***by David B. - 4 October 2025*** *** Solidarity Prepping is different from just "prepping," and it's more than just "emergency preparedness" (though it includes preparedness). Solidarity Prepping is about relationships: It connects us to our neighborhood, to our social groups, and to collapse-conscious people around the world. ## Elements of Solidarity Prepping * **Emergency Preparedness**: Collecting supplies and skills for when system services fail. * **Community Networking:** Connecting to our neighbors and to other social networks that we're part of. * **Mutual Aid**: Sharing resources and information before and during crises, to strengthen ourselves and our communities. * **Disaster Relief**: Mobilizing to respond to large-scale events. * **Self-Defense**: Learning to protect ourselves from violence by illiberal forces. Usually, "emergency preparedness" is intended to keep us alive during a crisis until things "return to normal." But what if we, as *collapsniks*, do not believe that things will return to normal? What is the justification for prepping then? Being prepared is an antidote to fear. If we are prepared, we have the "ability to act” during a crisis. We are not helpless, at the mercy of circumstances and the actions of other people. We reclaim our agency and our independence. And when we have managed our fear, we can resist the forces of domination and division who are threatening to take control of our societies. Solidarity Prepping is not about an imaginary future when things will "return to normal." It's about the present, when our society is collapsing and when crises are appearing with ever-increasing frequency. Being prepared lets us live better *today*, because we have put our fear to rest. And if a crisis does happen, we can respond better in that moment. ## Examples **Here are examples of Solidarity Prepping in action.** *(You will need translation for some of these sites. Your web browser probably provides a translation function. I [use the Chrome browser](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KthVXqDflYq1AeUzGnkEkG_Rw1zx8HXz_I99xH0sHp4/edit?usp=sharing), and turn on the "Always Translate" function. It's like browsing the web in your home language\!)* --- ➽ The organizers of [**Kollapscamp**](https://kollapscamp.de), Tadzio Müller and Scully (Cindy Peter), advocate self-education and social organizing among leftists, to respond to disasters and political repression. Their program includes such skillsets as: growing food, advanced first-aid, off-grid power, radio communications, and self-defense. Most important are the relationships created while learning the particular skills. Also, having fun is central to the concept: Kollapscamp included a workshop called '*Having sex while the world burns*.' See blogs from [Tadzio](https://steady.page/de/friedlichesabotage/) and [Scully](https://steady.page/de/disrupt/posts). \[German\] ➽ The Swedish group [**Prepping Together**](https://preppatillsammans.se/index-eng.html) emphasizes "Community Resilience" and prepping as an act of solidarity with neighbors. Through mutual aid, communities can gain "action competence." Skillsets of interest are: home emergency preparedness, appropriate supplies for disaster relief, psychological first-aid, and first-aid with a particular emphasis on "Stop the Bleeding" — all within a context of knowing your neighbors. \[English\] ➽ [**Deep Adaptation \- Hungary**](https://deepadaptation.hu/ellenallokepesseg/felmeres/) provides a survey of 100 questions to help people evaluate their household preparedness, as a step toward "community resilience." They offer questions in 12 categories: community, mental preparedness, practical skills, food, water, shelter, energy, transportation, finances, safety and security, health and well-being, technology and communication. This exhaustive checklist prompts households to acquire the skillsets needed for action-competence. Their [*Quotes*](https://deepadaptation.hu/idezetek/) page is also a good read. \[Hungarian\] ➽ The [**Climate Resilience Project**](https://climateresilienceproject.org/strategies/disaster-collectivism/) offers a wide view of "Disaster Collectivism," a term coined by Rebecca Solnit in her seminal book [*A Paradise Built in Hell: The extraordinary communities that arise in disaster*](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301070/a-paradise-built-in-hell-by-rebecca-solnit/). The *Climate Resilience Project* emphasizes how community response can "resist disaster capitalism" and "build  new social, economic, and political possibilities." Significantly, this project is not framed within "collapse" but within a standard model of resistance to climate change. Nevertheless, the prescription for community resilience is essentially identical to a collapse framing. \[English\] ➽ [***The Eye of Every Storm***](https://crimethinc.com/2024/11/13/after-the-hurricane-anarchist-disaster-response-in-appalachia) is an on-the-ground report of the Anarchist response to Hurricane Helene in September 2024\. It includes sophisticated practical advice about large-scale mutual-aid operations, and lessons learned. \[English\] "At a time when misinformation, rising authoritarianism, and disasters exacerbated by industrially-produced climate change are creating a feedback loop of escalating crisis, it’s crucial to understand disaster response as an integral part of community defense and strategize about how this can play a part in movements for liberation." ➽ [***Four lessons for the world from Dominica on our 44th Independence Anniversary***](https://www.deepadaptation.info/four-lessons-for-the-world-from-dominica/) by Jessica Canham from the *Deep Adaptation Forum* offers wisdom from the surviving indigenous culture on the Caribbean island of Dominica. In 2002, the island was devastated by category-5 Hurricane Maria. Dominica fared better in the aftermath than other more-modernized islands in the region because the people there have preserved a culture of Mutual Aid and living close to the land. \[English\] ---