Some comments from this video:
Paul McWhorter
I live in east Africa and over the last month or so cooking oil and wheat has doubled in price. This is in a place where people barely survive day by day. Much of this part of the world survive on an oily flat bread called ‘chapati’ sold by street vendors. Made of wheat and cooking oil, street vendors were forced to raise chapati prices. The market could not adapt to the higher prices, so vendors were forced to make the chapati half as big. So now, people who were barely surviving are now trying to survive with their calorie intake in half. The population is getting restless. These are simple people just trying to survive. On the way to town last week I noticed 5 places the public water mains had been severed, and water spewing into the air. The local population can not afford public water, and they have to walk sometimes long distances and then haul water from the river or public bore holes. With higher prices, and their backs to the wall, they simply are now going out, breaking nearby water mains, and taking the public water. It is an act of desperation in response to what seems an impossible situation for them. Not long ago, diesel prices here spiked to over $20 a gallon. While it has settled down some from there, the issue is that fuel prices directly affect everything, as even cabbages and bananas require fuel to get to market. It is hard for me to see how we are not going to have major unrest in places like this.
Richard Dobson
I also live in Peru and can confirm that there has been a strike of the transport workers, principally due to the high cost of fuel, which has resulted in peaceful protests but also violent ones, including looting in a city 90 miles from where I live and severe damage to public and private buildings in the capital. As mentioned in another comment, all of Lima was put in a 24 hour lockdown which caused even more protest. Food prices have risen sharply, and I’m sure part of the ill-feeling is due to large increases in the cost of basic food products, in a country where a lot of people can’t afford decent meals already.
The time to prep has past. Go dark. Farm this spring and summer like Hell is coming. You’ll need it through the winter.
Yeah, these things lag. Can’t wait to see what happens this Thanksgiving.
While some may be getting a very late start, it is never too late to do something! I stress community if you can pull one together away from large population areas (hours away). Look for talent. We have a contractor, auto and heavy equipment mechanic, equipment, people with farming and ranching backgrounds and other talented people..
Glad our community started many, many years ago with all that is happening now. Permaculture, greenhouses, horticulturist, food foresting, community garden, raised beds, vertical grow pods, a lot of additional water rights, water conservation, critters, and honey production. Individual 10, 20, or 40 acre parcels plus 80 acres of community grounds. On private roads much of our community is surrounded by non-lease wildlife habitat corridor BLM and an additional 160 acres of land locked non lease wildlife habitat corridor BLM. We are maintained as a wildlife sanctuary and we have our deer back plus a nice variety of wildlife kept in balance by our coyote population. Our next projects are bamboo and flax plus more food foresting and wildlife habitat enhancement. Quicker projects aquiponics and working toward a bass pond. This is what was accomplished by a group of fiscal conservatives who are also conservationists, some would call us conservative ‘tree huggers’.
We have not forgotten the fun with amenities which proved a huge asset during the “pandemic lockdowns”. Our new expanded library going up will house 3000 DVDs plus 2000 books, pool table, 5 person spa, equestrian center, gym, and our sports court is going up this year and if time allows, a pool.
Good luck to everyone and get started now..