a summerhouse in the wild - trips to my "dacha"

[Andrew Veresay]

 

We (my family) have a summerhouse (rus."dacha") outside my city.

 

It is not permanent settlements - people usually have gardens there and use this to either grow their own crops or as a place to rest and relax. These people are city dwellers who were granted these small pieces of land by the state in the Soviet times.

 

There is nothing like luxurious cottages or swimming pools there - just small cabins these "settlers" managed to build with their own hands for their scant earnings. Sometimes just a shed on a piece of field where they keep tools and a small brick house (such as mine) at most.

 

This "settlement" (quite a lot of land owners) is outside the city, near the adge of natural and old forest, neighbouring a village.

 

There is no electricity, nor running water, not even to mention natural gas or centralised heating.

 

So i see this summer "cottage" as my survival site - only option that i can have at this time, and not bad at all.

 

Few years ago i assumed larger part of responsibility for this patch of land as my aging grandparents are no longer able to devote the effort needed. I am trying to learn gardening, and am doing carpenter choirs needed.

 

I want tro share my experience, and hope it can be an inspiration to others!

 

photoes:

 

http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/ww78/veresay/dacha/?start=0

 

http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/ww78/veresay/dacha%20vacation%20...

[Rosemary Stephen]

Hello Andrew
I just had a look at your garden picture. They are really good. I love topinanbou. They are not sold her, which is a shame. Thank you for sharing these with us.

[Andrew Veresay]

topinambur (Helianthus tuberosus) is in fact North American plant. Few people grow it here in Ukraine and it is not sold in other than specialized shops maybe (?). In the shop i bought all my seeds they didnt even know the plant :)

i dug few roots last year near abandoned house near the edge of the city - someone must have grown it there in the past. i hope to grow more these plants next year - i love to eat them even raw!

Rosemary Stephen said:

Hello Andrew
I just had a look at your garden picture. They are really good. I love topinanbou. They are not sold her, which is a shame. Thank you for sharing these with us.

[Andrew Veresay]

Altitude is 200+ meters above sea level - we will have here ocean at our doorstep with only small piece of Ukraine near Carpathians remaining above the sea level - just where i live :)

David said:

Well not to be negative ..but following ZT this is not a great survival location.

Not high enough altitude..coconuts will not grow underwater..:-).

Also even given that you have water , shelter and wood heat/cooking, and space for a BIG garden.. which is a huge improvement over a city apartment.: This location is not remote enough, even tho rural, is surrounded by close neighbours, and you need to be 20-30 Ks ( 12-20 miles) away from a city. Not an easy walking distance.. and hills and river crossings are good obstacles too. Maybe if it is a very small town nearby... less than 10,000..is better.

I'm sure Andrew knows this stuff...

Not that you can get everything perfect.. but altitude is basic, and remoteness is a big factor.

[Bobby Dean]

solution to wet feet: water proof, "sealed" "hermetic" rubber boots

cost 10 bucks US or thereabout, more waterproof than the expensive stuff

[Insky Jedburgh]

Andrew,
I loved checking out all the photos you posted of your family's country house. I think you have all you need to survive there, and really you are all quite lucky to have such a beautiful rural place to go to. I hope you don't find this too invasive, but I wanted to help with a few suggestions I could make regarding your particular location, so I looked up the city on your profile on Google Earth, checked some maps of the area and have a few observations that may be pointless, since you probably have thought of most of this anyhow.

One major impression I had is that the ground water in your area is quite close to the surface, in the picture of your open well it appeared to only be a meter down. In Google Earth images, you can see patches of forest around your city, with man made ponds, holes flooded with water almost right up to the edges. This is great as far as not needing to work too hard to get water supplies, but hazardous if you need to dig a trench to shelter in, and potentially a cause of liquifaction in a serious shaking EQ. So you might want to dig up dirt and create a berm, a pile of dirt at least 4 meters in diameter which you can then put a survival pit in the middle of to ride out the 300 mile per hour winds and falling debris that might come your way during the hour of the shift.

That brick house is really a very nice shelter, complete with woodstove for heating and cooking. I found myself a bit envious. I once had a house in the mountains a bit like that. But during the 9 point quakes that structure will probably come down, so stay clear of it. Also the winds will tear the roofing off, so better to stock your supplies in the ground (but not too deep!) to repair your shelter when it's all over.

The lumber that is stored in the attic can be useful not only for housing repairs, but if you need to make a raft quickly due to the flooding of what I assume is the Dnieper River in your area. Keep supplies ready to fashion a makeshift raft with that lumber, if waters act unpredictably during our crisis.

I see to the southwest the Carpathians rise high above the plain only a few kilometers off, so eventually you might plan for a migration into those mountains. I visited them in Romania 10 years ago. They are one of the wildest remaining areas in Europe . . . or east of Europe, with bears, deer, wild boar (all of which I got to eat), and abundant mountain vegetation. I know you are into survival. Personally I would plan on living there in the long term if I was in your situation.

I'm just guessing, but I would estimate your city to be from 50,000 to 100,000 people, and you can't go anywhere more than 20km without encountering another town or community. So your summer house really is your best option for intitial survival when things start to fall apart, but plan on your place becoming a community center for others, because your preparations will make your spot noticeable to those who pass by. I hope it's one of those isolated houses near the large forested areas, because that will really help with obtaining much needed resources and hunting.

I just wanted to thank you for sharing, I live in a different part of the world, and it's fascinating to see the similarities and differences. You have a great starting point for life in the aftertime. That "dacha" of your family is a refuge in this world as it stands now, so much more so it will be when things get worse.

