Since most of us are preppers or preppers in training (or survivalists) we probably have all thought of keeping our family safe in the event of a crisis or a disaster. Maybe you have thought of going off the grid and building a family property. Once you have made the decision to build your homestead that will allow you to be self sufficient and safe, you must of course make sure that it meets several requirements in addition to the basics of food and water.
It goes without saying that the first item on your checklist would be a good piece of property. It needs to be away from the city but not too far so that it becomes somewhat inconvenient to access every time you need to replenish your supplies. In other words, close but not too close.
What you of course need is a location that’s easy to get to but not in public view. You need to know just where it is. But you don’t want it to be visible from the highway or access road where other people might spot. In the event of a crisis or disaster people will be searching for supplies and you don’t want them stumbling on your “hidden” homestead.
Since water is the number one ingredient for survival, you would want to make sure that there is a good water supply if at all possible. If the property has a river or stream flowing fresh water through it, all the better.
If you can find land that you can afford that has plenty of room for gardening and grazing animals, that would be an extra perk. You need to think of what you want to do on your property before beginning your search. You’ll want to figure out what kind of crops you will want to grow. You’ll also want to think about whether or not you want to raise animals and if so what kind. This is important because depending on what crops and what animals you decide to raise, some will require more space than others.
It goes without saying that you’ll need good soil. If you plan on doing any gardening you don’t want to be completely reliant on a store to sell you bags of fertilizer to enrich the soil. You of course would want to have land that’s already rich in nutrients so that your garden will thrive.
Once you’re on your new homestead property you’ll want to provide for your own electricity. It may not be possible to have electricity from the utility company, depending on the location of your property. You could generate your own electricity via hydro, solar, or wind. If you have running water with a drop in elevation, that would be suitable for hydro electricity. For solar electricity you need plenty of sun. For Wind electricity you’ll need winds of at least 9-10 mph.
Next would be to have some formidable building supplies taken to the property. For good protection from the elements concrete is a good building supply. I would recommend a safe room be built into the property. This is prudent for many reasons. You want it to withstand the weather and of course to prevent easy entry by unwanted “guests”.
Another important item is to have plenty of storage space. You’ll need to store items that can’t tolerate temperature swings, like food items and water supplies. You’ll also need outdoor storage for tools, equipment and other needed items.
Remembering the purpose of your homestead you’ll want to plan to have protection from harm. Having gates built around the property will help somewhat. As you know, locks that come with doors and fences are usually flimsy. You’ll likely want to shore those up with something stronger.
You will probably want to consider installing a security system with rechargeable batteries. You’ll also want to consider having firearms. These items will help protect you and your family. If you’re ever in a wildfire situation you’ll want to consider fire resistant roofing material to help prevent your home from burning down.
Concrete homes built right into the side of a mountain or hill may offer the best form of protection for the actual shelter itself. With that said, then the property it overlooks could meet the rest of the mentioned requirements.
