Shelter

All over the world, the promise of increasing wealth has left behind a huge population of people who are unable to continually afford the inflating price of housing along with other basic services.

Some people become homeless when that last paycheck is unable to cover rent for another month and they are evicted. Then, not having a home, and couch surfing to survive being hard on the schedule, they begin to experience trouble at work, they lose the ability to return to regular housing, and they become homeless.

Others see the problem of the inflating economy and the slavery of debt-based home finance or permanent payout to a slum lord and refuse to play by the crooked rules of their game, they opt out, they are now out camping, homeless by choice.

In the United States especially, homelessness is associated with the worst elements in society; the ones we are at war with; drug users, anarchists, the poor. This societal psychological distancing is required so the public will accept the regular abuses that they pay the police to perpetrate against those less than human. These protectors of justice strictly enforce that the laws forbidding the homeless to sleep in any but well hidden scarce shelters, thus protecting the public from seeing the reality and feeling the shame that they have not taken any real action to help the less fortunate.

Often programs to assist the poor and homeless are corpgov pork programs to steal from the taxpayer and grease the palms of a few cronies.

The homeless should be the ward of the radical since we are clearly the only ones who will take up their cause. There have been repeated stories of the homeless being paid by "corpgov activism" to picket for a cause; the homeless are our natural allies, not theirs.

One of the most frightening aspects of not having a permanent address is the loss of most of your civil rights. Since you likely do not own the property where you camp (even if you do) the police and courts will empower themselves to search and seize your property either for trespass or for possibly being stolen. If the police can leave the scene with your things and not give you a receipt they have become defacto owners of your things and you will have no way to retrieve them.

The most vile aspect of state abuse of the homeless is taken in the name of child welfare. If the state feels that it has a compelling reason, it will confiscate your child and place them in a home where they will be properly programmed as good corpgov citizens.

Many homeless people suffer from depression, as either a cause or effect felt by those who have been cast out against their will, without their corpgov insurance to pump them with prescription antidepressants. They often turn to taxed alcohol abuse or reliance on hard drugs. We must as brothers and sisters radicalize this population and give them something to strive for. If we let the welfare system do our job these people will be deactivated with a meager income just enough to keep them from trying to have a life. This tactic of depression and payoff has been effectively used to destroy (North American) Native, African originating, and other minority peoples movements in the United States and Canada.

In our world we are seeing the full extent of the greed and manipulation that banking and finance can exert onto the basic human need of a safe place to lay their head for the night. This basic desire along with the need for an expensive education have been harnessed through the use of loans at interest paid off over around half an average lifetime to enslave the Amerikan and much of the worlds population. Fearing for their house and confiscation of their worldly goods a person becomes a willing or unwilling robotic tool for the super rich who need a moving economy to harvest from. Because low cost alternatives to the traditional condo and house allow a way out of this contrived enslavement there is immense political pressure to destroy these alternatives in the name of keeping housing market prices up. When demonstrating against corporations let at least part of your wrath fall upon these banks.

The Street - Surviving houseless.

Many of the homeless in the North America are youth turned out by hateful, abusive, or perverse parents or stepparents. This chapter is to address the needs of a street person during the first few hours to weeks until they find a safe support group and hopefully some kind of proper shelter. The language of this chapter is mostly directed toward teenage women but the survival tips apply equally to both sexes and any age. The streets are not an option in terms of living, the fact that you are out there means you had to run before there was time to plan, you must move quickly to find safe shelter and support.

Reasons to Leave Home

If you are seriously considering leaving the reasonably free supply of food, clothing, heat, bed, safe storage, secure space, and roof over your head you must have a very good reason. But NEVER trade sex or abuse from your alleged guardians for these! Leaving might be the right choice, but the street is what happens when you have no choice, think hard, don't you have a relative, friend, teacher, co-worker, anyone you can go to for shelter to avoid the street?

Physical Abuse

If you are in a situation where you fear for your personal safety or have already been assaulted you should do two things first of all file a police complaint and open a file with family services documenting the problem. It will probably save the whole family from the physical abuse of the type you have been suffering. Unfortunately abused parties like drug addicts suffer from withdrawal, you may be in more hot water for removing the abuser from the home by those who remain. If these actions cause no change and you have tried every other place to hide it might be worth risking a flight away even to the dangerous cold streets to escape worse violence at home.

Sexual Abuse

At the first sign of sexual abuse leave your house and open a file at welfare services and the police as well as demanding a temporary restraining order be placed that day. You must do this to protect not only yourself but any other vulnerable family members. If the police, court, or social worker takes no action attempt to find a friend or relative to hide with. Sometimes this separation is all that is needed. Especially in second or third abusive relationships you might not be able to expect even your mother to believe your claims of abuse, unfortunately this may be the end of your relationship with your sick family. Only as a last ditch emergency action should a girl go onto the streets to avoid rape or sexual abuse since a teen girl is also a prime target for street predators.

Just because you have been raped or sexually abused even repeatedly for a long time doesn't mean you are used up and there is no reason to resist. Survival sex is a slippery slope of being softened up often leading to the most abusive and undesired acts step by step while letting those with the money rule your body and often get their hooks deep into your soul. Previous victims of abuse often try to cleanse themselves by trying to grab the power back in the wrong way, by becoming a more depraved abuser they are chasing the dragon of becoming a whole person. Don't enable the abuse of others by feeding a dangerous addiction to abuse. You also risk becoming another abuser if you choose the wrong path toward healing and self empowerment.

Reasons not to Leave Home

Annoyance with your parents or siblings, discipline, or school related problems are probably best dealt with in your own home, you have no idea how bad the streets can be especially for a girl, a sexist world it is, most every perv wants to take a piece of a teenage girl, plenty like to find a boy to abuse too. We are not worried that you will remain homeless for more than a few days, our concern is that your leaky roof and stained bed will be owned by a brutal pimp and your rent will be paid in depraved sex acts with diseased strangers.

Dangers on the Streets

Since you have no safe storage on the streets everything you own must be with you at all times, this leads to the bag lady or shopping cart homeless that you have seen.

If you are underage you are unable to sign a legal contract for a car or apartment and are considered something similar to property of your parents or guardians, get a fake ID as soon as possible. Identification Papers has information on fake IDs and a hack to get past underage work laws.

Most cities make it illegal for the homeless to sleep hoping it will make them disappear or die, when you are asleep behind a bush or on a bench don't be too surprised if others rifle through your bags and pockets stealing any useful or valuable things they might find, not to mention placing you in a very vulnerable position for physical or sexual abuse.

Worse yet a young woman without any hand to hand combat training is at the mercy of a huge abusive rapist type. Your best defense is being in good shape and sprinting away from the first sign of trouble.

Sometimes you happen to be in a dead end street or the exit door is blocked there is no option of running away. While some naive feminists and well armed police may disagree, the idea that an armed woman is just some weakling who is only going to turn over her weapon to her attacker is just foolish. If you bring justice to an abuser through an act of self defense you must realize that the police, courts, appointed lawyers, prisons and parole boards all discriminate heavily against the homeless and minorities we feel it is almost impossible to give you good advice whether to hide the evidence and run or to find a good lawyer. There is much danger from the (un)justice system when a woman protects her own life but sometimes it's the only option.

If during your fight for survival you become somehow involved with someone who is in the drug trade and are arrested at the same time as them you can expect the system to attack you like a mother bear. Once you are convicted with a felony drug crime, almost all social services including healthcare, food stamps, and student aid can be denied to you for the rest of your life.

It seems to us that the system needs to maintain a class of people who only have the option of larceny, selling drugs, or prostitution. It is catch-22 laws like this among other abuses that make us realize the legal governance of our nation has been overthrown and we must fight a revolution to return our legal constitutional republic.

Unprepared

Most decisions to hit the streets happen in a fearful rage after an attack. Hopefully you got out with at least a warm jacket, shoes, and clothes. Unless you managed to grab a wallet or purse you have no money, ID, or phone. In this case you must find the first police station or hospital and report the crime, but be wary of giving identifying information - you don't want your abuser to convince the cops to send you home. Many people make the mistake of wandering the streets for hours or days as the evidence quickly looses its potency. Get help but be cautious if the help includes a lock down type facility.

As an aside, if you managed to grab your phone think hard about who pays the bill and who controls the account. Your abusers can easily file a missing person report or even a stolen phone report and track you down that way, you might just pull the battery out to be safe for a few days. Credit or debit cards also leave a trace where they were used. If you really need cash have a friend with a car withdraw cash from an ATM on the other side of town.

Evil Helpers

There are those men and women who prey sexually on the freshly homeless. Be wary of a single man or women of any age who offers you a place to stay with no strings attached in their own home. Never accept room and board for any kind of sexual favor. Never accept any drinks or drugs from strangers or those you have recently met.

Even churches cannot always be considered a safe place, the same is true with homeless youth shelters, unfortunately these low pay positions are an easy place for men who want to abuse young people to meet their prey.

Be on very high alert and avoid places where prostitution is common, pimps may recruit by coercion or they may just kidnap rape and begin to sell the body of a young woman. Many pimps use the introduction to hard drug addiction and controlled supply method to enslave men and women. Sometimes you will even feel pressure to engage in survival sex to get a place to stay or food.

Choosing Good Helpers

Only accept help from a Pastor, Rabbi, or volunteer once you see their home has what appears to be a normal husband, wife, and children, don't stay alone by any singles, widowers or divorced, a normal dinner with the family should usually be enough to scan for weirdness, especially watch how the kids interact with their parents, look for fear. Some Christian types may try to push their faith on you, you already know what you believe you don't owe them that, but for survival pretending that you are listening is a small price for a safe roof and food to eat until you can get on your feet. At the same time you can also be looking for another place to stay. DO NOT ABUSE THIS TRUST, DO NOT STEAL FROM THESE HELPERS!! If you need something ask.

There are cults that might take you in even give you a place to sleep, be careful and bolt if it appears that they are into locking down doors, brainwashing, punishments, or trading food for conversion or good deeds.

Personal Needs

Until you can find what is a safe place to stay the temptation is there to shoplift for your needs, this might indirectly solve your shelter problem with a night in jail but it could also dump you back in you abusive and now wary former home.

Shelters

Most shelters require a sign up some time in the early afternoon, stop by a few of them and see which ones are clean and which ones will try to turn the underage back over to their abusers. Homeless shelters are one of the first places the police check during a man hunt. Expect to have your stuff pawed through as you sleep unless you are literally on top of it, stash valuables someplace safe before hitting the shelter for the night. Systems like the federal "Homeless Management Information System" are a real concern because many police agencies can tap into it without a warrant. See http://epic.org/privacy/poverty/ for more information.

Food

If you knock on doors you would be surprised how most people will give you either part of a warm dinner or at least a can of creamed mushroom soup that was in back of the cupboard if you ask nicely, sometimes just to get you to go away. See Free Food for more ideas.

Getting Off Drugs

See Free Dope#Getting Clean

Services

Before identifying yourself be sure that the service you are checking into will not inform your abusive family of your location.

Rape and Battery Support Groups

Some of the best services for women are rape and battery support groups, some will even match you with a safe formerly abused woman to stay with and counseling. Don't get freaked if some of these women are a little fragile or weird, they had to glue their shattered life together from some serious shit, you are part of their healing. DO NOT STEAL OR TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM! Be wary that some groups are based on the premise that all men are evil, overlook this and work on your healing. Unfortunately there are few services for abused and raped males, ask at the free clinic though.

State Welfare Services

This varies from one state to another be careful since some states if they believe your story will throw you into something similar to juvie hall for abused kids with lockdowns and regular searches. As we know abused people learn to abuse be careful not to jump from the pan into the fire.

Foster Home

Most often a state welfare agency will send you to a foster family who will assume full parental power over you for at least a limited time. These people are often unsung heroes but like teachers may have become burned out and now do the service for the stipend. Keep your eyes open for potential abuse which rarely occurs and keep in good contact with your social worker. It is a good idea to set up escape plans now while things are cool in case the freaks at state welfare decide you are a liar and send you back to your abusers. Stashing escape gear, making deals with friends, teachers, and spiritual leaders for emergency shelter is vitally important. An effective tactic is to go for help where they wont expect, for example Catholic kids asking Jewish welfare agencies for help, Muslims going to Protestant aid institutions, etc. Take counseling seriously and if you feel that the worker is getting nowhere with you ask if another social worker could be assigned. O

Stealing

In some times and places you may be forced to shoplift to survive (although if you look around there is usually an alternative.) No matter what, never steal from those who take you in to help you! You are first of all hurting yourself as you seriously risk being turned back out back to the cold street, you also burn the people they might have helped survive in the future. If you have a need for some survival item or cash just ask them, or get it in some other way.

Mail

In 1994, the Postal Service issued a ruling that the homeless are eligible for a PO Box if they can provide a piece of official identification, a way to be reached, or proof that the postmaster knows them. The rule also declared that homeless people are entitled to general delivery service indefinitely, not for just 30 days. See Postage for more info.

E-mail

Most cities have at least one bookshop or cafe with a free public access computer.

Public libraries usually have free internet access, but aren't always the best place to log in (if you have a library card) because they often keep extensive usage records. They also sometimes put time restrictions on the machines. Library cards (often required for access) are hard to get if you don't have an address verification.

Just remember that no public computer can be trusted as safe. Don't do anything crazy. See Internet Communications for more information.

Health Clubs

Would you ever expect us radical yippie types to suggest you go for one of the biggest CorpGov ripoffs of all, the gym? Yup. Athletic clubs basically subsidise the price of membership because ninety percent of the overweight slaves who sign up never show up for the first week, but they are stuck in some crazy year contract. If possible beg the ID from a person who resembles you or modify the ID and use his key card to get in. Once the employees get to know your face they will check your ID less, don't get to friendly though since the homeless are really not welcome at these clubs. Women may want to find a women's only club so they don't have to put up with guys harassing or oggling them. Most gyms have the locker rooms in front of the desk, so if you just need a shower, you can usually just walk in. Even if you have to pay it is often worth the money if you are without a proper home for the following services:

• Clean Showers - you have no idea how nice a private clean shower stall is when you are in a filthy squat or shelter hopping.

• Therapy Pool(warm pool) - the streets are cold in the winter, it is amazing what an hour in a therapy pool will do for your back and muscles cramped from nights on the ground shivering.

• Sauna - If we manage to find an abandoned room the chances of it having proper heating are pretty low, often we can find a dank damp moldy building to squat somewhere. An hour or so sweating it out in this dry air and cleaning the fungus and mold out of your lungs can make such a difference in your health and energy level. This is also an oppertunity to dry our your feet and prevent immersion foot.

• Exercise Equipment - not that we really need it so much, we are on our bicycles or walking all day but it is a good idea to work your abs and back groups to prevent back injury. Use the stretching stations to limber up and prevent injury.

• Locker - try to rent a big one, this may be your only safe storage space.

If you want this plan to work you need to visit a public restroom and pre-clean yourself, at least your visible areas, before hitting the club, also put on some bagged clean cyclist or workout clothing. The employees must NEVER know that you are homeless or they will surely terminate your membership!

Men, Women, Roommates, and Safety Pacts

A word to the young women (but can also apply to young men, TG's. and homosexuals of both sexes) who are forced out of their family home for whatever reason and into one of the many less desirable shelter scenarios presented in this book. Until you get a serious case of street smarts (don't ever fool yourself that takes several hard years and lots of very painful mistakes) be very wary of taking residence where there are any males in the mix.

Unfortunately thanks to a chemical called testosterone, that courses in amazing quantities through the veins of males from their early teens onward, the normal rational judgment of even the sweetest smartest guy is clouded to a varying extent when it comes to interaction with young women. If possible make your life easier by rooming or crashing in a female only environment, if at all possible with a strong locking door and secure windows. All of the catty female politics that might annoy you are infinitely simpler and safer than dealing with some confused guy who might decide to stalk you or get his hands on you. Please do not be surprised if you are attacked by these well meaning women as well. Women can be as vicious as men, even more so when they are being made to feel that only men cause pain. Just remember that psychological pain and jealousy can be even more powerful than sex hormones whatever their orientation do not stay with someone who is a threat to you, you need a place where you can be safe.

Your best plan is to make a long term pact with one or two trusted like minded people in a non physical relationship who swear to stay together and guard the safety of the others first above any other consideration. It is also every revolutionary's responsibility to watch out for the safety and care of newly homeless girl and boy and to guide them into them own safety pact group.

Crash Pad Romance

Nearly every guy in our movement is a decent honorable person but we want to leave no room for error with our most vulnerable, the abused run-away. Let your mixed social interaction take place only in public or group areas. Realize that an abused woman or man may have varying feelings toward romantic advances from either sex, from disinterest to active revulsion, pushing the issue can not only prolong and interfere with their healing but may also lead to a misunderstanding and serious allegations of misconduct against you.

Mental Illness

A reality is that an unfortunate percentage of those seeking or living in alternative housing are not there as a form of protest against a broken CorpGov system but because they have untreated and sometimes dangerous mental illness, do what you can to see them get proper treatment, at arms length if you must, but don't make them your problem as well. Choose your friends and roommates wisely.

Survival

Shelters

The idea is to somehow get inside and warm and safe. Homeless shelters, squats, and alternative shelter can all provide some of what you need if you can get inside, anyone who has been out knows that emergency bed space for both men and women is a precious and limited commodity often denied for dubious reasons, especially considering the crazy rules and waiting lists that can be involved.

Sympathy Psych

If you can dress and clean up nicely and act the non-destitute, normally successful part people will actually have more sympathy for you as they see a small reflection of themselves and their life in your situation. This might get you into shelters, people's homes, and other options where a "gross" homeless guy would be turned away in disgust. Play to your audience for success in sheltering. Women should not overplay abuse or fragility. No matter how hard it is, acting as "normal" as possible will pay off in protecting and sheltering yourself and any children with you. It is amazing how a firm handshake, a steady look, and a confident posture will change attitudes on the homeless.

Destitute Sheltering

If all else fails and you are stuck overnight outside we would hope you have some wilderness camping gear and can get to a park or industrial area. Most homeless forced to sleep outdoors are not so well equipped due to dire poverty or theft. Even a cardboard box and a plastic trash sack is better than nothing at all. Try to insulate with cardboard and crumpled newspaper - this could save your life. Keep your torso, groin, neck and head insulated at all costs. Hide under anything that will give some protection from the elements.

Alcohol and Cold

It may make you feel warmer, but alcohol will speed the progression of hypothermia (getting too cold) by letting all of you heat out of your core areas to your arms, legs, head, and face. Hypothermia is the leading cause of overnight death in the homeless population. Don't drink alcohol to stay warm!

Nearly all drugs and medications interfere with the bodies natural temperature regulation of the body, either inhibiting blood flow and risking frostbite or by allowing heat to escape and risking hypothermia.

