This For All You Preppers Who Think Your Living Off The Grid

YouTube ^ | 2/2021 | Nomad Architecture

[OneVike]

This is a video of a family of reindeer herders setting up their lodging for a short stay before they have to head out again. They are on the move every four days or so, and by now they got this down to a science, and everyone works together. These families are so far off the grid they live in Siberia. I'm offer 17 screen shots from the video for those who would rather not spend the 32 minutes watching the whole video, however, your missing a treat if you don't.

I often read about preppers who are doing their best to live off the grid, but after watching this video you guys ain't got nothing on these people. They are so far off the grid, the only modern convenience they got is a snowmobile to pull their long train off sleds from one camping spot to another as they herd their reindeer. It's an amazing thing to watch, and after I finished I couldn't help to think how spoiled we are here in America. Hell, even American peppers are spoiled compared to these people. Below is some information from the producer of the video that I lifted from the youtube video, and the 16 more screen shots follow.

The Nenet reindeer herders need to move their tent every few days throughout most of the year. Every time they migrate they must pack the whole tent away, drag it across the tundra on sledges, and erect it again in a fresh place, sometimes in temperatures of minus thirty degrees. Survival depends on working together as a team.

After staying in the wooded taiga for two months they start to migrate north following the ancient paths of migrating reindeer (caribou). In four months they will travel up to 1200km and must pack and move every three to five days to keep up with their herd. They must reach their summer quarters before the snows melt and flood great rivers with icy waters too cold and deep for the calves, born along the way, to cross.

Behind the tent an invisible line extends out into the tundra. It is called the sawei line, and a woman cannot cross it. It will bring bad luck to the tent. It was hard for them to explain exactly why, it is much stronger than a superstition and is connected to the spirit pole that stands at the back of the tent. This pole is sacred and a woman cannot cross underneath it either, and only a shaman may sit in this holy place. The origins of this are a little lost, there may be practical reasons, for example the back of the tent is traditionally where the men work, often together, so they have to be able to move about freely, but there are often two families in a single tent, so maybe one day the women just agreed territories to stop tripping over each other. Maybe it has such a mundane origin, or maybe there are real spirits that come up to the tent from behind and would bring harm to any women caught in the wrong place. If several tents pitch together, their lines must not cross either, so they tend to camp in a straight line to avoid this.

In answer to the many questions - on personal hygiene, everyone washes using a bowl of soap and hot water, just like most of our grandparents did before everyone had pipes and taps. There is no toilet in the tent as some have suggested, they find a spot a few hundred metres away. They are not pitching on a lake but a small mound where the snow blows a little thinner, Gas companies have been in the area and gave away snowmobiles as part of land access negotiations. Also sometimes there are competitions with them as prizes, sometimes they sell a load of reindeer and buy one. Most families now have at least one but the reindeer are still used a lot. Yes, they use a sled to go to town, or trading posts to buy groceries.

I wanted to catch the entire process, but have edited it down a little from the 40-45 minutes it takes to get from the open snows to a warm cosy home

[Jonty30]

I said I know it is hard when you are working. All I said is that they have more free time.

I showed an article that backs that point up. I never said it was easy.

[Mark17]

I have seen them on You Tube. Very interesting.

[riverrunner]

I guess the definition of free time is the key.

I grew up on a farm. I have old order relatives that live the horse and buggy life style.

I have stayed with them many times.

Sorry been there done that.

I farmed, logged did construction work.

I give it all up to have a modern job so I would have to work so hard and have more FREE TIME.

[ConservativeInPA]

No thank you. My mom’s side family are descendants of Sami reindeer herders who immigrated to America in the 1890’s to so they didn’t have to live that way. Granted, they weren’t completely informed. They homesteaded in the tropical climes of Moose Lake, Minnesota.

When the SHTF, fight and murder the enemy. Take their stuff and live in luxury.

[GaltAdonis]

There just a wee bit of difference between having viable backup systems in place,
and living in a friggin' yurt in Siberia.

IMHO

[NetAddicted]

Well, at least it is warm enough inside tent to take coats off.

[Hot Tabasco]

those who live herding and gathering lifestyles have free time

Free time to do what? Go outside the tent and have snowball fights?

[Jonty30]

Tell all the great mythologies that have been passed down that we still know today.

[CopperTop]

"..Where to people “living off the grid” get all there replacement parts.."

Yeah, that snowmobile doesn't run on reindeer farts.

That said. It's a tough life I'm sure. A while back I went thru the whole Tuktu series covering some Inuit families. The series reminded me of those old science class documentaries in Jr High.. Great stuff and I've used some things I saw there out bushcrafting..

Prolly gonna hasta watch this one, too. d:^)

[ShadowAce]

I showed an article that backs that point up. I never said it was easy.

It's on the Internet, so it MUST be true!

Having lived on a farm, I can personally say that you have no free time. We took 1 day/week for rest. The rest of the week was spent working. You could not even scheduled a vacation (during non-harvest season) because the cows required milking, the chickens had to be fed, etc.

There is no "free time."

[Jonty30]

These people aren’t farmers. They are nomads, following the reindeer.

[ShadowAce]

OK—I guess that means they can just get all of their food from the local grocery store.

[Jonty30]

As I understand it, they follow semi-domesticated reindeer. During the summer, their lifestyle is to live in huts and they make a community garden and their diet is vegetables and reindeer meat and milk. During the winter, it is reindeer meat and milk.

They aren’t running a farm, so they wouldn’t have the long list of chores that a farmer would. They are considerably more simple than that.

[Jonty30]

No. However, they don’t maintain barns or coops or pens. They keep reindeer that mostly take care of themselves and they live in seasonal yurts that they take down twice a year when they have to move to new grounds.

They probably don’t do half the work that a farmer hard to.

[ShadowAce]

...their diet is vegetables and reindeer meat and milk. During the winter, it is reindeer meat and milk.

You honestly don't have any idea at all how your food gets to the store, do you? Or how much work is involved?

[ShadowAce]

they live in seasonal yurts that they take down twice a year when they have to move to new grounds.

Ahh--someone is carrying on the proud FR tradition of not actually reading the article before commenting.

[ShadowAce]

You’re*

[Hot Tabasco]

they live in seasonal yurts that they take down twice a year when they have to move to new grounds.

I think you missed the first sentence:

This is a video of a family of reindeer herders setting up their lodging for a short stay before they have to head out again. They are on the move every four days

[ShadowAce]

They are considerably more simple than that.

Believe it or not, the "simpler" you get in terms of lifestyle, the more work you must do to survive. That's the main benefit of progress--it allows people more time to do other things than merely survive.

[BobL]

“Where to people “living off the grid” get all there replacement parts.”

My first thought regarding the snowmobile is what happens when the belt breaks, as they always do break.