# Making contact and forming a group



## dexleo2 (Jan 22, 2017)

Hello All,

I'm well into prepping and have been for awhile now and pulling everything together the one thing I'm lacking is a network or a group. I'm at this point a rural lone wolf. So i guess my question to you guys is how did you make contact with other like minded people. I run in some very small circles and the friends I run with are well into prepping also but they are in other states, so we do bounce a lot of ideas off of each other and practice our skills when together but being such a great distance between it would be hard for me to make it to them or them make it to me. I do reside in a very rural area and have about all my family and I could need to survive in place. Just kind of trying to gather some thoughts on how to go about reaching out without the whole damn area knowing that i'm a hard core prepper.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

I am a loner myself. I did convince a buddy and he's is a prepper too. A couple of years ago he moved 75 miles away. Since then I'm back on my own. I have touched the subject very carefully with some but they aren't interested. So I keep to myself.


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## Oddcaliber (Feb 17, 2014)

Finding people to join a group is one thing,getting people to commit to a group is another.


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## dexleo2 (Jan 22, 2017)

inceptor said:


> I am a loner myself. I did convince a buddy and he's is a prepper too. A couple of years ago he moved 75 miles away. Since then I'm back on my own. I have touched the subject very carefully with some but they aren't interested. So I keep to myself.


Yes this is what I have run into also, nice to know i'm not alone. I'm willing to accept the fact that it will just be me, my wife and my children on our own, but at least wanted to make an attempt at reaching out and wanted to see what everyone else has done. Thank you


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

been several debates on if should group up or not..... I can see both sides of it... trust is a HUGE factor....


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

dexleo2 said:


> I do reside in a very rural area and have about all my family and I could need to survive in place.


Actually, not really. Once I thought the same. I too live in a very rural setting & had all I needed for my family. Then my son, who is not a prepper said to me, what good would it be if I had food & my neighbors didn't? Was I prepared to watch them starve? Did I really think these rural folks would starve and let me live in peace? Once I gave it some thought I realized he was correct and that I would never be safe on my farm... no matter how well prepared I was. Surely one of my neighbors would take me out with their deer rifle, if I had food & they didn't.

So my suggestion to you, if you plan on riding out a crisis on your own rural property, is to plan ahead for others. This group you want to join will need to be built by you, where you invite others to join you. For me that entails storing much more food & seed than what my family would need. I started small & initially added enough stores for my next door neighbors... all without them knowing. From there, I try to add 150 lbs of food each month. By my calculations, that amount adds one new member to my group each month. This may sound silly to some but like you, I know we need a community to survive. If you can't go somewhere to join one and you live a rural life, then the other option is to plan on building one yourself.

My neighbors would not just be empty mouths waiting to be fed. They are not preppers but they are farmers & ********. All hunt & several have gardens. Some have moderate cattle herds with rather large tractors & farm equipment. On our small rural lane we also have a nurse & down a few homes, a dentist. So my intent during a crisis would be to unify as many folks on our lane as possible... starting with the next door neighbor & the two farmers. My job would be to provide the leadership to get us all working together. My food stores would be the glue to bind us together. So for now I keep my mouth shut & no one here knows that I'm prepping for them.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

There are 12 of us, friends and relatives, a minimum of 30 years on the friend side.

Any more and security may suffer, that can be fatal.

To us there will be no others added other than family post SHTF.

I don't think I could trust any newbie, so there will be none.


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## dexleo2 (Jan 22, 2017)

******* said:


> Actually, not really. Once I thought the same. I too live in a very rural setting & had all I needed for my family. Then my son, who is not a prepper said to me, what good would it be if I had food & my neighbors didn't? Was I prepared to watch them starve? Did I really think these rural folks would starve and let me live in peace? Once I gave it some thought I realized he was correct and that I would never be safe on my farm... no matter how well prepared I was. Surely one of my neighbors would take me out with their deer rifle, if I had food & they didn't.
> 
> So my suggestion to you, if you plan on riding out a crisis on your own rural property, is to plan ahead for others. This group you want to join will need to be built by you, where you invite others to join you. For me that entails storing much more food & seed than what my family would need. I started small & initially added enough stores for my next door neighbors... all without them knowing. From there, I try to add 150 lbs of food each month. By my calculations, that amount adds one new member to my group each month. This may sound silly to some but like you, I know we need a community to survive. If you can't go somewhere to join one and you live a rural life, then the other option is to plan on building one yourself.
> 
> My neighbors would not just be empty mouths waiting to be fed. They are not preppers but they are farmers & ********. All hunt & several have gardens. Some have moderate cattle herds with rather large tractors & farm equipment. On our small rural lane we also have a nurse & down a few homes, a dentist. So my intent during a crisis would be to unify as many folks on our lane as possible... starting with the next door neighbor & the two farmers. My job would be to provide the leadership to get us all working together. My food stores would be the glue to bind us together. So for now I keep my mouth shut & no one here knows that I'm prepping for them.


