Crochet

While most men will cringe at the idea that crochet is a modern pioneer skill, I would argue that it involves skills that are as old as time.  In ancient days, men wove their own fishing nets.  Basically, they used a type of crochet.  We see pictures on Pinterest of cutesy potholders and children's bonnets, but crochet is a very useful pioneering skill.

Okay, I have to admit that when I did a Pinterest search of "man crochet", I got a lot of fruity pictures.  But if we are talking survival skills, a knowledge of crochet can really come in handy.  My own grandfather was taught to crochet as a young child and made socks for his family.  He passed that knowledge to one of his granddaughters, but I don't think anyone else in the family learned from him.  If you are in a survival situation, I'm sure a new pair of socks would be valuable!

When I was a kid, I heard about a pro-football player who did needlepoint.  At the time I thought it was very funny.  Admittedly, I think because he was smashing the stuffing out of guys in his day job everyone gave him slack for doing needlepoint.  But who decided it was a woman's hobby?

I'm currently in the process of learning how to crochet.  It's actually not that difficult, and when you get the hang of it, it can be very relaxing.  Try watching some online videos.  I bet you can learn too.

I have seen some projects that people did that used other mediums than yarn.  You could literally tear up old clothing in to strips and crochet it to make a blanket or rug.  Don't overlook the benefit of crochet for modern pioneer living!

Saving Energy/ Cooking Rice

Many years ago, a church friend and her husband relocated to China, so insisted that the company move their food storage with them.  I'm sure this was a huge expense for the company, but they did it anyway.  After a few years in China, they were relocated to another country, but realized how impractical it was for them to move all of that food a second time.  So this friend decided to give away her food storage before leaving China.  She spoke with a Chinese liason and asked him if she could give the food to some of the men who were doing repairs in her apartment.  She wondered what kinds of food would be best to offer them.  She had a lot of dried beans and wondered if they would like them.  The liason answered and told her that the best food to give them would be her stored rice.  He explained that beans take a lot of energy to cook.  Men such as these could not afford the gas to cook the beans.  Rice takes much less energy to cook.

I've thought of this experience many times over the years and have decided that the Chinese really are the masters of living with very little.  Most Chinese stir fry vegetables over a very high heat.  This causes the vegetables to cook very quickly, using less energy.  If you find yourself in a true survival situation, unless you have unlimited energy source, consider cooking foods that use less energy.  Stick with foods like potatoes, rice, and fresh vegetables.  

RICE

Put one part white rice, and two parts water in a pan.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and cover.
Simmer for 15 minutes (don't take off the lid during cooking time.)