Prepper and prepping. Let's go Off Grid!
What is prepping? Who's a prepper? And why do preppers prep? Just a bunch of hoarding weirdos wearing tinfoil hats, you might say. But wait – what if there's something more?
Prepping simply means being prepared. In other words, not being dependent on society, engineering networks and infrastructure – as much as possible. Living „Off Grid“ is getting popular these days and some have just turned it into a lifestyle. Besides developing and mastering skills which are necessary to survive in the nature, prepping has also became a synonym for being able to provide for one's basic needs. Like getting food, water, shelter… or eventually running a self-sufficient farm. Preppers are ready to face natural disasters and all kinds of emergency situations. They know one day their skills can turn into a life saver.
So why do people prep?
Struggling to survive has always been a part of human nature. Like hunting or expecting the worst. One of the most common misconceptions is that prepper equals an individual obsessed by thoughtless hoarding (which could be classified as a mental disorder). However, this cannot be further from the truth. Preppers tend to be rather down-to-earth and realistic.
They ask themselves: „What will I do if there are no services and food distribution available? How will I feed my family if there are no jobs? What will be the Actions On in case of an economic collapse, natural disaster, chemical attack, EMP attack…?“ Moreover, thinking about their own future is not the only concern. They even feel obliged to secure the future of their children.
Is prepping just a trend?
100 years ago, everyone who wanted to survive the winter had to become a prepper. However, modern food distribution system combined with cheap fuel and other factors characterizing today's society has side effects – people have become lazy. Nowadays, there are many who don't have food stockpile at home for more than just a few days. At the same time, there are not so many who can actually get some food without the support of the state.
Prepper's set of skills often includes such activities like breeding and growing (mostly permaculture), energetic self-sufficiency (solar panels or methane heat generators fuelled by cow manure) or practicing self-defence techniques. They often have several pieces of evacuation baggage on stand-by and they regularly control and change the food in it. Preppers have a plan for any kind of situation that can possibly occur in their surroundings.
Am I a prepper?
In this context, prepper can be anyone who takes actions to get prepared for a hypothetic incident. This lifestyle is not just a matter of buying material things. Collection of skills and knowledges is just as important. These two aspects have to be balanced and work in synergy. One without the other would be useless. Doing this, preppers are resistant – even to things such as identity theft or cybercrime.