaps, improve res
Sleep management in emergencies — How sleep deprivation impairs judgment and what to do about it — field sleep hyg
Stress management — The physiology of the stress cascade, how chronic stress degrades household func

Community

Community Overview — How to build a mutual aid network, establish reliable communication systems, and organize your neigh

Barter items — What to stockpile for trade when cash fails: goods that held real value in Venez
Bartering — How to build a practical barter system before cash fails, negotiate fair trades,
Children's Education — Build a resilient home learning system with age-based schedules, low-cost materi
Communications Plan — Build a layered household and neighborhood communications plan with radio channe
Conflict Resolution — Run a practical conflict resolution system for households and neighborhood group
GMRS radio — How to use GMRS radios for household and neighborhood emergency communication, i
HAM radio — How to build practical amateur radio capability for local, regional, and long-di
Community Leadership in a Crisis — How to organize, lead, and sustain a preparedness group when normal institutions
Local economy resilience — How to strengthen your community's local economy before and during disruptions,
Mesh networks — How to build a neighborhood mesh network with low-power radios for resilient loc
Mutual aid — How to organize neighborhood mutual aid circles that share skills, tools, and su
Neighbors — Build practical trust with neighbors and coordinate during emergencies — contact
News & intelligence — How to monitor emergency alerts, verify claims, and run a community intelligence
Satellite communications — How to use satellite communicators effectively for emergency messaging, tracking
Visual and audible signals — Build a neighborhood visual and audible signaling system for when radios fail —
Skills inventory — Map, verify, and maintain your group's skills so you can respond faster, fill co
Weather monitoring — Build a reliable severe weather monitoring system using NOAA frequencies, SAME c

Guides

Guides Overview — In-depth field guides synthesizing Foundation knowledge into actionable playbooks.

About

272 pages across 12 Foundations, guides, and reference sections.

Last updated: 2026-04-02