Paul Hurtado

• Bundaberg Queensland Australia.

  

Paul Hurtado.
Alternative Living Solutions.
Free advisory blog.

Localisation

A story about Joe Blow

Joe woke that morning to the sound of the Magpies and Cockatoos screeching just on dawn.
They were always noisy first thing in the morning in Backwater Queensland.
He arose and glanced around the rustic old bush built cabin, which was really one large multi
purpose room.
There was a gas stove with a 12 volt fridge and sink in the kitchen in the corner, a wooden table
with outdoor bench seats next to it, on the other wall near the window was a wall unit made from
bush cut timber and an old dressing table.
In that were the four new 150ah deep cycle gel batteries he had just installed the other week, the controllers, monitors, meters, and inverter.
Charging the batteries were four large capacity solar panels on the roof.
Also in the unit were the 12 volt TV and video player, a UHF and AM two way radio and a car stereo
AM FM radio. The wiring was concealed in the back, very neatly, and a video collection filled the
shelves with his collection of books.
The books had been hard to find and were old, most books came in computer format, but Joe liked
hard copy you did not need a computer to read. They covered growing veggies, keeping chooks
and animals on a small farm, and traditional bush crafts and natural medicine, that came in handy
on the land.
Completing the furniture around the room was a large wardrobe for his cloths, and a big old chest
of draws, nothing very fancy.
He had installed a couple of large dome lights on the roof beams and an outside light on the
veranda.

Outside and close to the veranda was an old wood stove he had converted into a barbecue, a
rough garden shed for the mower and tools, and behind the cabin was a large shed and
undercover parking for a tractor and several cars.
The shed contained a varied collection of old and new farm and building bits and pieces, he had
collected since he bought the place.
An old diesel tractor and a four cylinder four wheel drive ute sat in the parking spaces.
Six 5000 liter rain water tanks collected water from all roof areas and he had rigged up a shower
between two of them, twelve volt pressure pumps supplied water.
There was a pit dunny behind the shed and kennels for the breeding pair of Kelpies beside that.

Joe made a coffee and sat down on the old chair on to the veranda.
He was glad he had made the decision to buy the place.
An unexpected windfall had come when his uncle died and Joe was starting to get real worried
about what had been going on lately, and the news seemed to be getting worse by the day.

There was riots, fires, looting, bombings and a suspected islamic uprising in Europe. Armed black
gangs were roaming the streets shooting people indiscriminately. The European government had
declared a state of emergency and called on Nato for help.
Nato and the Americans had their hands full with the new war in the middle east when Iran
attacked Israel and all hell broke loose.
America and Nato then attacked Iran.
Three weeks ago Iran had mined the Straight of Hormuz and sunk the worlds largest oil tanker,
and several others, completely cutting of oil supplies from the Middle East.
The US had also started an offensive in Venezuela to free up 20% of the worlds oil, that was also
fueling tensions with Russia and China.
Iran Yemen China and Russia were rumored to be forming a coalition that would threaten a limited
nuclear strike strike on US and Nato allies and warships in the middle east, if they did not
withdraw.

The worst stock market collapse of all time had just hit all markets world wide, investment and
superannuation funds had been wiped out, and banks were declaring bank holidays and closing
leaving billions of people without funds.
The Australian government had declared a bank bail in of all invested saving funds to shore up
rapidly failing Australian banks.
Fuel rationing had been declared in the US, Australia and Europe had stopped all retail sales of
gasoline and diesel, and all fuel had been reserved for the emergency services and the army
fighting in the middle east.
Most businesses had gone broke and abruptly closed, laying off billions of workers world wide.
Every day since the first week from the sinking of the tankers, there were reports of disrupted food
supplies to major cities. Just lately there was news of increasing riots over food distribution and
rationing being reported in major cities.

He looked over to the track winding in to the old farm.
That track led to his gate and past that was the end of the rough four wheel drive track that ran twenty kilometers in from the main road.
Yes he had defiantly timed it well.
Seeing this pending disaster going down he had stocked up on heirloom seeds for his veggie
garden, and a couple of months ago purchased a herd of 50 goats from the sales.
Over the last six months he had purchased the new water tanks, solar panels, electrics and wiring
to go with it, and installed it all.
His mate had helped him with repairing the fencing, cabin and sheds, building and stocking the
chook pen, and starting the veggie garden.
The orchard including the mango's and Macadamias had been pruned, and some new citrus and
other fruit trees had been planted.

