30 HOUR OFF-GRID CHALLENGE!!!

After a cold night camping on The Kiabab in the snow a couple of months ago, and sharpening up on some basic preparedness skills, we thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for everyone to practice in their own homes! The ideas flowed to us all in just a few minutes, and the following is the result of an edited (and re-edited) quick-write of the whole idea. NO PRESSURE, this is totally voluntary, but as you look around on what's happening in the world, we strongly believe, given an honest post-Challenge evaluation, that you will be glad for the practice. (The PDF can be found here for printing): 30 Hour Off-Grid Challenge

30 Hour

Off-Grid Challenge

Disclaimers: Those whose health or well-being depends on continuous use of “The Grid” are NOT encouraged to participate in this challenge. Participation to any extent by any family or individual is strictly voluntary. Organizers or sponsors of the challenge are in no way responsible for any accidents, injuries, sickness, deaths or property damage that may occur as a result of anyone choosing to participate. Any individual or family using forms of energy production from any resource MUST have applicable safety measures in place which are approved of and manufactured and/or installed by competent, qualified professionals (examples include having a transfer switch professionally installed when using a generator that supplies electrical current through the circuit panel of a house).

“The Grid”, A Definition:

Any resource connected to or provided by city, county or state entities, governmental or otherwise, including state regulated utilities.

Objectives:

- Personal Evaluation on Actual Levels of Personal and Family Emergency Preparedness.

- Personal Evaluation on Emotional Resilience and Spiritual Strength

- Encouragement to work with neighbors in stressful situations for optimum results.

- Learning about preparedness strategies and how to implement them.

Guidelines:

Go for 30 hours without using anything connected to “The Grid”. From Friday, February 28th at 4:00 p.m. until Saturday, March 1stat 10:00 p.m. refrain from use of the following:

- Electricity provided by the city. Power may be interrupted because of terrorist activity, civil unrest, shortages or infostructure damage from a storm. Electricity produced or stored privately with solar panels, generators, batteries, etc. is not part of “The Grid” and can be used in the challenge. Plan ahead for cooking and lighting.

- Natural Gas provided by the area provider. This would be considered as part of “The Grid” since it is connected to a general source managed by a state-regulated utility. Natural gas lines may be damaged in an earthquake. Propane, on the other hand, could be used since it is stored in containers on your own property. Plan ahead for cooking and heating.

- “Tap Water” provided by the city is part of “The Grid”, while water stored in barrels or jugs is not. Safe water supplies may be limited in an earthquake or terrorist activity. Plan ahead and make sure your family has plenty of water that is safe for drinking, washing or preparing stored food. Other sources of water may be safe for other purposes. Plan ahead for individual water bottles.

- Sewage is a tricky one. Sewer lines may be damaged in an earthquake or flood. Technically, a flush is “Tap Water”. Participants may choose to make use of utilities such as sewage, but are encouraged to test their personal and family preparedness as deeply as possible while abiding by state and local laws (that means you can check your preparedness level using a bucket/seat system and/or a purchased system for camping that enables later sanitary disposal).

- Communication: Go the whole 30 hours without social media. Only use devices that are working with “Off Grid” power or chargers (hint: the “Internet” may not work at all). See if your kids can refrain from using their cell phones and instead help with cooking, etc. Hand-held radios may be used. Limit communications to what is absolutely necessary.

- Recently Purchased Food: Don’t go out and buy “store-bought food” just for this challenge the day before. Instead, try to plan ahead and practice preparing. Have some food stored up that your family will eat, and know how to prepare it. Only use food from your refrigerator if it is being powered by an “Off Grid” power source, or to use up any foods to keep from spoiling as you would in a real emergency. In a widespread emergency, typical food supply chains may be interrupted.

- Additional Meal Guidelines: Prepare at least 3 healthy meals using at least 2 alternate forms of energy (propane grills, briquettes with Dutch ovens, solar ovens, different combinations and so on).

- Activity: One of the 3 meals must be a neighborhood “party”, “potluck” (or whatever you want to call it), where participants or groups of participants use food storage items cooked “Off Grid” to contribute to an overall meal. Get together with your “Block Captains” to plan and initiate this ahead of time. Make sure all the food is clean and safe to eat.

- Evaluation: We will have a discussion/evaluation at a later date and time that will be announced. Please attend and be prepared to share what you have learned. Thank you.

Additional Thoughts

- Safety: If you aren’t an avid camper, don’t wait until the last minute before the Challenge, or into a real emergency, to figure out how to use alternate methods for cooking, heating or lighting. Make sure your chimney is clean if using a wood-burning stove. Read directions and learn to use propane, butane, Coleman fuel, etc. safely. Make sure you have adequate ventilation (open a window an inch or two) with these fuels and/or do your cooking outdoors if at all possible. Make sure there is plenty of space between intense heat and combustible materials such as curtains. Keep children away from flames unless they are helping you cook. DO NOT experiment with electrical items in ways which are not intended by the manufacturer. The list goes on. Be smart…in the case of a wide-spread emergency, you do not want to create additional problems for yourself or your community.

- Neighborliness: You may feel embarrassed to participate because you have not had the funds to prepare. You may feel like you have everything you need so practicing is silly. You may not want to deal with the folks next door. The fact is that real emergencies do not discriminate. They affect all walks of life. The key to survival will always come down to teamwork, whether you are affluent or not. Instead of ignoring neighbors, learn to offer (or ask for) help. You can share skills or supplies that others may not have. Practicing this will prove to be a great blessing. And, if you feel uncomfortable asking for help, start now to prepare the best you can with what you have, then use the experienced gained from the Challenge as a springboard toward preparedness priorities at a rate you can afford.

- Resources: Since early 2022 we have made several posts about keeping warm, cooking, lighting and so on during widespread emergencies (especially see our posts during the winter months) through “Hurricane DISTRICT 10 Preparedness” on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/699066361344927, or on our blog: https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/6454869370152438798?tab=mj&bpli=1&pli=1, and in several emails from toddfurse@gmail.com. Rather than re-post all of them, we invite you to scroll back and look for articles and videos that may help you prepare. You can also search various platforms on the web for articles, videos and sources such as https://www.youtube.com/c/KyleneAnne, https://ldsprepperstore.com/ or https://bereadyfoods.com/collections/top-gear-camping?page=1 . As always, if you have questions feel free to call us: MaryAnn Furse: 435-772-2590, Todd Furse: 435-216-8784