Ways Preppers Learn and Acquire Knowledge and Some Recommendations

Preppers Learn…

Preppers know that when it comes to preparedness, there is a lot to learn! Gardening, firearms, stocking food, filtering water, first-aid, and all the other skills that are needed to be more self-reliant need to be learned. It can seem overwhelming to many new preppers! But one thing that needs to be remembered is that past generations knew how to live self-reliant lives and they learned it without all the new technology available to us. It is possible for Preppers to learn the knowledge and skills they require to be more self-reliant! In this article, you will read about the ways and opportunities preppers learn preparedness information today.

Before we get started, it is helpful to know that everyone learns a little differently. There are many learning modalities. But they can easily be understood in three main categories: visual, auditory and kinesthetic.

For a better understanding of these modalities, view the slide presentation below. You might find the reason why you prefer one way of learning over another.

The ways preppers learn below will fit into one of the learning modalities. You will prefer one way over the other. But don’t disregard another way of learning just because it isn’t your most preferred learning style. Try all of these learning opportunities, you might be surprised!

Preppers Learn By Reading Preparedness Articles

Of course, you knew this was going to be the number one suggestion. You are actually reading this on a preparedness website.

Prepper websites pop-up all the time. The ones that actually write their own content and legitimately share out content are the ones that you should frequent. These websites are sharing preparedness because they believe in it and want to see other people get prepared.

And although there are some really good prepper and survival websites that have been around for a while, I always enjoy seeing a new one pop-up. New prepper authors tend to look at scenarios and situations with fresh eyes and tend to reflect that in their writing.

I can share with you some of my friends and the websites that I trust here in this article, but It would just turn into one big list. I have actually put together two big databases of sorts. The first is on the main page of Prepper Website. If you scroll down the front page, you will see a ton of Prepper, Survival, Homesteading, Alternative News and other self-reliant type websites. I try to remove the sites that aren’t live any longer so you know that you can get up-to-date content from the ones that are listed.

The other big list of websites that you can checkout can be found on Top Prepper Websites. This is a voting website I created a while back. There are over 130 websites listed. And many of them you might have never visited. You just might find your new favorite website there!

Preppers Learn by Listening to Prepper Podcasts

Podcasts have been around for a few years, but with new smartphone technology and improved APPS, accessing podcasts are easier than ever! And, podcasts are really taking off. Experts believe that podcasts are still in its infancy.

Podcasts allow you to learn on the go. Literally, anywhere you go and you have your phone, you can listen to a podcast. I listen to podcasts in the morning when I’m getting ready and in my truck when I’m driving. I have learned some really helpful bits of information from podcasts.

The other thing about podcasts is that there is a podcast for almost any topic you want to learn about. You just need to search for the podcast and then add it to your podcast catcher. Many podcast APPS have a nice and powerful search function built into the APP already.

From a Christian perspective (many of you know that I’m a Christian and a pastor), podcasts allow you to listen to sermons that used to cost $20 a tape or CD series. Everyone is podcasting now!

If you are looking to try out podcasts and want some recommendations, try some of my good friends in the Preparedness Community.

• The Prepper Website Podcast (of, course)
• The Doom and Bloom Podcast
• Survivalist Prepper Podcast
• Mind for Survival Podcast
• Prepper Recon Podcast

Some other podcasts that might be of interest to you that I listen to are:

• The Brooklyn Tabernacle – Jim Cymbala
• Story Brand – Leadership/Marketing/Business
• Akimbo – Seth Godin
• Smart Passive Income – Pat Flynn – Entrenupership/Online Business

For more information on Podcasts – The Prepper Tool That You’re Not Using!

Preppers Learn by Listening to Audible Books

In keeping with the listening/audio format, I would highly recommend listening to audio books. Back in the day, we had “Books on Tape.” Now we have books in digital audio files that can play straight from your smartphone likes podcasts.

The APP that I recommend is the Audible APP from Amazon. It is so convenient and fast. Back in the day, before there were APPS, I would download audiobooks on my mp3 player. When I wanted to start listening to a book again, I would have to remember the file number and time I left off. This was a pain because sometimes I would forget and would listen to parts of the book over again. But with the Amazon APP, that doesn’t happen. It always picks up right where you left off.

I have been able to listen to whole books while I traveled. It sure makes for a way to consume a lot of great content easily.

If you are not familiar with Audible and the Audible APP, Amazon is running a FREE 30 day, no commitment trial. When you sign-up for their FREE trial, they give you 2 FREE audible books to try. And the cool thing about all of this is if you don’t want to continue after the FREE trial, you can cancel and still KEEP the free audible books you downloaded.

If you do continue on with Audible, you will be charged $14.95 a month. You can stack up credits if you like. One credit gets you one free audible book. You will also be notified of sales and deals. I have purchased many audible books this way because it was cheaper to buy the sale than to use the credit.

For more information on a FREE Audible trial – CLICK HERE.

If you would like some Prepper type books to try during your FREE trial, here are a few.

