Month: February 2022

Wojapi is thick berry sauce traditionally made with chokecherries and root flour by Lakota. Usually paired with fried bread.

One of the best survivalists to learn from are the Native Americans. Skilled in food preservation, hunting and foraging, the Native peoples of the United States have a lot to teach!

Related: Lost Native American Survival Skills

In this article you will learn how to make and preserve Wojapi to enjoy for months. Don’t fret, this sauce is a super simple multi-use condiment. It only requires 2 ingredients!

Wojapi is a decadent berry sauce from the Lakota people of South Dakota. South Dakota is a hard and rugged environment with harsh winters. The Lakota didn’t have fresh fruit for long and had to preserve it.

Wojapi was an amazing preserving technique since all berries have small amounts of pectin to thicken and preserve the almost pudding-like consistency of this sauce.

Pectin is a naturally occurring starch found in fruits and vegetables. It is a key ingredient in jams and jellies.

The sauce can be tart or sweet. It can also be served savory or sweet. The delectable berry sauce is traditionally served on Native American fried bread, but today we will be adding it to a wonderful venison steak.

Wojapi is traditionally made with chokeberries which are sacred to the Lakota Nation. Chokeberries are used in many sacred ceremonies and the pit is used for holistic medicine.

In this article we will be using frozen blueberries and strawberries from the garden, but you can use fresh or frozen from your garden or the store! You can use the traditional chokeberries or blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries.

Wojapi is easy to make, preserve and a delight to your taste buds.

Let’s get started on making Wojapi sauce!

1. Measure out 4 cups of your favorite choice of berries. I’ll be using blueberries and strawberries. You can combine any variety of these berries for your own unique spin, fresh or frozen.

Mine are frozen straight from the garden! I think it always makes food taste better, foraged or grown yourself.

2. Add your berries to a saucepan at low to medium heat on your stove. Mine are frozen, feel free to use fresh.

3. Add ½ cup of water. This is an important step to avoid burning those scrumptious berries!

4. Simmer the berries for 30 to 40 minute. Simmering is the point right before boiling. If your sauce looks like a bubble, your stove is too hot, turn that stove down!

This part breaks down the berries releasing the pectin from the berries thickening the sauce.

5. I use a Pampered Chef mix in chop to leave…

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The Attorney General of Texas has filed suit against Facebook over the social networking company’s use of facial recognition—a practice EPIC has targeted in complaints to the Federal Trade Commission for more than a decade. Starting in 2010, Facebook used facial recognition to identify people who appear in users’ photos and to suggest that other users “tag” them. But as EPIC explained in a 2011 FTC complaint (and again in 2018), this system was deployed “without the knowledge or consent of Facebook users and without adequate consideration of the risks to Facebook users.” Texas alleges that Facebook and Instagram’s use of facial recognition violated the state’s biometric privacy law and unlawfully deceived consumers. “Facebook has, for over a decade, built an Artificial Intelligence empire on the backs of Texans by deceiving them while capturing their most intimate data, thereby putting their well-being, safety, and security at risk,” the complaint reads. Facebook was previously forced to pay $5 billion and submit to an FTC consent order in 2019 due in part to its deceptive facial recognition system. Facebook announced in November that it would drop facial recognition from its core platform over “growing societal concerns,” but questions remain about whether and how the company will use facial recognition in other contexts. EPIC has long fought to protect the privacy of social media users, for a ban on face surveillance, and for the enactment of comprehensive federal privacy legislation that includes a data protection agency.

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Have you ever sat back and thought about the dirt beneath your feet? 

Ever wondered what goes on deep in the ground, below the surface? 

If so, then these documentaries are for you. 

Discover a world of soil under your feet as you immerse yourself into 6 different documentaries that explore a specific category involving soils and the biodiversity that lies within, and help us be educated about all of the wonders our soil is showing us.

I’ve put together a list of 6 regenerative documentaries curated with love for soil lovers and soil people worldwide, who enjoy learning about the natural world that is beyond our feet. 

You may have heard of or watched some of these films before— or you may not have gotten time to watch them yet. I recommend checking them out now.

While our planet’s ecology is spectacular and intricate, so is the soil that supports our life. Soil is underestimated by many however it holds most of life on earth today. 

