Homesteader, BushCrafter or Survivalist, where do you fit in the scheme of things, here I'll help figure it out with you.

  I was thinking this morning about a song I play on the guitar, "Stuff that works" by the late Texan Guy Clark. He was a singer-songwriter, he played the guitar, he also built them, that's quite a wide spread of talent and knowledge. The song goes on about "stuff" that works and holds up, well-made things that people can and do rely on. An old guitar, an old car, and his favorite shirt are some of the items that work for him. It's a basic song about basic things by a basic guy who just wants stuff to work, and to be reliable.

Just an old guitar.

  That got me to thinking about our self-awareness and self-reliance, what kind of stuff do we rely on every day out of necessity or comfort. Even more than that I began thinking about how we are all supposed to fit into these neat little categories that I believe have been created to enable the news outlets, politicians, and marketers to target us for various reasons. I have thought that being independent was just being reliant upon oneself as much as possible to the point of knowing when help is needed. That to me is self-awareness to know our limitations.
  I read some postings on Reddit, it's a really good platform for readers and thinkers, I especially like the forums that the younger people moderate and contribute to. The comments on some of the postings are imaginative and funny as all get out, these are people between the ages of 20-40, a fairly wide age group, it has reinforced my belief in them. There are forums for everything, some I contribute to, some I don't. I only comment if I have something constructive to add to the conversation, most of the comments and posts from younger people are out of my wheelhouse, even though I do understand what they are talking about an old guy commenting doesn't add anything to the humor.

All except the dark glasses, I like wireframes.

  Some of the forums are in my demographic but confuse me a bit, this is where being categorized comes in. I read several forums on self-reliance, homesteading, bush crafting, and self-awareness, I read one this morning. The one this morning was written well and informative, the man that wrote it was defining what being a "Bush Crafter" is, and he listed several categories under it. It is my opinion every person on earth could identify with one of his definitions. He talks about learning, and using as many skills as a person is able to develop through education or experience, it is a lifestyle. By his definitions I am a bush crafter, to be honest, I've heard the expression before but did not pay it any attention due to my aversion to being classified, but yeh OK I could be classified as a "Bushcrafter" at a certain level.
  I also read a number of blogs and forums on "Homesteading", these people are mostly young families that own some acreage, typically, although there are some that live in urban areas. They normally are all in on gardening, composting, and have some livestock be it chickens or larger animals, almost all heat their homes with wood, some get along without utility services at all. The blogs I read, and the forums I belong to mostly deal with being self-reliant, self-aware, and being as self-supporting as one can be. Mostly the image that is in my mind of a Homesteader is a wholesome down to earth person, or family, that has an intense interest in renewable resources, developing their own resources, and takes great pride in what they have accomplished. They store food by canning, drying, or using methods that need no refrigeration or equipment of any modern kind, like the Bushcrafters they are very innovative.
  I read forums written and visited by "survivalist", there are a lot of levels of being a survivalist, I stay with the people that take environmental, weather, and natural events as the issues to prepare for surviving. This group works on their self-reliance skills as well as stocking and preparing for long periods of time without utilities, and lack of readily available food or water. They are constantly seeking ways to improve their methods of making sure if any of these events take place they will be able to be sustained with their stored supplies. Many of them store rootstock, seeds, and collect and store water. They are also very interested in how to continue to supply their needs into the future, by being prepared, which means lots of gadgets. Useful gadgets, water purification methods, fire starting, cooking equipment, and shelter.

She is ready, even to hide behind a bush.

  Those are three examples, and the fuel of my thoughts for the past few days, if you have noticed they all seem to be very similar, they are all a lifestyle. A lifestyle that I am not sure if it is a learned type of thing or one that comes naturally, I can identify with all three. They all concentrate on self-reliance, and all of them center on family and community. My question is "why is it we have to classify ourselves?" I have never classified myself into any group, however, I can identify with every one of them, what is it that draws us to identify with one of them and declare ourselves a "homesteader", or "prepper?" I think most of us don't even suspect there is a classification for us on the internet, I have lived this way my entire life, I was raised having to "make do" with what we had, which carried on to my adult life. It is a lifestyle for sure, one that is in many ways not even realized by the people living it, it is that ingrained in their lives.
  I read a blog asking the question about being prepared for a natural or man-induced event, and how important is it to have supplies on hand for a week or so. The writer went on to say that he would classify these three categories, as well as people that prepare for the first three days as a "hobby, and hobbyist". He also compared it to being a camper and classified it as a family activity (which is true). There is some truth in it being a hobby, just like a lot of passions it begins as a hobby but quickly turns into a way of life for many people. It becomes a lifestyle because it makes all the sense in the world to be ready for the unknown, and some of the activities like gardening are actually very enjoyable for many people. Once livestock is acquired there is a lot of responsibility that is delivered on the trailer the animals come in on, from that point on they are 100% dependent on the owners. It hardly classifies that as a hobby, it displays an entirely different personality of the livestock owners and their devotion to not only their lifestyle but the animals as well. (I have a very strong feeling of commitment to my worm farm). When animals are taken on as a responsibility it is not to be taken lightly, if a pasture runs out of the water, guess what the steers will leave to find some.
  Another blog I read was written by a homesteader who had chickens, like 50 of them, his intent was to supplement his income with eggs, that would be about 4 dozen a day. To his surprise mostly, it was a gradual buildup to get to this point, his chickens made so much compost he was selling it. He was raising so many vegetables in his garden that he was selling the surplus as well, it started as a hobby that grew into a full-fledged business. It was still growing as he was writing his blog, but that's how it all works, go after your passions and many times it opens unimaginable doors. Even if we don't classify ourselves, some things that come naturally are meant to "work out", how many times have you heard that?

Camping? Maybe a little bit like it, Hobby? At first yes, after a few
years it's a lifestyle.

  Are they all the same? Bushcrafter, Homesteader and Survivalist, there are a few differences but not enough to make one stand out from another. A Homesteader may have to get up at 2 am to check on the livestock where a Bushcrafter may not have to, whereas a Bushcrafter may have to get up at that hour to check his smokehouse, and a survivalist gets up to check his water reclaiming system in a storm. Basically, all are making efforts to be self-reliant and as independent as they can possibly be these three, and they are a lot alike to me, there is a part of each that make up my personification, I bet you are the same, most of us are.
  Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, the lifestyle we have chosen is fun, interesting, and educational, just because we call ourselves by different names or no name at all doesn't mean we differ all that much, the goal remains the same. My goals are zero garbage and making my own fertilizer, and to never run out of coffee, go figure.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com