[Andrew Veresay]

true about water table - and it is a problem now that we've had rain almost non-stop for a month now. got a bus trip to and from Lviv yeaterday - all rivers, large and small are on the verge of spilling over. Dnister (not Dnieper! - its in Kyiv!) is already starting to flood the flat banks...

Yes Carpathians are close - 15 kilometers and would make good place to wander to AFTER the cataclysms. Have slippery mud hills with sharp rock inside them, LOTS of landslides each year, mud avalanches - dangerous during the hour of the shift. Yes in some places complete wilderness - bears! @@@

City is almost 100 000 - and crowded area, yes. This small house is the best option i can think of right now.

I never considered the house itself a shelter. I thought i will dig a trench in the garden and cover with sheet of metal or wooden panels and sod. House also has a basement - will probably put all supplies there - even if roof will be "decapitated" and walls crumble - basement will be intact - just take off ruins.

thanks for comment!

Walk & Reflect said:

Andrew,
I loved checking out all the photos you posted of your family's country house. I think you have all you need to survive there, and really you are all quite lucky to have such a beautiful rural place to go to. I hope you don't find this too invasive, but I wanted to help with a few suggestions I could make regarding your particular location, so I looked up the city on your profile on Google Earth, checked some maps of the area and have a few observations that may be pointless, since you probably have thought of most of this anyhow.

One major impression I had is that the ground water in your area is quite close to the surface, in the picture of your open well it appeared to only be a meter down. In Google Earth images, you can see patches of forest around your city, with man made ponds, holes flooded with water almost right up to the edges. This is great as far as not needing to work too hard to get water supplies, but hazardous if you need to dig a trench to shelter in, and potentially a cause of liquifaction in a serious shaking EQ. So you might want to dig up dirt and create a berm, a pile of dirt at least 4 meters in diameter which you can then put a survival pit in the middle of to ride out the 300 mile per hour winds and falling debris that might come your way during the hour of the shift.

That brick house is really a very nice shelter, complete with woodstove for heating and cooking. I found myself a bit envious. I once had a house in the mountains a bit like that. But during the 9 point quakes that structure will probably come down, so stay clear of it. Also the winds will tear the roofing off, so better to stock your supplies in the ground (but not too deep!) to repair your shelter when it's all over.

The lumber that is stored in the attic can be useful not only for housing repairs, but if you need to make a raft quickly due to the flooding of what I assume is the Dnieper River in your area. Keep supplies ready to fashion a makeshift raft with that lumber, if waters act unpredictably during our crisis.

I see to the southwest the Carpathians rise high above the plain only a few kilometers off, so eventually you might plan for a migration into those mountains. I visited them in Romania 10 years ago. They are one of the wildest remaining areas in Europe . . . or east of Europe, with bears, deer, wild boar (all of which I got to eat), and abundant mountain vegetation. I know you are into survival. Personally I would plan on living there in the long term if I was in your situation.

I'm just guessing, but I would estimate your city to be from 50,000 to 100,000 people, and you can't go anywhere more than 20km without encountering another town or community. So your summer house really is your best option for intitial survival when things start to fall apart, but plan on your place becoming a community center for others, because your preparations will make your spot noticeable to those who pass by. I hope it's one of those isolated houses near the large forested areas, because that will really help with obtaining much needed resources and hunting.

I just wanted to thank you for sharing, I live in a different part of the world, and it's fascinating to see the similarities and differences. You have a great starting point for life in the aftertime. That "dacha" of your family is a refuge in this world as it stands now, so much more so it will be when things get worse.

[Andrew Veresay]

So, i took a 2 week vacation to live in my summerhouse (July 18-30).

pictures are here:

http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/ww78/veresay/dacha%20vacation%20...

unfortunately my camera charge went out by end of first week and i couldnt "document" everything more
i will update with newer pictures in time

[Andrew Veresay]

i went to live there without electrical power, running water, heating or gas to cook on.

only source of electricity was crank powered flashlight, which can charge mobile phone and radio that i took with myself to get the news.

the source of light was simple candles lit in late evening

but this was rare, as i went to sleep with sunset and rise with sunrise - pretty healthy and pleasant!

[Andrew Veresay]

in sunny weather i cooked food on open fire outdoors, using firewood gathered on landscape

in rainy weather i cooked indoors in a firewood stove

[Andrew Veresay]

what i took from home (from foods) was:

~1 kilo buckwheat
13 eggs (1 egg a day - necessary proteine)
a bit of salt
2 loaves of bread
1 liter of black currant jam

On the terrain i gathered greenery (lettuce, borago, stinging nettle, rumex, etc) for salad, fresh apples (eaten fresh as dessert) and various remaining berries - season is ending for them.

On Saturday my girlfriend came to visit me with her little daughter and we roasted and eaten a chicken over open fire.

[Andrew Veresay]

my first full meal, on third day

i only cooked "full" meals (buckwheat with green salad) something like 3 times in two weeks. rest of the time i ate "traditional" egg a day, berries, fruit and slices of bread with jam - absolutely no fats, extremely lean diet. No wonder that by the end of vacation i lost 5 kilogrammes.

And at one occasion i even got sick from buckwheat that stayed for too long and became "slimy" - vomited, but ate wood coal and drank lotr of water and was perfectly OK next morning

[Andrew Veresay]

outhouse - simple hole in the ground, 2 feet deep