That’s right! It’s such a rich medium that houses more than just Earth but holds all its history too – the entire story of how this planet has evolved from its birth to now. I love to be outside – in nature – and there is nothing quite like hiking through rich soil fields sprinkled with wildflowers, birds flying about making music for us to hear, and the greenery of varied leafy trees behind you. 

It’s a feeling that one can only experience from being in nature, surrounded by healthy soils, and doing your part to care for them, one step at a time.

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For preppers, there is always something that we need. Many of these must-have items are critical pieces of gear; things that will help get us through a bad situation or a long-term period where we must become completely self-sufficient.

Even if you aren’t out buying the latest and greatest in high-tech gear the costs can really add up, and quite a few preppers, out of necessity or preference, try to save as much money as they can when purchasing gear.

The internet is great for saving a few bucks on big purchases, but it gets harder when you try to buy from brick and mortar merchants.

All of your big-box camping, sport and outdoor stores will have everything you need and then some, but they will charge a hefty premium for the privilege of shopping there.

One outlet you have probably overlooked is the Goodwill store, a common fixture in cities around America.

Believe it or not, it is entirely possible to find all kinds of useful survival gear in good shape at your local Goodwill, and the selection changes all the time incentivizing you to make regular visits to see what you might be missing out on.

In this article we will share with you 10 crucial pieces of survival gear that you can likely pick up for a song at your friendly, neighborhood Goodwill store.

1. Clothing

Everyone knows that Goodwill stores carry a ton of clothing, but you might have taken for granted the fact that among that clothing could be some good quality outdoor gear.

Everything from waders and cargo pants to polar-rated parkas and heavy duty sweaters.

Buying these items brand new from leading manufacturers can set you back several hundred or even several thousand dollars depending on what you need, but you can get items of comparable quality for pennies on the dollar at Goodwill.

Keep in mind that if you live in a place with a year-round mono climate you might need to travel to a Goodwill in another state to reliably come up with certain pieces: You probably aren’t going to find too many cold weather items at a Goodwill in Phoenix, for instance and don’t count on finding hot weather wear in Anchorage!

With a little patience and a little bit of luck you can find an entire survival wardrobe, just your size.

2. Boots

Just like clothing, Goodwill often has an excellent selection of footwear, particularly boots and all kinds of styles, materials and sizes. You might be looking for some waterproof boots and come across an excellent pair of duck hunters.

If you want an all-purpose boot for the trail or bugging out there will likely be a pair of technical hikers with your name on it. Well, they might actually have someone else’s name on the tag, but you catch my drift!

Like any other article of apparel you might buy make sure you try them on…

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Chickens love taking a bath, as long as it is in dust and not water. There definitely is a reason the phrase “madder than a wet hen” was coined, as I learned when bathing dirty chicks once.

chicken dust bathing in sand

But, frollicking around in a dirt bath (or chicken dirt bath, as they are also often called) is a boredom busting social activity for hens that also helps rid them of parasites.

Chicken dust baths not only help give a vibrant sheen to a hen’s feathers but smothers parasites like Northern fowl mites, poultry lice, ticks, scaly leg mites, roost mites (or chicken mites) and Sticktight fleas.

There are several medicated and non-medicated home remedies you can use to kill or help prevent such poultry parasites, but using a simply and properly established dust bath is the easiest, quickest, cheapest, and most natural.

What Is A Chicken Dust Bath?

A chicken dirt bath is a blending of natural substances that together possess the ability to clean and deter the growth of parasites. An easy to access framing around this natural matter helps it remain solid and turns it into a bath for the poultry birds.

Homesteaders and farmers often use old tires, plastic tubs, kiddie pools, or cinder blocks arranged in a square or rectangle, to cheaply make a “bath” or the chicken dust materials to be placed inside.

A chicken dust bath should be at least 10 inches deep (I tend to make my dust baths a full one foot deep) because the hens will burrow down into a bit and then work steadily to expose as much of their body all at once into the dust materials.

The tossing about of the proper dust bath matter allows it to land on and soak into the hen’s body just long enough to stick to the pores and smother the parasites that can make them ill – or kill the poultry birds.

While it would be rare for a rooster to take a dust bath, or a duck or turkey hen to engage in the same type of dirt bathing behavior, it has happened.

If your rooster does wander into the dirt bath, he will most assuredly do so alone and not bathe with his male coop mates or hang out with the clamoring ladies of the flock.