They were both very lucky Red had stayed on to look after things, as it was a real help to have
someone there to water plants, keep an eye on stock, feed chooks and as security.
He remembered past experience when he had lived in the bush before.
Most people thought they were safe to leave everything unlocked out in the bush, and people
were honest and left you alone.
That was far from the truth. Fact is that you are just as prone if not more so out the bush as there
are no near neighbors to deter thieves, if neighbors do not end up being the thieves themselves.
Also Red would have been stuck in the city very quickly when this crap had gone down as
everything we depended on, and took for granted, rapidly collapsed.
What a lucky break it had been driving in a month ago, when he had seen that old thousand liter
water tank for sale at the side of the road.
They had set it up down the back and purchased a thousand liters of diesel from the local fuel
merchant to fill it, and that was just before supplies had become scarce, how lucky.

Diesel keeps well all sealed up in the tank, for years if no water gets in. Regular unleaded petrol with ethanol can go off in six months.
Also the stock of tinned food he had stored up would help for a few months, and the veggies were
coming along well.
There were chooks brooding on their eggs and the promise of fresh chicken in the near future.
Mango's were ripening on the trees, Macadamias were in bloom, and there would be a good supply of nuts for winter.

Finishing his coffee it was time to wander off and do the morning check and chores, before it got
too hot.
Gotta shoot a roo for the dogs tonight he thought as he walked off.
It was a busy morning and afternoon as between 9am and 3pm it was way too hot to do anything
much.
Therefore it was a busy day of seeing to chooks and stock, checking paddocks, some weeding in
the veggie garden, and pumping water from the spring fed dam to the header tank for the chooks
and veggies.
Later in the evening he went for a walk with the .22 and shot a roo to feed the dogs for a few
days, as the packaged dog food was almost gone, there would not be any more.

Later in the evening they enjoyed a hard earned dinner of baked beans and eggs. They only had
one meal a day as food was scarce, and they had to make what they had last.
On the hour Joe turned on the TV to check out the news.
The news and reports during the last week had only been on for 10 minutes, on the hour, and only
on two channels. The rest of the time a test pattern reading "Emergency Broadcast Channel
Please Stand By" was displayed.
That night there was nothing, and after leaving it on for two hours nothing came on at all. At about
15 minutes past the 2nd hour the screen went blank, no bulletin. Desperate for some news he
turned on the radio, tuned to the ABC in Brisbane. That had actually been on some of the time, with
occasional news reports, and playing music. Nothing. A quick scan of the dial, still nothing.

Shutting that down he turned on the old AM CB radio to sideband and switched to the call channel.
There was chatter coming through but faintly. Spinning slowly through the channels he finally got a
signal, two guys from Brissie and the Gold Coast were chatting with some urgency.
One guy was really worried about the battery in the car rapidly fading and was trying to get news
from the other bloke before it did.
As they listened the other person rapidly started to fill him in.
The last local only news bulletin yesterday morning stated, that due to a severe fuel shortage coal
could no longer be dug, or natural gas supplies maintained.

The public had been informed that rolling blackouts could be expected, and the power supply could
no longer be guaranteed.
People were advised to plan accordingly.
Also emergency services and food deliveries had been suspended indefinitely, and a country wide
state of emergency had been declared.
The army could no longer be dispatched to keep order.
That was where the broadcast stopped and the power went out, that evening the water had failed
as well.
The speaker was in Brissie and gangs were going house to house, smashing their way in and looting food and water, "I have to get out of here" he said desperately.

"Hello you there mate", the bloke talking said, there was silence, the other guy was gone his
battery must have died.
"Hey you still there" Joe called, but the guy did not answer, they must be out of range.
Suddenly just as he was about to turn it off it sparked back to life and a voice boomed into the
room, "you there mate, where are you, you still there"! Quickly recovering from the shock Joe
cautiously answered and told the guy he was in Backwater.
Turned out this dude was about 10 clicks up the road from them in about the middle of the valley.
He had a small dairy, kept bees and did leather work on the side. His neighbor had a small forge
and did shoeing and a few other odd jobs. He was looking for someone to break in his two year
gelding, which was right up Joe's alley.
They were trying to get other people in the valley together for weekly markets so they could trade
items and food with each other. He was glad to use his place for the regular venue and they could
also have a meeting to discuss sharing talents and organizing security for themselves.

