Outdoor Life Prepare for Anything Survival Manual (10 page)

Coconut water seems to be the trendy beverage of the moment. Thing is—for once, those hipsters may be onto something. Coconuts are amazingly healthy and versatile, and they have a special place in your pantry (and medical kit!).

OIL
One problem with storing oils in a long-term survival pantry is that most oils go bad really fast, especially in the heat. Coconut oil lasts for up to two years without going rancid and, since it’s solid at room temperature, it doesn’t need to be refrigerated. That all sound good? Well not only can you cook with it, it’s a great skin moisturizer and has been touted as a topical cure for pinkeye and even for head lice.

WATER
Coconut water is high in electrolytes and great for hydration. Store single-serving cans or pouches for a quick, refreshing treat after exertion in the hot sun. As a bonus, this will help you preserve your water stores for other purposes.

MILK
Coconut milk is rich in taste and calories, and a delicious addition to rice, stews, and soups. Use it instead of water to boil your rice and not only will it taste better, it will also cook more quickly.

If your pantry is literally overflowing with emergency supplies, congratulations! You’re a prepping superstar. That said, you might want to take some pressure off those groaning shelves (and free up space for your everyday groceries) with this crafty storage system. As a bonus, it keeps your stash hidden from intruders.

Survival guides will tell you to store enough water for a week or more, but how do you know what that means? Look at the figures below, then multiply the daily numbers by 14 for adults, children, elderly, infants, and the sick or wounded to calculate your family’s water storage requirements for a two-week emergency.

ACTIVITY LEVEL

You may remember the old ad that reminded us that without chemicals, life would be impossible. That’s true. But it’s also true that if you don’t properly respect and understand the chemicals you’re working with, you can do yourself a world of harm. Consider the following when disinfecting water.

TAKE YOUR TIME
This is powerful stuff, so don’t rush it. Never take shortcuts with water safety, it’s worth doing right. After all, the last thing you need in an emergency situation is a case of dysentery on top of everything else.

KEEP IT SIMPLE
Never mix chemicals when disinfecting water. Choose one method and stick to it, as some mixtures can be dangerous.

KNOW THE RISKS
Avoid using iodine to purify the water if anyone who will be drinking it is pregnant or nursing, or has thyroid problems.

BE EFFICIENT
Counterintuitively, tincture of iodine 2% is actually much stronger than the 10% Povidone iodine solution that’s sold as a disinfecting agent, so you’ll use less of it. An added benefit to any iodine product is that you can use iodine for wound disinfection (never use chlorine for this!).

One of the most obvious sources of water is what falls from the sky. You shouldn’t make rainwater the linchpin of your strategy, but if you live in an area that gets a decent amount of rain, it can’t hurt to take advantage of this, er, windfall.

Some areas have laws against collecting rainwater, generally targeted at those who divert large amounts that would have fed into reservoirs (most common in drought-plagued Western states), so look into local ordinances.

A kiddie pool is a good vessel; it’ll collect about 18 gallons (69 liters) in a modest rainfall. You can also place buckets beneath your downspouts to collect water that runs off the roof.

All water gathered using these methods should be purified before drinking—even “pure” rainwater can have contaminants.

If you have a clear glass or plastic bottle, some water, and a sunny day, you can use the sun’s light to make your water much safer to drink. Largely advocated for developing countries, solar water disinfection is gaining some traction in the survival-skills crowd; and it’s a great fit for equatorial countries with abundant strong sunlight but few other resources.

The most common solar disinfection technique is to expose clear plastic bottles full of questionable water to the sun for a minimum of one day. The sun’s abundant UV light kills or damages almost all biological hazards in the water. This method has many advantages: It’s easy to use; it’s inexpensive or free; and it offers good (but not complete) bacterial and viral disinfection.

There are some problems, though. You need sunny weather (or two days of overcast sky) to reach the maximum effectiveness. You cannot use it in rainy weather. It offers no residual disinfection. It may be less effective against bacterial spores and cyst stages of some parasites. Both the water and the bottle need to be very clear. And finally, it only works with bottles that are 2 liters (0.5 gallons) or smaller.

While solar disinfection isn’t 100 percent effective, it’s still a lot better than taking your chances by drinking raw water.

Story from Wes Massey, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

It was a cold day in october when I decided to go four-wheeling in a rarely-traveled section of woodlands in North Carolina.

After plunging through a particularly deep mud hole, the engine began running very rough.

This was the last thing I needed in a remote area at the end of a long day. As I pushed on, the sun dropped, and I just kept hoping to make it back to a road.

Soon, the trail merged into an old railroad gully, too narrow to even turn the truck around.

And that’s when the engine finally stopped. “NO WAY!” I bellowed. I was ill-prepared to spend a long, cold night in a broken-down truck.

After checking out the engine, I realized that the ignition coil wire had burned up, so I swapped it with one of the spark plug wires.

But this left me running on just a few cylinders. I needed a plug wire, but what could replace it?

Remembering an old Army survival guide I had pored over as a kid, I realized that vines have water inside, and water conducts electricity.

All I needed to do was carve it down to size.

I replaced the plug wire with the vine, and wrapped it in electrical tape to insulate it.

The truck started and ran well enough to get back to the paved road.

Water is a top survival priority, so get the right containers to fulfill this necessity.

GALLON JUGS
Glass wine jugs or juice jugs can be a nice choice for household storage—until you break them. Plastic 1-gallon (4-l) water jugs are more resistant to breakage, but they are vulnerable to leakage and chewing rodents. Don’t reuse milk and juice jugs, as they’re hard to sanitize and often grow more bacteria.

WATERBOB
This 100-gallon (400-l) water bladder can be laid in a bathtub and filled from the tub’s faucet in 20 minutes. It’s a great thing to deploy if you know that trouble is coming, such as a hurricane heading for you.

SODA BOTTLES
It’s totally okay to use reclaimed 2-liter soda bottles. Make sure the containers are stamped with HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and coded with the recycle symbol and a number 2 inside. HDPE containers are FDA-approved for food and water storage.

WATER COOLER JUGS
The Holy Grail of water containers, the 5-gallon (19-l) jug can hold a lot of water and stay portable. Buy them factory-filled; they’ll be safe to drink for a year or more.

55-GALLON (210-L) DRUMS
Designed specifically for water storage, these big blue monsters will hold a week’s worth of water or more. But they can be difficult to transport if you have to move them when full. Make sure it’s a food-grade water barrel. Other barrels may create chemical interactions between the water and the plastic.