Food is important. We can't really do much without it. According to the UN and WEF, and other such leading blights on society, food is going to get scarce, really scarce – like famine apparently. They say it's coming just as sure as wars and global warming and all that. It's what has to happen for their Great Reset to reach completion.
But fear not, our folk have been through this sort of thing before. There are different ways that we can re-live the experience of our forebears - their community spirit, their ingenuity and determination to provide for their families regardless of what hardships were being forced upon them. While the patterns of history do repeat we need look back no further than the last century.
Allotments, community garden projects and Digging For Victory
The First World War saw a huge increase in garden allotments across the UK as food was scarce. Garden plots once again became essential immediately after the outbreak of World War Two. This was the heyday for garden allotments: for community bonding and inter-dependency.
During World War Two there was a UK-wide Dig For Victory Campaign. Every piece of spare ground was utilised to grow vegetables out of necessity. In the Ballymena area, by 1945 there were 345 garden plots in operation: almost 22 acres in total. Across the UK there were 1.4 million plots.
Virtually no food was coming in from overseas and yet no one died of hunger.
It's a bit different this time around. Back then the Establishment encouraged the people to grow their own food. No such support from that lot this time round. We are now on our own – independent and as free as the wind, to blow as we feel fit.
Farmers.
Not everyone will have access to land to grow their own food and so farming on a mechanical scale will remain essential.
Farmers need to be encouraged to prepare land in advance - to be ready to provide for their local communities. Local farm shops and markets will once again become essential – just like back in the days of yore. We the people, right now, need to reassure farmers that the support will be there for their transition to direct provision of food for their local communities. The days of dependency on governments and corporate markets will soon be a thing of the past.
And of course farmers should be encouraged to lease out part of their land for community gardens. This could be another source of income for them, while at the same time ensuring the variety of produce that only small diversified farmers and market gardeners can supply.
Self-sufficient communities.
It is possible for individuals and families to be near enough self-sufficient. But it is a lonely road. What's really needed is a network of prolific individuals who can share, trade, barter and network with others – reaping rewards of diversified skill-sets as well as community bonding.
Preservation of food, saving of seeds and the inclusion of chickens and other livestock are all crucial for any self-sufficient community – as is the need for clothing, shelter, fuel, energy and alternative healthcare.
Foraging and working with the wild.
Instincts from our ancient ancestors are still within us. Learning to find food and herbal remedies from the natural world that's all around us, is a natural addition for self-sufficient communities.
Bartering and alternative currency.
Having an alternative currency to extend and assist the barter system will be crucial, in my opinion. More thoughts on that on another day.
This book, below, jumped out at me from off a bookshop shelf in Guernsey in 1977. Nothing was ever quite the same after that.
Willie Drennan.
