Survival Boot Camp Class of 2006

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June 27, 2006

A note from the Compound
Los Angeles, CA

My husband Adam and I had both been interested in fringe survivalists and Mormon apocalypse planning for years, and always talked about getting a survival kit together for our house, but didn't really do anything about it.
The action began a couple years ago, when for a Christmas present I bought each us matching SWAT team outfits with our pet name initials embroidered on the front pocket. This suddenly made things fun, and before I knew it, Adam brought home a 50-gallon barrel for emergency water storage and a tub full of emergency supplies for the house. We fully customized the kit--added healthy snacks, tools, a mag light, work gloves, etc.

Soon after, Adam brought us home some pre-packaged emergency survival backpacks for our car, which we also customized. I realized then that I really should have done this years ago. We live in Silverlake, and if the (long overdue) earthquake hits while I'm in my car, I'll be stuck in gridlocked traffic on the street--or highway--with lots of desperate people around me. I'd basically be at the mercy of strangers or any aid that may or may not come. If I would choose to hoof it home instead of trying to find a shelter, I could be walking miles through a giant, traumatized city with only what I can carry. That's the reality of it. So I like the idea of having a backpack ready with water, snacks, a first aid kit, a windup radio, pepper spray, etc.

I also put a pair of running shoes in the car and a pair of pants, a shirt, and a cap, which have already come in handy in unrelated situations. But simply having it all there makes me feel safer and a bit more in control of my destiny.

When Adam and I wanted to go further, and began researching books on preparedness, we discovered that they were all made for fringe survivalists, the military, or hikers who want to know how to survive in the wilderness. These were interesting, but we wanted something that applied to people like us--urbanites who want to be prepared, but who also have a progressive sensibility and a want to live a more sustainable existence in general. So, we created the Process Self-Reliance series, found Aton Edwards, who shares these values, and PREPAREDNESS NOW! was born.

Jodi Wille
Publisher
processmediainc.com
Los Angeles, California

Jodi Wille and Adam Parfrey are the founders and publishers of Process Adam also runs Feral House, and Jodi is a co-founder of Dilettante Press.

SEE ALL ENTRIES IN: Survival Boot Camp Class of 2006