Hot Water

No matter how you do it, acquire a thermos and keep it filled with hot water, you should be drinking this hot water by the gallon every day and night. It is usually not to hard to walk right in to a restaurant, convenience-market, or gas station and fill up before the staff can even begin to complain or kick you out. The other good source for hot water is to use a pocket stinger heater Pack your bag#Immersion Boiler and plug in wherever you can find power, many outdoor signs have a place to plug in - keep your eyes open Power plugs are everywhere, even outside. Most hot water faucets you will encounter just don't put out water warm enough to keep usable heat even if stored in a thermos. Even if you are not getting enough calories in you diet, drinking the hot water will save the caloric energy you would have used to keep you warm in cool or damp weather meaning you can get by on less.

Other Tips

See Free Clothing for tips on increasing the warmth of your clothing.

Other

Call 911 if you think the cops or ambulance can help you or get to a pay phone and dial these free numbers

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800 799 SAFE

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) Hotline: 800 656 HOPE

National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline: 866 331 9474

See Free High School for information on how to get emancipated, becoming a legal adult before 18

See Low Impact Crashing and Squatting for more homelessness tips

http://www.1800runaway.org/ Find A Place To Go in Your Area Find a place to go in your area. these places are especially for runaway and homeless youth and children.

http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/shelters.html Shelters, Homeless and Otherwise Doesn't list every shelter, but it's a good resource.

http://www.covenanthouse.org/houses Covenant House Listings if you need a place to stay or want to stop being a drifter/homeless and are under age 21, this is the place to go.

Low Impact Crashing - How to crash in almost any building or room without needing traditional appliances.

When, for whatever reasons, you are homeless or living on the Streets (some of us like to call it "Being Houseless" because Home, Baby, is where the Heart Is!), cleanliness can help in so many ways, and yet it is one of the first things to get blown off by some people due to the foul attitude that sometimes accompanies being Houseless against your will. Stay cool, and dedicate yourself to remaining clean and healthy, no matter how bad The Man wants you looking nasty to give fearful yuppies another reason to avoid confronting the nastier problems in our society. Tell yourself that staying clean and healthy is your way of saying "Fuck You" to stereotypes of homelessness and poverty. Maintaining a high standard of personal hygiene can both keep you healthy and turn around people who would normally be quite hostile to brothers and sisters who are either down on their luck, or simply unable or unwilling to tolerate abusive employment conditions.

You will often find yourself with access to an abandoned building, open unused room, and maybe even a bed in a house but for social, security, or other reasons no access to a normal kitchen, laundry, or bathroom. Many of your needs will be met using your regular camping gear like sleeping bag, ground mat, and stove but often you can take advantage of the utilities and environmental control offered, but beware security systems.

Check out Pack your bag for easy packable urban crash gear.

Kitchen

Portable Electrical Cooking

You will likely have access to electricity once indoors. If that's the case, it is better to use this for cooking than risk fire and waste expensive fuel using your fuel stove. See Cheap Chow for some pocket immersion cooker (stinger) recipes and be sure that the whole coil stays underwater so you don't melt or burn out your water heater. If you are in a location where you will be staying for a while, a hot plate or coffee cup warmer and Sierra cup for minimalists might even be smarter to cook with than a stinger since there is no fear of gooping up your heater. A useful portable hotplate is a folding travel iron flipped over run at full power. Just be careful not to spill anything into the internals.

Pots and Containers

Camp pots and pans work great, as do cheap dollar store cookware, these latter may not have the strength or lifetime of high end kitchenware but you will probably transition to something better or different even when living a nomadic lifestyle.

We learned in rural India how big a treasure a Hawkins pressure cooker was. For a USA$10-20 investment a family could cut their kerosene cooking fuel bill in half. One of our teams used one while traveling in Asia and later found them to be sold in the US as well as other inexpensive brands. The Hawkins seemed to cook faster than some of the other brands, this is probably due to it having a higher operating pressure. One problem was if you don't pay attention and the cooker runs dry and overheats a special metal safety 'fuse" plug will melt and let off the pressure, we had to replace this plug twice due to careless visitors sharing the pot. Fortunately these fuses are cheap, in the meantime we found a small rubber plug to block the fuse hole. A spare rubber gasket is a good idea whatever cooker you are using, a web search will let you know what other if any spares to get. We have been told that nicer expensive pressure cookers are heavy but only require a new gasket every few years and cleaning the valves.

Acquire used plastic food buckets for washing and trash/compost/recycling, and plastic bags for storage. Large, empty and very clean cans can be used as cooking pots. Just remember that if the food inside is hot, so is the can. Use pot holders of some sort, or hold it carefully with a pair of pliers at the lip.

Keep your food in resealable containers like plastic bags or deli tubs. Food left out can either spoil or attract unwanted critters of all types. Remember to keep anything that touches your food (including your hands) as clean as you can. Also, zipper seal type bags can be washed out and reused. Turn them inside out to air dry.

Refrigeration

If there is no refrigerator, get ice from the local convenience store or fast food joint and put it in a plastic bag with your food. If you buy a large bag of ice, keep it closed. When it melts, you will have clean drinking or washing water. If you can score a cheap Styrofoam cooler, do so and use it! Some of the pharmaceutical cartel cold transport boxes even come with an ice-gel pack that if you collect enough can be refrozen by sympathizers with freezers, water filled frozen soft drink bottles work good too and you can drink the thawed contents. Often just asking nicely will get the drug dealers (pharmacist) to save these cold boxes for you. Since it was free you won't be too sorry leaving it behind if the cops or security sweep and clear your squat.

Pot-in-Pot Refrigerator

The Pot-in-Pot refrigerator originated in Africa but has been proven worldwide to work to preserve food at about an average of 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The idea is that you take a large unglazed clay pot and place a smaller pot inside of it. Then you fill the space between the two pots with sand. The sand is soaked with water. The food is then placed inside the smaller pot and is stored. The device is then covered with a thick wet cloth. This will then use evaporative cooling to keep the food inside stored at a temperature of between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit higher in the hottest parts of summer. The only thing that is needed is that one adds water to the sand about 2 times a day and one keeps the thick cloth covering wet. Be sure to keep this cooler in the shade or it will still get hot. If you have a fan aim it at your pot-in-pot to cool not only your food but the whole room. Best results are obtained in arid climates, in very humid areas your results may vary. Below is a link to a picture of one of these devices, using two regular orange terracotta plant pots one large one small.

http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/POTFRIDGE.jpg

Microwaves

Make friends with the staff of a nearby convenience store, most have microwaves for heating up the junk they sell. If you ask nicely, you may be able to use these to heat food you've acquired elsewhere as well as the expired one day foods the employees let you "rescue".

Sterno

If the electricity or gas is out, a Sterno-style camp stove that folds flat can be worth its weight in gold. While canned gel fuel burns for two hours on average, the metal "candle" types with liquid fuel used for buffet warming pans (often called "chafing fuel") can burn for as long as six. Just remember to burn them in a well-ventilated area. You can also use a taper candle cut into small sections and placed inside a tuna or pet food can. A variation of this, the old boy scout "buddy burner" discussed below. An upside down coffee can placed on top makes a good surface for cooking. Be sure to poke some holes in the top of the can to allow oxygen to the flame and a door at the bottom in order to access and control the flame. For baking, an improvised oven made of an aluminum foil tent over a pan or pot can serve well. One clever trick is to use a pair of aluminum pie pans and hold them together with binder clips.

Other Stoves

Petrol(gasoline or Coleman fuel, white gas, Stoddard solvent, naptha, lighter fluid, some charcoal lighting fluid) and kerosene(jet fuel diesel, fuel, furnace oil) stoves can only safely be used in a fireplace hearth or out of doors on stone or mineral earth, that said some are able to generate amazing heat, designed to quickly melt and boil snow for mountaineering teams. In many places in the US and the world liquid fuel or oil heat tanks are found outside or have a fill pipe outside, just ask permission and use a fuel transfer pump to fill up your fuel bottles, often a removable strainer is found on the fill pipe.

Alcohol and solid fuel stoves are discussed in Backpacking

Keep a pail of water and a box of baking soda, mineral earth, or salt handy should a fire break out, a wet towel works too if it is a small fire. Baking soda and salt snuff out grease fires, while water causes them to spread. Dry mineral soil, such as sand or clay but not dry organic duff or mulch, works as a good extinguishing agent for all types of fire.

BBQ Grille

Both kettle type and "Pyromid" foldup charcoal grilles are good for very secluded squats and longer term camping, those cheap flat bottom grilles at the grocery store never seem to work very well for us. REMEMBER! Never use any charcoal burning devices or barbecue (BBQ) grills indoors in a well sealed room, since the carbon monoxide can kill you! Always make sure that you are in a burn resistant area like on strictly sand or concrete or in a fireplace with a working chimney. The smell and heat of your stove, charcoal, campfire smoke, or cooking food may alert security or the police to your squat or activate fire suppression systems.

You can bake in your covered grille, for things that you don't want to have a smoke smell like bread and cakes cover the pan with a lid or foil. A cooking thermometer can help you figure out temperatures, don't be surprised to find burn spots on your food but most of it should be edible once you get some practice in timing and setup.

If you don't have a nice BBQ grille you can always improvise. One of the ways the classical American grille does its job is by holding the heated gasses under the hood to cook from all sides. Get ahold of a charcoal pre-heater can, the kind with holes in the bottom and a handle on the side, it is reasonably portable and pretty cheap. Acquire a grill from wherever, disposable foil BBQ grilles are a good source. Get a fire going and down to good coals, now put the grille over the top and follow with a large coffee can or cookie tin, the can will retain the heated gasses just like a grille hood or lid, poke a hole in the top of the can to allow some gas to rise out instead of just around the bottom edge.

Charcoal

Auto maker Henry Ford was a prolific inventor and industrialist who is credited with pioneering the assembly line form of mass production. He was also a racist, xenophobic, Nazi loving, fascist, antisemitic fuck and the only American favorably mentioned in Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf (Ralph Manheim's translation). At his Rouge River plant he ordered the leftover charcoal used in making Model-T cars recycled to make some extra cash. Turns out that bastard invented the Kingsford briquette (named after his brother in-law, businessman E.G. Kingsford). Today Kingsford is part of the Clorox Company and there are other briquette makers but our experience is Kingsford is still usually the best. If kept in a cool, dry place in a sealed bag, the briquettes will have an almost indefinite shelflife. In cheaper sheet metal grilles, stack the briquettes on edge so they get better airflow and cook hotter. You can use lighting fluid, or match light briquettes but they both cost extra. Sawdust mixed with wax can be purchased as sticks for an easy firestarter or you can DIY. To speed the warm up of your coals you can use a blower or hair dryer to move the air around. A piece of pipe works too but you might get a head rush from blowing too much.

Newspaper Logs

You can hand roll newspaper into longer burning logs if there is no wood or other fuels to burn. These will burn leaving plenty of wasted ash and sparks. If you have the time in summer you can wet roll newspaper logs which burn much cleaner when dry. Just soak the newspaper overnight and carefully roll into "logs". Smooth out the wrinkles and bubbles as you go. Use a one inch thick smooth PVC pipe or wood dowel so there is a hole down the center, this will make them dry faster. Make the "logs" no thicker than two to four inches thick. Slide off of the pipe and than let dry in the sun for several days, standing them on end will speed drying.

Chimney Stoves

You can get a much better ventilated fire using the chimney concept to accelerate the intake and output gas of a wood fire increasing the heat and greatly reducing smoke and smell. Find a piece of steel (other metals may melt) or clay pipe at least three or four inches wide. If all you have is a straight piece of pipe at least a eighteen inches tall cut or break a feed hole and light the fire, a cinder block or two can be broken into shape to make a stand to keep the chimney from falling over, cut several one inch wide half circle or v shaped holes around the top so the hot gas can escape around your pot. Even better is 18 inches of pipe for a chimney a 90 degree elbow and about a foot of horizontal feed pipe, this all increases the draft and makes for a hotter flame, you can partly block the intake side on the bottom to slow the flame, feed the fire with wood or charcoal pushed in with a stick. A covered ash hole at the back of the elbow will let you clean the stove while it is burning. Cement pipe and base will not last long unless you make a thick protective layer of clay mud and bake it hard, cement turns into lime at the temperatures of a chimney or rocket stove.

You can also build a great chimney stove with clay mud if you can find it where you are camped, dig out the fire area and just form a chimney, the heat will help fuse it into a usable long lasting stove, most cultures use a tapering cone shaped like a beehive.

Cardboard and newspaper balls in both the horizontal feed pipe and a few in the chimney section help get the draft jet started and blow the coals or wood to blazing life quickly. Be careful as this stove can make lots of sparks with some kinds of wood and almost always with paper and grass, some screen over the top of the chimney will stop almost all sparks.

Hobo Stove

During the Great Depression of the 1930's, many of the destitute cooked their meals with Hobo Stoves. These were made from large metal #10 cans (like one ones used for coffee), with holes cut along the sides near the top and bottom for ventilation, and a small covered opening at the bottom to put your fuel source (Cut a door, but leave enough for a hinge). Canned fuel works great for this, but put it on a heat-proof base like a cinder block, stone floor tile, or some bricks. If you use it outdoors, you can burn small scraps of wood, paper, or just about anything that will burn.

Buddy Burner

Often a buddy burner was used with the hobo stove, this was a tuna can with a strip of cardboard that is the same width as the height of the can, roll up tight like a snail shell to fit the can. Fueling with melted wax is best but food oil or kerosene can also be used although these are both a bit more dangerous and more difficult to carry, a powerful flame is produced. Be careful melting wax on anything but a double boiler, stove top melting can cause it to catch fire, liquid it is like a kerosene fire. The flame can get pretty big so you will need a way to control it, to regulate the flame use the can lid and cover part of the flaming surface to reduce heat, smother with a larger can or lid to kill the flames. To re-fuel the burner when cooking feed small chunks of wax onto the burning cardboard or spoonfulls of fuel. One fuel that is easy to find for free is used fryer oil, look behind restaraunts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobo _stove

Hand Sanitizer Stove

This is easy, some businesses especially hospitals and clinics now offer a dispenser of hand sanitizer in the bathroom near the door. Clean out a small can like for tuna or even better dive for a cat food can as these sometimes come with a plastic lid. Pump out some of the sanitizer into a container with a good lid, pour into your can, light it. To extinguish cover with a can lid. The stuff burns like Sterno gel but sometimes leaves behind some goop, an added benefit is it doesn't splash. This will often goop and clog up Pepsi can stoves, just burn in an open top can.

Also, on many dispensers (at least purell) you can reach under the bottom up against the wall, and press up. That's the button to open it. Now take the whole bag of hand sanitizer for later use if you can't find a better stove by then.

Advanced Hobo Ovens

http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Low-Impact-Crashing The old buddy burner works well using charcoal, but an inside oven is useful in your squat. If you have a simple hot plate with a variable heat setting you can make a small oven.

You will need:

• a coffee can or larger sheet metal box

• the metal coffee can lid for a floor plate

• a tool to punch holes

• Steel electric fence wire for grate and to suspend the floor plate

• an oven thermometer

• a ceramic plate or pot lid

Both top and bottom of the can are removed and the can is placed onto the burner (an exposed coil type burner is better than a closed flat one). Three holes are punched about one cm. above the level of the burner. Wire is laced through these holes to suspend the loose can lid as a oven floor. Punch a ring of holes one cm. large about 2-3cm from the edge of this floor. 1/2 way up the can punch holes and lace wire to make a grate for food. A ceramic plate will sit on top to make the roof of your oven. Cut three or four small triangle vents in the top of the can to allow the heat to rise. A hole in the side near the grate can be punched so the thermometer probe can enter. Adjust the hotplate to set temperature, keep an eye on your thermometer for temperature drift.

If a hot plate is unavailable you can attempt to use a 100 watt incandescent light bulb. Leave the bottom of the can intact except for a hole that you can thread the light bulb bottom through, adjusting temperature by opening holes in the top under the plate. The "Easy Bake Ovens" sold in toy stores work this way.

^Jmage:ThreeHobosChicago1929.jpg

Box Oven

Due to safety issues we mention this apart from the indoor ovens. A cardboard box can be used with a hotplate that has no overheat safety shutoff to cook or smoke food. You will often see these hotplates in thrift stores as the type with a large solid spiral coil and stainless steel reflector. Place the hotplate or a can with several hot charcoal briquettes at the bottom of the box. An optional can or cookie sheet with wood chips will add smoke flavor. A layer of foil above the cookie sheet will catch meat drippings. Meats can be suspended with clean wire clothing hangers carefully poked through the top of the box. It might be a good idea to double the box and be sure to remove all tape inside the box. A candy thermometer carefully pushed through a hole in the side of the box at the level of the food gives you an idea of temperature. ALWAYS USE THIS OVEN OUTSIDE!! Only use this box oven in an area where a burning cardboard box would be safe, always have a watcher seated nearby to unplug the hotplate and extinguish any fires. Aluminum foil can be used to cover the inside walls to lengthen the life of the box and for some extra safety.

Washing Clothing

Laundromat

If you have the change to spare sharing a washer and dryer at a laundromat you will get the best clean. Second best is a bathroom sink or bucket hand wash and laundromat dry, especially in cold damp weather. Since you likely are only carrying one or two changes of clothes, get some friends together and load up the machine to a full load. Pennies can be used to activate some washing machines that use quarters; Place the penny in the quarter return slot, press the coin return button and flick the penny up into the slot. Sometimes it will take a few tries but it will register as 25 cents. This trick works for some dryers too. Be wary that you are not caught using this trick, since it will become apparent to the manager if it is used too often in one place.

Detergent

Regular laundry detergent powder works best but can stink up your pack and contaminate food and clothes. Some soaps claim to be concentrated, so look for the one that needs the least soap per load. Some places sell soap in the bulk section by weight. In some stores, you might find bars of washing soap. This can be used to pre-treat stains. Wet the soap, wet the stain, rub. Remember that some washing soaps like Fels-Naptha are strictly for clothing and not for personal use (although some swear by it for treatment for rashes caused by poison ivy and other skin-irritant plans). You can also grate up bars of ordinary bathroom soap although it takes much more bar soap flakes than normal laundry detergent for the same effect. Most health food stores sell Dr. Bronner's liquid soap in various size containers (from a 2 ounce tube to a gallon bottle). As an all-purpose soap that is also vegan and not tested on animals, it can be used to wash almost anything. It's concentrated, so you'll need to dilute it in another bottle to at least 1 part soap to 2-3 parts water. Look for the bottles with the text-filled labels (Note: They're all scented expect for the "Baby Mild" with light blue text).

