August 2020
How can people best prepare for emergencies?
Zuki Abbott
During these uncertain times, I often wonder how to be more prepared for any kind of catastrophic event. During my years in Crestone, I’ve lived through Y2K, 9/11, all sorts of wars and peaceful and violent protesting. Many thought ‘this is it!’ many times. I’ve raised a son and now two grandsons here. I’d like them to have clean water, food and shelter. I want them to thrive, not just survive. Enough of this fear driven mentality we’re living in – that serves no one.
Regarding preparedness, I lean towards water, food, shelter, seed saving and family preparedness. I’ve taught many families how to take care of themselves, have babies, care for them. Birth, the beginning of life, living simply and dying with dignity – isn’t that what this is all about? There are simple ways to become more self-reliant such as saving matches, wood, cooking on fire implements, items to trade for goods, fabrics, alcohol for tinctures, oils for soap, cooking, herbs and healing ointments. Chickens, goats, pigs and sheep have their place in this preparedness thing, too. Not to put any fear into this topic, but over the past 25 years I have been doing these things and still feel unprepared!
If everyone could get on the same page for one topic, it should be this! We all have families, friends, loved ones who need support through these times of uncertainty and what’s coming. I’ll work on my end to help those in my little world the best I can. If everyone took a few minutes to focus on what’s truly important and share that with those you love and care about, that’s a great beginning. We have to begin somewhere to create a truly sustainable community which can serve one another, but this has to happen now. Grow food. Save seeds. Stock up on remedies. Be prepared for any kind of natural or manmade occurrence. Can we as a collective come to at least one agreement, to be open to shifting our paradigm of what preparedness could be? I do not believe we have to do this alone and isolated.
Sanatani Heather Quick
People can best prepare for emergencies by building close-knit communities. Our needs go beyond the most basic supplies such as water, food, first aid, generators, etc. We also have emotional needs. The pandemic brought many people into an emotional level of fear and suffering at a deep, psychological state. Many feel confused, alone and don't know where to turn. It seems society has ethically taken a downward plunge without any known recourse at hand. Let’s create better ways to support the traumatized when times are rough. Those closest to us, and even those who are not, may need assistance but most won’t ask for help. It’s important to have a network of folks willing and ready to reach out to others and provide support without judgment. We should check on neighbors and elders often to send them good cheer and offer assistance when needed. Our connections with others are critical for increasing resiliency and recovery after disasters. Now more than ever, people need to come together in their neighborhoods and communities and help one another. By extending care and love and performing acts of kindness, we can make the world a better place, community by community.
Nathan Good
I view emergency as opportunity! I choose to prepare con-fi and common sense, where faith equals confidence. Folks should have at least a week of needed supplies on hand: food, medical, etc. Sign up for slve911. Go to, ready.gov and follow the disaster planning advice for your own family. Make a plan! Reduce fear with education about old-fashioned land-based living. If an emergency occurs, remain calm. Remember you’re a part of this beautiful planetary nature. It's important to ground with the Earth and receive the sun’s energy, be at peace and in simple gratitude. Focus on food, family, safety and having a bug out location whether it’s a friend or other safe space. If we're able to get through the first period of a disaster, it's likely that those of us who remain will build an Eco Village. If evacuation is required, food, shelter and power will be there! If unable to process sanitation or keep foods refrigerated from centralized power systems, we’ll have to relocate until infrastructure and safety can be returned. Issues with our current medical martial law coupled with economic collapse and/or civil unrest is the first indicator it's time to prepare one's community independently of the centralized system. It's extremely important to know your neighbors well and begin Community Action plans. Team builds leadership and begins to prioritize planning needs.... Life safety, incident stabilization, restoration operations, logistics and finance.
In Essentials unity and non-Essentials Liberty.
Jeff DeMers
How can one be prepared for an emergency or a disaster in a time of uncertainty and upset in the world? I think it’s easier to prepare outwardly, making sure basic needs like food and water are accounted for, but it may be more difficult preparing inwardly depending on a person’s background. Are you psychologically prepared for changes in society at large or your local community? Are you prepared to have normal routines upset and be inconvenienced? I think being flexible, empathetic and discerning are helpful tools to have and use. Most in the West are indoctrinated with a sense of rugged-individualism, or at the least, an attitude of “me first” but how well will that serve you when things go awry? I think surrounding yourself with others whose eyes are open to the changes taking place and are prepared inwardly is a far better strategy. Creating a spirit of camaraderie can be a powerful buoy in stressful situations.
John Milton
One of the key elements in preparing is to establish strong relationships with the community at large and your neighbors, the normal folks you come in contact with and those who you maybe don't normally connect with. This creates a broader circle of community, which is the foundation of any emergency situation. Another thing is to have your own garden. The third thing I'm very concerned about these days is having a good fire prevention system. I manage the Sacred Land Sanctuary and we've had numerous people camp on the edge of the property and some inside the property. They build bonfires right in the middle of the piñon pine. By the drum circle area, we've had numerous fires built in the forests during the driest drought periods. If just one spark from one of those fires reaches the piñon trees the entire town of Crestone goes up in flames. I've been going in there with the help of people like Michael Fulcher and Kofi Washington and telling people, "Look, there's a serious danger to our community. Please put those fires out and no more breaking the basic rules." Fire is one of the greatest potential dangers to our community, and it's not being properly prepared for. I put it up in the Spiritual Alliance recently as a subject that hopefully we can all, as a community and in concert with the Forest Service, the POA and Saguache County Sheriff's Department, sit down together and work out some ideas about how to effectively prepare. We're going to see a lot of people coming into the neighborhood the next few years because of what's happening in the cities. We need to get ready for a lot of folks arriving who aren’t familiar with how to be in a place like this with the piñon forests, which are, again, a major fire hazard. Many people don't have a place to live, so they camp and often come in on land that’s set aside for sacred retreat purposes, not understanding that. They're not bad people, they're just not familiar with what this community is dedicated to. And the fire, I'd say, is the number one challenge. I worry a lot about that.