Grinding Your Way To Survival After The Collapse

In today’s post, we are going to look at grinding your way to survival after it all falls apart.  Having Non-GMO seeds is not enough to insure your survival, you need the tools to harvest and process it once it is grown.

I love corn on the cob and it’s good for you as well.  It’s also very useful for many other things as well, but I really don’t want to eat it every day.  What about fresh wheat bread?  I love it too, but I know you can’t make it without wheat flour.  Now I know that ancient man had been grinding both corn and wheat with rocks for thousands of years.  It would still be possible to do it today, as well, I’m just not sure I would want to eat something will little pieces of rock mixed in with it, don’t need chipped or broken teeth!   That’s just me though.  The luxuries that we have today have spoiled us and going back is not something I look forward to.

What other options do we have you might ask?  I’m glad you asked, there are several options available but they all require you to act now rather than later.  To me the most economical way is to buy a simple hand grinder, but beware, they are not all created equal.  Most of the hand grinders on the market today are designed and built for the occasional user and not for daily use as would be the case in a grid down scenario.  While there are some on the market that are made to stand up to daily use, they are far and few between.  When selecting one, you should look for one that is versatile and sturdy.  You need the ability to make corn meal as well as flower with your grinder so it must be versatile and rugged.

Another important thing to look for in a hand grinder is a large hopper to hold the whole grain.  You don’t want to have to keep filling the hopper every couple of turns, so look for one that will hold a lot of product and not just a little.  After the collapse hits, things like corn meal and flour will be in high demand everywhere.  Any extra flour or cornmeal will be worth more than gold and silver, because you can eat them and they go a long way.

So what other options are there for grinding corn and wheat are there?  We only need to look at history to find the answer to that question.  As we mentioned before, you could always us a couple of large rocks to grind them into flour but that is pretty labor intensive.  You could always build yourself a Gristmill and power it with the wind or flowing water such as a river or swiftly moving stream.  That is how it was done by those that settled this country so long ago.

A Gristmill works by using the power from a windmill or a river wheel to turn  large stones or metal grinder wheels.  As you may know, these are usually large operations and are run to help feed a town or village.  While some were owned and operated by the same person for profit, most were a co-op of sorts and were shared by all of the farmers of a town or area.   If you have access to a river or fast-moving stream or even live where there is a lot of wind, then you may want to look into building your own Gristmill of some type.  Just like the oil wells of today, what they produce will be worth all of the effort that it will take to build and operate one.   If not, then you may want to invest in several small grain grinders of good quality.  Do your homework and be sure you get one that will last for years to come.

Also using the same technique you can generate electricity.

Now I know some of you are thinking “What about meat grinders?”  Well that is a post for another day, as it will require plenty of space to do the subject justice.   Most of us think about meat grinders, but many people never stop to think just how they will turn their crops into something that is both useful and necessary like a grain mill.  Well that is it for today and I hope you have found the post interesting.  Until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared.  God Bless America!

By The Sargent, American Preppers Online