Bucket Wash

A plastic bucket and laundry detergent or liquid dish soap (NOTdishwasher machine soap!) works great for washing clothing. There are metal agitators that can be bought through catalogs that specialize in non-electric households. Lacking that, you can use a rubber toilet plunger (preferably one that HASN'T been used in a toilet) and a large bucket or bath tub, using a long broom handle makes using the plunger/agitator easier as you don't have to bend over. A metal washboard can come in handy if you will be staying for awhile, but might be hard to find in some areas. Try a store that caters to migrant laborers. Remember to use your camp stove to boil some water to add if you need a warm water wash, or use your stinger immersion boiler directly in the bucket.

Public Restroom

A public restroom is also good to wash your clothes, especially socks and underwear.

• Pre-treat any stains before you arrive with damp detergent paste, liquid dish detergent, stain spray, or stain stick

• Plug the drain, packing a flat universal drain plug with you is a good idea here

• Half fill sink with warm water and some detergent or the provided hand soap if you cant get real wash soap

• Soak for a few minutes and squeeze occasionally

• Drain dirty water and squeeze water from clothes

• Add clean water agitate and drain, repeat if dirt or soap remain in the clothes but one or two rinses is usually enough in a rush

• Dry small stuff with with the electrical hand dryer, wear the rest to dry it

Drying Clothing

A narrow bungie type cord makes a great dry line, but dont leave it outside when not drying clothes, sun and weather will make it rot. Make sure there is air circulation in the place you hang your clothes to dry or you might end up with a unhealthy mold problem in that room. If you need to wash and wear, you can carefully roll one or two pieces of clothing in a large dry cotton towel, then twist and hold for about a minute removing most of the moisture. Hold damp socks and thin gloves over the opening of a hand or hair dryer, be careful not to burn synthetics with a hair dryer. If you have no other option spend the money and go to the laundromat, this is often the safest and easiest way to dry a sleeping bag in winter.

Improvised Clothing

see Free Clothing for ways to increase the insulating power of your clothing

Clean Water

Irrigation

Irrigation systems can be tapped for water. This may be your easiest source if you are camped under a bridge, although it may not be safe to drink. Double check on that water since some irrigation systems, especially those in desert areas, often use "greywater" or "sullage" that is treated waste water (Yuck!) and is not safe for washing or drinking. If the nearby fire hydrants or junction boxes are painted purple, then that is the most likely case. Irrigation systems usually run on a timer and flow during the late evening so you will have to store the water you need for the day.

Garden Hose

If you have a friend in the forest or fire service they can likely get you the flat nylon jacketed garden hose that is thrown away after forest fires, you can also get this flat hose on a reel in garden stores, this packs small and light and is useful if you need to get water to your squat from a hose faucet or to wash up behind nearby bushes. Don't forget to get a light hose nozzle and valve.

The knob on most public water faucets is removed so the homeless can't get a drink or wash, but most are standard square and are available at hardware stores. Most useful to us is the key shaped faucet turner or even better a "fourway lawn faucet key" made to be carried in your pocket or pack. If you have the choice, get a key or knob with wider wings or a larger knob diameter as this gives you leverage when trying to open stuck faucets. You might need a way to shim or break a padlock in some parks and golf courses where the "water pump" looking faucets are in use. see LockSmithing

For all but assured clean drinking water use your backpacker's water filter or boil. Allow the hose to run for a few minutes or be careful to drain after every use to eliminate the problems of stagnant water. The FDA has standards for drinking water hose, so look for certification on the package if buying a new hose (The ones certified for drinking water use are often made of white plastic).

Filtration

If you need a water filter and can't afford a proper backpacking model maybe you want to make the terracotta/organic water filter which removes most harmful bacteria. This design is by a team in Manatuto in East Timor including ANU materials scientist Mr Tony Flynn.

You will need:

• straw and cow manure or wood for fuel

• terra cotta clay (high clay mud)

• used tea leaves or coffee grounds or rice hulls

Instructions:

• 1- Take a handful of dry, crushed clay.

• 2- Mix the clay with a handful of your organic material.

• 3- Add enough water to make a stiff biscuit-like mixture.

• 4- Form a cylindrical pot that has one end closed.

• 5- Dry the pot in the sun.

• 6- Surround them with straw.

• 7- Place in a mound of cow manure or wood fuel.

• 8- Light the straw and then top up the burning manure or wood as required.

In less than an hour the filters will be finished. Fill the filter and let the water slowly drip through the bottom into another container. As far as effectiveness against bacterial pathogens and larger Giardia this filter removes 96.4 to 99.8 of E-coli bacteria, well within safe levels.

Boiling

When all that is available is questionable water but you do have a good fuel supply most parasites and other microscopic troublemakers can be eliminated with this method.

• Filter water with a coffee filter, paper towel, or several inches of cloth stuffed tightly into a cut off bottle.

• Bring water to a boil and shut down, it is pasteurized.

• Collect and store water in a clean container free of contamination.

Why just to a boil? And what is with the city always saying 20-30 min with additional instructions water temperatures? The reality is that above 160° F (70° C) all pathogens become inactive within 30 minutes and above 185° F (85° C) within a few minutes, so in the time to reach 212° F (100° C) all the bad microbes will become inactive. The first filtration is to remove larger microbes and cysts like Giardia which are a bit stronger.

Solar UV Sterilization (SODIS)

This technique uses the ultraviolet rays of the sun to kill or inactivate the bacteria and virus found in untreated water. However, it will not kill larger cyst organisms like giardia but these are not difficult to filter out. See the sand filter design on this page. This solar UV method was researched by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences and Technology ( http://www.sodis.ch/index_EN ):

• Use a Polyethylene Terephthalate or "PET" plastic bottle (the ones with the "1" on the bottom), that is clean, unbroken, has no labels, no colored plastic (a bluish tinge is okay) and is 3 liters or smaller.

• Fill the bottle with water and tighten the lid (If the water is murky or cloudy, filter it).

• Place the bottle laying on its side exposed to the sun for at least six hours (a sheet of corrugated steel works perfectly as a base for multiple bottles). During this time, the UV radiation from the sun kills pathogens that would make you sick.

• If more than half the sky is covered by clouds, let the bottle sit in the sun for two consecutive days.

• The water is now ready to drink. To prevent contamination, the treated water should be stored in the bottle.

Download an English language flyer here:

• http://www.sodis.ch/methode/anwendung/ausbildungsmaterial/dokumente _material/flyer_e.pdf

Bleach

Unscented bleach can be used to purify water it you can't get it straight from a known safe faucet. This is the cheap Clorox type without any additives to improve colors or smell. Try to filter your water .

• Filter water with a coffee filter, paper towel, or several inches of cloth stuffed tightly into a cut off bottle

• 2 drops of bleach per quart of water

• 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water

• 1/2 teaspoon bleach per five gallons of water

http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Low-Impact-Crashing 10/21

• If water is still cloudy, double the dose of bleach.

The treated water should be allowed to stand covered for 30 minutes, it should have a slight chlorine odor if it doesn't give it another dose and let the water to stand for another 15 minutes. If the treated water has too strong a chlorine taste let it stand exposed to the air for a few hours. Be careful the bleach will leave holes in your clothes if it spills or splashes, rinse out quickly. Warning : if you choose to use to use your leftover bleach to clean your floors, DO NOT, under any circumstances, mix it with ammonia. Bleach and ammonia create chlorine gas fumes that will give you an agonizing death. Ammonia is found in some products you might not expect, such as Windex. Watch out!

Fire Sprinklers (and Why You Shouldn't Use Them)

Don't try to tap a fire sprinkler system for water! You will set off the alarm and your squat will be discovered. Once you drain even a few PSI from the system it will fill with water and alarm, if it is an air pressurized system. Water filed systems are often filled with an antifreeze mix, these systems also alarm and call the fire department if any water flow is detected.

Bed

Several layers of corrugated cardboard on two or three wood freight pallets make a passable mattress getting you off of a cold or damp cement floor. A hammock suspended from pipes, ceiling supports, or eye-bolts anchored into a cement wall is a comfortable way to sleep dry. Of course your sleeping bag and pad will work almost everywhere.

see also Free Furniture , Pack your bag , and Backpacking and Camping for more bed options

Humidity

If you are in an unheated room over winter moisture becomes your enemy. Moisture robs you of heat when you try to sleep in damp bedding, it also promotes the growth of mold which make most people sick when it gets concentrated in a badly ventilated room. Open or uncover a window every day and get fresh air into the room if possible. The condensation will saturate your sleeping bag or bedding and gear if you are not vigilant. Sleeping bag and bedding must be shaken out and hung to air out. If you don't air out after just a few cold nights you will have a damp bag, there is a risk of you trying to bed down and finding a frozen sleeping bag. Cook outside of your room, the steam will stick to the walls and condense on your stuff. Used properly a fan or electrical heater really helps keep stuff dry, just don't put everything so close to a heater that you burn or melt it. Kerosene heaters or safe wood burners can work well if they have a good chimney or ventilation, just be careful as theys present a greater fire hazard. If possibel 'cook' the room out for a few hours at least once a week, this will help you clean the crud out of your body and will help dry out the room, once you shut off the heat open the windows and let the hot moist air out.

Bath

Failure to properly wash hands, face, and food especially after going to the bathroom has been shown to be a larger cause and vector of Hepatitis, Giardiasis ("beaver fever"), E-coli Cholera, and Typhoid and other potentially deadly bacteria and viruses than even polluted water both in urban and wilderness environments. Wear sandals in any shower or communal bath area where foot fungus is possible; foot rot can ruin your best mode of transport.

Part of your hygiene regimen must be keeping your nails trimmed very short especially on your hands, this is a way insect and worm eggs or skin infection bacteria can easily be spread first by scratching your skin or hairy http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Low-Impact-Crashing 11/21 areas, then later these are transferred to the mouth or other body areas during a meal or scratching itches. Your toenails should be trimmed straight across to prevent ingrown nails which quickly become infected at least immobilizing you and possibly leading to a life threatening cellulitis or other deep infected abscess in your feet.

Soap

Going to a hotel in around noon and asking maids with their cleaning carts for a few bars of soap is one way to stock up. Asking a doorman at a nice hotel, just walk up as direct and nice as you can, and say, "I am homeless, may I please have one bar of soap?" will work more times than not. Bring a plastic grocery bag into a fast food restaurant and squirt out a good five or ten pumps of liquid hand soap. Store it wisely, or else the stuff in your pockets or backpack will be wet with sticky cleansing goop. A bottle of liquid soap with a neck cord is great for quick commando showers, and won't fall down to a disgusting bathroom floor.

Indoor Bathing

You can buy a hose with either a standard faucet thread and rubber gasket or a stretch over connection that fits loosely over about half of the faucets you will find, both turning the faucet into a long-hose shower head. Both are available for a few bucks in the plumbing section of most of the big-box "Mart" stores, some pet stores, and hardware stores, it can turn a secluded public restroom with a floor drain into a private spa.

With the rubber universal shower adapters slowly turn on the water and keep the pressure down so the adapter doesn't pop off the faucet. These shower kits are reasonably lightweight as long as you get the all plastic ones. For adaptability you can remove the stretchy rubber faucet adapter and get a threaded plumbing adapter for your regular faucet, in addition try to get a garden hose thread. A warning for first time users of the universal adapter; it is known to spray water everywhere, sometimes even the screw down adapters will not fit quite right and can make a spray mess.

For more privacy while washing off you might use a door jamb lock available at luggage stores, or a door stop to lock the bathroom. Only use this option during off hours and at a location where there is another bathroom available for people to use. Leaving a hardware store lock hasp might work, but leaving that kind of obvious evidence of your activity might get a convenient bathroom closed by management.

Shower Bottle

Grab a milk jug cap and/or a soft drink bottle cap and either drill or melt with a hot nail a dozen or so 2mm holes. Since they are so light make one or two for different bottles in your area, they will be in your pack ready to screw onto what you find. A black plastic bag will let your bottle warm up in the sun even in late spring and early fall. Pre-mix heated water with cold, boiling water will deform most plastic drink bottles. Some bottle caps also match drinking system bladders which will also work for showering.

If you heat a large nail or bolt you can melt a hole to join two bottles so a cut off bottle can be used as a filler funnel (this also works for the cut off bottle sand filter) watch out for damage to the cap threads and seal edge.

Frugal Bathing

If you are overloading a squat or house and need to conserve hot water, are at a public restroom with a very small water heater, or you are dipper bathing from a bucket of warmed water, here is a way to not waste your limited supply.

• 1-Wet yourself down with a washcloth

• 2-Turn off water

• 3-Soap up head, groin, armpits, and any places with tough dirt

• 4-Rinse

If you are limited to a bucket, you should use a large cup to wet and rinse yourself, dumping the bucket over your head is a good way to accidentally run out of water while you still have soap on your body.

Even more frugal is to remain dressed and wet your hands or washcloth with water (warm if available) and wash first your hands, then your face, breasts(especially when nursing), armpits and abdomen, groin and butt crack, finally your feet. Be sure to then cleanse your hands and washcloth well so you do not contract or spread disease. This would be a good time to change and wash your socks, underwear, and washcloth. A large soft sponge with sudsy liquid bath soap is a helpful for situations with minimal water, especially for getting at those unsavory orifices.

Hot Water

Your electric stinger immersion water heater can be put into your wash bucket and used to warm around three or four gallons of water(20L), enough for a dipper shower or a washcloth bath.

In summer a dark colored garden hose laid out on the roof or pavement will collect solar heat and around noon you can take a quick hot shower by turning on the water.

If you have somewhere semi-permanent to stay and access to a garbage dump, a very good water heater can be easily made. Find a discarded refrigerator, even beat up you can sell the freon to a recycler making some cash and protecting the ozone layer. Take the collector off the back of a fridge (that is, the coils on the back or bottom), run two high temp hoses into it and tighten down with hose clamps from the auto parts store, one input (cold) and the other output (hot). Now, mount the collector on something shiny, be it cardboard covered with aluminum foil or the back of some insulation. Make sure it's nice and secure. Build a frame around it with wood or PVC, or something else which won't get damaged by temperatures around 150C. A glass or plexiglass cover is nice too, but if you can't get one it will still work. Now, you'll have to prime the heater by sucking some water through it. Once this is done, simply raise the cold water input higher than the hot water output and the unit will gravity siphon. This unit can get water VERY hot, and it can do it fairly quickly on a sunny day even in winter, so be careful. Let it drain when it's not hooked up, otherwise it will be filled with superheated water that can cause serious burns for the unsuspecting user.

If you can find an insulated container, either an old water heater or a sports team barrel type drink cooler connect the cold water (lower input) to the lower part of the water container and seal with caulk. Now do the same with the hot attaching it to the high side. Be sure both tubes stay below the water line and it will convection pump the cold water to the bottom of the solar collector and also pump the hot water to the top of your hot water container, no electricity or pump required. The key for the convection pumping is your insulated water container must be above the whole collector to work properly. If your collector works well you will need a supply of cool water to mix in for safe showering.

Outdoor Bathing

One editor used to wash up in back of a church with a garden hose and a bar of hotel soap, drying himself off with his own shirt or pants, whichever was cleaner at the time. The clothes dry off in minutes, even faster if you first wipe the water off you with your hands and flick it away, and it's a great feeling knowing you can keep clean and healthy under your own power under nasty life conditions. A trick used by a number of hobos and rail-riders is to carry a large squirt bottle with diluted baby shampoo. The idea is to wet yourself down, squirt yourself with the diluted shampoo, lather yourself from head to toe, rinse yourself and then dry off. You'd be able to clean yourself in about 3 minutes.

You can use your bucket and portable shower hose to make a siphon shower. Submerge the whole shower hose set into the bucket and let the bubbles go out. Hang the bucket from a tree branch, pipe, or other hanger, now quickly bring the shower head down to a level below the bucket allowing the siphon to begin sucking water from the bucket (it might help to tie the other end of the hose to the bucket handle). Be sure the adapter end is as close to the bottom of the bucket as possible, if you have two feet of hose drop below the bucket it produces a nice spray. If you break the siphon just suck on the shower head (for wide shower heads use the side of your mouth to suck and your cheek to seal most of the spray holes) until it starts flowing again. If this is too complicated you can hang a flower sprinkler and tip it with a rope to shower.

If you are camped out or can't find a bucket use your sleeping bag stuff sack and a plastic shopping or garbage bag liner to hold the shower water. Don't use the draw string on the sack as this will likely rip out when you hang it up. Instead insert your hose and make several wraps of cord around the neck of the bag now hang up the bag, to start a siphon shower squeeze the sack. Try to find a large flat stone or cement pedestal to stand on, clean it off as best as you can and place below your hang shower. In forested areas look for trees that drip pine sap which is very tough to get off your feet. If you just can't find a stone wear your sandals to keep your feet clean.

If you can't use your electrical immersion water boiler you can heat some water in a cook pot and add it to your bucket or bag of cold water to warm it up.

It is a good idea to hang up a privacy sheet using your hostel sack and clothing line or at least wear a light swimsuit while you wash down since straight neighbors might call the police for public nudity, that and the pervs who might get the wrong idea.

Showers for Sailors

If you want a good old fashioned hotel like bath and are in a coastal area here's a tip that usually works to find a good bath. Go to a boat marina during business hours with your pack in tow. Tell someone if they ask that you've just come in from a night out fishing and you want to clean up. They'll then usually leave you alone. If no questions are asked go to the restroom which usually has a shower in it and take your shower. Often the marina bathrooms will have little rooms that you can lock yourself into for a long awesome hot shower with no one bothering you for at least a half hour or so.

Baby Wipes

Baby wipes give you a refreshing clean feeling when you are away from normal bathrooms, especially if you are on the road, the downside is they are expensive, heavy, and wasteful. If the package is left open the wipes will dry out lightening your load, just add a small squirt from your water bottle to a balled up dry wipe in order to rehydrate them.

The good news is it is easy to make your own wipes. Flannel, terry cloth and plain cotton t-shirts can be cut into squares and make great cheap washcloths. Put a few drops of diluted soap in a plastic baggie and you can get clean wherever you are. If they dry out for some reason, just add a little more water.

Toilet

A chamber pot or pee bottle is a good idea if you want your trips into and out of your toiletless urban squat minimal to avoid detection. Women need to find bottles with a large opening or a urine stream funnel which can be bought or made from a diagonally-cut 1 liter bottle. If there is no toilet, or it doesn't work, use a 5 gallon bucket (check the dumpsters outside the local fast food joints) and improvise a toilet seat (Anything flat that can hold your weight and with a hole big enough will do). Get some dry earth, sawdust, or cat litter to pour into the bucket after each use to kill the smell. If you can get the lid to the bucket, keep it and use it. Also, line the bucket with disposable garbage bags. Double bag it because you do NOT want it to leak when you're taking it out.

WARNING: DO NOT MIX CHLORINE BLEACH WITH URINE! It will produce chlorine fumes and in a closed room can cause lasting lung injuries or chemical pneumonia. It might also melt your bottle or bucket from the heat of the chemical reaction between the bleach and the ammonia in the urine.

