For the People of Japan.

At this time, the Servant of Gomi Sama wishes to express his solidarity with the people of Japan. The images of devastation in the wake of the extremely powerful earthquake and equally awesome tsunami have transfixed the world.

The resilience, endurance and determination of the Japanese people have been evident in their reaction to this disaster. Gomi Sama is with them my friends. I know this because I have seen his genius at work already in the masterly improvised responses of the survivors. I am pleased to find my faith in human resourcefulness has been justified. The BBC online live coverage of events, on 15/03/11, showed the amazing work being done in the small village of Asahi Gaoka where Kuji Oyama has been thrust into a leadership role as resources are pooled and distributed. He explained that they had 800 people to feed and hadn’t even water to wash their faces in. Another man was cutting a 55 gallon drum with an angle grinder; turning it into an improvised cook stove. These people were taking charge and providing for themselves. They provide an excellent model that we should remember and strive to emulate.

55 gallon drums are an excellent resource for a collapse situation. Besides fire and cooking, drums can store water or other liquids of course, but also anything you might want to keep dry. They can be turned into a rotating composter/digester or used to fabricate a wood gas producer. Properly sealed they could be pulled behind a boat or kayak. There are countless other uses, limited only by imagination. Of course what use you put a drum to will necessarily be dependent upon its former contents. Many, many things get shipped in drums: molasses, motor oil, chemicals and who knows what else. Please assure yourself before hand that no toxic residue will foul your compost or food reserves or ganja or whatever you put in there that will end up going into someone’s body.

Cultivate the posture and attitude, the flexibility you will need to respond to a crisis. Mental preparation, considering a variety of possible scenarios and your realistic response to them will make it much easier to get moving in the right direction if and when something does happen. Then, like the old lady who lived in the shoe, you'll know just what to do.