A chicken dust bath would ideally be large enough in diameter for multiple mature hens to bathe in it at the same time.

As noted above, dirt bathing is a social activity for the hens and they will prefer to gather together to enjoy the activity – yet still need enough room to truly cleanse themselves for the dust bath to do its job.

A dirt bath that is 15×2 feet wide should be large enough to accommodate three mature hens of most breeds, or two adult meat birds.

15 Things To Put In A Chicken Dust Bath

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Ottawa police recently engaged in a widespread string of thefts of privately purchased gasoline and propane throughout the city in an attempt to drive the Freedom Convoy out of the city.

Section 8 of the Charter of Rights reads “Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.” Without a search warrant, this is just theft. Governments are used to violating our privacy now, aren’t they? And the media love it. pic.twitter.com/UOYAK6OoF8

— Ezra Levant (@ezralevant) February 7, 2022

Recent state of emergency declared

This came about shortly after the Ottawa mayor, Jim Watson, declared a state of emergency on February 6. It was then that Watson said, “The situation at this point is completely out of control, because the individuals with the protest are calling the shots. They have far more people than we have police officers, and I’ve indicated to the chief that we have to be much more nimble and proactive when it comes to these activities.”

Watson would go on to say, “we are outnumbered and we are losing this battle right now,” as he went on to add, “We’re in the midst of a serious emergency, the most serious emergency our city has ever faced, and we need to cut the red tape to get these supplies available to our police officers and to our public works staff.”

“Declaring a state of emergency reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government,” said a statement from the city.

It appears that Ottawa is potentially calling for federal troops to enter the scene. Other sources seem to confirm this notion.

(For information on how to starve the beast, be sure to check out our free QUICKSTART Guide.)

Shortly after the state of emergency was declared by the Ottawa mayor, the Ottawa Police Department sent out this tweet:

IMPORTANT: Anyone attempting to bring material supports (gas, etc.) to the demonstrators could be subject to arrest. Enforcement is underway. #ottawa #ottnews pic.twitter.com/tp4e5d2xe1

— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) February 6, 2022

And then the arrests began.

Around 9PM that night, the Ottawa Police Department reported that they’d made multiple arrests, having seized multiple vehicles as well as fuel. Members of the Freedom Convoy were frequently charged with “mischief” or “hate crimes.”

Transporting fuel into the Freedom Convoy was enough of a penalty to be slapped with a mischief charge….

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When someone talks about prepping or being a prepper, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? While there are several answers, the image that stands out the most is probably one of a person who has a lot of stuff. 

Totes and shelves filled with gear, supplies, food, and water are the hallmark image of what being prepared looks like. Preppers are not really known for being minimalists because to some degree, that kind of defeats the purpose. But in the last several years, the idea of minimalist prepping has popped up and has been circulating within some circles. 

Article continues below.

Can a prepper, someone who desires to be ready for emergencies and is partly defined by the number of supplies they have, also be a minimalist? To answer that, let’s go ahead and break down some areas of prepping where the amount of stuff could be reduced. But first…

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Why Would Someone Want to Be a Minimalist Prepper?

Being a minimalist prepper may not be for you, but here are a few reasons why someone may be interested in it. 

• Some people are already living a minimalist lifestyle and want to be better prepared for emergencies without filling their homes with excess stuff. 
• Other people may desire to be preppers but simply do not have the storage space they think they need for supplies. 

The last reason to consider minimalist prepping is that it forces a person to focus on the basics, necessities over wants, and knowledge and skillsets. This approach will become clearer throughout the rest of the article.

Ways To Become A Minimalist Prepper 

Before getting into the ways to minimize your preps, it should be said that generally speaking, it is in a person’s best interest to have enough necessities on hand that they can take care of themselves for as long as they need to. And having a few backup items isn’t a bad idea either. Having said that, here are some suggestions that will help you clear up some space or lighten the burden of being a prepper. 

Load Up On Knowledge and Skillsets

First and foremost, if you understand that knowledge and developing skillsets are more important than having stuff, then you are off to a great start. 

While we do need gear and supplies, people tend to heavily depend on these items, and when that stuff isn’t available, they don’t know what to do. Supplies can become lost, damaged, or may not even be available in the first place. But the knowledge of what to do in emergency situations and the skillsets to carry that knowledge out can be with a person always, and never taken away. 