If the toilet in your squat is not clogged but doesn't flush when you push the lever or you have no water pressure to refill the flush tank, a bucket of water dumped into the toilet will cause a flush cycle.

Toilet paper can be expensive or hard on the sewer or pipe system in some parts of the world. While it may seem disgusting to some readers here is the post toilet cleaning method we saw while in Jordan. The left hand is wet with the bathroom sink or a bottle of water if outside, now the wet hand is used to wipe your butt repeat until clean, then wash your hands really well.

A large soft sponge with soapy warm water and plenty of rinse water is a better alternative to getting your feces all over you hand.

Electricity

Electricity is a big part of the magic of the modern world. Ask anyone who has had to hand wash laundry for a whole family, charge batteries with a stationary bicycle generator, or hand crank a wheat grinder. With electrical power we can heat our squats and tents, charge batteries, and run full size computers. Without electricity we are back in the 19th century either freezing our asses off or burning expensive, sooty, and often unsafe fuels.

You can check to see if you have electricity by switching the breakers off and on; if you have a power meter on the back of your building, you may be able to activate it yourself, but this should only be attempted with extreme caution. Pirating electricity may be as simple as running an extension cord out to an outlet at the foot of a streetlight, but if it's not, don't attempt it unless yoou are a trained expert, the same goes for messing with damaged wiring.

Working with electricity is a very useful skill to our movement but if you are not taking proper precautions can also easily be deadly. If possible find a free vocational electricians course or even take a electrical apprentice position for a few months.

Power Jacks

Power jacks are found in almost every room around the First World. If the jacks are turned off there are in-line light fixture adapters that screw in and still allow the light bulb.

If there is only fluorescent fixtures a few wire nuts and a chopped off extension cord or heavy speaker wire with a power receptacle on the end will let you tap into the power. Be sure that the power or breaker is off when you are doing your work. Tape over the switches so nobody surprises you with a ZOT of electricity when they enter the room. Sometimes there will be a blank panel of the right size where you might expect a switch or wall jack. Open it up and test the wires to see if they are live. Many institutions use a weird screw head pattern to open up electrical panels; a few minutes of work with an old screwdriver and a file should make the right tool.

Pop open the meter

If you're careful about how you remove the tamper indicator, you might be able to concealably open the meter, allowing you to short past it, preventing the power company from noticing your usage. A powerline going to a building has two opposite phase 120v lines and a neutral line, all of which you will find within the box, running through the meter. Stealing the meter from an active institution will cut power. Also, apparently one of the means the power company uses to shut off power is to cover the contacts on the meter with plastic caps, which you can remove. Since you can't shut power off in here, wear rubber gloves and exercise extreme caution.

Alternative Voltages

Think about 110/220v flexible gadgets when buying travel items - you never know where you will be globe hopping.

If you can score a fully charged vehicle or (even better) a deep cycle battery, consider investing in a DC to AC power converter/charger with battery clips. Be sure not to let the battery drop below 10 volts or it will cause wear on the battery plates. Some highway signs have a big 12 volt solar panel that will charge car batteries. Small 12v to 110 or 220 converters are now cheaply found especially in truck stops and gas stations. see Cars

If you can find a working car alternator it is possible to charge storage batteries using homemade windmills, exercise bicycles, water wheels or whatever creative way you can get some mechanical energy. This is much easier to find or build than solar panels. The batteries must have some charge for the alternator to create a charging field.

Outdoor Power Taps

’!!DANGER!! High skill required!! DANGER!!' A person with appropriate skill can remove a bulb or splice into wiring from public light displays or streetlights, appropriate safety and training must be used as there is no way to shut off power for this work, serious life hazard is involved. Remember power in light poles is live even during daytime or off hours, and can carry as much as 40 Amps of power and be over 480 volts (1/8th Amp is enough to kill you).' !!DANGER!!'

Know the voltage of the line you're tapping.

While using proper insulating safety equipment (gloves, etc. on a case by case basis), expose the leads you wish to tap into. Then connect the appropriate number of transformers. For example, when tapping a 480 volt streetlamp, you'll want a pair of euro-us device transformers in series to give you a nice approximately 120 volt output. Add more in parallel if you're pulling more power. Of course, if you can score a higher power transformer somewhere, USE IT. Some 120 to 35 volt toroids rated around 600 watts can be found for ~$30 online, and can be used on some street fixtures to step down the voltage to usable 100-120 volt AC that US appliances will accept.

Have we mentioned the ' !!DANGER!!' yet?

Testing

A very small glow bulb AC power tester can be purchased in most hardware stores, these are safe, easy to use, and don't burn out. Use this tester to determine if there is power in the wiring of a building and if the grounds are connected on a plug. You can also use this to test where the electrical company has cut off power (sometimes it is right at the meter). On 220 volt systems both "hot" wires will give you a glow when connected to ground, on 110 only one "hot" wire will give a glow when connected to ground. The ground is the bottom round pin in Amerikan 110 volt plugs, the ground diverts power away from you if an appliance short out inside, this is important in metal cased appliances and tools especially when using them on wet concrete.

Long Runs

If you need to transmit electricity for a very long run 110 volts is often too low and resistance losses in the line will quickly reduce available electricity on long extension cord runs. The easiest way to get better distance out of narrow wire is to use a transformer and boost the voltage. High voltages require narrower wire and incur less losses for the same wattage but High Voltages are More Dangerous!

Use extreme caution using surplus military communication, network wire, or other other wires when stringing out to your destination, people will not expect a non-official power line to be running high voltage. Split the wires and run them parallel at least a foot or so apart, use electrical fence insulators where you hang wires in trees and buildings, inspect regularly for damage. A three or four amp rated four to one ratio transformer will convert 110 volt to 440 volt which is much better at transiting long stretches of line. You will need another four to one to step back down to 110v, be careful to install the second transformer to step down or you will be boosting to about 2000 volts! Consider installing a sensitive circuit breaker at your electrical source transformer box, on of a lower value at your destination power box should help you avoid a long hike to flip the breaker. You might get one USA to EU power converter and one EU to USA converter to boost up to 220 and back to 110 at the destination, this will require some additional adapter tips which often come with the travel converters.

Free Electricity

Contact your electrical company and relief agencies to see if there is a fund or discount for the indigent, some programs are for the elderly or homes with children. These programs are often part of the contract that the power company has with the community public utilities commission. Power to the People!!

Lighting

A small, cheap desk lamp shining upwards can illuminate a whole room. A compact florescent lamp that screws into a regular light bulb socket will give lots of light (and very little heat) and be a very minor electrical drain; this is good if you are tapping the light socket power for other uses.

Small oil lamps and the oil used to burn in them can be had at the big box stores and hardware stores. Just remember that those things get VERY HOT after a while. If you use candles, never leave them burning unattended. You can increase the light by putting a mirror or aluminum foil behind the candle and reflect the flame. You can also make an improvised oil lamp using a glass jar and any vegetable oil (NEVER use motor oil or other petrochemical lubricants!). Heat up the bottom of the candle until it's soft, press it into the bottom of the inside of the jar, and when it cools, pour vegetable oil up to where the wick is exposed, then light the wick. The oil will burn with the candle. Some oils will be sooty and will smoke, so keep a window open. Keep it away from foot traffic, because if it spills, the spilled oil will spread flame VERY quickly! These type of open flames cause most of the deaths and property damage attributed to squatting.

For a DIY oil lamp, just make a clay bowl and use a cotton shoelace as a wick.

Many grocery stores sell a seven day candle often with religious images on it. Look in the Mexican foods section. These are great for night lights and the tall walls and splashing wax usually put the fire out if there is a tip over. If possible choose white wax and clear glass so you will get maximum usable light compared to colored candle residue and containers.

If you are in an underground squat, something like an old abandoned subway or utility tunnel a Coleman type lantern using pressurized liquid fuel which gives the best large area coverage might be a good idea, the propane type lantern might also be considered if you can get a big propane tank like is used for a barbecue grill, look at camping shops or online for a long adapter hose. Above all be careful with fire safety.

If you plan to spend hours or days exploring underground tunnels a carbide type lamp which is fueled with water and calcium carbide. The cheapest way to find a carbide lamp is in an antique shop but be sure that it is in good shape and the drip valves still work. Carry a backup LED light if you plan on using a carbide lamp. If you accidentally drop it or otherwise have the carbide lamp go out, you may need some lighting to see enough to reignite it

Stealth Light

If you are concerned with being noticed in your squat as you fumble about at night you should not use a full power flashlight or even a standard white LED light. Some flashlights, like the one used by the army, come with color filters: red to preserve night vision, and sometimes blue which is harder to notice on a dark night. In any case, if you really want stealth it might be smart to go a step further and poke a pinhole in some foil and blue filter the light too. Avoid swinging the light it is better that it not move as this attracts less attention. Blinking the light on and off as needed is what distress beacons do to get attention, bad idea for stealthy squatters. Do a light survey with a partner outside and assess the visibility, consider paper or cardboard over the lower windows to stealth your squat if they are too visible.

Heat

If you are lucky you will have access to electricity or find a heated room. There are ways to get the most out of heat even if you are paying for the electricity. Even in a large house move all appliances especially the oven, if possible the hot water heater, and refrigerator into your sleeping room and be sure to seal the window with plastic if needed and have a rolled rug or blanket to block the gap under your door, many interior doors would be helped with weatherstripping to further reduce drafts especially in windy areas. If the central heating is not in use be sure to block up the vent which might be drafting cold air into your room. A candle flame, smoke from an incense stick, or lit cigarette are all good tools if used carefully to survey your room for drafts. You may be surprised to see that we mention keeping the refrigerator in your room but in reality a fridge generates lots of heat as it works to cool the food inside so instead of keeping all of you food frozen outside why not let the fridge do double duty heating your studio. You will develop an eye for heat sources to keep in you room, a hair dryer is a great way to warm up your sleeping bag, a cheap air popper popcorn machine makes a snack as you warm your room, but be careful when cooking since just living in a cold room causes condensation which leads to mold related health problems so much more so with pots of boiling water. Running a fan in your squat while you are gone sometimes helps with condensation problems. If you just cant find a small room in the building you inhabit consider setting up a tent to live in or making a canopy bed (see Free Furniture ) these are both small spaces you can cheaply heat if you have an electrical heater. Kerosene and propane heaters are available at most hardware stores and they produce great heat as long as you can afford the fuel although these also have a greater risk of fires if something flammable is placed too close. Do not fall into the temptation to bring in a charcoal stove for heat unless you have the gasses vented out a chimney, carbon monoxide is a known killer of squatters.

Staying warm

If you have no heat of electricity, insulate the walls with carpet or similar material, and use thick plastic to make tents for sleeping. You can use candles and kerosene heaters and lanterns, but don't store kerosene near them or leave them burning while you are asleep or absent. Steal a fire extinguisher or two, or leave around buckets of sand or water, and put up smoke detectors.

Watch for heating vents on buildings and sidewalks, hand-dryers in bathrooms, and other public sources of air that can be used to expand inflatables, which can be custom-made to fit these sites. One folk scientist made a series of inflatable tents that could be attached to the outtake ducts of building ventilation systems to provide housing and warmth for their homeless occupants

You can make a hand-warmer out of a used Polaroid film canister once you're done with it break the cartridge open, take out the battery to use for something else, and connect the wires - it'll be quite hot for a few minutes.

You can keep a little warmer on those cold, cold nights by eating foods high in fats an hour before you go to sleep. It may also help to switch the layers of your clothing, so the one beside your skin si not damp with perspiration. No matterhow cold it is, don't sleep in more than two pairs of socks - this will constrict your circulation, without which no amount of clothing can keep your feet warm.

You can make a pocket hand-warmer by filling a cloth bag with dry beans plus rice or corn and microwaving it; it should retain heat for a couple of hours and if you get hungry, you can always cook and eat your hand warmer.

You can keep warm in winter by lining the inside of your clothes with plastic; this will work best if you place the layer of plastic riht next to your skin, although it will make you sweat a lot.

Cooling

If you can get a fan, all the better. We like the small cheap clamp-on models. You can make an improvised "swamp cooler" by putting a bowl of ice in front of the fan, and let the air blow across the ice. If you can find a rack to hang a towel or damp clothes in front of the fan (but not over it), wet the towel with water. As the water evaporates, it will cool the air. If you can get a hold of a small sprayer or ultrasonic fogger that generates a constant mist, you can spray the air in front of the fan. Just remember to keep the water away from the fan itself. Water and electricity don't mix.

During the real dog days of summer a cool bucket of water for your feet can really make a difference, add a well ventilated chaise lounge and you are ready for a nice siesta.

The heat of the day is the ideal time to bathe and wash your clothes and wear them wet, you will feel clean and your damp clothes should keep you cool for a while. This works best in dry areas, but even in a humid place sitting in front of a fan with damp clothes will cool you down.

If you have made a squat inside a building with HVAC there might be a thermostat for you to manipulate. Most won't allow you to set desired temperature but a hot pack in summer or ice pack or snowball in winter should get you closer to that desired temperature.

Computer

A PDA or small laptop gives you access to the net, if you are willing to pay corpgov for their cellular service you can get on almost anywhere but it is traceable to location and expensive. Better to hunt out a a free wi-fi hotspot, an open home network (a cantenna works great for these two), go to a local college / school computer lab or the nearest public library. Either find a program or write a script to download all of the websites you frequent at an open WiFi zone, that way you can quickly grab all of your daily news and reading in a minute or two and sit and enjoy it in your squat. A laptop, embedded device, or PDA with a DIY cantenna, yaggi, or patch antenna can often use wifi from a great distance if there is a line of sight

A good WiFi hacking tutorial can be found in the Internet Communications chapter.

Free internet can also be accessed in a library (sometimes you need a card, sometimes for a limited time). You can also go into your local Apple store and 'try' one of their laptops. They all have unlimited Internet access.

A Knoppix or Damn Small Linux disk lets you take over a Windows-owned machine and run your free unlimited system on it bypassing most blockages. A USB keychain drive lets you carry your files and photos as you document the fight and get your information out to the people. See also Internet Communications and Free- Telephones

A Word on Batteries, Solar, and "Wind-Up" Gadgets

You might see ads for various electrical devices (radios, flashlights, etc.) that generate their own power by wind-up motors. Many of the expensive ones often use a small rubber belt in the pulley drive that gets stretched out and slips after a few years. They are a bother to replace, if they can be replaced at all.

Others require LOTS of winding, since the hand crank is connected directly to the dynamo. It's best to wind these things up to charge the on-board batteries when you have nothing else to do, since you want the power when you need it. Gadgets with a small solar panel are best.

If you can score rechargeable batteries and a charger, great. Just remember that plug-in chargers need constant voltage (the town library usually has a few unattended outlets), and some cheaper solar powered chargers need about two days of steady sunshine to charge the batteries. Also, rechargeable batteries lose their power in storage, so check the charge and try to keep them refreshed. If you can find a larger solar panel like is used by the road department on signs or the little ones from car lots for keeping car batteries charged, these will work more quickly than the little solar clamshell chargers.

see Cycling for bike generator charging and Backpacking and Camping for larger portable solar cells.

Pest Control

• Keep your squat very clean, you might even consider eating and storing food in a different location than you sleep. Leaving your food in your pack is an invitation to have a mouse or rat chew a hole.

• Shake out and wash if possible all clothing and sleeping bags as bedbugs like to collect here.

• Vinegar can sometimes get rid of ants and roaches, if this fails try boric acid from the pharmacist/chemist or the hardware store. Remember, these insects don't create or spread filth (in fact, they prefer to eat it or take it home), so instead of wearing yourself out smashing them individually, try to track down what's attracting them and clean it up.

• Bay leaves, mint, and other aromatic herbs will help keep insects out of your gear.

• Citronella candles are expensive; try to find pure citronella oil sold for cleaning, this is the extracts of the oils from the citronella plant, it can be burned with a wick to drive off flying insects but also gives away your position from its strong citrus-like smell.

• A buzz haircut helps avoid lice but if you have long hair a drop or two of olive oil on you comb every the morning is healthy for you hair and skin but also prevents the lice from finding a dry spot for gluing their eggs to your hair near the root.

• Eating raw garlic will repel many insects including mosquitoes, it is no substitute for a net in areas infested with malaria or other flying insect carried illnesses.

• In malaria country remember to tuck the mosquito net edges under your mattress at night after you have inspected for holes and mosquitoes, fold up and store during the day.

• Don't forget to take your malaria prevention meds every day in an afflicted area.

Hobos used to "boil up" every chance they got. What this meant was they would put their clothes and bedding into a tub of boiling water and hard boil any bugs or their eggs living in there. Frequently boiling up your clothes and bedding combined with buzzing your hair, pits, and pubes leaves very little place for the bugs to hang on.

Free Land - Buying a small piece or squatting a National Park.

A life without landlords is a common Americans dream real estate agencies love to sell. However, it takes a lot of work to own property without becoming a slave to financial institutions or the Government. A typical homeowner on a very small plot with a house in the suburbs usually has make payments for up to 30 years! If the owner loses their job or is forced to move, the property can be foreclosed, and sold at a fraction of the price to vulture investors with the banks still asking the difference .

Furthermore, because some Americans are worrisome creatures, there are many restrictions on what can and cannot be done to a piece of land. Zoning practices can keep you from setting up the front of a house as a storefront. In quite a few areas a home must be of a certain square footage to "keep up property values" (Read: more tax money for the slime balls in StateGov). Ritzy neighborhoods may have in place community covenants where your nosy neighbor could actually get you fined or force you to sell! Typical covenants range from required lawn mowing, not being able to change the oil in your car or even wok on it in your own driveway, even down to what colors you are allowed to paint your house.

However, some of the benefits of owning versus renting are great. There will be no landlord to tell you that you cannot grow eggplants in the backyard. Even if you want to knock out a wall to renovate, no one will stop you. Not to mention, even the worst loan contracts for buying a house or land are much more favorable than a renter's lease if hard times fall.

So get some free land and tell the landlord to shove it!

Adverse Possession

Adverse possession AKA squatters rights is an ancient common law legal process now codified into law in most English speaking areas. It essentially consists of acquiring legal title to a piece of property belonging to another party after spending a specified amount of undisturbed time acting like you are the owner and sometimes also making certain improvements on the property. This law covers both rural and urban properties. If the family of a passed relative forgets about a property or you move in quickly and clean up an abandoned or foreclosed house as though you had purchased it there is no reason that anyone would suspect anything until several years later when you make your claim with the county or state for full legal title. It might even be possible to assure repayment for your improvements and place a lien on a property in case the owners ever return and demand the property before you can make your claim, in the face of the lien they may just leave you alone. Unfortunately one of the obligations of an owner is paying property taxes, but to make finding a property easier look on the county or state unpaid property tax rolls, this might help you narrow your search for abandoned property. So paying taxes is one good way to document that you are using the property, the good news is most counties will happily accept tax checks from both parties usually not telling the old owner what you are doing. A great way to establish a claim is to arrange for a friend with a squeaky clean look and record to 'trespass' on your squatted land as soon as possible after settling down, call it in to the cops, maybe they come by maybe not, this will leave a record in the police blotter that you are acting as the exclusive landowner.