******* Thank you this is a good plan and I think this is maybe what I have been missing, just plan on the the neighbor hood coming together and just start planning for them without them knowing it, I like that...


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

You have to evaluate all around you. I keep to myself so I have no idea how well prepared or unprepared the neighbors are. I am going to assume all are ill prepared. Depends on how things unfold.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

dexleo2 said:


> ******* Thank you this is a good plan and I think this is maybe what I have been missing, just plan on the the neighbor hood coming together and just start planning for them without them knowing it, I like that...


That's kind of my plan for the time being. I'm willing to those willing to help. I'm not willing to help just takers.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

dexleo2 said:


> ******* Thank you this is a good plan and I think this is maybe what I have been missing, just plan on the the neighbor hood coming together and just start planning for them without them knowing it, I like that...


Just don't fly blind. By being a good neighbor, you can evaluate the folks around you. You can find out who is a hunter, who gardens and who might have resources (equipment, farm animals, ponds/lakes, etc.) that would benefit you and the group. Point being, "triage" your neighbors to determine who you would want in your community first, and then as you add more food/seed stores, who would be next.

For me, gardening know how, equipment & seed is as important, if not more important than food stores. The food stores are a short term solution, just to get you by until you can become self sufficient. So don't just concentrate on food. Plan on a worst case scenario, which to me would be the crisis hitting at the end of the growing season, where the group would have to survive largely on stores for months until spring crops could go in. For me in my situation, my best guess is 150 lbs of stored food per person. That by itself would not be enough but I realize rural folks keep more food on hand than the average city folk. Plus, I realize there would initially be plenty of deer & other wild game, as well as local farm animals to be managed. Each situation would be unique. Some might need more food per person, especially if you lived up north.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

I guess i sort of have a group.. but they are people are have know for many many years... in the event I have to leave my house I will go to one of theirs.. in the evnt things get crappy and we need to have defensive set up.. we will move to the buddy that lives in the middle of nowhere with a large house on the high ground..

BUT they are people i know... I mean KNOW.... I will never form up with new people just for prepping...


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

have said it before, I look at it from a different set of circumstances... I live on a farm, surrounded for 15 miles by other farms, and I know all their names, families, pets hobbies etc.. each of the large farms have 20-50k bushel of grain/peas in their bins at any given time. weather they prep or not, it is in my interest to be able to arm/support them the best I can. we won't starve,. and we sure as hell can't move that much grain.. so we best better be able to try to defend it on multiple fronts....


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

ND_ponyexpress_ said:


> have said it before, I look at it from a different set of circumstances... I live on a farm, surrounded for 15 miles by other farms, and I know all their names, families, pets hobbies etc.. each of the large farms have 20-50k bushel of grain/peas in their bins at any given time. weather they prep or not, it is in my interest to be able to arm/support them the best I can. we won't starve,. and we sure as hell can't move that much grain.. so we best better be able to try to defend it on multiple fronts....


Plus, from my experience of being stationed in Minot, there ain't a lot of folks up there... at least compared to the big cities elsewhere. Y'all have zillions of ponds & lakes left over from the last glaciers. I assume they have fish in them but sure as all heck know they can just be teeming with ducks & geese. Passed by those on the way to the missile sites.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

I never go _actively_ looking. I search _passively_. I don't advertise my activities just to network. Instead, I just sit back and identify those who are preppers. Given enough time, and if I feel I can trust them, I'll approach them.

The worst thing you can do is literally advertise to everyone in the county who you are, where you are and what you have. Build on a foundation of acquaintances, frame in friendships, top off with trust, _then _bring them into the fold.


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

******* said:


> Plus, from my experience of being stationed in Minot, there ain't a lot of folks up there... at least compared to the big cities elsewhere. Y'all have zillions of ponds & lakes left over from the last glaciers. I assume they have fish in them but sure as all heck know they can just be teeming with ducks & geese. Passed by those on the way to the missile sites.


exactly....... and almost every farmer has several weapons, usually a .22 for skunks and gophers, a 12g for roosters and an 06 for deer..... that's just the way we are up here..


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

Regardless if you want to put an ad up or not but if you want to browse you can go to Prepper Groups it is a prepper networking site. It is a pretty good site and I am one of the moderators for the forum. As in everything with the net just use common sense with your personal information and use safety precautions when meeting someone.

I have an ad on it because I am looking for one or two military veterans with combat arms training and a medical professional preferably above an RN's expertise other wise we are a immediate/extended family group.


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## Jp4GA (Jan 21, 2016)

We have a group but it happened by accident, but sometimes things that are meant to be just happen that way. DH got a new job several years ago and over the course of time found out that almost everyone there preps. We learned a lot from them, and have gone in together to help make improvements at each other home sites (building storage units, shelving, animal pens etc). One guy even taught everyone else how to make ammo and we share the machinery needed to do so. We also have known a friend for 12 years and did not know he preps he is also a real estate agent and when he was helping us look for our new home he picked up on a few things that let him know we were looking for a place to be self-sufficient and he let us know he preps too so we have built a better relationship with him. Things like storage space, seclusion, water source, garden space were give aways to him that we were looking for more than just a new home. We all live relativity close to each and plan to stay put if we can at our own places but have also talked about bringing the group and resources together at the most secure location should we have to for safety. I think these kinds of groups form organically and may do better if you are not actually seeking to build a group. 

