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264 The Resilient Farm and Homestead

The Test
Please answer the following questions in each skill area:
SOCIAL-ECONOMIC Potential Actual
I am useful to neighbors—I make or do something they need 200  

I can generate a surplus 50  

I am well liked 150  

I am a long-time resident of this area with many social connections and am well liked here 50  

I am financially well off, without debt, can purchase most tools or other resources I need 200  

I can organize people well and/or work well within a group setting 200  

SUBTOTAL 850  

PERSONAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL Potential Actual


Aptitude     
I can quickly figure out solutions to challenges I have never been trained in and enjoy doing so 500  
Attitude    
I have a positive outlook in difficult situations and experience in adverse conditions which demand 150  
calm, calculated, effective action in the face of emergency

I do not give up when encountering difficulty 100  

I am patient when it comes to dealing with challenges 50  

I enjoy challenging situations 50  

I am confident, believe in myself, and act decisively and with poise 200  

I know what I do not know 200  


Mental Health    
I am in sound mental health, stable, and happy; I enjoy my life, like to engage with others 300  

SUBTOTAL 1,550  

FOOD, FUEL, and HEAT Potential Actual


I can do everything needed to heat a home efficiently with minimal wood 50  

I can haul wood from woodlot to house with on-site resources 20  

I can process firewood with an ax 20  

I can make and tend to a fire 20  

I can cook on a woodstove 20  

I can clean a chimney 10  

I can install a woodstove and chimney 10  

I can stack and cover wood very well 10  

I am able to grow vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts, pulses, and meat 50  

Two-year supply each season 50  

One-year supply each season 25  


Assessing Resiliency: Aptitude Quiz 265

Three-quarters of a year’s supply each season 20  

Half a year’s supply each season 15  

One-quarter of a year’s supply each season 10  

I can lactoferment 5  

I can dry/dehydrate 5  

I can smoke, cure 5  

I can slaughter and butcher 10  

I can plant a variety of food trees properly 30  

I can propagate trees and other plants 30  

I can raise seedlings and transplant well 100  

I can keep a vegetable garden in good condition all growing season 100  

I can save seed in a vegetable garden 5  

I can breed animals 5  

I can lamb/kid/birth animals 5  

I can shear, shoe, and perform various animal maintenance in general 5  

SUBTOTAL 635  

PHYSICAL HEALTH Potential Actual


I can cook using local and seasonal ingredients   50  

I can make a variety of potent medicine   30  

I can identify and treat various ailments with local medicine/approaches   30  

I can treat someone for emergency/acute trauma if given the right tools, and I know how to use them 30  
(emergency medicine, including CPR)

I am currently in good physical health   250  

I am likely to have a long life ahead of me   50  

I am not addicted to any foods or drugs   250  

I know how to care holistically for my particular body type and mental habits, and I have learned to 150  
maintain overall health to a high degree—I am healthy and know how to heal when sick

  SUBTOTAL 840  

VARIOUS SKILLS Potential Actual


Electrical      
I know basic wiring of switches, outlets, batteries, fencing, lighting, etc.   15  

I know how to use a multimeter and charge vehicle batteries   15  


Plumbing      
I can set up a gravity-fed domestic water system without freeze problems   5  

I can capture and store roof water   10  


266 The Resilient Farm and Homestead

I know irrigation systems   5  

I can sweat copper and do basic indoor plumbing   5  

I can work with pex tubing   5  


Crafting      
I can make some clothes and repair them 10  

Ropework: I know basic home and farm knots and rigging—bowline, clove hitch, trucker’s hitch, 10  
fisherman’s knot
Vehicles      
I can change a wheel   10  

I can fix a flat tire   5  

I can check and change oil   5  

I can check and change other fluids   5  


Construction      
I can frame a wall efficiently   15  

I can frame a house   20  

I can use a full woodshop’s array of tools   25  

I can design, cut, and raise a timber frame   15  

I can do concrete work: forming and pouring   10  

I can build a proper dry-stack stonewall of 4 feet in height   15  

I can weld   5  

I can repair and maintain buildings in general from rot, leakage, and mechanical problems 50  
Ecological Awareness and Literacy      
I can identify 10 common medicinal plants in my immediate area and make medicine from them 25  

I can identify 10 edible plants in my immediate area and make food from them   25  

I can eat from and live in local wild areas for one week   25  

I can eat from and live in local wild areas for a year   100  

I can eat from and live in local wild areas for a warm season   50  

I can stalk, hunt, trap effectively   30  


Safety      
I am highly aware of my surroundings   200  

I can defend myself well from a physical threat   50  

I don’t get injured often   45  

I am trained to help others in an emergency   50  

SUBTOTAL 860  

TOTAL 4,735  

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