It is important to be vague on how you entered a structure to occupy it, breaking and entering is hard to prove unless you admit it, in the US the 5 th amendment means you can't be forced to testify against yourself, if the cops or anyone else ever asked just say you legally entered the premises, your home, and moved in, nothing more. If neighbors ask just say that you have a deal with the state and bank be vague, some neighbors will be jealous if they see you grab a free house that once belonged to their friend and might expend foolish amounts of time an money to keep you from getting your free lunch.

All you need is the balls to do this easy task and for one occupation you a street kid can be picking up homes for free, the equivalent of a six figure income, more if you adverse possess something in downtown Manhattan or Hollywood hills. If you decide to adverse posses additional properties and rent them out this is also a way to occupy the property in order to meet the statutory requirements, ordinary property owners rent out houses all the time and so can you in addition the contract is legal proof that you are acting as exclusive property owner. Now is the time for the rebellion to legally grab the free unused land, buildings, and means of production before the laws change or property values return to sanity.

What is important is that you meet the following conditions:

• You must actually occupy and use the property in the way a real owner would.

• Your occupation must be open and obvious, stealthy squats do not qualify.

• Your occupation must be exclusive, the current title holder must not concurrently enjoy any use of the property and you must be the only person openly acting as the landowner or landlord.

• Your possession must be hostile as in it must not be with the permission of the property owner, and hostile to his interest in retaining ownership of the property.

• You must be able to document that you have been acting as the landowner for the full period required by law without interruption.

• Claim to legal title must be either based on what is assumed to be legal title or squatters rights as established in state law.

• The statutory period or statute of limitations as established by law must have been met, it might be possible to count a previous squatters occupation and transfer to you as part of the legally required total occupation period.

A property owner may make the following defenses to block your claim to title in squatted lands or property by the following:

• Permissive use, you had permission to use or live on the land from the owner, pretty much never talk to or have any contact with the former owner without a lawyer skilled in property law and adverse possession present.

• Public lands may be exempt from adverse possession rights.

• The owner may make a defense that you did not make sufficient use of the property to establish your claim.

• The owner may claim that he or others also acted in the manner of a property owner during your period of adverse possession.

• It may be claimed that your possession did meet the full required statutory period or that there was an interruption of your occupation.

Because you will likely assume tax responsibility it might be better for some squatters to claim easement rights to dwell and use the property while leaving the landlord in actual possession with tax liability. If he is somehow able to drive you off for a specified period of time after you win adverse possession without you suing him for damages or filing a complaint he regains full rights to the land under the same legal theory.

Repo Your Own House From the Bank

Especially now with the foreclosure mess and housing bust you may be foreclosed out of your house, if you go along with that and move your stuff to storage there is no reason not to move back. The trick is that banks don't want to be responsible for a foreclosed property but if they don't kick people out there would be no societal stick to keep everyone paying mortgages. They will foreclose in court but not take title, this is an easy search in county records to find out, you still have your paperwork right? You can move back in and tell your neighbors you made a deal and now own the home outright, make the vague deal sound heartbreakingly expensive so they wont get jealous and poke around. Your old paperwork will probably work fine to reconnect the utilities and everything should be ducky until you can ride out the often shorter with-paperwork possession time period have the court give you your clear title and you will own the home you were cast out of by the bank without paying another penny to the banksters. As always it is good to invest some money to have the advice of a lawyer competent in this area of law advise you especially since you wont have a mortgage to worry about.

Buying Cheap Land

If you are wishing for the ultimate retreat or the future site of your own revolutionary compound, rural land can sometimes be picked up reasonably. By reasonable, we mean around 5,000 to 20,000 USD for a usable large parcel of land out in the sticks ranging from 5 acres to 10. Of course, the price jumps exponentially the nearer to a city you get or if any resources like timber, or farm structures are located on it. Note, that this does not include the possibility that you may have to pay the power company and telephone company to run wires, a water company to lay pipe, or need to install a septic system. Nor does a land for this price usually include a house.

Craigslist and eBay can be good places for the frugal Revolutionary to look for cheap land, but do not shy away from a good realtor either. While the Realtor wants a commission, all state certified realtors have access to a database of all land being sold in the state they do business in - even many not listed in newspapers or on the web. That includes cheap land as well as luxury country club mansions. Most realtors will even offer free rides to the land to "show" it to you and will help you with the massive paperwork and financing. Be forewarned: Many of the really cheap properties listed are out in the desert, only accessible across miles of very rough road. Some may be located in flood plains than stay underwater every good rain or may be out in the swamps only accessible by boat. Most will have no utilities or cellphone coverage, or have no real farmible or arable land, and the nearest source of water may be miles away. If the main selling point is that the land is "affordable", it may be going cheap because no one wants to buy it. Also, get a property lawyer always to keep from getting screwed.

Speaking of rural land, you can still try using the antiquated free mining claim laws. Unfortunately, it appears that this frontier option is only left open for megacorps today with good legal departments. Even if a mining claim can be made legit, we are doubtful on the option of camping out on the land. The laws as we read them seem to imply actual documented mining activity and forbid all camping or residential structures on the claim without a prior waiver from the US Department of the Interior.

If being isolated out in the middle of nowhere just is not your style, there also deals to be found in many cities with a bit of research or the help of a realtor, if you tell the realtor exactly what you are looking for. Many cities have blighted housing which they cannot afford to tear down. Most of the time, you get a sliver of land with a dangerously messed up house for 2000 USD to 10000 USD. Problem is, most of the time, the city is going to give you a set time frame to demolish the house or make efforts to fix it or end up taking it back in short order. They may want to see that you have the funds in a bank to do this. Now, if you have useful trade skills like electrician, plumbing, and carpentry - you are golden. But, if you have no skills or the cash, it can sometimes take more cash to fix up than would be to go into debt slavery to buy a small place with few problems.

Free Kansas land

Kansas has a program to reverse certain county's negative population growth trend. Certain counties in Kansas offer plots of free land around the size of 10k-30k sq. feet, or about half an acre, or about a 1/3rd a size of a football field. They do this in exchange for the promise that someone will move to this land.

Usually the acquisition of this land requires that you demonstrate that you plan to build a house on this land soon after acquiring it. This means that you need to install a pre-manufactured home, have a contractor build on site, or build the house yourself. The land's still free and usually in an accessible area (and if there aren't roads, often the town will split the cost of developing a basic road with you), you just need to build a house. This program is only useful if you're looking for residential land.

Kansas Free Land (http7/kansasfreeland.com/)

Developing Undeveloped Land / Keeping Cheap Land

If you buy a plot, and you want to use it as a place to live without having to worry about occasional run-ins with the police, you will need to do three things.

1. If there is no residential structure (house/trailer) there already, build one or move one in.

2. Pay property taxes once a year.

3. Build/keep any residential structures up to code.

Doing these things not only keeps you out of the cross-hairs of the state, but it makes you look like a model citizen in the eyes of the public, even if you have weird ideas, and make unusual decisions about what plot of land.

As already discussed, here are the three ways to get cheap land.

• buying/getting for free undeveloped land and building a house on it

• buying/adverse possession of a cheap home in a run-down, depopulated district of a city or town

• buying a cheap home in a rural area where property values are rock-bottom===

Let's examine how the above three obligations apply to each of these methods.

Undeveloped Land

If you're interested in "roughing it" out in nature (in which case, see the "Into the Wild" section below), you can get away (at least until you're found out) with building your own home that's entirely not to code, and not paying property taxes at all.

But in all other cases you'll need to pay property taxes or you'll get in trouble. It's not impossible to use property inspectors to your advantage if you feel the state is overcharging you, or simply find a state with very low property taxes. But taxes are the most basic way the government pushes people into wider participation in and support of the general corporate economy. In that way, they are very important to government, and tax evasion is one of most actively prosecuted behaviors. This is not a movie. You cannot take on the entirety of the government on your own. If you want to buy a piece of land just for you and a couple of people, you are generally going to have to pay property taxes. That's the game.

Likewise, if you build a home yourself in an area where it might receive electricity or water, then it's an area where it will be quickly found out that you're building a home. You're going to need a permit for that. Even if you're building an unorthodox residential structure, most local civil employees will actually be glad to work with you on licensing you to build it (cool, kooky eco-homes, or eco-communities could equal tourist money. Even with that out of mind though, municipal civil employees have slow workdays). It is a mistake to assume that just because you are doing some things which subvert a larger socioeconomic system, that the entirety of the legal system is angling to destroy you. It's not.

Should I commit to building a home?

Building a home yourself, and especially building a home to code, is hard work that requires dedication, lots of time, and lots of money. Building your own home is an expression of conspicuous leisure, won't overthrow the man, and is not the most efficient cost-effective way to get a home.

Are there good reasons for building your own home? That's for you to decide. But building a home is a commitment. You have to decide why you're doing this before you start.

Time

If you have never touched a power tool in your life, then expect to take at least a year, and very likely more than two years. This will be the case even if you can occasionally enlist a friend, or have a partner who is working with you on it. In fact, this will be the case even if you are well-versed in some of the tasks that come into play in construction or remodeling (drywall, finish carpentry, tiling, etc.) The only way you can expect to beat the one-year mark or bring the home reliably close to the one-year mark is if you have spent years working in remodeling or construction.

Cost

If you are experienced, building a 1-story, 1000 sq. ft. home (including buying tools on site) may set you back only 1015,000. If you are new at this, it will probably set you back 20-30,000. This is not including lodging and food for the time you spend building it. Unlike buying a house for $15,000, a single person (who hasn't run their own one-man construction business for the past few years) can't get a loan which they can pay back over years. So buying a 15,000 home will hurt your wallet less than spending $15,000 to make your own home

Questions to Ask Yourself

Although it would be really cool to build your own home and get you lots of street cred, it is wise to put aside those childish considerations when deciding whether to do it. Building a home is very isolating, will take up a large chunk of your life and will likely give you a back injury or two.

Before building a home, ask yourself these questions:

• Why am I doing this? What do I get out of it? Is the reason I am doing this a good enough reason to be worth all the hours and dangers I will face in building a home?

• Could I complete this home faster by simply working a job and then paying a few people or a company which is better and faster at building homes than I am to build it?

• Am I building this house to live in, or am I trying to build it to a level of quality where I could sell it and get some money back? If I am building it to live in, do I really want to chain myself to this area for several years afterward? Would building it "worth it" if I might want to move away a year or so down the line anyway? What if I lose my source of income and must move far away?

• (Let's be honest now) Am I building this to prove something to myself, impress my friends, or impress people I am attracted to (and then get laid more)? Do I really need to prove something to myself? And... do I really want to hang with folks that only like me if I have a house they can move into or crash and party at? Merely owning possessions that increases social acceptance does not solve issues like low self esteem or poor interaction skills.

• If I am in a corpgov approved marriage with an actual marriage license (or been living with the same person for years under common law), have I made arrangements on who will get the property after all this work if the relationship turns sour? Selling off during a divorce can often mean selling at a loss or losing the place outright to a vindictive spouse with a good lawyer. Property owned before a marriage can be taken, too if the spouse can claim they contributed towards the equity of it. But, this depends on state.

How to Build A Home

Buy a book. Lots of books. Go to public.resource.org for building codes. Start reading. The majority of your time needs to be spent on research beforehand. If you do all your learning "as needed"/"as you go," you will make many, many costly mistakes and end up spending much more time and money on fixing those mistakes then you would have if you didn't make them in the first place. This will also give you a sense for how very much work needs to be done.

Altogether, this wiki is not the place for a complete guide on construction.

Cheap home, urban setting

As usual, property tax depends on the state. If it's based off of property value like in California, then that helps you out a lot. Then again, you might not want to buy in California as Prop. 13 has created a housing market where even broken down house's have an artificially inflated property value and cost.

That said, the problem of keeping this new cheap property by remodeling and keeping the building up to code can be approached three obvious ways:

• Buy a home that may need substantial remodeling, and pay for the basics or do it yourself.

No need to make the place last another century, but this is an opportunity to take care of all those holes in the floor.

• Seek out a home in a run-down area that doesn't need too much remodeling.

There are plenty of homes in Detroit which are on sale for $1 because they're in a largely-vacant neighborhood whose only residents are rabid dogs and career criminals. Many of the homes in neighborhoods are falling apart and need remodeling, but there are quite a few which don't and only have such a low property value because of the setting.

• Seek out a home in a run-down area in a metropolis that is so busy with its own problems, it won't pay any attention to yours.

In many poor neighborhoods, say far far south (past 80th st.) Chicago, falling-apart homes in poor neighborhoods is just the way life is there. You're likely to get in trouble if you're squatting, as its a common crime there so police watch out for it, but there are plenty of other people there who do it. And if you buy your own place in the neighborhood, if you do anything to keep the home up, that's still much better then the landlords around you, and you'll be left alone. Of course, if you're white, you're probably going to stand out in the neighborhood quite a bit for blocks in any direction and no matter what you'd like to think your skin color is a force for gentrification and your neighbors being pushed out of their homes. But if you're concerned about the hostility from that, you can always go for the poor white areas. Nothing wrong with living like everyone else in this country does - flat broke.

Building codes and how even anarchists can follow them

Whether you buy a home, are building your own, or are trying to acquire a home through adverse possession, you will have to do construction or remodeling of some kind to keep it up to code. Most radical types I know scoff at building codes as just some capitalist obstacle meant to hinder their free-thinking. It's not that simple.

Building licenses and Building Codes are there for a good reason

They're part of the process by which our society makes sure buildings which the majority of the populace ends up in are safe and don't kill anyone. Although in a different society, a different process could be used with more friendly human interaction, this is a process that has been built to work within the capitalist system to put a limit on reckless corporate behavior. You will find that because of its undiscriminating gaze, though, that it also greatly constrains your small-time personal behavior in building a home. In that sense, codes do make building a home inaccessible for the "little man" who does not have a pile of money or time.

As unfair as it may seem, there is a good reason for all this red tape. What may strike you as a nice but usually unnecessary feature (mandatory height distances from floors to outlets in basements, GFCI outlets in all bathrooms) will occur in the same way to many a thrifty contractor, and many home-building contractors or teams are just as small-time as you and your friends are. If everyone got to build what they personally thought was "safe enough," and made that decision around avoiding personal inconvenience and expenditure, we'd have a lot of unnecessary deaths in this country. Although the existence of building codes could be posed as a sacrificing-freedom-for-security tradeoff, it is without doubt that if these codes were not mandatory (and thus home safety was determined by the capitalist market), no home that was affordable to the poor would adhere to them in the slightest, and thus choice of home design would be a "freedom" and a luxury that only the rich could afford. Instead of assuring freedom to the poor, most of the poor would still be confined in their choice of residence, only now to one which was manifestly unsafe to save development moguls a few dollars.

Getting city approval and cooperation doesn't have to be difficult

As a result, if you are building or significantly remodeling a home (rather than just, say, changing the flooring up) you're going to need to learn a lot about building codes, and interact with a lot of government employees (property inspectors, HUD clerks, courts, you name it). As mentioned above, it is a mistake to assume that just because you are doing some things which subvert a larger socioeconomic system, that the entirety of the legal system is angling to destroy you. It's not.

For example, municipal, small-time civil servants like these are often disconnected from the machine enough to appreciate (when presented to them properly) that the letter of the law is not the spirit of the law. If you are seeking to develop a unique home, do unordinary remodeling, or in any sense build your own home in their county most of them will be happy to work with you, guide you through the process, and give you leeway and flexibility when you're having trouble doing something. This is not always the case: some of them are hardasses, or will be antagonistic to you. The best way to get a municipal building inspector antagonistic to you is to assume a relationship of antagonism from the start.

How to make city approval and cooperation difficult

For example, if you are building a home, don't go in there having never built a house in your life with the clear belief that because you are an anarchist/communist/free thinker/environmentalist/whatever that you will be able to build in one or two years a specialty home that is safer, more efficient, and better designed than any home all of Western civilization has built in the last hundreds of years.

Drop the attitude. Don't be condescending or patronizing. Your worldview may be superior, they may be living an empty, boring life, and you might really be right about how much smarter you are than everyone, but be smart and keep your mouth shut about it while you're there. When someone feels that you don't respect them or are making fun of them, they're much less likely to help you out. You already know how radical you are, and they don't need to know, so there's no need to make this about how radical you are.

You are entering their domain and field of expertise and they are doing you a favor: show respect for their customs like you would if you were a visitor or intruder anywhere. Dress like them (business casual or blue-collar clothes when you go to their office, blue-collar clothes on-site), look like them (have someone go in there / meet them who doesn't have dreads or a rat tail, cover up tattoos at least to the elbow, remove piercings if convenient and possible), talk like them (keep slang to a minimum, especially "ironic" or mocking slang).

Conclusion

If you have unusual goals for building or remodeling projects, figure it out, do your homework, and go in there allbusiness about addressing that goal. Be assertive, but only about what you're there to do. You're just another person going in there to work on a building project. They are the place to go to for help, and they are there to help you. Don't bring your ideology into it. The average Jane or Joe is happily willing to help you with an unusual, interesting, or smalltime building or remodeling effort. But they are not interested in indulging your ego. Don't bring it up.

Into the wild

In the 60s there was a big move of hippies living rough in national parks, some communities still exist today:

• In Alaska you can stay in logging cabins undisturbed.

• In Humboldt county people camp out growing masses of weed, too much for police to find and destroy.

• In Berkley, yippies turned a barren parking lot into a community center with grass, swings, free-form sculpture and gardens. The University of California, with the aid of Ronald Reagan and the Berkeley storm troopers, fought with guns, clubs and tear gas to regain the land from the outlaw people. The pigs killed James Rector and won an empty victory. For now the park is fenced off, tarred over and converted into unused basketball courts and unused parking lots. Not one person has violated the oath never to set foot on the site. It stands, cold and empty, two blocks north of crowded Telegraph Avenue. If the revolution does not survive, all the land will perish under the steam roller of imperialism. People's Death Valley will happen in our lifetime. The Berkeley People's Park reopened in 1972 and is accepted by the University as a park. However, activists and police still clash over it sometimes, and the fascists from the '60s have no regrets for their actions, not even the murder. There is a very good article at the moment on the English Wikipedia (https7/secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/People%27s_Park) .

Backpacking - Stealth camping, staying in a hammock or bivy bag.