The idea of prepping for others is good, if you can do that.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Let's say you have a BOL that can support a large group.
Forming a group is extremely difficult. You have to be sure or the people you're bringing into the group. Having a police officer in the group can help because he can do a background check on the people. How many people will be brought into the group? The more the merrier, as far as security is concerned. You will need enough people to stand guard 24/7. You will need people with different skills: farmers, medical, security, mechanic, electrician, and so on. Must each adult have a pistol and rifle and be proficient with it for the common defense of the group. Will you allow only families into the group because they have a group mentality as opposed to a single person. Once a group is organized, you would need to interview the head of the family and find out how they sit with your form of government, punishment for crimes/infractions.

Next you have to agree on philosophy. What are you going to do if a young mother with two kids comes to your camp, asking for a handout or to be taken in as one of you. Remember she could be a spy to see what you have, number of people, arms, etc. Do you give her food? If she has no other source, she'll be back. If she tells others, they show up too, looking for a hand out. Everybody has to agree on how you are going to handle these situations.

Have you decided how much each family must contribute towards the common good of the group. Sure they will need their own supplies at home, but will they contribute to the common good in the form of money to buy and stock supplies at the BOL? Will the property owner want some kind of fee to join and use his property.
I know of a group who has a $20,000 buy in for a family. It goes towards equipment like a small tractor for farming and the like.

How will you govern? You need to have a governing body set up well in advance. What do you do with a person/family who decides to leave the group. How do you maintain OPSEC? How do you handle someone who commits a crime against the common good. How will you handle the slacard, someone who falls asleep on guard duty, a thief, a rapist, child molester, domestic violence, spy? What about religion? Will you practice some form of religion? Religion seems to help bind people together and re-enforce civilized behavior. Religion also helps to tighten family groups. How do you deal with infidelity. Infidelity can tear a group apart very quickly. What about divorce? If things last a long time, farming is going to become a major work load for the group.

Creating a group IS a big job and a lot needs to be thought about before you from the group. I know there are books out there, do a little searching. Here is a link:
Mutual Assistance Groups: How to Start One
I sincerely wish you luck.


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## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

I focus on short term emergency events and how folks in my rural area can get thru it by working together as a Community . Utilize the CERT training through the County Emergency Management office, local HAM radio group, volunteer fire dept. By working with those groups you help your self and your community for 80 percent of what you need to prep for. Ice storm/ blizzard, hurricane, tornado, wildfire, short term power outage, pandemic, 

I bet you will find through your efforts individuals in your immediate area that you will want to work with and can work with on the other 20 percent economic collapse, nuclear war, EMP.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

inceptor said:


> I am a loner myself. I did convince a buddy and he's is a prepper too. A couple of years ago he moved 75 miles away. Since then I'm back on my own. I have touched the subject very carefully with some but they aren't interested. So I keep to myself.


Dittos on the loner angle. Some of us dont make friends easy or play well with others. Figger when the end of the world comes we will find some way to huddle up with whatever kinfolks are able to congregate.


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

make it through the first 3 months.. and likely those remaining around you share your beliefs and lifestyle.. and those coming in from the outside of the area don't and are unable to survive where they were and are thus likely to try to take it from others.. the hard part is sorting out who is whom.... many here plan to bug-in... those that do have planned for long-term (gardens and such) will eventually form into larger communities (of smaller groups) for security. the ones that are trying to get into those groups after the fact, will likely face strong opposition in one form or another regardless of if they are preppers or not!


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## PrepperDon (Jan 22, 2017)

I sometimes throw a non committing question, as a result of noticing something 'prepperish' like say 500 rounds if ammo, I might say 'so if SHTF we meet here right?' Or 'well you have the ammo, I have some guns, if shtf we can share' , they can either blow off the question or answer, you can decide from the response type whether or not either can elaborate or exchange more of an actual plan 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

ND_ponyexpress_ said:


> make it through the first 3 months.. and likely those remaining around you share your beliefs and lifestyle.. and those coming in from the outside of the area don't and are unable to survive where they were and are thus likely to try to take it from others.. the hard part is sorting out who is whom.... many here plan to bug-in... those that do have planned for long-term (gardens and such) will eventually form into larger communities (of smaller groups) for security. the ones that are trying to get into those groups after the fact, will likely face strong opposition in one form or another regardless of if they are preppers or not!


Reminds a person of what is currently going on in Mexico...according to talk radio anyway. Rush maybe? Some of the regions are sick of the crooked politicans and drug cartels and have started forming themselves into groups of armed vigilantes. Some of them have got so big and successful they are now starting their own copeting cartels. Looks like maybe they are calming down a bit. 
Mexico legalizes vigilante groups in Michoacan, welcomes them in fight against drug cartels - CBS News


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