We’re a group of like-minded people from all walks of life that believe in self-reliance, resilience, and being independent and prepared. Despite our different backgrounds and locations, we’d all come to the same conclusion: the conventional path wasn’t working for us. So we each stepped off it in our own way.
What We’re Doing Here
We’re documenting what happens when people with practical skills decide to build their own systems rather than depend on fragile supply chains and outdated infrastructure. We’re not selling a dream or pushing fear – we’re sharing what works for us in:
- Growing food that actually feeds our families year-round
- Setting up systems that continue functioning when services don’t
- Making things last, fixing what breaks, and knowing when to let go
- Living well with less money but more control over our time
- Finding the sweet spot between isolation and over-dependence
Meet Our Team
James Reeves – Emergency Preparedness & Security
James is a former logistics coordinator and wilderness safety instructor, whose practical experience taught him the value of sensible preparedness and calm resilience. Passionate about self-reliance, James teaches everyday skills—like water purification, emergency communication, and outdoor safety—to help people confidently handle life’s disruptions without fear or overwhelm. His approachable style combines real-world insights with relatable, personal stories and experiences.
“Preparedness isn’t about fear—it’s about freedom. When you’re ready for disruptions, you can face uncertainty with confidence.”
Ellen Reed – Permaculture & Medicinal Plants
Ellen has studied indigenous plant medicine across three continents, and she’s a keen organic grower and homesteader. She specializes in permaculture design, medicinal herb cultivation, and creating food forests that produce abundance with minimal inputs.
“Understanding the language of plants transformed how I interact with the land. Every garden should be both pharmacy and pantry.”
Cassandra Alvarez – Traditional Food Preservation
Cassandra’s expertise in traditional food preservation techniques stems from her grandmother’s teaching and her own experiments with traditional methods and food science. She specializes in fermentation, canning, smoking, curing, and root cellaring.
“Modern convenience has disconnected us from ancient wisdom about storing food without refrigeration. These methods don’t just preserve nutrients—they enhance them.”
Our Collective Experience
Between us and the other experts we work with, we bring decades of hands-on experience in:
- Off-grid energy systems (solar, wind, micro-hydro)
- Year-round food production in challenging climates
- Rainwater collection and natural water management
- Heritage livestock breeding and humane animal husbandry
- Traditional building techniques using natural materials
- Wildcrafting and ethical foraging
- Home medicine creation from cultivated and foraged plants
- Long-term food storage strategies
- Community resilience building
How We Work
We’ve all made plenty of mistakes along the way. James built his first solar system too small and spent a winter charging batteries with a generator. Sarah killed countless “unkillable” perennials before mastering her food forest. Michael learned about inadequate water storage during an unexpected three-week outage. Cassandra’s first prosciutto experiment grew an impressive but inedible mold collection.
These failures taught us more than our successes ever could.
When we share methods on this site, they’ve been tested in drought years, during power outages, through equipment failures, and against our own impatience and errors. We don’t gloss over the challenges or pretend this lifestyle is Instagram-perfect.
We believe in working with natural cycles, combining old wisdom with new understanding, and building systems that don’t require constant input. Most importantly, we believe freedom comes through skills, not stuff. While gear has its place, we emphasize knowledge that can’t be taken away.
We don’t claim to have all the answers. We’re still learning every day. But we’ve found that sharing what works (and what spectacularly doesn’t) creates a ripple effect of practical knowledge that’s increasingly rare and valuable in uncertain times.
Whether you’re taking your first steps toward growing your own food or you’re deep into living off-grid, we’re glad you’re here. Building freedom is a lifelong project – might as well compare notes along the way.
Connect With Us
Get In Touch!
Write to us:
Survival Pro Tips
30 N Gould St Ste R
Sheridan, WY 82801