Looking for ideas for older survivers

Hello all,

I am looking for ideas on any topic that older people(mostly women) can incorporate into their normal life to bring back the subsistence living they knew as children.

I live in rural Appalachia and have become involved in a program that is trying to preserve "Cultural Arts" from our past. I taught a class in making Lye Soap that sparked almost everyone in the room and a new club was born at that time. It is about "Homesteading" and Survival. Here in Kentucky we live among the poorest counties in the nation. We are basing everything on what you can find on the land around us and how to live with little. We will have classes on anything from killing a chicken to finding and eating wild foods to spinning yarn and well few topics are off limits.

We have women with experience in some areas that will teach and young couples that have chosen homesteading as a way of life with no idea of how to do these things. So the new Homesteading Club has stepped up to the line. We are starting with cold frames, seed starting, choosing the right ones for the area, herbs and a list that we cannot cover in this year.

So please if anyone has experience in starting out We would appreciate all information. We are anxious to hear from you all.

Thank you

Greta,
Sounds like a group I would like to join, but I live in NH. There a few classes in my area, but one that was not on your list was fermentation. I was not just thinking yogurt or cheese, or drinks, but all vegetables I hear can be fermented such as cabbage to sauerkraut, etc. A way to preserve vegetables that does not involve drying or refrigeration(depending on how processed). I learned alot on my own courtesy of the library and now the internet, but I think boyscouts and girlscouts and even elementary schools can have some survival skills classes even if part of social studies or elective classes. I'm sure there would be plenty of interest. I brought up the scouts, because as a cub assistant, they were so restricted to what they were allowed to do, it was hard to keep them interested.
Erica

Erica Daly : I am positive that there are hundreds of still vital senior citizens that have life experiences from their youth that are a good fit for your programs !

My recommendation would be for you to immerse yourself into the Foxfire books, this is a fantastic set of books filled full of crafts of yesteryear. This will help

you quickly Find links to them that can do and have the multigenerational working tools that identify them as your future instructors ! Good luck, and Good hunting!

For the Good of the Crafts Big AL

Erica Daly wrote:Greta,
Sounds like a group I would like to join, but I live in NH. There a few classes in my area, but one that was not on your list was fermentation. I was not just thinking yogurt or cheese, or drinks, but all vegetables I hear can be fermented such as cabbage to sauerkraut, etc. A way to preserve vegetables that does not involve drying or refrigeration(depending on how processed). I learned alot on my own courtesy of the library and now the internet, but I think boyscouts and girlscouts and even elementary schools can have some survival skills classes even if part of social studies or elective classes. I'm sure there would be plenty of interest. I brought up the scouts, because as a cub assistant, they were so restricted to what they were allowed to do, it was hard to keep them interested.
Erica

Great idea, Erica. I still remember the smell of kraut fermenting in the basement... maybe I can try kimchi too.... Thanks I will add fermentation to the list!

Anyway I am in several other clubs including basket making. We are some of the first called on to go into schools and 4H camps when they are having either Pioneer days or "Cultural History" days to do demonstrations and talks on how to use natural materials and how baskets played a role in all cultures and in the development of the cultures. They all wanted to make a basket but they had 30 mins at the most to do it. There is a great need for these kids. This is one of a very few Kentucky counties that are able to get funding to do this kind of community involvement. We are being so careful to keep to the guidelines but I hope to expand what we do.

allen lumley wrote:Erica Daly : I am positive that there are hundreds of still vital senior citizens that have life experiences from their youth that are a good fit for your programs !

My recommendation would be for you to immerse yourself into the Foxfire books, this is a fantastic set of books filled full of crafts of yesteryear. This will help

you quickly Find links to them that can do and have the multigenerational working tools that identify them as your future instructors ! Good luck, and Good hunting!

For the Good of the Crafts Big AL

I have the first 3 books but haven't looked at them in a few years. Yes I will dig them out tonight. Thanks