• One Second After – “Already cited on the floor of Congress and discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a book all Americans should read, One Second After is the story of a war scenario that could become all too terrifyingly real. Based upon a real weapon – the Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) – which may already be in the hands of our enemies, it is a truly realistic look at the awesome power of a weapon that can destroy the entire United States, literally within one second.” (Amazon description)
• Rise of the Locusts: A Post-Apocalyptic Techno-Thriller (Cyber Armageddon, Book 1) – When a new breed of computer virus takes down America’s financial network, chaos and violence erupt. Access to cash disappears and credit cards become worthless. Desperate consumers are left with no means to purchase food, fuel, and basic necessities. Society melts down instantly and the threat of starvation brings out the absolute worst humanity has to offer. (Amazon description)
• Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption – Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit. (Amazon description)
• Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies: The Patriots – Through the fascinating tales of the first Americans, Legends and Lies: The Patriots reveals the contentious arguments that turned friends into foes and the country into a war zone. From the riots over a child’s murder that led to the Boston Massacre to the suspicious return of Ben Franklin, the “First American”; from the Continental Army’s first victory under George Washington’s leadership to the little-known Southern guerilla campaign of “Swamp Fox” Francis Marion and the celebration of America’s first Christmas, The Patriots recreates the amazing combination of resourcefulness, perseverance, strategy, and luck that led to this country’s creation. (Amazon description)

Preppers Learn by Watching YouTube Videos

There are many preppers and homesteaders on YouTube. Many of these Preparedness YouTubers provide great insight and helpful videos where those who are more visually inclined can learn from.

The key is to find the YouTube Channels that you want to watch and subscribe to their channel so that you can be notified when they upload a new video. I have a list of a lot of great channels on the front page of Prepper Website, but the list doesn’t do justice to the number of preppers putting out content in video form.

YouTube is the second biggest search engine on the internet. Yes, it can be used for entertainment purposes, but there are a lot of great how-to videos and news related channels on YouTube. If you search, just for a short while, you will find several channels that you will want to follow!

Preppers Learn by Using the Pocket APP

Another possibility that you might want to add to your prepper learning repertoire is using the Pocket APP. The Pocket APP allows you to save articles from the internet that you might want to read later. It places all the articles in one convenient location.

But the real beauty of the APP is its text to speech feature. If you don’t want to read an article, it will read it to you! This is convenient when you are super busy, but still, want to consume content. I mean, how much of talk radio can you listen to anyway?

I recently did a video on how I use Pocket on my phone. Check it out below.

Preppers Learn by Reading Books

I’m going to address preparedness books in two different ways, digital and hard copies.

Many preppers prefer learning the “old-fashioned way,” reading books! One reason that preppers like books is that they are not dependent on electricity. There are a ton of great preparedness books out there. Many cover basic preparedness, gardening, homesteading and more.

One preparedness area that I always recommend having books in is medical. Medical books that are written in a way that your average person can understand them would be worth their weight in gold in a true SHTF situation. I would include books on herbal and essential oils here too. Some of the books that I recommend are:

• The Survival Medicine Handbook: THE essential guide for when medical help is NOT on the way
• Alton’s Antibiotics and Infectious Disease: The Layman’s Guide to Available Antibacterials in Austere Settings
• Prepper’s Natural Medicine: Life-Saving Herbs, Essential Oils and Natural Remedies for When There is No Doctor

Now one thing to consider about hardback books, that doesn’t usually get addressed, is that at some point, those of us who are older, need a lot of light and magnification to read. When you can go to the store and purchase another set of readers that is fine. But if you don’t have that option, then digital books do have an advantage, along with some others.

Something like the Amazon Kindle can store a ton of books on the device. This would allow your library to be portable. And as mentioned above, a digital device allows you to increase the backlight and text size.

One other advantage of having a Kindle-like device is that there are a lot of free books in the public domain. Notice, I say public domain and not books that are illegally copied. There are also many PDF ebooks that have been written by preparedness authors that don’t have a hardback version available. All of these can be added to an electronic reader.

Watch the video below, starting at the time stamp 8:07 to watch a video I did on putting videos and PDF’s on my Amazon Kindle.

The answer might be to have both types of books available.

Preppers Learn by Attending Face to Face Courses

Many self-reliant types prefer to do some face to face prepper learning! This type of learning speaks to those who are more kinesthetic or hands-on and prefer to learn with an expert in the room or forest. This is a great way to learn. However, the pace of a face to face course might be too fast and if you’re not the note taking type all while being hands-on, you might not get as much out of it. At least that was my experience when I took a foraging class.

The other down-side to do a face to face course is that they are limited according to your geographic location. You might be looking for a bushcraft course to take, but you might have to incur added travel costs to get to it.

Preppers Learn by Participating in Online Courses

Something that is starting to get popular in many spaces is online courses. An online course usually allows you to take a deep dive into a specific topic while going at your own pace. Some online courses are free while most are paid for. The costs can vary greatly!

Many courses are a combination of written text, slide presentations, and videos.

The other thing that can vary is the platform that the creator uses to teach the online course. There are some free options online, like Google Classroom. And there are other paid services like Teachable. Still, other course creators might want to use their own websites, email or another option to provide materials to students.

Prepper Website may or may not be offering courses in the future! If you would like to be notified of a free or paid course, join the email list. I always share new information with my email list first. To sign-up, CLICK HERE.

Preppers Learn by Hands-On Trial and Error

Lastly, another way that preppers learn is by just trial and error. There is something to say for experimenting and working through a problem on your own. This is where the learner can draw from other experiences and use them to figure out a problem that they find themselves in or how to do something that is needed for survival.

Approaching a situational analytically, breaking it down piece by piece and understanding the big picture is how to figure anything out. It takes time and patience, but if you ever find yourself in a situation where you don’t have access to the knowledge it takes to figure it out easily, breaking it down or “chunking” the problem is one way to solve it!

Conclusion

There are many ways that preppers learn. And with new technology, these will just increase. But for now, buy that book, watch that video, listen to that podcast. But don’t forget to get out there and put down some sweat equity into your learning. Knowledge is valuable, but practicing your skills is very important too! And, if you get the opportunity, share your knowledge with someone else, another prepper in the making!

For Further Reading – The Power of the Prepper Compound and the Curse of Doomsday Preppers!

Peace,
Todd