This something I have been thinking long and hard about. Investing in our individual skills could be a life saver after a SHTF scenario. What kind of skills? It would have to be a skill that could help you (and your family/community) and you can barter with. Let’s look at this a bit deeper.
SEWING VS SCRATCH COOKING: Both of these skills can help you and your family/community. After an SHTF the sewing skill is one you can barter with. It would be the key skill. Having a skill like sewing will allow you to be able barter or sell your work. Rather it’s clothing, home decor, or quilting, you could support your family with this skill.
SEWING VS TAILORING: These are different skills. Sewing and tailoring require you to understand the difference between ironing and pressing your clothing. Look at yesterday’s post on that. Tailoring is more detailed oriented because you’re making a specific garment for a specific person or event.
CLOTHING VS QUILTING: These both involve sewing. Here’s where they will barter differently. Quilting is going to require a slightly different set if skills because of the size of the quilt. Having an eye for colors and patterns in the fabric. Being able to put together a beautiful quilt is going to get you a better deal for your skill because being able to quilt is a skill.
SHOE MAKING: I almost forgot this category. I can’t believe it. We’re always going to need shoes or boots of some kind to protect our feet. This is an essential part of clothing we’ve taken for granted. I almost forgot it. Yeah! 😜 Learning to making shoes is a skill. It’s one that will be desperately needed more than say building computers. I say this because a SHTF scenario which involves no internet or electricity what good is a computer. Making shoes by hand will be far more important than fixing a useless machine.
SCRATCH COOKING VS FOOD PRESERVATION: You had to know this was coming. Yes, being able to cook from scratch could help you in a bartering especially if you can bake. However, the real bartering skill will be in preserving food. Yes, CANNING! How? A hunter goes out and catches four deer. You two have a deal in place so your family gets a soyrce of protein in exchange for your time and canning resources. That is how the canning skill could be bartered.
SCRATCH COOKING VS SCRATCH BAKING: These are two different skills. Yeah! Being able to make a delicious loaf of bread or a cake for special occasion will be a bartering skill.
GARDENING: This will a very important skill that once again I almost forgot to include. 😜 I am on a roll.
WOOD MANAGEMENT SKILLS: This breaks down into different categories from lumberjack to carpenter. Honing your wood skills to an art will be the difference between top bartering price and mediocre.
Over the last couple of years I’ve been investing in skills like canning, trying to garden, and this year sewing and quilting. What skills are you investing in?
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