Joe was pleased as this would be a chance to connect with others. He had some silver he had
stashed with his change from buying the place, he might be able to trade for a horse and saddle.
If that money had been left in the bank, it would be worthless and gone now.
Maybe he could build a cart for a horse if he could get a young one and some harness.
He made a date and time with the guy in a few days to call back and discuss it more, and see who
else came on board.
Turning off the radio he also wondered what 20 litres of dieso would buy, covertly of course, he did
not want anyone to know he was sitting on so much.

This is where we leave Joe and Red for the moment.

What can you learn from this story ?

Most of the people who have contacted me in the past have been worried about a total collapse of
society and have been looking to invest in quiet or isolated properties, and equip them for the
collapse or "the end times" !!
Speaking with them almost 80% seem to think a convergence of issues are set collide, (as the
scenario I have made out in the story above illustrates) and when that happens the society we live
in, will no longer be able to function.
The other 20%, were mostly wanting to get back to natural living and organic produce, and
a supply of clean untainted water. Most of this groups concerns being a chemically polluted
environment.
There is also a percentage where the borders crossed and converged, as there was an interest in
both.
I have fielded no interest since coming to Queensland 12 years ago as to tiny houses or other self
sufficient, environmentally friendly living alternatives, mostly the preppers and escapists.
So this site I have dedicated to them.

Eco villages have not raised much interest either and the few I have visited (there are actually very
few) have been not much more than fancy relocatable home parks.
Build them all in the trees with no clearing, chuck up a few solar panels and a wind turbine, throw
in a few hippie looking people and water tanks and there you have it. An Eco Village, not
impressed.
Just about all residences are connected to the grid and none have solar backup, even back to grid
solar is not the norm.
Nowhere did I see a substantial communal veggie garden that could be expanded toward self
sufficiency or even any grazing for communal livestock.
In another severe depression or a collapse scenario your eco village would be about as well off
as a home in the suburbs.
This style of living is a feel good alternative, for feel everything people, who would not even kill a
carrot, let alone a chook or goat for food.

I have to add here that buying a property and preparing for a collapse or true self sufficiency is a
daunting task that few are are able to achieve.
Growing enough veggies for a family, keeping the livestock needed for meat, slaughtering animals
and butchering, plus a lack of most essentials and entertainment we take for granted, is a major
enterprise.
In a collapse scenario you would have security issues as what do you do when a person or group,
who has not, wants what you have got ?
In any case where the supply chain, food distribution, or the provision of services is disrupted
people would have to rely on other people locally for survival.

Local markets would have to be established for trading or bartering for food, goods or services.
Foot ware, blacksmithing, cottage textiles, natural medicine, leather working, food and many
other goods and services would be needed locally.
A knowledge of natural medicine, medicinal plants and natural healing would be essential.
The way the modern world is structured we are very vulnerable to any disruption in the supply
chain, lack any real skills for survival, or have any trade or hobby that would be useful.
You would also need solar power and reliable clean drinkable water, plus a good supply of parts
and hardware items, to keep things running.

Also in a collapse your money could no longer be able to be accessed, gone altogether and lost for
good.
Having food, gold, silver, talent, trade, or commodity for trade and barter would be essential.
You would have to be careful who you dealt with, and did not let it be known that you had lots
of anything valuable about your place.
You would not want to rely on canned or processed food for survival, in the long term, as
serious health problems are sure to arise from this type of diet.
The latest trials on survival with this type of diet conducted in Europe in 2017, concluded that
serious health issues started to surface after 4 months.
Local area communications are important out in the bush, and a very wise part of any plan.

There is possibly a multitude of other issues and items I have not mentioned, or not even
thought of.
A partial or total collapse of civilisation is a nightmare situation, that not many are prepared for,
or will ultimately survive.
But I think I have covered enough for you to get the idea.

