Knowledge is power: 31 Crucial skills for every homesteader

Homesteading is a lifestyle that promotes self-sufficiency. To become self-sufficient, it is important to learn most of the prepping and survival skills listed below. (h/t to UKSurvivalGuides.com)

1. Animal breeding – Animal breeding is a reliable cash-generating skill.
2. Aquaponics – Aquaponics incorporates gardening with a natural aquatic ecosystem.
3. Baking – If you learn how to bake, you’ll never have to buy grocery store bread, which contains toxic preservatives.
4. Bartering – Bartering requires people skills and a basic knowledge of trading. Knowing how to negotiate can spell the difference between surviving and dying when SHTF.
5. Basic carpentry – This skill will allow you to make repairs to current structures if they get damaged.
6. Basic mechanics – Learn how to maintain the tools and appliances you regularly use on your homestead.
7. Beekeeping – This skill ensures that your garden is propagated. It also gives you access to natural honey.
8. Building a chicken coop – Knowing how to build a chicken coop ensures that your chickens have a place to rest and lay their eggs.
9. Building a wind turbine – If you learn how to build a wind turbine, you can save money on other homesteading projects such as emptying a pond with a wind-powered water pump.
10. Candle making – Learn how to make candles so you can have an alternative light source even when the power runs out.
11. Fence building – Knowing how to build a sturdy fence means you can protect your livestock and secure your property.
12. Fire building – It’s crucial to know how to start a fire using basic tools such as tinder and flint and steel.
13. First aid – If you know first aid, you can address most minor and major medical emergencies that may occur in your homestead. Essential first aid skills include cleaning and dressing a wound, CPR, making a splint, and stopping heavy bleeding.
14. Food preservation– Knowing how to preserve food using different methods ensures that you have access to off-season food that will last longer in your stockpile.
15. Foraging – Learning how to forage for wild edibles is a productive skill and it can complement your food stockpile.
16. Gardening – Knowing how to cultivate a garden ensures that you have access to fresh and nutritious food even when SHTF. (Related: Skills assessment: What you really need to know in case SHTF.)
17. Hand-washing laundry – When the power goes out, you can still wear clean clothing if you know how to hand-wash laundry.
18. Incubating/hatching eggs – This skill ensures that you have a steady supply of poultry and fresh eggs.
19. Knife and tool sharpening – Keep your knife and tools sharp so you can hunt and prepare materials in your homestead with ease.
20. Knot tying – This skill can make certain chores around your homestead much easier, such as setting up tents or securing traps.
21. Making a compost bin – You can make your own compost bin from free materials such as pallets and salvaged wood. You’ll need bins to correctly store compost so your backyard doesn’t smell like a dumpster.
22. Making a greenhouse – You’ll need a homemade greenhouse if you want to cultivate fruits and vegetables all year long.
23. Making your own smokehouse – If you butcher your own livestock or hunt wild game, a DIY smokehouse lets you properly preserve the meat.
24. Propagating plant cuttings – This skill will complement your knowledge of gardening.
25. Raising livestock – If you know how to take care of livestock, you can raise chickens that will give you eggs and cows that can provide milk and meat.
26. Re-purposing and recycling – Being creative and frugal ensure that you can find new ways to use old things around your homestead.
27. Seed saving – If you know how to save seeds properly, you’ll never run out of seeds for your garden.
28. Sewing – When SHTF, you might not be able to buy new items, which is why you need to know how to make and mend clothes.
29. Tanning – If you hunt game or consume livestock, you can tan animal hides to make warm winter wear.
30. Water filtration – Read up on the various ways to filter and purify water so your family can stay hydrated. You’ll also need water to keep your plants watered.
31. Winter plumbing – Before winter comes around, learn how to prevent freezing pipes and how to thaw them if they freeze.

A practical homesteader will learn about these skills as soon as possible instead of waiting until it’s too late.

Sources include:

UKSurvivalGuides.com

PrimalSurvivor.net