Backpacking and Camping are both viable ways to live without a permanent address. Backpacking implies much more mobility and deeper wilderness, the equipment is mostly suitable for touring both on foot and by bicycle. Camping is more stable and often involves more comfortable bedding and cooking equipment. A camper hitches a ride, drives, or even uses a trailer, while a backpacker can easily move on his own. See also Camping

Backpacking

Contrary to what the magazines and gear shoppes would like you to think you don't need to have the most expensive equipment money can buy to take to the hills. There is sometimes a trade off in comfort, weight, and function with the expensive gear, but never let price keep you from choosing this option, we hope some of our ideas can get you out without breaking your budget. Often the price difference in the ultra$$ brands is because of expensive advertising. Just remember many successful hobos and cowboys only had a tarp, a blanket, a pocket knife, a spoon, some rope to make a blanket bundle bag and a old can or pot to cook stew over an open wood fire.

Don't forget to visit mom and pop army-navy surplus stores for lots of weird junk mixed with some useful and sometimes very high quality camping gear, unless you swiped it from a base a bit of the money from surplus supports some generals slush fund, but the deep discounts are worth it, just watch out for obsolete, worn out, heavy, or low quality gear. Unfortunately unless you move fast most of the best deals are quickly grabbed and sold at online auctions.

Lastly a good general rule especially for used or DIY gear is to test it out like you plan to use it. Eat your planned camping menu while you are working a heavy physical labor job or training for sports to ensure it really satisfies you. Cook a meal or two on a multifuel stove using diesel fuel or old gasoline on a windy day. Set up your tent at night or in the wind. Spray the tent, bivvy sack, or your rain gear with a garden hose. Wear your loaded pack and trail boots on several local hikes. Camp in the backyard or park in your sleeping bag. If you figure out the problems and limits in a safe environment you will be ready and equipped properly in the deep wilderness. There is something to be said for the power of learning in the school of hard knocks, but minimize the pain and save the knocks for bigger lessons.

Packs

A quality pack is very important, fit is very personal, you need to try on the loaded pack (take 30-50 lbs of well sacked sand bags or call ahead and see if the store has some) before you buy and walk around for at least an hour.

Quality external frame packs while not in vogue are often cheaper and let you carry lots of heavy gear, the internal frame packs hug tight to your body giving you more stability. Be sure the straps are comfortable on your shoulders and chest and that the sternum strap can be moved to a comfortable place Women especially need to find a pack with shoulder straps contoured to not rub their armpits or breasts when cinched tight.

The old US Army ALICE (All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment) frame pack is an excellent buy if you can find one in good shape on the surplus market and it fits you, don't pay over $30-40.

Care must be exercised since a high priced pack might have bad stitching or components and a really good pack might be sold for very cheap if it is a brand unknown in the US.

Things to look for: well ventilated back pad, anti-damp shoulder straps and belt pad, useful outside pockets, drinking system compatibility, gear attachment loops, modularity, quality zippers, and durability especially at the shoulder straps and seams.

A pack cover with a draw string protects your pack from rain and also makes it difficult for pickpockets to quickly find the zippers. A pack cover could be reversed to cover straps during air travel.

Internal vs. External Frame Packs

There are two main styles of backpacks: Internal Frame packs and External Frame packs. As the name implies, internal frame packs have frames inside the pack and usually consist of two metal slats that are molded to one's contours. Internal frame packs offer more control of weight and are often more comfortable. An external frame pack consist of a frame in which a bag and straps are attached separately. External frame packs allow more air flow between the packer's back and the pack. Also, external frame packs are offer more compartments allowing for better organization where an internal frame offers one main compartment and a few external pockets. While external frame packs can be loaded as much as needed by attaching more compartments and hanging items, the contents tend to be more exposed to the elements and the pack is noticeably heavier in deadweight than an internal frame. Talk to your local outdoor outfitter to see which one is best for you.

Daypacks

When traveling by train, bus, or airplane find a good daypack that is comfortable when either attached to the main pack straps or looped forward on your arms as well as when you wear it on your back. Keep your valuables in the front day pack where you have control of it an leave your bulky stuff in the main pack. This method makes you an easier target for robbery since you will have difficulty defending yourself and is best for moving in terminals or short walks to a hotel or hostel. A good daypack is useful if you are setting up a secure base camp and taking hikes or overnight trips from there.

Small light-duty backpacks and tote bags are available which fit into a key chain or back pocket and weigh almost nothing. Stuffable packs are good for unexpected shopping when walking or cycling, it is also a good place to stick a jacket or sweater if the weather gets hot.

Sleeping Gear

See Camping for picking the right tent and living out of it.

Sleeping Bags

The price difference in sleeping bags is mostly a factor of name brand style, weight, and packed size versus warmth. The difference is in the construction, fill material, the shell, and in the lining. The shell is usually nylon and is thin or thick depending on if durability or weight are desired, for any shell the weave should be tight to prevent snags. Fill material available is constantly changing, 600 goose down is the gold standard for insulation but is worthless if wet, we don't recommend it. Synthetics claim many qualities, but good fluff is what you really need; claims of new 3D fibers and such pop up every few years, be skeptical of amazing powers contained in the newest expensive fiber filling. Lining is usually nylon, coolmax, or a nylon-cotton mix, the cotton and coolmax synthetics make the liner more comfortable in hot weather, while nylon is lighter weight. Multi day camping trips or people in homelessnes situations should avoid sleeping bags with cotton as an ingredient in the bag liner and fill, synthetic mixes are now made which simulate the comfort of cotton but dry quickly. Cotton makes warm summer nights and entry during cold nights during indoor sleepovers more comfortable if it gets wet it is nearly impossible to dry out without a serious heat source. Construction is very important, some features mentioned only apply to a mummy style or rectangle bag, look for the following: neck and face draw-strings, quality (YKK is good) zippers, full length zippers, compatibility to zip two bags together, hang loops, mesh gear pocket, foot contour, thicker insulation on bottom, and box baffling of insulation.

A low temperature and a medium temperature mummy bag give you a modular extreme cold system, nest the smaller bag inside the larger for very cold nights, and in warmer weather if the zippers match you have room for two.

Many inexpensive sleeping bags can now be found to include many of the features needed to keep warm even in cooler temperatures, while not performing badly in terms of weight and packing. An army poncho liner blanket is very light and can be stuffed into any place in your bag where you feel cold.

A coton or silk liner makes entry during winter more comfortable althugh we recommend sleeping in your long underwear and some loose fitting fiber filled warm slippers. A bag liner makes keeping the sleeping bag clean easy too just wash that since you are not in contact with the sleeping bag, and you can use it as a hostel sheet in summer when couch surfing.

In nice weather a sleeping bag or blanket is enough, the dew that forms will evaporate quickly in the morning. Sleeping under the stars is great until the bugs arrive Sewing a section of insect net onto the opening of your bag or just including it in the stuff sack is a very cheap way to avoid the itchies at the least and nasty stuff like West Nile virus or even Malaria in some areas. If it stays on your head a baseball cap is a great way to keep the bug screen off of your face as you sleep outside.

If you're really down and out, one or more of the "lint" blankets given away by homeless shelters inside of a taped or melted-shut piece of visqueen plastic sheeting will keep you warm and block the wind, but the blankets and bag need to be seperated and dried out every day.

Sleeping Pads

The best choice for a sleeping pad is a well made self inflating pad, it is both light and durable. However, if you are on a budget, stick with the old indestructible closed-cell foam roll-up mat, it will keep you warm and dry, but packs big. Cardboard or newspaper can be used to insulate yourself from the ground. Be sure to avoid sleeping with little-to-no insulation, especially if in the woods, as temperature changes and dampness can make you uncomfortable and even sick.

Bivvy Sack

A quality Gore-tex bivvy sack will set you back about $300 unless you can find a military surplus one. These manufactured bags are of high quality, tough, and waterproof. A bivvy sack is almost weightless when compared with a tent and greatly increases the cold rating of a sleeping bag. Quality bivvy sacks usually load from the top only because it is very difficult to have a leak proof zipper. They usually also have a zip-shut bug screen for the face and a draw string to close the opening.

Gore-tex type waterproof but water vapor passable fabric can be found at some large fabric stores. You might mix a few unmatched remnants to save money, remembering that every seam is a potential leak point (so be sure to seal them well!), the bottom can be ordinary waterproof fabric if you need to save money.

Hammock

Your hammock is a good way to stay stealthy, cool, and comfortable in hot weather, you also don't need to worry about how rocky or uneven the terrain is, even a steep hillside will work for a stealth campsite. If you are properly tied in with a harness or safety belt(if you don't tie into an anchor and your harness it is an easy way to die in your sleep) you can even hammock up on a rock face, building sit in, or tree sit using tree or rock anchor points or bolts. Best of all even a fancy tent hammock will weigh in at less than a kilogram.

Don't wear your shoes in your hammock, this causes wear on the mesh or fabric, lying on your side at an angle to the centerline can make finding a comfortable position easier. Try to use wide straps to wrap around trees or find another way to protect the bark. Check that a tree is strong before jumping into your hammock, a rotten tree might look fine especially at night but as you lay down the cord tension multiplied by pulling at an angle could pull a rotten tree down and easily smash a joint or snap bone, maybe your thick skull, a good hard shake or shove should do the trick for a safety check.

If you hang a tarp like a tent on a piece of cord strung over your hammock you will protect yourself from rain and gain a bit of privacy, it is a good to stake down the corners with a bit of cord if you want to have better wind and rain protection. If the weather is nice your tarp line can also be used to hang a bug screen, be sure to tie it below you or tuck under your sleeping bag. Use a bivvy sack if it looks like a real bad storm is coming. It is now possible to purchase one piece tented-over hammocks which are both bug and rain protection. A cut down sleeping pad will protect you from cold air below you, the hammock compresses your sleeping bag reducing its effectiveness on the bottom.

Don't be intimidated by the price of combo tent hammocks at high end backpacking and cycle shops, while well worth the money if purchased used, most $5-10 cheap mesh hammocks work good for starting out or lighter people and the expensive tent type hammock can be DIY made. The best DIY trick we have found is to double over the last six inches of hammock fabric and wrap your hang cords around the bent fabric about ten times and tie tight in a fisherman type knot. The Hennessey brand tent/screen hammock we tried was expensive but has two features worthy of copying, a centerline entry slit about 2/3 of a meter in the foot area which allows the bug net to be sewn directly to the medium weight nylon hammock and an angled rectangular asymmetrical hammock footprint allowing the sleeper to rest off of the center angle for more comfort, a last nice feature was a centerline adjustable cord which kept the bug net out of the face and held up a small pouch for our glasses or a LED reading light. The person doing the testing found that her silnylon rain poncho was a drop in replacement for the manufacturers rain fly saving her a few grams of weight.

Like in stealth tenting look for a little bit of brush between you and the public areas sticking to dull colors for gear.

Food Preparation

For camp and backpacking recipes see Roadside Chow

Stoves

Liquid Fuel

For vagabonding, international, and back country travel real multi-fuel backpacking stoves with a heavy and light fuel jets tend to be the best as at least one of the following fuels: gasoline, Coleman fuel, white gas, stoddard solvent, drip gas(from natural gas wells), some charcoal lighter fluid, naptha, lighter fluid, should work on the light fuels jet; heavy fuels jet should burn furnace fuel, jet fuel, kerosene, or diesel fuel. Around the world you should be able to ferret out something that is available, but remember alcohol will ruin the seals so if that is the only stuff available make a pepsi can stove. Biodiesel has been shown to work in some kerosene stoves but you must be sure it is a lye processed biodiesel and not one that contains alcohol which will ruin your orings. Liquid fuel stoves generally put out the most heat, some enough for melting snow in large volumes. Some of us really like the MSR Whisperlite International(the regular Whisperite only burns Coleman fuel), and MSR XGK, although they are both expensive new (the Whisperlite will set you back about $100, the XGK is about $160.) They burn most any liquid fuel and can get volcano-hot, so be careful! The Whisperlite simmers better and packs smaller, while the XGK is tough and burns like an afterburner. They are still running years later with only the tools that they came with. It really comes down to the old adage, "you get what you pay for." There are other good stoves on the market like the Optimus Nova, MSR Dragonfly, and Primus Multifuel so visit a few camping gear stores, and do some research. Here is a good site to learn about alternative fuels http://zenstoves.net/Fuels.htm

Remember that most of the pressure stoves on the market will do the job, white gas is for all intents and purposes gasoline, ordinary gasoline (NOT biogas or E85) will burn nearly the same as the far more expensive, specialized white gas. Used gear from a yard sale or junk shop can often be fixed by cleaning the generator tube and jet tip on better stoves or replacing the generator tube on the more common Coleman and clones small stoves. Be very careful to know what fuels your stove is rated to burn before buying; most better multi-fuel stoves have one jet for light fuels like gasoline or white gas and a second for kerosene and diesel, if the alternative fuel jet or other parts are missing you can often order another or just get a service kit with new jets and other repair parts.

Since these stoves require a warm up period especially with some of the heavier fuels always light outside your tent and use extreme caution even when you think you have the flame under control. Inside a building only light a stove in a real fireplace with open chimney and flue, use of a warmed up stove inside a kitchen on a large stone counter or on top of an oven might be safe if burning kerosene but often results in carbon blackening of paint especially the ceiling.

Compressed Gas

Compressed gas stoves are lighter, easier to control, and can be cheaper. Compressed gas stoves, with due caution, can even be used inside your tent fly vestibule to cook during rain and snow. Some gas stoves include a non-battery piezo-electric spark igniter.

Open Fuel

This category covers pellet, alcohol, and wood stoves as well as many other improvised stoves.

Solid Fuels

Fuel pellet stoves like the Esbit or butterfly stove fold small and light, are very cheap up front for both stove and a few days of fuel pellets, and you can mail the fuel to yourself to pick up as postal general delivery but are usually only used for emergencies due to fuel pellet prices over time. Esbit folding butterfly stoves are a good emergency stove and don't take up much room. The Hexamine fuel pills, which look like large sugar cubes or horse pills, burn hot and give off no smoke. The bad side is that they often give a strong smell and noxious fumes (so never cook food directly over them outside of a pot or pan), can leave a heavy residue on your cookware, and are expensive compared to other fuel sources.

There are also a few fan blown wood scrap burners which makes your fuel price free and you just need batteries for the fan.

An interesting improvised stove is one made from an old oil filter and some welded steel break line, a feed hole is cut near the bottom and ash holes on the bottom a steel tube several inches long is attached a few inches up and it looks like a pipe with a giant bowl. Plastic or rubber tube is attached and a small double bellows is connected to the tube to blow the flame or you can use your lungs, good heat and easy lighting make this a real winner even in damp areas especially since it uses wood and bark bits as fuel.

The hobo stove, DIY chimney or rocket stoves, and charcoal pre-heater cans also work as good camping stoves.

Triangia Stove

Triangia of Sweden makes an ultra light cook set which includes an open top alcohol burner, It's not as fast to boil as cartridge gas but it's cheaper safer than petrol/kerosene stoves indoors when it comes to fumes, although it shares the splashed or bumped fuel spill fire hazard with the DIY soft drink can stove. It can be difficult to find spirit/alcohol stove fuels in some countries but always check for liquid fondue fuel and chafing dish fuel also a search in the paint thinner section at different hardware stores, fuel line antifreeze like Heet, or the hard liquor section for 95% or higher alcohol. Don't use Isopropyl alcohol often sold as rubbing alcohol if possible, it is often only 70% with 30% water robbing a large percentage of its heating ability and often leaving behind water after burning the alcohol out, in any case it burns leaving soot on your pots and is poison, consider burning iso-alcohol straight in a small can instead of a jetted stove.

Drink Can Stove

An inexpensive spirit(alcohol) stove can be made from 2 soft drink cans. Both cans are cut about 4cm above the bottom and the center flat/dome of the bottom is removed from one, force the cut out center piece into the uncut half. Stretching one cut can with an unopened full soft drink can makes this easier, a few drops of water in the can to be stretched can be heated with a stove or lighter so it will pop off of the full can from steam. Make an inner wall up to the cut edge from left over can top and insert into the center hole of the stove. Punch small holes every 4mm. This stove can only safely burn methanol, ethanol alcohol(paint store), brake fluid antifreeze, chafing dish fuel, and rubbing alcohol, although isopropyl or rubbing alcohol will produce some soot. The stove is very cheap and light but over time the fuel is expensive when compared to gasoline, diesel fuel, or kerosene and produces less heat per ml.

.*.,Image:220px-realCanstove.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage-can _stove

CAUTION!! This basic model soft drink can stove has been field tested by us and it works well with care, but be careful as the fire that is caused by the Alcohol cannot be put out with water. One of our writers bumped his stove and almost had a room fire on his hands. Fortunately though he had an extinguisher close by to put it out with. But water didn't work. So be extremely careful with all of these open top alcohol stoves both manufactured and home made.

Pots

Stainless steel seems to be the way to go for durability although aluminum does win in a weight comparison. Some people are concerned that uncoated aluminum cookware might leach small amounts aluminum into your food, which some fear may cause health problems eventually, however this has not been proven, we suppose that non-stick coated aluminum should be okay though. Even so some of us still use aluminum pots in our ultralight camping gear. Non-stick is easy to clean until the non-stick coating scrapes or burns. Titanium is light and strong but very expensive.

River sand or wood ash will help scrape out most gunk in a steel pan. Be sure you have large enough pots for real trail meals and good handle or pot lifter. A kettle which nests in your pots is good for easy boiling and pouring. A few plastic containers are good for leftovers and mixing bowls. If you are part of a group a Chinese wok might be worth the weight. Look below for pressure cookers, some are small and light enough for backpacking. see also Roadside -Chow

Refrigeration

Opposite of how to cook something up comes how to store something for a while that may go bad before you have a chance to eat it. In the unlikely event that you have a large cache of food, you can create a refrigerator that does not run on electricity. Simply take two porous clay pots and insert the smaller pot inside the larger. Fill the space between with wet sand, cover, place in a shaded area . This contraption works by cooling as the sand evaporates and will chill the food 15 to 20 degrees Celsius below ambient temperature for a few days. This invention won Mohammad Bah Abba $100,000!

Pressure Cooker

A pressure cooker which can handle 15 PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) raises cooking temperature to 250F meaning that food requiring an hour of boiling in an open pot only takes 15 minutes and more nutrition is retained due to faster cooking. This is a great way to cook dried inexpensive staple foods like beans, dried corn, and rice acquired from railroad cars or bulk bins. Pressure cooking also helps those who are hiding out in the mountains above 3500ft to cook with reasonable results where it might be impossible otherwise to ever soften beans by boiling. A pressure cooker is heavy but modern ones have so many safety features that the old grandma's steam explosion stories are now unfounded, and they easily make up their weight in fuel and time savings for multiday trips. Pick something in the 1.5 to 6 quart or liter range depending on the size of your group as anything larger can get quite heavy. Be careful of less expensive or lighter designs may be below 15 PSI capable, greatly reducing its effectiveness and hence its time and fuel savings value.