However, this doesn’t mean supplies are unnecessary. It just means that with the proper knowledge and some creative thinking,…

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If you have a basement or even room under your house, you can create a root cellar to store food! The trick is going to be making it work with what you have, and all of us are in different situations when it comes to our home setup.

Technically, a root cellar is any storage location that uses the natural cooling, insulating, and humidifying properties of the earth to store food. Whether you stock a root cellar with your own homegrown produce or the bounty from local farmers’ market, it’s a time-tested storage method and could come in handy if we lose power for a long period of time.

Before we had refrigeration (a refrigerator in our homes), an underground root cellar was an essential and effective way to store carrots, turnips, beets, parsnips, potatoes, onions, and other root vegetables that were grown in our gardens. Today, root cellars have made a comeback to keep food from freezing during the winter and keep food cool during the summer to prevent spoilage. A root cellar is also the perfect place to store jars of canned or pickled vegetables, canned meats, and the bulbs or rhizomes of perennial flowers as well. A secondary use for the root cellar is as a place to store wine, beer, or other homemade alcoholic beverages.  You could also store any alcohol you intend to use for bartering or first aid during a SHTF situation in your root cellar.

How To Start Your Root Cellar

To work properly, a root cellar must be able to hold a temperature of 32º to 40ºF (0° to 4.5°C) and a humidity level of 85 to 95 percent. This means that root cellars may not work if you live in a warm, southern climate. We live in agricultural zone 4b (gets down to -20 degrees F) and our root cellar perfectly stores our garden potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips, and rutabagas. We have never measured the humidity or the temperature in our root cellar, however, we are able to store root vegetables and our canned foods down there all winter long.

If you already have a dark underground area, you could be set. If not, keep in mind that root cellars should not be built in places with a high water table or a septic system nearby. Also, you’ll want a close and easily accessible location. Some people have built them under a garden shed so they don’t have to remove snow to access it during the winter.

The best method is to use the foundation walls on the northeast corner as two sides of your root cellar. According to Almanac, you will need to build the other two walls in the basement with stud and board. Insulate the interior walls, ceiling, and door (and any pipes or ducts) to keep the heat out. Ensure there is a ventilation system that allows cool, fresh air from the outside to be brought into the root cellar…

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(Psst: The FTC wants me to remind you that this website contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase from a link you click on, I might receive a small commission. This does not increase the price you’ll pay for that item nor does it decrease the awesomeness of the item. ~ Daisy)

Let’s say you’ve recently been coerced out of your job because of new company policies you’re not willing to comply with. Let’s also say that finding a job right now is impossible. It’s not that the positions aren’t out there; it’s just that every other company out there has recently instituted the same policy you are trying to escape. You’re now looking for a way to earn cash.

Sure, bartering for what you need is always an option, but you can’t barter for your mortgage. You can’t barter for your kid’s tuition. Bartering doesn’t pay your credit card bill.

What you need is cold, hard cash, and now, you’re seeking a way to provide that for your family without being placed at the mercy of tyrannical company policies.

What is one to do?

While this is by no means an inclusive list, here are some of my thoughts on what one could do to help with their family’s cash flow through modern-day America…

Leather work

I think that one of the key ways in which one can provide income for their family during such a time is to possess the ability to produce something that people want. Consider the large number of new first-time gun owners throughout America. Those people are going to need holsters. If you can be the guy churning out high-quality gear, you’re going to be able to make cash.

Consider that a purse is not only an item that will be carried about on a daily basis – gradually wearing out – but a high-quality purse is something a woman is more than happy to splurge on as well.

This is the thing about selling a product you’ve produced: your market is everywhere. You can make these items from the comfort of your home and then sell them to the entire world.

Lathe work

There’s a larger upfront expense to get started here, but somebody who knows their way around a lathe can make bowls, cups, candlesticks, Christmas ornaments, pens, tool handles, and more. I don’t see this being as profitable of a venture as some of the other items on this list, but if this is something you excel in, why not look at opening an Etsy shop and selling items through there?

Independent contractor

As an independent contractor, you truly are your own boss. And the cool thing about this is that there are a host of jobs you can make cash in as an independent contractor. Consider gas fireplaces. There are technicians out there who service these as independent contractors, and…

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