I have been thinking deeply about how everything has unfolded to produce such an outcome.
It is not like it was unexpected that things would hit bottom before starting to improve slowly.
And I can´t help but give thanks for having the mindset to be as prepared as one can be, even within our limited means and our meager resources.
Regarding such an outcome, it’s not like it is a bad one; on the contrary. A liberation movement has begun, only seen in countries of the former (and thankfully extinct) Soviet Union sphere.
This should lead to a real era of freedom that we never experienced before. Even though when we were known as the United States of Venezuela back in the 40s – a country that not too many people still alive remember.
However, the consequences of an agonizing system are fearful. The organization behind the power grab is anything but democratic. Under the excuse of the “Revolution,” they violated every article of our Constitution and laws for years. They are already doing whatever they can to keep control, even if that means derivating to a Pol Pot-like regime.
They follow the Cuban model, but the difference is huge…because Venezuelans know what democracy and freedom feel like.
This preamble was only to explain the consequences of the political struggle we’re going through, and how we have been dealing with them.
Here are the consequences of the situation right now.
I don’t even dare to walk with my kid in the streets, even though there is very little (known) news of kids being kidnapped in this area, and I have been monitoring the media extensively every day. It’s not worth the risk, though. In other parts of the country, the number of minors in jail is supposedly over one hundred.
The food supply is unstable regarding some products, like beef. I could get some ground meat because I was there just in time after the arrival of a delivery truck. Very freshly ground beef meat, although not my favorite, but still good protein. We have switched to consuming more Buffalo cheese, which is great, and cheaper than beef cheese. I buy it from a seller with a kiosk on the street, so it’s fresh and abundant. That guy sells butter and cream, also. Good product and fair price make it a good choice, within walking distance.
Why is it dangerous to be outside?
The reason is simple. Armed groups are roaming in unidentified pickup trucks with masked guys toting guns. Even the regular armed bodies feel entitled to do a body search, will take your phone, will ask you badly to unlock it, and if you have compromising conversations or pictures you will be screwed. Nothing new: this official terrorist policy has been used for quite some time already but it is now much more common. “Rights”? this has been suspended for years now.
There is no chance that a General Attorney will receive a complaint and make it to the Court. They will politely receive it if you are someone with some “weight,” but the next step will be throwing it in a drawer and forgetting it. I leave my phone at home because of this. I do have in my memory five important telephone numbers, including a couple of friends, my kid’s phone, and a couple of human rights organizations to immediately inform any event or deviation of the standard interaction with uniformed people. This is why they are looking to force the NGOs to work within their totalitarian approach with express “laws” like this one.
Mind you, there was some time back in recent history when it was “legal” to beat people and burn down their shops because of their religion in Germany…and we all know how that ended.
How this oppressive status quo is going to work with a rejection (in real terms) over the 90%, is going to be “interesting” to see. Things are already so tense that any sudden move could bring unexpected consequences in the right places. Social pressure is building up, and unless it is properly channeled to the right sectors (the stormtroopers you have seen shooting unarmed civilians in the videos, for instance) it’s going to be a huge mess once it’s relief.
Advice
- You need a vehicle. Even though we can find most of whatever we need within a 30-minute walk, not having a good reliable vehicle is out of the question. This should be:
- Fuel Efficient
- Easy to maintain for yourself
- Reliable and sturdy. With the storms we have in the rainy season, you can’t allow yourself to be dragged by a furious torrent. This is one of the best places to live in Venezuela: the mountains surrounding Caracas. This area is blessed with wonderful weather always in the range of 20°-25°C, with lots of vegetation and mostly sunny. However, this is what happens in the storm season.
- Inconspicuous and with a couple of safe boxes oblivious to the naked eye.
- You need a place in a safe location. This place has to be:
- Far away from the most frequented roads.
- Well stocked up (too obvious, but I think on the new readers that joined the crowd after the 2020 wake-up call).
- Must have some good quality permanent water source or a reservoir at least.
- Make sure to have some means of cleaning and purifying water for safe drinking.
- Wastewater management means so it can be safely disposed of.
Albeit being in a gated subdivision, the volatility of the situation and the neighbors snitching just out of hatred for having lost so massively a process that should be democratic makes some neighbors feel very unsafe. These are people with severe emotional and perhaps even mental issues, and they will throw the wolf pack just out of hate towards anyone they feel like. Just because their utopia never existed. Yes, this is happening.
They used to be the food rationing scheme “chiefs,” which conceded them some degree of “authority” – which is now non-existent. That’s why they are spreading terror. The same KGB “system” was used in the infamous Cold War era in Stalin’s Soviet Union.
The status quo in Venezuela
Grim awful times apart, let’s describe objectively the current status quo down here.
