So, if we started a list, it might look like this:
Greenguy: items: solar panels, inverters, batteries, charge controllers, wiring, skills: tech support for items, general handyman skills
oldschool: skills: cooking, canning, dehydrating, sewing, needlework

Actually, I'm going to start a new topic as a barter list.

This is a great thread and the topic warrants more discussion.

Physically meeting and sharing ideas takes a group beyond the virtual existence of internet communities and would seem to be a logical next step.
I wish I could attend the gathering in Hamilton this weekend but for me it is a six hour drive one way. I would be prepared to drive that distance but it is on the same day as the once a year yard sale to raise funds for our local fire department. I hope to make one meeting somewhere this summer if given the chance.

I too would not like to see anyone showing up at my door unless I had met them first and felt comfortable with them. Rule #1 don't accept anyone at face value that you meet on the internet! Interaction through repeated posts can however give you an idea of another person's philosophy and if they are truly like minded. In the end nothing beats good old face to face contact. I think that one meeting could be more inspiring that 1000 posts.

greenguy says...."So, in a post SHTF situation, our Prepper community ties should not be seen as an avenue to drop in on and live with the closest Prepper farmer, that poor person will have enough to deal with. " I would tend to disagree. I am not advocating that we descend like locusts expecting to be taken care of but in this day and age the farmer is no different than you or I. They will have a different set of skills and experience certainly... butin a SHTF scenario the need for manual labor will be greatly increased. The farm works because of cheap and easily accessable energy. Once that is gone it is back to animal and human power. There would be NO WAY that farm could cultivate and harvest 100's of acres with shovels and hoes. Not to mention defence and other skill sets they may not have such as medical, etc. On their own they would be back to not much more than a kitchen garden... Our pre SHTF situation should be networking and planning with that farmer... even in a superficial way to at least develop the idea that he or she may want and need to have a community on their farm....just sayin'

greenguy says...."So, in a post SHTF situation, our Prepper community ties should not be seen as an avenue to drop in on and live with the closest Prepper farmer, that poor person will have enough to deal with. " I would tend to disagree. I am not advocating that we descend like locusts expecting to be taken care of but in this day and age the farmer is no different than you or I. They will have a different set of skills and experience certainly... butin a SHTF scenario the need for manual labor will be greatly increased.

There would be NO WAY that farm could cultivate and harvest 100's of acres with shovels and hoes. Not to mention defence and other skill sets they may not have such as medical, etc. On their own they would be back to not much more than a kitchen garden... Our pre SHTF situation should be networking and planning with that farmer... even in a superficial way to at least develop the idea that he or she may want and need to have a community on their farm....just sayin'

Agree and working on it, which was kind of my point when I said I would be happier to see a displaced prepper at the farm gate then others, I know I will need more here then what I have if and when that time comes, I am planning on it. Granted that is also part of the reason that we do work the land we have currently with man and animal power, it gives me a birds eye view of just what I can or can't do..

As the title of this thread states... "A Sense Of Community". In many regards that is the MAJOR thing we sorely lack in modern society. We do not know our neighbors other than to say Hi in passing. We are not dependant on nor develop resources in our local communities. We are suburbs and subdivions which for all intents and purposes are sterile environments which are also unicultural... meaning have no depth and no ability to provide ANYTHING you need. We don't work where we live and we don't buy where we live. In a SHTF situation.. we won't even be able to LIVE where we live. That is one of the reasons we are here... to develop that community and share resources and to network and build trust and knowledge between us. Sad to say... and as much as it goes against my grain.. there will only be so many resources and we won't be able to save "them all". In fact to try to do so will mean the failure to ultimately save any.

... So, in a post SHTF situation, our Prepper community ties should not be seen as an avenue to drop in on and live with the closest Prepper farmer, that poor person will have enough to deal with. ...

To elaborate here, I'm not saying that working with farmers or prepper/farmers isn't valuable, nor am I discounting the need for this community to develop real ties. I created this post specifically to discuss both the benefits and obstacles to moving from a virtual to a real community.
I'm simply stating that in a SHTF/bug out situation, the farm (and by that I mean the farm you arrive at when a) you need to rest, or b) you can't go any further or c) you finally made it to your planned location) may be deluged by other people wanting to help in return for some food and lodging.

This is a very difficult but important issue for everyone. I don't know the answers.

I don't honestly know if there is an answer. I would suspect the refugee scenario where there are a lot of people mulling around with no plan and no direction. Lost for want of a better term. In the short term it will be possible to help most of them. In the longer term is where the rub comes in. I would susspect it would happen very rapidly where no others could be taken in. Some charity and support could be supplied to allow them to move on but no open invitation to stay and build. It may seem harsh but there would also be a culling process where those who have something to offer.. skills needed or other would be invited to join the group. The rest would be encouraged to move on. Yes... harsh... but again the capability would not exist to support infinite numbers. thoughts?

