Author: Read Omohundro ([email protected])
A key factor of STAYING in one location means defining clear roles for every person occupying the same location. Whether that one location is a single dwelling or a collection of dwellings, each person takes on a role; each role has responsibilities. This final segment of STAYING shall explore some of the roles and responsibilities needed to survive. While not every role shall be discussed, it is imperative that whatever collective decision is made to keep you and your family safe, a concession must be made to divide the work load and create a habitable environment for each member.
The division of labor is highly dependent on the abilities of the people. Some key roles to consider are:
CARETAKER – responsible for maintenance to the facility or dwelling
DOCTOR/NURSE – responsible for the treatment of injuries and supervising sanitation
SECURITY – responsible for establishing the requirements for site protection
COOK – responsible for the sustenance preparation and dissemination
The above roles do not define all the sub-roles. The primary purpose of identifying some of these roles is to ensure you realize that what one person normally does, i.e. the head of the house (mom), must be divided for all to survive. Additionally, each person must gain an understanding of the others’ role and the responsibilities of that role in the event that the primary person is unable to fulfill the designated position.
The positions that need to be filled will always be dependent on the number and capability of the members. For example, a family dwelling of two adults and small children under the age of 5 may require the adults to assume multiple roles until the children are older. Maturity becomes more of a factor than age when fulfilling some roles. Responsibilities can easily be tailored to the abilities of members. A 4 year old can easily collect eggs from chickens, but may not be ready to cook the eggs on the stove. As stated earlier, the requirements of each location will always be dependent on the resources available.
One requirement I wish to clarify is one that is often overlooked. That requirement is the need for sanitation. When living in one location, waste can be a significant hazard if not properly addressed. There are many ways to deal with food waste leftover from preparation; composting is most common. But, human waste can be more challenging when only staying in one location. DON’T EXPECT THE SEWAGE SYSTEM OR WATER SYSTEM TO STAY FUNCTIONAL. Spend more time preparing to deal with daily requirements of human waste in order to prevent disease from consuming your location. If you are confined to a location which does not allow you to create a restroom away from your house, a significant amount of consideration needs to take place. A clear plan must be created to deal with the transfer of waste from inside the dwelling to outside the dwelling. A simple and common plan is to transfer material via a 5 gallon bucket. If you have electricity, you may be able to utilize an incinerating toilet. Otherwise, a composting toilet might be adequate. Mother Earth News advertises several of these products. Explore your options.
Over the last few weeks I have given you several things to consider when deciding to STAY in one location. The options for staying require family members to understand the roles and responsibilities of each member. Smaller families will require multiple roles for each member. Larger families will be able to divide roles and responsibilities. Regardless of size, you must work together to ensure each member survives.
This concludes the STAYING series. The next few segments are designed for those who have decided to GO and seek a better location than the one they are in. The GO segments shall address Bug-Out-Bags (BOBs) and basic survival skills needed to traverse multiple locations and terrain in order to travel to a better location.