Tag Archives: Mexican Prepper

April 30, 2020 · 7:14 am

Prepare-athon 2020

Today, ironically enough, is National Prepareathon Day. Based on the state of the world recently, I would say that some further preparation is in order. Of course, that’s like closing the barn door after the horse gets out, or in this case COVID-19, but perhaps there’s still time to buckle down and get’er done.

The US government even has a calendar to help you focus on one disaster at a time in your prepping efforts. April’s event is National Financial Capability Month. Now there’s another irony. Unemployment around the world caused by the COVID-19 quarantine is at never been seen high.

I’m not a scientist or economist so I won’t get into the debate on what our lives will look like after COVID-19, but I’m betting that quite a number of people will be making drastic changes. Caution, self-reliance, and a revival in basic survival skills like gardening will most likely surge.

Of course, there are always those guys that are protesting the inability to get a haircut right now, because that’s a priority. Shagginess is always a precursor to civilization collapse, you know. I expect their lives won’t change much in the after-world.

Here in Mexico, the government has said that social distancing will be in effect until the end of May. States vary on enforcement and quarantine activities. Some states have closed their borders, like Michoacan. While neighboring Guanajuato is doing business as usual. Experts predict the peak contagion here from May 2 to 8, but that date seems to change regularly.

So since we’ll be hunkering down for a spell yet, I thought I’d offer A to Z Reasons Why La Yacata is the Place to Be in Any Disaster: A Prepper’s Guide to Mexico FREE for the next few days. Although the book covers serious topics like pandemics and economic collapse, it also discusses things like zombies, because what’s an end-of-the-world scenario without zombies? (Again, I am SO thankful COVID-19 isn’t a zombie producing virus).

Anyway, it’s a lighter read than my newest contribution to the prepper non-fiction genre, A Woman’s Survival Guide to Disasters in Rural Mexico: A Framework for Empowered Living Through Crisis which was written with the challenges women face in Mexico in mind.

Meanwhile, we’ll be keeping up social distancing on the ol’ Flores ranchito. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have a new book to release shortly. At the very least, I’m determined to get that 1500 piece puzzle done.

Rural Mexico Prepper’s Pantry

Although Mexico hasn’t initiated a lock down to combat the spread of COVID-19, several states have been vocal about voluntary quarantine. The state of Jalisco, for example is encouraging #5diasencasa (5 days at home) from March 20 to March 25, the period when analysts have predicted is the peak contagion window in Mexico.

I’ve seen several posts recently on what to stock up on in the event of quarantine. Although I’m sure they meant well, none of them has taken the limited selection available in rural Mexican stores into account. I don’t mean fruit and vegetables, but non-perishable goods. If you’ve gone into a corner store lately to do your own stocking up, you’ll have seen what I mean.

So what can you do in rural Mexico to have a store of provisions that will keep for the foreseeable future, especially if you don’t have a fridge or freezer? It may call for thinking outside the box, but you can get a pantry full of goods that will last you for a while.

You can get boxed milk that lasts several weeks. Eggs are also stored at room temperature, so there’s no problem with those. However, some fruit and vegetables won’t last long at all. So steer clear of cucumbers, tomatoes, guavas, and strawberries. Instead focus on onions, garlic, potatoes as root vegetables last longer without refrigeration. Oranges, limes, squash, and melons are also good long-term choices.

Your staples should include rice, corn, oatmeal, beans, and pasta. Beans come in all sorts of colors for variety. Pasta comes in a whole slew of different shapes to change things up. If you know how to make your own tortillas, make sure you have some cal (lime) to complete the nixtamal process. Otherwise, tostadas are a good alternative.

If you have an oven and like to bake, be sure to get enough flour and yeast for bread. Salt and sugar are other things to have in surplus. Cooking oil will eventually go rancid, so try to get some solid shortening as well. Honey, jam and cajeta make good toppings for pancakes, which are a great snack. Other snacks include peanuts, chips, popcorn, and crackers.

Soda does last forever, but isn’t perhaps the healthiest option. Make sure to have enough garafones of water on hand for at least two weeks, based on your regular consumption. Tamarindo and jamaica are nice to make flavored water. Containers of juice, coffee and tea are other beverages to consider.

As I mentioned, the canned goods selection at the local supermarket is really quite limited. However, I was able to pick up canned beans, mushrooms, corn, peas, soup, tuna and sardines.

Since we are in the midst of a global pandemic, hygiene is of paramount importance. Therefore, make sure to have enough bar soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and hand sanitizer. For regular cleansing, have an extra container of dish soap and laundry detergent. Consider picking up a pack of baby wipes and some disinfectant spray as well. As for toilet paper, one roll per family member per week should be fine if you ration it like they do at the public bathrooms in Mexico. Ladies, don’t forget to stock up on your monthly supplies too!

As for the quantity of each, well it really depends on your family’s needs and food preferences. The pandemic period won’t last for decades, but it could last several weeks.

What would you add to a Prepper’s Pantry for rural Mexico?

A to Z Challenge Reflections

Whew! We made it! Now you know that the best bug out location is found in central Mexico. Let me know when you are ready to make the move.

Posting every day was an exhausting experience. I have to be honest here. I worked on these posts for about 6 months prior to the challenge. Yep. Sure enough. Even after having a draft ready to post for each of the 26-day challenge, it was a lot of work. Some of the links I included no longer existed. There were some typographical errors to fix. Sometimes new information had come to light since I had written the draft (like that volcano crater forming just minutes from my home). And then sometimes I just wasn’t happy with the draft and redid the post completely. Facebook decided it would rather share my disclaimer image than any of the photos and graphics in my posts, so that was annoying. Then I had some additional obligations and blog posts I had to SQUEEEEZE in during the month. Well, I made it!

I expect reading daily posts was a bit overwhelming for you as well. Did you miss any? I’ll post links at the end for you.

Part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge A to Z Blogging Challenge was to read and comment on other participants’ blogs. This year there was a Bingo board to help with the motivation. Although I worked diligently at finding the Bingo squares (and sharing them on Twitter) I wasn’t able to get a Bingo. Darnit! I hate to lose! I did read a number of good blog posts though in the process, so I guess it wasn’t a total waste.

Right now, I’m not sure that I will participate next year in the challenge. I haven’t come up with a fabulous and relevant topic yet. If you have any ideas, let me know, please! I have determined to do a 31-day challenge sponsored by Writers Bra, but don’t worry, I plan on spacing the posts out over the course of several months.

Meanwhile…….