- You need some extra income to pay for basic needs. Achievement of full self-sufficiency is a myth. Unless you can perform surgery on yourself without anesthesia. Providing for your most basic needs will mean working your backside off. The human body has limits. Community and wise resource management is the key here, and considering that good people around you are important. As an example: my AC stopped working. It leaked and suddenly needed a gas refilling. My former boss works on that as a side business: his salary as a middle-level manager in the crippled oil&gas industry is not enough. So, we agreed and will pay him with products to avoid the fee losses upon exchanging from my main income source to our local currency. It works for both of us. The economy is so stagnant that the only thing holding us afloat is the meager income from those with independent businesses (also struggling) or those with salaries (a depressing minority). Hardly anybody is buying anything different from basic foods.
- If you have valuables to transport to your BOL, get a security chest in your car or one of your cars that won’t be seen at first glance. An electronic lock or a similar setup is a good idea. If it has a key lock, it should not be seen even if the carpet or seats are removed. A battered wooden tools box with a fake bottom and a magnetic sliding lock maybe?
- The more time you are in a city, your exposure level to some aggression increases. The larger the city, the more exposed you will be. This is regardless of how “civil” your city, town or location is. As I write this, you perfectly know (or should know) there are guys marching aggressively in London armed with sticks and machetes. A building where you could fortify every single entrance seems to be a good choice, if you don’t want to live in the sticks for some reason and you have the means. You can then select the space to make it your living headquarters, and a huge rooftop to collect rainwater and have some greenies, a chicken coop and stuff. If some readers have this experience it would be great to know what they think. I know that hardly anybody would be kicking down doors in an industrial area, where the “enemies of the State” are not supposed to live in.
The best advice?
- Try to keep a “countryside house” or a similar place where you can stay once things get uncomfortable.
- Keep it stocked, well-guarded, and secure some means to arrive there.
Eventually, things will likely settle down.
I never could re-stock my pantry again, after I left in 2017 with only the clothes in my suitcase, and my laptop to keep writing and try to make a living out of that. Not that I regret it, but staying put could have been a better idea. I guess that we would never know.
We are deeply grateful for your generous sponsorship, which has enabled us to put food on our table. May a thousand blessings be upon you.
Stay safe and keep tuned!
J.
About Jose
Jose is an upper middle class professional. He is a former worker of the oil state company with a Bachelor’s degree from one of the best national Universities. He has an old but in good shape SUV, a good 150 square meters house in a nice neighborhood, in a small but (formerly) prosperous city with two middle size malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival stories from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. Jose and his younger kid are currently back in Venezuela, after the intention of setting up a new life in another country didn’t go well. The SARSCOV2 re-shaped the labor market and South American economy so he decided to give it a try to homestead in the mountains, and make a living as best as possible. But this time in his own land, and surrounded by family, friends and acquaintances, with all the gear and equipment collected, as the initial plan was.
Follow Jose on YouTube and gain access to his exclusive content on Patreon. Donations: paypal.me/JoseM151
I got a penpal as a schoolgirl in the 1960’s. She was a Muslim in Guyana. At that time, Venezuela was making ambitious noises about taking over her country and I wrote her about it. She said it would be a good thing, because Venezuela was very well-run and richer.
Just noticed that Jose’s bio is outdated.
Savvy Venezuelans like Jose might start thinking about how to include the current gov crooks in a better government, with safeguards against return to criminality. If they can get amnesty, then a better-run country would be in their interest. That could provide powerful allies.
“Just notice that JD’s bio is out of date”. I do not understand your point. What do you mean? Is that a criticism? Moniqueo
Dear Moniqueo,
No! she means that my biography doesn´t say that I am again in Venezuela and reporting for you in real time, boots-on-the-ground. Things are getting hairy, with people kidnapped randomly everyday. I almost don’t want to go outside except for groceries and meds.
Jose M:
Thank you for the sincere reply. It is sorry to hear you are back in Venezuela. BUT this is one of the best articles you have written. I intend to re-read it when I have a new minute. Take care. Moniqueo
Thanks you very much!
Those are the comments that motivate me to keep writing the truth, and help others to prep.
One way that we might help despite the enormous geographic distance between the US and Venezuela starts with a story of desperate families along the southern US border with Mexico. Because local politicians were unwilling to make the necessary changes to assure a cleaned water supply to local families … those families had to be taught how to DIY make solar water distillers. That strategy worked once families learned how to use discarded sliding glass doors, the right sizes of PVC tubing, pieces of scrap lumber, and some sealing compound to make what looked like a pool table with a slightly slanted clear glass top. Part of understanding the benefit of such a solar distiller is learning that distillation can remove every kind of water contamination known to man … without benefit of electric power as long as sunshine is available. Occasionally some protestors will complain that distillation removes needed minerals from such water.but that’s easy to replenish via either the food one eats or added electrolytes typically sold in grocery stores.