I miss the sense of community now. I had it in the old neighborhood but in this "new" one, people don't even say hello in passing. As soon as I can, I am getting back out to the country. I know that I will need help when the SHTF but if you show up at my door (other the Farmgal) you will be turned away. Mostly cause you are not suppose to know where I live. However, I will not turn a fellow prepper away that has skills if I have trusted you enough to give you my address. I do have several family members that own farms. Most likely 2 of them would turn me away for being "evil". After all, I have a computer, I used to go dancing, I have a TV...get the idea. Not Amish but a lot of the same ideas. If I need them later, I have to work on the now with them. The questions for me are - do I want to and how do I do it?

Justabear - Interesting choice of word "culling". That is what people believe that is the bases for some of the "secret societies". To decide who lives and who dies.

Part of going from "virtual to real" is based on appearances. Although we are told not to judge a book by its cover, in fact we usually do and in very short order. A few small things such as tattoos or piercing or hair style may cause people to turn you away, or you turn them away. Then there are the race issues that come to light. You may be a great person but in the SHTF situation are you more likely to help those of the same race or depending on how it starts, fear someone of a different race. Yes not politically correct to mention all of this but the sad fact that in most cases it is what will happen. This thread really made me sit up and take notice.

http://www.survivalbill.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=740&sid=fda696ea0d9c15f1fa799aaeea4d8d04

To be honest, I do have thoughts on this, but honestly don't feel I could possable get them out correctly in words, in the length I think would be needed so I will try hard to do a brief sum up.

1) Sadly aware my own family and 99 percent of my dear friends all live to far away, would never see them again
2) Sadly aware that most of the elders in my family or inlaws both in ontario and alberta would die as soon as their meds ran out, or sooner depending on power
3) Sadly aware that the cold and heat and disease will cause major problems and kill millions
4) Sadly aware that it would only be a matter of days/weeks without the support structure currently in place for it all to "poof"
5) Sadly aware that peaple are at base, very capable of doing anything and everything to survive

1) Aware that in times of trouble that folks thoughout history have banned together starting at a community level
2) Aware that we live in a country that (barring a nuc etc) has more then enough resouces for those with will and knowledge to rebuild
3) Aware that as hard as it sounds, the law of the land will come back and the strong will survive and the weak will die
4) Aware that within days to weeks, you will see local style laws come back into effect, a eye for a eye..
5) Aware that the world would never be the same but that it would indeed go on.

Someone recently asked in a post where preppers with bug out packs were going. " Where are they going? Do they have a site already planned or are they just running away?" The answer of course it depends. Mostly of course on the situation requiring the move but many more considerations come into play. Right now the good citizens of Kirkland Lake Ontario are on a three hour evacuation notice due to the proximity of a forest fire. All 8,000 of them. They have been urged by our good government to have their seventy two hour emergency kit ( the official Ontario bug out kit) ready. Check out the Emergency Management Ontario (EMO) at http://www.emergencymanagementontario.ca/english/home.html for details of the kits contents.

As to where these people will go is another question. Kirkland Lake is luckier than many northern communities as they have three directions in which to flee; North, South, and East. For many northern communities there are only two choices north or south. Given that the situation with regard to forest fires is just as bad to the north and the fact that to the east lies another Province most will head or be "evacuated" to the south. Probably a different direction to what many people in southern Ontario would imagine if some serious event were to take place.
Rest assured that if there are any preppers in Kirkland lake that have a bug out location they will have been long gone to their refuge. (Unless of course it happened to be in the area of the forest fire.)

oldschool and farmgal... I agree with what you both say... it is so very true and goes against everything we have been taught in a liberal sense. I deliberatly chose to NOT capitalize "liberal" as I am not speaking about politics but rather about mindset and belief structure. As it was said it will be survival of the fittest and fitness will have many definitions. Culling would indeed take place... but again not in a conscious way that would be based on race or tatoos or anything else. I believe it will be and should be based on what one can contribute to the greater good. Deciding who lives and who dies would not be ours to do.. it would merely be a continuation of decisions those people already made prior to the event. As I stated... a little charity to help them along the way to where they MAY be accepted and have a place to settle... but NOT the idea that ultimately we would be responsible for every mouth that appears at the gate. I DO include myself in that group. I do NOT have a sense of entitlement.

I agree that charity would be and always is the best option. However it depends on numbers; ten "refugees" o.k.; one hundred - hardly; one thousand - definately not! Some people here are being totally unrealistic. I feel it would be less of a "culling" more a fight to the death to survive. Remember the most committed survive!

OK, so this topic has done a great job of looking at the need for Preppers to reach out and physically get to know others with similar interests. In order to do that, there are some things that in this topic have come to the forefront as being very important:

Please feel free to add on, or dispute any of the above ideas. I'd like to have something fairly well nailed down prior to the June 2nd meet. If for no other reason, it helps me define how to move forward.

I suggest as a starting point, people go to the occasional meeting that is held by other Preppers.
Having hosted, organised a few, the people I met there are real and tangible,
June 2nd is the next one, and will be bigger owing to the location and lead time.