Part 1 - Food, Water and Supplies (Ensuring your family survive and thrive during the next financial crisis)

INTRODUCTION
I wanted to elaborate a bit more on my previous blog entitled "Ensuring your family survive and thrive during the next financial crisis". The section "food, water and supplies" is a large enough topic in itself to dedicate an entire blog to. I wanted to also let you know that I'm not advising you to do anything I have not done myself, this is my strategy. You may not like all or indeed any of it but for those of you who do, I'd love to help in any way I can. Especially given the fact that you have taken the time to read my article (which I really appreciate BTW).

I live in Tokyo, take a 45 minutes train ride and you can stand in an area where three tectonic plates meet, once described in a "short history of nearly everything" by Bill Bryson as a "city waiting to die", Tokyo is certainly an interesting place to live but not without potential consequences. Thank you Bill, I was in a crowded subway hundreds of feet underground when I read that line!

Japanese people have endured earthquakes, tsunamis and volcano's for centuries. It was clear that they're more conditioned to natural disaster than I was for instance (coming from Ireland) when the "big one" hit on March 11th 2011.

Crisis, whether it be failure of our "just in time" food and goods delivery service, financial or related to natural disasters is a real possibility that I think people take for granted. Remember, we have no control over whether or not these events happen however if you "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail..."

I believe because Japanese people have been through a few wars and natural disasters in recent memory, they tend to be, in general, good at saving for a rainy day. Much better on average than most people in the west.

However, I was here during the great Tohoku earthquake and walking into a convenience store with eerily empty shelves made me realize that while Japanese people are good savers, it's clear that the culture doesn't extend to a larder that they're been stocking for a rainy day or indeed the space that would accommodate such a luxury in central Tokyo.

So here is a bit more detail on how I've prepared for a potential crisis.

WATER
Water is essential to all life, an average person isn't going to last a week without water. It's essential to drink, cook, feed your plants/crops and sanitize. This is why water should be the main focus of your survival planning and not food.

Because water is heavy and takes up a lot of space (there isn't much space in Tokyo remember) I chosen a 4 filter aqua rain (404 model - 3 gallon capacity) which can filter a lot of water should the day come where we need to. It's also worth thinking about your neighbors and other people who may not be as prepared as you are. You will need to build a community and this starts with planning your survival gear, planning a bit extra to help other people in need who may not be as well prepared as you are or perhaps didn't have the money to buy a $300-$400 USD water filter.

Once again, I have no affiliation with amazon or any of these products, do your homework, there may indeed well be a better more advanced ceramic water filter available. I saw a youtube clip on this particular product which I liked and so I bought it (sent from the states!).

If you want to go an extra step then keeping a bath full of water or if you have the space, setting up a rain catchment system are an excellent way of having immediately accessible water. I would have suggested keeping water in plastic bottles but a lot of nasty plastics and chemicals leach into the water. Survival is essential but so too is healthy survival.

If I had the space, I would set up a rain catchment system with a ceramic water filter. This is the best of both worlds but alas I don't have the space and live in rented accommodation so I don't think my landlord would approve.

FOOD

Here is a picture of my larder

I have around

• 100 kgs of Rice
• 20 Kgs of Kidney Bean
• 20 Kgs of Barley
• 20 Kgs of yellow lentils
• 5 Kgs of Green Peas
• 5 Kgs of Garbanzo beans
• 1 Kgs of Salt
• 2 Kgs of Bullion
• 25 Kgs of pasta
• 25 x 400g of Tomato Sauce
• 48 x 400ml of Coconut Milk (for my diabetic daughter).

The above food will provide you with almost all the nutrition you need. Carbs, protein and fat.

SUPPLIES

A little bit of money spent on supplies could be money potentially very well spent should the day come when you need them.

My Bug out bag

• Solar panel charger, iphone charger, radio, light and emergency signal all-in-one (Candy crush saga eat your heart out!)
• Headlight (Good to see in the dark).
• Lighters (Fire!)
• Pens
• Kids illumines jacket
• Adult rain jacket
• Face mask
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Radio (moshi, moshi?)
• Hand torch/warning light/hammer/wire cutter*
• Spoon/fork x2
• Notebook
• Swiss Army knife
• Aluminium cushion mat
• Chopping board with chopsticks, knife and can opener
• First aid kit
• Cooking pots and pans
• Water bottle and solar light
• Masking tape
• Rope
• Fire lighters
• Fire gel
• Plastic bag
• Portable toilet
• Toilet paper
• Candles
• Stove
• 3 x gas tanks
• Sleeping bag
• Tent

** My wife's supply bag**

• Map of Tokyo
• iPhone charger
• Plastic bags
• Rough guide to Japan book
• Tinned food
• Waterproof match
• Toilet roll x 2
• Toothbrush
• Rain jacket
• Head torch
• Antibacterial gel
• Candle
• Sowing kit - Mending clothes is a good skill to acquire.
• Gloves
• Wet tissues
• 1 kids rain jacket
• 1 baby's rain jacket
• Portable toilet - Hygiene may be a major issue post natural disaster.
• Meguro ku disaster manual
• Playing cards - Bored eh?

For heat/cooking:

• Paraffin stove - This would be better to use as a heater as well as for cooking food.
• Paraffin heater
• Paraffin (100 litres) Enough to get us through 2-3 months of winter.

SEEDS

It's nice to yield a small harvest out back, it's really great for the kids to see how fruit and vegetables grow but in reality, I want to understand how the different plant grow, flower, seeds etc.

It's the process of learning which I'm most interested in, not so much the end product. If I need to plant fruit and veggies, and I'm experienced/accomplished, I will save a lot of time screwing up on things I've now learned. For instance what grows well in my backyard, what grows well with a lot or a little sunshine etc.

I am currently growing:-

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Pumpkins
• Swiss Chard
• Mint
• Rosemary
• Basil
• Italian Parsley
• Red and Green peppers
• Jerusalem artichoke
• Passion fruit
• Persimmon
• Celery

I also have seeds for:-

• Carrots
• Water Melon
• Garlic-
• Onions
• Peanuts
• Sprouts
• Thyme
• Lettuce
• Rocket
• Artichoke
• Burdock
• Leek
• Garlic Chives

I also make compost out back. If you don't have good nutrition to feed your plants, you can expect substandard results and encounter nutrition burn, something I am all too familiar with growing nutrition hungry plants out of pots.

STORE YOUR SUPPLIES SAFELY*
I have a 6 year old boy who is very curious about life and the universe. He's opened the water filter in the past and I found one of the ceramic filters on the bed. I was more careful about where I hid it the second time.

Even if you don't have kids, please, please, keep your goods safely stored and in an area that's well conditioned, accessible and only you or your family are aware of.

Lastly... Please remember to prepared as well as you can, plan for what you think your family needs and then... forget all about it. Over thinking about prepping can eat you alive. It's best to put a lot of effort into preparing (like a one off project) and then move on with your life feeling confident that if the day ever comes, you and your family are well prepared.