I am often asked what I think will happen ?

The answer to this can only be what I think.
I am no prophet or Nostradamus, and neither he or any of the others I know of in my lifetime are
either.
Many through time have come and gone, and none have come close to being 50% right on
predicting the future.
From weather forecasters to financial analysts, to scientists and seers we all get it wrong, and the
world shows time and time again that anything can or will happen, at any time.

We may well have damaged the worlds climate systems by burning fossil fuels, we have certainly
caused a lot of pollution. But I believe that from the peak of production to running out of the black
goo, will be a very steep curve indeed, that we are not in any way ready for, or are we really
equipped to survive the chaos that will unfold.

This world runs on fear, greed and the buck.
Unfounded climate change global warming fear, may well drive us over a cliff into the sea, of a
complete ecological or societal disaster.
Especially if someone comes up with a magic, make a buck, climate engineering industry.
Or scares us into adopting an authoritarian, socialist, control state, in the name of fixing things
we cannot fix.
We are best to clean up pollution and cop any climate change, as we are so far down the road
to running out of gas, why make it worse !
I will say it again, "NO OIL NO ANYTHING, and we really have NO ALTERNATIVE".

Your battery powered car cannot supply the resources to make other battery cars, or run
agriculture, or make the untold thousands of products, goods and technology, we need every day
to run our world.
All this, including your electric car, comes from oil, or is because of oil, or based on it.
It is amazing how many people cannot wrap their heads around this undeniable concept.
I see us going back, heavily, painfully, rapidly, into the 1700's as supplies diminish.
See if history will prove me right !

Industrial agriculture seems to have no long term future. We rely on oil and fossil fuels for all
stages of growing food. Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides are causing land degradation and this
method of agriculture seems to be totally unsustainable. Farmers could not cope with the transition
to sustainable agriculture without petroleum products. One day we will ultimately be faced with
food system collapse and severe food shortages.

As history has shown us with similar collapses before, (such as Cuba) that food production will
become simpler, smaller scale and localized.
WATER or the lack of is another great problem we face. We are exhausting underground aquifers,
world wide, at an alarming pace. These took tens of thousands of years worth of rain to fill. This is
effecting an increasing number of countries, whose agriculture systems are collapsing. Rivers have
been diverted and sucked dry for huge cities and agriculture, many other systems depending on
them downstream are dead or dying.

We are seeing more wars and rumors of wars every day, and the potential for world wide friction
and severe conflict, that can disrupt the fine balance of supply and demand of essential goods and
services world wide, very quickly.
Ethnic unrest from mass immigration of individuals from unstable war torn countries, has the proven
historical potential to destabilize or destroy nations.

The middle east has always been ripe for major conflicts, and now the stakes are higher than ever
before. The whole place is inhabited with aggressive religiously fanatical people, who are bristling
and growling at each other. Many major nations also have their eyes on controlling the oil they
have, at this crucial time of peak production.
Venezuela is another country that may well see intervention to control their 20% of the worlds
remaining oil. Russia, China and the US may be major players there.
Iran is another country deemed ready for a regime change to more western friendly oil companies.

The last financial crisis in 2009 should have been a collapse of some order of magnitude, but it was
irrationally postponed with massive public spending, and public debt, to some time in the future.
Many financial institutions that do not have our best interests at heart, have been allowed to carry on, when they should have gone broke.
A reckoning will come when all this debt used to prop them up, and increase GDP comes home to roost.
History shows again that endless debt destroys a countries or individuals future, and another great
depression or severe recession, is defiantly on the cards soon and is overdue.

These are the major crisis points I see on the horizon. How bad they will be or when they will transpire I do not know.
It all can change or escalate quickly. Weather these issues will all converge at once or be drawn
out over a long period of time I cannot say. How severely they will impact us, I could only guess.
But from my own research and drawing my own conclusions, the future doe's not look rosy.
The big question is, "how long can we keep up business as usual".

PLEASE NOTE- I urge you who are reading my words to do your own research and seek answers
for yourself. In the end no matter what anyone else says you must always form your own
independent opinions, from your own research.

One thing I hope I have done is set you on the road to enlightenment.