Insulation

A Thermos type insulated container saves fuel by holding a near boiling cooking level heat in for many minutes after you shut off your stove. For example, bring your pasta or lentils and rice to a nice boil in a minute or two and then shutdown and pour into your thermos. It will finish cooking in there although often the beans remain a bit crunchy. If you have the tie pre-heat the inside of your thermos with a cup full of boiling water, gently shake and let sit. There will sometimes be pressure when you open the thermos. Now pour that hot water back into your cup for some tea and add the stuff you actually wanted to keep hot. We have found that the glass line vacuum thermoses would hold heat longer but one drop on a hard surface and the tube would break. We have chosen to stick with metal. On a long camp-out or trip a thermos can easily be worth its weight in fuel.

An insulated commuter cup keeps your drink warm; This is especially important in the cold or when bicycling. At a discount store we found a plastic insulated cup with a good seal and a handle which clipped tightly onto our bicycle handlebars and backpack belts. We looked through the whole display and bought the cups that didn't have a leaking problem either. The insulation was just a dead space between the inner and outer plastic shell so we filled that with styrofoam bits. Hot drinks are important in cold weather.

Mess Kit

A lexan bowl, some quality bamboo chopsticks, and a good set of stainless steel or polycarbonate nesting utensils will work to serve most food you will be able to make in the wilderness.

Forest Forage

Many of these life saving emergency ideas are cruel or illegal unless you are lost and starving, even then you might be fined or punished.

Don't expect to be able to survive on gathering, fishing, hunting, or trapping, indigenous peoples in what is now known as North America were very few in number and the wildlife was not as stressed, many first nations people also practiced agriculture.

If you somehow are stuck in the woods for a long time drink pine needle tea for the vitamin C to avoid scurvy. Some soft (unripe) pine cones have food value cooked or raw. The seeds in mature pine cones are also edible, having large amounts of fat and protein.

The inner bark of many trees can be eaten for reasonable food value with carbohydrates and sugar etc. Cut thin vertical strips off and spread between many trees, cutting a circle around or cutting too much bark off will kill the tree. Using a small hatchet or knife chip/peel off the outer bark first then peel out the soft inner bark. Most common tree species are edible such as beech and spruce/other pines. Fry or boil the bark, alternatively it can be dried and ground for use as a flour substitute. While not the best taste, if you are stuck in a large plantation then you should be able to survive on it for quite a long time. However, this will often kill the tree.

Young plant shoots, soft inner stalks, and soft or bulbous roots can often be safely cooked or eaten raw, learn what is poisonous and edible along your travel route and local area. Always find a guide who is actually eating the foods to be sure failing that become very skilled in using a plant food guidebook for emergencies, pay special attention to the danger plants in your camping area.

Steel wire snares or baited fish hooks are a way to survive by trapping animals and birds, place these traps so they will catch small animals running trails or along frequently traveled branches. The idea with the snares is they will catch their neck and fall off the branch, on trails the plan is they will be running and stick their neck through pulling it tight. Check your traps regularly.

Cut and cook or smoke to thin brittle jerky all meat as soon as possible to avoid waste, for a large kill where you are short on time in hot weather, skin and open fire roast or boil the meat first to preserve before smoking and salting.

A good rule is to never eat any plant foods that are bitter or burning unless it is a known food like peppers, although even rotted meat can be safely eaten in most cases if very well cooked or boiled for several hours. Always cook or smoke and then hang meat since bears, mice and raccoons are still interested in your food.

Most foods can either be stewed in a pot which is boiled on coals of at least an hour preserving most nutrients, if this is impossible cook chopped meats and fish on a skewer over the coals of a fire.

Even if you find your meats have started to rot the maggots that will come can be collected, cooked, and eaten. Culturally disgusting in the west they are actually easier to digest and higher in nutrition than the meats they are found on, they are popular treats in many parts of Asia.

A fish net or hand made fish cage placed at a choke point in a river, such as between two large rocks or after a log will often collect many fish. You can also string baited hooks from overhanging tree branches, check these several times a day.

Spearing fish is an option especially in tide pools, while carving a spear with a barb works barbed frog spears are available at sporting goods and fishing stores are stronger and he barbs stick better.

Rotenone is a organic pesticide from a South American plant, it can be used to stun fish in a pond or slow moving river drop the poison up river from fish and run downstream and scoop up dinner, rotenone is harmless to warm blooded animals. For wilderness alternatives to rotenone crush green husks from butternuts or black walnuts and use this to stun fish.

Use fish and animal guts for bait.

For more tips on gathering edible plants, check out the Foraging (http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Foraging) page.

Water

Purification

Water purification pills, boiling, and unscented bleach will kill bacteria. but take around half an hour to work. Most backpackers who don't have access to plumbing want the convenience of a filter. We teach the construction of a drip filter in Low Impact Crashing (http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Low -Impact-Crashing#Clean-Water) , but hand pumped models work faster and can remove pathogens from large volumes in a shorter time (if you can devise a pump for the improvised filter element above with no bypass this will work too). The two most common types of filters are ceramic and paper filter systems. Ceramics provide a scrub clean filter that will last for countless trips and allow for field repair but generally require more time to pump. A paper filter provides a shorter pumping session but requires replacement filters often which could become more costly in the long term. Talk with your local outdoor equipment provider to find the best filter for your needs. Be careful that you pump out all water in and keep inside your coat in freezing temperatures as ice can crack the filter element. MSR, PUR, and Sweetwater make good filters.

If you are on the ocean or in the desert or near an open, natural water source or even damp soil or green organic matter during a sunny day with moderate heat, you can use what is called a solar still to generate fresh water. Foam in the water is bad, it means pollution or something else wrong, pure water does not foam. Solar stills are usually inflatable buoys that consist of a flattened black base connected to a parasol with a collection tube attached to the bottom of this. It works by collecting water, green vegetation, damp soil, or anything containing water onto the bottom part and then using the sun to evaporate it. This leaves behind dissolved substances (like salt). The vapor is then collected inside the top of the cone and condenses. There is usually a thin fishing-line type cord that spirals down the inside of the top and empties into the tube. You can lead this end into a bottle or pouch to fill with clean water. It usually takes a while to get a lot, but additional stills will make this better. These are good for use if you are camped for a somewhat extended period of time in a desert area, or if you are out at sea. It is still a good idea to bring this distilled water to a boil to sterilize any bacteria.

Another alternative is Ultraviolet Water Purification. These pocket sized lights emit UV radiation to inactivate bacteria. These purifiers do not remove any material from the water (like a filter would) but do sterilize the water for drinkability. For more information on water purifiers, visit the BackpackGearTest Gear Reviews ( http://www backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Water%20Treatment) . Don't pay too much, these are just a few ultraviolet LED's and a battery in a waterproof case.

Drinking Systems

A backpack tube type drinking system makes sipping easier and increases water intake preventing dehydration in all weather conditions, adding a shutoff valve will prevent leakage if the bite valve is accidentally compressed, blowing air into the tube will keep that next gulp of water cool in the pouch especially if you have ice. You need to clean the tube and bladder well and store with a paper towel puffing out the bladder to prevent mold and slime. Many drinking systems have a large opening which is threaded and compatible with water filter pumps.

Giardia

Giardia is a protozoan that lives in almost every stream and river in Amerika. When ingested, it multiplies in the intestines and causes its victim to violently expel out both ends, a condition known as "beaver fever". It usually won't kill you, but you'll sure wish it could.

Filtering or boiling will make the water safe from these parasites, but remember to also use clean water to wash your face and dishes. Melted snow, having been below 0 degrees for its entire history, does not support giardiasis organisms. High altitude streams are also safe in the vast majority of cases, as rivers flow downstream and all the beavers (and thus the infected beaver turds) are harmlessly downstream of you.

Flagyl (a.k.a. Metronidazole) is used to treat intestinal parasites, including giardia. You can get it for relatively cheap, but you'll need a prescription. (Just tell 'em you're going hiking for a couple weeks, they won't think twice about it.) It is a one-dose antibiotic pill that should bring dramatic relief within 4-8 hours of taking it.

Giardia, being a parasite, will only cause massive infestation once per person; however, after being infected once you are a symptom-free carrier, this has little effect except that you should try not to shit in mountain streams so you're not the one that infects it.

Hydration

Be sure you are getting enough water to drink, plan minimum two liters a day if camped in cool weather, more if moving or the day is hot. Your urine should be a clear when in the field, dark or cloudy urine is a sign of dehydration, most Americans are chronically dehydrated. Even if the weather is cool insufficient hydration and urine output could lead to bladder and even kidney infection especially in women.

A dilute drink mix can make guzzling water easier and helps soft drink addicted Americans replenish electrolytes, this should taste like watered down soft drink. You can carry a concentrate to add to water while you are on the trail.

• 4-5 tablespoons sugar

• 1/8 and 1/16 teaspoon of salt

• 1/16 teaspoon salt substitute that contains potassium chloride

• 1/2 packet of unsweetened drink powder(no artificial sweeteners) or 1/2 cup lemon or lime juice

• 1 litre(4.5 cups) of water

You can substitute powdered citric acid for the drink flavor powder to add zing, experiment with concentrations. Packets of freeze-dried lemon juice crystals can be substituted for lemon juice for a completely dry concentrate.

Clothing

Footwear

Footwear for backpacking depends on your ankles. If you have steel ankles and arches you might be able to get by with trail runner shoes or light hiker boots. For the rest of us non-bionic humans the weight on our feet is paid off by the superior support of a mountaineering boot. The price of these giant boots is offset by the vibrant resale market where a slightly stinky used pair of $400 boots can be had for around $50.

If you will be establishing a longer term wilderness base camp, trail runner type shoes might be worth the pack weight for short trips from camp. River sandals are also an option for short trips especially if you will be walking through water. For the most part waterproof footwear is a problem either because about 30% of people perspire too much and the inside gets damp or because they step in water over their ankle and it takes forever to dry the shoe out since there is a waterproof barrier.

If tramping through swamps and rivers the old Vietnam jungle boot is a good workhorse although it gives less support than a big mountaineering boot.

Big woolly socks help prevent blisters, even in hot summer go for the big fluffy socks, we know some who wear an inner silk or synthetic stocking but watch for folds that can cause blisters.

It is vitally important that you get a good fit and do not jam your toes into the end. Jammed toes lead to ingrown nails and blisters, which can become infected and potentially lead to immobility or major damage. When at the store do heel and toe kicks at the ground, walk around for a few minutes, and if possible, walk or in-place-step up and down on an incline to see if your foot stays tight without jamming your toes or making any rub spots. Have a sheet or two of moleskin when you set out on your journey to protect sore spots before your feet toughen up.

Be sure to get good durable laces and at least two sets of spares for your repair kit, forgetting your spares will haunt you when walking out and one shoe is falling off of your feet.

Clothes

Cotton clothing is cheap, but loses all its insulating power when it gets wet, you'll probably be much better off with other fabrics. The word in wilderness rescue is "cotton kills" whether on the mountain where you got wet and caught in the cold or in the desert after night falls and the temperature drops, cotton takes forever to dry and is generaly not the best suited fiber to long trips to the wilderness.

Synthetic zip off trousers/shorts are easily available at the writing of this book, these are good for durability, ease of washing and drying quickly but some do hold body odors.

Camping and ski stores often carry synthetic button shirts and t-shirts, although for the money discount, 100% silk Hawaii print or colored dress shirts work just as well, although you will look like a Hawaiian tourist poser. (A dye job will fix that.) Look for a durable tight weave.

If you're in a cool, rainy climate, your best bet might be a plain old wool sweater and wool scarf. They're cheap, warm, and retain their insulation when wet. Check your local Salvation Army or Goodwill; you probably won't be winning any fashion contests, but who cares? We'll take function over form anytime. Remember that wool and synthetics worn together make static electricity which can destroy electronics especially if you have them open while doing a repair.

Jacket

In most locations, if you already own one, a light mountaineering type parka shell combined with one or two liner layers is a lightweight way to protect from rain and cold. The army surplus camo gore-tex jacket fits the bill, we have heard of some people successfully coloring them black without ruining the gore-tex.

If you are in a very rainy location think about roll up Gore-tex rainpants. Mountaineering gaitors are waterproof and keep your legs dry if you need to move along in wet brush or grass after a storm or heavy dew.

Under your shell layer lies the main insulation layer (fleece jacket and trousers although a fleece vest is fine in summer), sometimes your tighter vest and looser jacket are combined to add insulation in serious cold. Long underwear finishes up your three layer system. Remove layers to keep you from sweating.

In the far north, the more insulation, the better. Additionally, hoods should have fur or fake fur around the edge to help keep in breath.

Hat

Wide brimmed boonie type hats are great for hot, sunny, or wet weather but a good insulated military helmet under hat or wool cap will keep you warm in the cold.

Underwear

Spandex sport bras and underwear works well for preventing chafing and providing support, bike shorts also work well and prevent most thigh chafing when walking. Another option for women is to wear a one piece competition bathing suit on the trail for support and at your destination you are ready for the water.

Long underwear of the real polypropylene and NOT a cotton mix is a super lightweight bit of gear that really helps keep you warm, don't forget both tops and bottoms. Some people will make cutoffs of their long underwear and stash the leggings and sleeves in their pack, when it gets colder just put the cut off parts back on as part of your layering system.

Electronics

You are limited in the amount of batteries you can carry into the wilderness and by what to do with them after they are used up, see our thoughts in Low_Impact_ Crashing on batteries, solar and wind up gadgets (http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Low-Impact-Crashing#A-Word-on-Batteries.2C-Solar.2C-and-.22Wind- Up.22-Gadgets) with extra emphasis on solar since it provides electricity without requiring you to expend extra effort.

Communications

HF Radio

For Communication a tiny HF QRP radio transceiver will keep you in touch on a regular enough basis to keep you on top of everything, some kits can even listen to shortwave broadcast too, look for a kit or radio set with low battery consumption. Have planned meet up times with a ham radio operator or member of the underground with a serious radio and antenna to check in several times a week who will also read you email and type up responses for you. Be sure not to compromise on making a quality wire antenna and set up on a hilltop if possible when you transmit. If the pigs are looking for you and can get line of sight to your hilltop they rarely might be able to DF(direction find) a HF radio set, keep your transmissions short and hope they are not looking or transmit from a valley and pray that the other station can hear you. Learn Morse code as that works when almost nothing else will and it has an effective range many times that of voice.

Handheld Radios

Walkie talkies are fun and sometimes very useful in the woods or urban jungle but they are super easy for the cops to zero in on, if they have the right gear, even if there is very little chatter. We find either a 2 meter ham or quality FRS walkie-talkie work best. Some dual band ham wakie-talkie radios have a crossband repeater which means you can set up a radio and solar panel in a tree on a large hill and cover several miles around the peak, of course then everyone needs compatible radios.

Most radios including handhelds can take an external antenna, a telescoping antenna matched to your radio band is good to keep in your pack when you need extra range, when in camp an external j-pole roll up antenna will really extend your range, just hang it from a tree, these are easy to make from twin lead antenna cable, look online for plans.

Packable Sat-Com

Satellite communications using low Earth orbit ham radio sats and around $100 of gear will let you communicate with associates across the continent and if the orbit lines up right you could even cross an ocean. For the most common satellites, you will need a 2 meter band transmitter and battery pack which transmits at least five watts, and a scanner which will cover the 440 band. It might be cheaper to get a dual band or 145/440Mhz ham radio, then you have only one gadget. You need to make or buy a yagi antenna which can be done for about $10 in wire, coax cable, and a 1"x2" piece of wood. You will need to visit Radio Shack or other electronic parts dealer for the parts to make a antenna duplexer if you have a dual band radio. See Communication for a more in depth coverage.

For worldwide communications you need some kind of computer or data device, since some satellites have a data store and forward BBS or a digipeater function which will beam a satellite radio email to other stations who automatically forward the email via Internet. If you have no tracking program, sweep your antenna north or south and scan the downlink freqs until you hear a OSCARS satellite beacon or voice traffic. After reviewing the satellite design and the tech involved we have determined that if the pigs suspect you of using this communication method they can use it to track you to within a few dozen miles after a few passes using knowledge of the orbital mechanice and doppler effect, this same satellite tracking technique has been used for many years to locate crashed aircraft and stranded sailors.

Sat-Phone

Prepaid and monthly plan satellite phones are available but are insanely expensive (airtime can be as much as $2 a minute! ) and extensively tracked since the Iridium satphone system is OWNED by the US government! On the upside, they work like a mobile phone except in high polar regions.

Primitive

A signal mirror works for many miles hilltop to hilltop for simple signals, the difficulty is sending and receiving morse code effectively to another party. Smoke and other pyrotechnic signals in the wilderness will attract fire and ranger attention especially if used in the summer.

Power Generation

Most people given the choice choose solar power for wilderness power generation although large systems can get really expensive. The best backpacking solar systems are either crystalline or thin film flexible cells and fold up into a nice package. Solar power systems are expensive and while it is often better to have too much capacity be realistic with your power needs, most of us at most need to charge a mobile phone, MP3 player, and some AA batteries, maybe a rechargeable bicycle headlamp but probably not a laptop if you are backpacking. A good way to estimate needed power is to look at the voltage and then the mA (mili amps) rating on your gadgets and figure out how long it takes to charge, especially if you chose toys that all use USB charging you can use a USB hub. It is important to set a alarm timer so that the different equipment would be rotated once the battery was charged so sunlight hours were not wasted especially in winter, direct charging is best since a storage battery is either heavy if lead/acid or expensive. Suspend or prop up your panel to point straight at the sun for maximum efficiency, you can move the panel during the day or if you want to leave your solar panel in camp all day just tilt it at around a 45 degree angle facing southward in the northern hemisphere.

Light

Flashlight and Headlight

A headlamp is a must when camping, a dual beam headlamp will give you a powerful halogen beam for long range and an LED bulb for reading and camp chores while keeping your hands free, although a LED only headlamp can be quite light and cheap. Pressurized fuel and candle lanterns, fluorescent lamps, and light sticks all have their place but a LED light usually wins because of battery life and weight. A hand generator pumpable or shake light is smart too since you might not be able to afford batteries, again LED seems the best idea since the bulb is nearly eternal and it stays lit for a few seconds between pumps.

Bug Repellent

Often in high mosquito areas you need protection outside of your tent or bug screen. DEET containing insect repellents are the gold standard for now in keeping the bugs away, sprays, creams, and even sun screens are available with this ingredient. It is important to keep the liquid away from any nylon or plastic gear , these bug sprays do destroy these items, even touching plastics shortly application will melt your fingerprints into many plastics. It is worth remembering that citronella can be burned as an oil or candle in your camp to drive off mosquitoes.