After teaching many families how to make their own solar distillers that instructor put the how-to knowledge into a book which is still available on Amazon today. It is titled
DIY: How to Build a Solar Water Distiller: Do It Yourself – Make a Solar Still to Purify H20 Without Electricity or Water Pressure – September 4, 2015, by Sharon Buydens
Given the current politics of envy, violence, etc in Venezuela(or anywhere else where the “don’t haves” resent and try to punish the apparent “haves”) I”m thinking that such a family sized solar distiller would be of most and safest use to families with a high wooden fence in their back yard to block any outside view of their cleaned water production source. It should be easy to make a padded cover for that distiller to not only block any nosy viewing but also to protect the glass top from any hail storms.
–Lewis
Cavies or as we call them in the U.S. Guinea Pigs, can be a cheap reliable source of protein. They don’t require much room, don’t tend to fight with each other and can live on handfuls of grass and leftover food waste. They don’t require a lot of space like chickens and are quieter. True you don’t get eggs but they are not as lean as squirrel. They reproduce like all rodents do so resupply isn’t a problem. Also, using the sun you can make water safe to drink. It is called the SODIS method. Filter water through an old t shirt to remove particles then place inside a clear glass or plastic jar or bottle and leave out in the sun for 8 hours. The UV from the sun will kill any pathogens and make even puddle water safe to drink. Even works during the winter or on cloudy days.
Dear SemperFido,
You’re right. We have in los Andes, the mountains, a local variety of these pigs. It’s called the “cuy”. I tasted it in Peru and it is quite edible. We have for the time being water (it rains reasonably frequently) but very little people has the means to filter and purify that water. I’m in a former middle-class subdivision; therefore, it would be much easier to have a cage with a few rodents. And even better: the manure they generate is great for the biodigestion and biomethane production!
Yes, I ate them fried on a stick in Central America when I was still in the Marines. Not bad at all. I’ve raised both cavies and rabbits and cavies are easier and more heat tolerant. And you are right about their waste which is small dry pellets.
Great idea! It hadn’t occurred to me to breed and eat them (we used to have a couple as pets), but they would be an excellent low maintenance source of protein. Thank you!
I have enjoyed the articles.
I’ve raised rabbits but my breeding stock wasn’t replaced when I moved back home after retiring. I still have a few chickens and often a broody hen is allowed to raise a clutch of multicolored eggs she’s laid claim to. That provides a bit of meat and plenty of eggs for two senior citizens. I am interested in quail and other small edible animals. Goats are too much for me now. I’d like to raise rabbits again. I grew cover crops to share with them and fed them the green weeds I pulled around the yard and gardens. I shared alfalfa with them and their dropping became the only added fertilizer my garden needed. I always have composted kitchen scraps, egg shells, and for sure banana peels while I can still afford to buy the ripe bananas from a local store. The chickens will also eat anything green or grains. I have grown small plots of gain for grinding into flour and sharing with the chickens. The chicken droppings are added to the compost as it is too hot to use when fresh. Rabbit droppings are cool so they don’t burn plants. I have two “old” piles of horse manure I’m using.
My permanent planting contains many edible and medicinal plants. That has been planned for my convenience as I get older. I’ve collected both plants and seeds or cuttings. Ive traded a few with others. I also collect wildflower seeds that I am particularly fond of so I’ll always have beautiful flowers with much less work. My newest seeds collected are pink penstemon. One plant will be 18-24 inches tall and a bit wider. Every stem will be filled with bright pink flowers and any extra plants I grow in cheap used pots, till they are blooming size, I can sell at the farmers market for as much as $10 each or trade for other plants or produce I may want. I have saved rose seeds that come true as red, white, or pink blooming roses. Those I can also sell or trade. I will start them indoors in the Fall and sell them by late Spring through Summer. Any unsold ones become gifts or fill-in spots in my yard. the containers will be replanted with something more toward the next years’ sales. Many of the “pots” I use are simply food cans with drain holes or repurposed pots I’ve save to use. I also plant bushes and trees that I grow to larger sizes and sell in reused pots or Cut off jeans leg sections for cloth pots. This winter I’ll be starting more fruit trees in an inground prepared area. I am chilling seeds in the refrigerator already, so they will believe it’s spring in the greenhouse in October. I’ll transplant them next spring into containers to continue growing. I usually let them grow several years so they are big and strong. Then I can sell for a higher price and all I’ve invested in them is water, compost, and some patience. I buy commercial pots at wholesale prices for the more popular fruit trees and berry bushes. Those cost little and look more expensive.
I also keep a “weed” plot of things most folks work to kill. I just laugh if someone offers to pull my weeds. My salads are pretty with tame and wild greens, tiny tomatoes, diced cucumbers, multicolored carrots, small white mild turnips, radish roses, edible flowers, and homemade apple cider vinegar and grapeseed oil vinegarette with a hint of wild garlic or diced Egyptian onion. I grow wild onions and garlic in flowerbeds or areas where I want them to naturalize. The rock garden so pretty with their white or pink flowers.
I have cloth and used clothing in abundance to go with my 7 different sewing machines. I can sew cloth to shoe leather. I’ve refurbished an antique treadle sewing machine and Im now making minor repairs to the wood for the drawers cabinet.