Garlic eaten in large quantities will repel both insects and your friends, and is one of the very few repellents even marginally effective against the blackfly, scourge of eastern Canada and the far northern states.

Pyrethrins, naturally-occurring compounds with insecticidal properties derived from chrysanthemum flowers and are used in many household products for controlling insects. Permethryn is not usually applied to people but to gear like clothing,mosquito nets, or sleeping bags to repel and prevent bugs from nesting, it is also used to to cure lice infestations in humans and fleas in pets. Extremely rarely there are sensitive problems with permethryn in humans or pets.

Navigation

Most people really believe in the GPS, we like it too but we really don't trust Uncle Sam and his boys at the Air Force to leave it working right for us citizens if they really start cracking down. We like the army lensatic compass with the perma-lit tritium elements so the important parts will be glow for about 25 years. You sight this compass like a gun while viewing the degrees dial so you can easily choose a landmark to walk towards. This is around $120 new or $10 if you can find a soldier a week before payday. For a big quality drop there is a functional copy of the army compass sold at camping stores for $15 but you must be very careful to check that the needle points true and doesn't stick. Silva and Brunton also make excellent compasses for navigation but are not as tough as the army ones. Learn how to use a compass with a map at www.learn-orienteering.org/old/ ( http7/www learn-orienteering.org/old/)

Toilet

To minimize your own impact on your surroundings, dig a hole at least 6 inches to poop in. This gets down to soil with bacteria that will decompose your waste. Do not pee in the same hole as this will kill the helpful bacteria. Make sure that your hole is at least 200 feet away from any water sources to avoid contamination. If you can, use natural items for toilet paper such as smooth sticks, round rocks, or leaves (make sure it isn't poison ivy!). If you must use toilet paper, put it in a sealed plastic bag and throw it away - even "biodegradable" toilet paper can take up to 50 years to decompose.

Walking Sticks

A pair of lightweight telescoping ski type poles have become popular with the backpacking crowd. Essentially they make you into a four legged animal giving you more strength while climbing and better stability while descending or crossing water. In the tents section above there is a description on how to use a tarp and telescoping hiking pole to make a ultra-lightweight tent.

Tools and Repairs

• Tent wands can be repaired by wrapping pop can around the break a few times and securing with duct tape.

• Tents can be repaired by gluing a piece of the nylon packing bag over the hole and seam sealing it.

• Inflatable pool toy repair glue will save an inflatable mattress.

• Have o-rings, pump cups, and silicone lubricant for all stoves and filters.

• Carry a bit of tent screen patch.

• Some wire can save a broken zipper and act as a zipper pull.

• Cable ties are just always useful.

• A zipper that is stuck open can be lubricated by rubbing a candle or a bar of soap on the teeth.

• Pack a well-stocked sewing kit with some patch material, carpet thread, Velcro, large needles and safety pins.

• Military duct tape is amazing but the goop it leaves is tough to get off for real repairs. Wrap a meter or two around a golf pencil.

• A stick of hot glue can be melted with a lighter.

• Assorted small nuts, bolts, washers, pins, and screws have many uses.

• A tube of contact cement carried in a double bag is great for glue patching tents and repairing shoes

• Carry lots of lantern mantles (and make certain they're the right model for your lantern).

• Shoe laces can make the difference in walking out

• Quality pliers multi-tools are always good to have in or out of the woods

• A smaller scissors multi-tool is useful on your keychain.

• Camping stores carry a pocket-chainsaw which is a roll up linked saw that you can either use with the included handles or make a bow-saw with a stick, it rolls into a four inch pocket size flat can.

Other Skills

Check out Low Impact Crashing and Pack your bag for more camping related skills and gear.

Cycling

Camping while Cycling is a popular way to overnight when touring, Just stick your backpack in a trailer (have plans for wet weather) or better yet distribute your gear in pannier bags, since weight savings are still important to cyclists backpacking gear is traditionally used. Very popular is the Hammock with a rain tarp to minimize the bedding and tenting load. An especially interesting item for long expeditions and mobile-homelessness is the combination tent-cot- trailer which folds out into a bed with a tent over it for quick tidy camping. Remember that if you are stealth camping to cover reflectors so you are harder to detect through casual flashlight/torch or headlight sweeps.

Skiing

see Skiing and Boarding for backcountry winter movement.

Ultralight

There is a niche of us who after years of being weighted down decided to try the ultralight way. The benefits are that you can make much of your own gear, you won't be tired from a big load at the end of the day, and all of your gear will can easily fit in a small pack, bike pannier, or on your lap when hitchhiking. The downside is most of the gear has a shorter wear life and if purchased from a store can be very expensive. Ultralight can become an obsessive lifestyle and sometimes confers (often rightly) the superiority complex also seen with ex-smokers, vegans, and the fervently religious. If you like go the slow route and trim your gear down to minimum. Testing is very important to be sure that your gear is good enough for the job you are planning it to do, don't go so light that you cannot handle changes in weather. We strongly support going the DIY route so take our advice and borrow a sewing machine. You can often have fuel and food sent ahead to post offices via general delivery.

• Tent-Military surplus parachute panels are a great material to sew your tent from. Once you sew your tent you might consider spraying it with a water repellent, but this is optional. Test your new design by staking down and spraying gently with a hose. Many designs assume you will be using telescoping walking sticks and incorporate them as poles. Three or four quality aluminum stakes should be enough to keep the tent tacked down even in moderate wind. Look above for the tarp tent design, alternatives are using a bivvy sack or survival plastic tube tent.

• Sleeping Bag-Your sleeping bag can be the heaviest component in your pack. Goose down is a great way to save weight but it gets damp easily and then looses it's warmth. One option is to sew a top only sleeping quilt stuffed with a light insulator from parachute cloth and let your ground pad keep your bottom warm. You can also increase your warmth by wearing loose long underwear and clothing to sleep.

• Ground Pad-From cut down yoga pads to sheets of tyvek house wrap, you need to keep ground moisture from stealing your precious body heat, this is a place to save lots of money and weight if you are creative. Alternatives include using a camping hammock to get you away from the cold damp ground.

• Pack-A simple thin backpack should be enough, since the load will be light a frame is not needed. If traveling it might be smart to have a bit tougher pack due to questionable surfaces like boxcars or barns as well as unexpected abuse.

• Shoes-Since you are not overloaded many people are able to get by with lightweight trail hiker sport shoes.

• Clothing-A layering system and adequate head and neck cover can save quite a bit of weight. A base of long polypropylene underwear followed by soccer shorts, a fleece fest, a wool or fleece hat possibly with wrap around ear flaps, and a fleece scarf. A packable anorak wind jacket and thin warm up pants will form an outer layer. Some choose to use a lightweight umbrella instead of a waterproof jacket for rain protection on the trail.

• Cooking-Some swear by DIY alcohol soft drink can stoves, others use Esbit tablet solid fuel. Depending on the fire and environmental conditions a natural wood fire might be what saves you the most weight, making a Dakota fire hole can intensify the heat and save fuel, punching holes in a steel can and making a mini hobo stove is also an option.

• Pots-Some people like to carry a single aluminum kettle for heating water to pour into their bag or bowl ramen, couscous, or converted rice. Others carry a sierra cup, cut off aluminum can, large tuna can, or a super cheap non stick pot from a dollar store. Often chopsticks and slurping straight from the bowl is enough.

• Water-Soft drink bottles have been popular for years, lately there have been warnings that sunlight can break the plastic into undesirable chemicals. Many filters are large although we describe making a drip filter element in Low Impact Crashing , or just use a small filter from the store. Many ultralighters choose to use iodine tablets and put up with the bad flavor.

• Food-Lightweight carbs like rice, potato flakes, and couscous, protein like beans, egg powder, or oven dried meat, and oil to add fat to your diet, a favorite spice or mix adds flavor. Energy bars, peanut butter, and cookies are great for ready to eat food.

• First Aid-Band-Aid plasterer's, butterfly bandages, antibiotic ointment packets, iodine swabs, Immodium and aspirin tablets, thin maxi-pad, flattened roll of tape, aloe packet.

• Other-LED keychain or headlight, TP, small multi-tool, compass, sewing needle, thread, parachute silk patch, whistle, signal mirror, two butane lighters, space blanket, sunglasses, wide brim hat, pixie QRP radio, tea light candles

• Urban-You can apply your ultralight skills even when you are not going to the wilderness. The freedom when visiting, traveling by air, cycling, and hitchhiking is because your simplified bag can go in almost any locker, corner, or carry-on luggage bin. A stinger electrical immersion boiler means you can plug in instead of searching or paying for fuel. A thin rubber sink stopper is good for washing clothes, a synthetic towel is pocket sized so you can stealth wash yourself in a sink and dry off. For news an earplug size FM radio keeps you informed. Several folded plastic shopping bags are a good way to stow trash, carry a bit extra gear or food or to protect your gear from getting wet.

Where to Stealth/Free Camp

Public land can often be the easiest choice. National Forests and BLM land are free to enter and, unless otherwise marked, free to camp on. In some cases, a backcountry permit is needed. National and State Parks, on the other hand, often have designated pay-camp sites (anywhere from $5 to $30 for a night) and rangers can be very strict about camping in these sites only. Backcountry camping is an option here, although occasionally a fee will be charged for a pass.

We prefer to find a nice spot off of the road and just set up camp far enough away from town that the cops won't bother us. If getting away from town is not practical at least camp near or inside a park treeline, a hill between you and town helps. Be careful if you find a beautiful soft green field in the middle of summer, you may be surprised by pop-up water sprinklers at two in the morning. Easy camping locations to find on a map are where creeks flow or a cemetery is located, there is often trees to hide near these locations.

In nearly all jurisdictions as long as the place you camp is not clearly marked "No Trespassing" you can not be cited or ticketed until you are asked to leave and refuse, don't assume that small town cops understand the law, keep most of your stuff packed and ready to go, but if you litter or do ANY damage at all the homeowner might be able to seek damages or press charges.

Look at the terrain you are in for signs of water flow especially in desert areas, this means avoiding both dry river beds which can drown you in your sleeping bag during a surprise flash flood or just paths or erosion indicating a water flow that could soak you and your gear in a storm.

Don't enter fenced areas when stealth camping. While it is possible to cut the fence with the right cutters in an emergency you are then liable for the damage. Easier is to avoid lockable areas totally, then there is no worry of being trapped until someone comes to rescue you.

Always get dull colored gear if possible, a big part of the stealth camping we do is not being noticed, this is especially important as you near urban areas. Going into the brush and trees even a little bit breaks up the outline of your tent, dull colored (non-damaging)dye art on your rain fly will help break up the outline but will also make you easy to identify. You will develop an eye for using terrain and foliage to conceal your camp. Look behind buildings with parking large lots, train tracks, and near large factories for a field to camp in, industrial areas may not have services but they also often have a much lower competition for viable camping spots. The dullest colored gear will not hide you if you stumble around with your headlight or flashlight on, once you approach your planned camp our rule is lights out, even in your tent unless you want someone to see you.

Washing

Need a shower? In the countryside I have sometimes found pubs which have external rooms for rent, with a separate bathroom which can be entered from the outside. Go when the pub is closed and try the door to the external bathroom. In the Summer a lot of places will leave these unlocked for toilet use for drinkers in the garden. Not guaranteed, but probably the easiest way to get a free shower.

Another alternative I've found in the countryside for a shower is some smaller campsites which don't have much of a reception or any barriers may also have unlocked bathrooms (for campers to use the toilet in the night). Some of these places are run by couples or individuals and an night are left unguarded. Shower and get out of there!

Small sports centres only charge for using such things as time on the tennis courts so you can use the changing rooms for free.

Hot Springs

If you can find a camping spot with a hot spring nearby you will have access to one of the great outdoor treasures. Hot springs are the result of a normal water table encountering the volcanic heat of an active volcanic chain like in the Rocky Mountains or Cascade range similar to the way geysers are formed. Many hot springs have a cult like following who regularly visit them, even skiing to them in the snowed in months, these groups may have even upgraded an open pit in the forest or hole on a river side to fancy wood tubs or even bathhouses. A great hot soak is like good surf waves, be cool and give preference to the locals, they do much of the work to keep the place nice.

If you come across undeveloped hot springs you need to be careful, the water can be boiling hot!! Use a cup on a stick to dip some steaming water to determine the temperature, if it feels just right use a shovel to dig a pit large enough for you and friends to sit in and and enjoy. If the water is too hot for safe enjoyment you need to either direct the flow toward a source of cold water such as a cool spring or creek, and using rocks or logs as dams and bypass trenches adjust the mix to fill your tub or pit with comfortable water. Use plenty of caution if you are using a really hot spring and be ready to jump out of your soak if the flow changes and overheats your pool.

Even the most remote hot springs have likely been mapped and are occasionally visited by rangers or backpackers. If you are hiding out this may not be the best location to do so.

Deep Wilderness

Serious planning is required before taking to the deep wilderness such as northern Canada and Alaska, the skills and gear required is beyond the scope of this book which mostly covers near to civilization escapes. If you plan to do an ultra deep wilderness retreat pre-position enough food for your whole stay, even if it takes a few trips. Plant food and gear caches along the return path in waterproof and animal proof bucket or tree caches. Fats like canned Crisco, lard, or olive oil carry the most calories for their size and preserve well for emergencies but peanut butter is a more complete food. Carry powerful antibiotics for the most common infections and illnesses, Diphenhydramine (AKA Benedryl), and epinephrine (inhaler or injectable) for severe allergic reactions. If you cross any creeks, riverbeds, or rivers find out about the times and conditions when they go to flood stage, also learn about the dangers of and plan for being trapped by an early winter blizzard. Learn how to cross obstacles like rivers using rope that you bring. Don't cross obstacles that could cut you off for a long period of time unless you have substantial extra supplies and the right emergency crossing equipment and training. For extended stays either carry an aircraft band 121.5 MHz AM aircraft radio transceiver or a EPIRB satellite distress beacon for dire emergencies. Your best plan is to bring a buddy or two who can get help if needed and keep you company if everything is OK. See the movie Into The Wild(2007) for a worst case scenario of an Alaska wilderness stay.

Avoiding Vagrancy Problems

Unless you are taking a planned wilderness vacation those on camping or cycling nomadic walkabout it is a good idea to carry as vagrancy protection some or all of the following. Personalized business cards for your real or imaginary consulting service, hostel card to prove you are a legit tourist and not from the migratory poor, student ID to prove you have corpgov slavery lock-in but are still allowed to be free and not drive everywhere in a Lexus, credit cards (even if they are canceled but in date) to prove you are living the go-go life of debt slavery. A journal showing your travels may soften the heart of a slave nation cop or property owner who hates the poor and homeless that he fears he might yet become himself, similar to homophobia. Of course all of the quick-draw ID should be in the same name to avoid trouble. Legit out of state ID easily acquired if you crash for a while elsewhere, can be presented to show that you are just traveling and not a local bum, this is most useful at urban youth hostels. A certain level of non-permanence in your camp site and good grooming will also help the WASP majority identify more with you opening the possibility of camping in yards, free meals, and less calls for the police. In unfriendly locales be sure to be very stealthy in camping and only be seen walking with clear plans as to where you are heading.

Camping - Living out of a tent.

Backpacking and Camping are both viable ways to live in wilderness areas without a permanent address.

Backpacking implies much more mobility and easier access to deeper wilderness, the equipment is mostly suitable for touring both on foot and by bicycle, kayak, or canoe. Camping is more long term stable and often involves more comfortable bedding and cooking equipment. A camper may make many trips with supplies and building materials, arranges a ride, drives, or even uses a trailer, while a backpacker can easily move all of his shelter and gear on his own. see also Backpacking

You may also wish to check out Hunting and Fishing since many times camping goes hand in hand with those activities.

If you are looking for a more permanent home in one location, or prefer something closer to the comforts of home camping could be your solution. Camping is also easier if you have children and they are unable to carry their own gear.

Tents

Larger tents can be rented or purchased from a place specializing in their sales. Army surplus tents are very durable and can last several years in the elements, most tents are intentionally razor cut before the military releases them to the surplus market, watch shoddy repairs to this damage. Insist that the dealer erect and allow inspection of any used or surplus tent, don't forget the poles, stakes, and guy-ropes.

Lighter family tents can sometimes be expensive and usually are intended for only a few setups, left erected they can last for months if in a shaded area. You should buy a tent with plenty of room to stand up, roll out several large sleeping bags with foam mattresses, and stow your gear.

Often tarps or large plastic drop cloths are used as an inexpensive way to improve waterproofing, block sun damage, and even increase insulation of a tent used for long periods of time.

E

Choosing your tent

A tent serves several jobs; insect protection, privacy, sun shade, and weather protection; the tent construction will affect the performance in all of these areas.

• For insect protection be sure that there are full closing zippers, some inexpensive tents leave the bottoms of windows and doors open, durable screens and zipper seams are less likely to rip out quickly.

• Privacy is the easiest to get, even the cheapest tent is usually opaque, a luggage padlock on your zipper will keep the honest drunk and stoner from crashing out in your tent while you are away.

• Sun protection is best achieved by buying a polyester tent with UV resistant coating or in desert areas aluminum impregnated into the tent giving the fabric a silver color. Even a good tent should be pitched in the shade if possible to reduce degradation. An inexpensive tarp or space blanket can be suspended over or tied down onto your tent for sun protection.

• Weather resistance is much of what makes the difference between a $20 tent and a $800 one. High quality tents are season rated, a one season tent is made for use in summer only resisting rain, two also includes late spring and early fall meaning it has better ventilation, three season is for early spring and late fall meaning it can take light snow, a four season is reinforced to withstand heavy snow and still not collapse.

• Construction quality varies widely between tents look for the following. Bathtub bottom construction means that the waterproof ground cover extends up a few inches to resist light flooding. Proper multilayer urethane coating on the tent fly will resist the strongest rain and not rot quickly. Quality Easton aluminum is lighter and purebiotix review

(http7/www.bestpills4weightloss.com/purebiotix-review.html) stronger for pole construction than the cheapest fiberglass especially when surviving wind and heavy snowfall. Taffeta inner walls that reach to near the bottom of the walls will help prevent condensation, be sure the fly is well separated from the inner wall to give good ventilation. YKK zippers are the industry standard and much better than the ones on inexpensive tents, glow zipper pull add -ons are nice at night. A mesh gear loft is handy to place a light, watch, glasses, phone, or keys. A large tent fly that extends from the tent can be used in rain or snow for stashing water resistant gear and careful cooking.

Cheap Tents

Without all of these fancy features we have successfully tested $20 tents for whole summers in dry locations with occasional rain. If the weather is clear don't use the fly at night on a cheap tent, the small "skylight" screen and the zipper door open but leaving the bug screen closed will release enough moisture that condensation will not be too bad. On every tent buy quality seam seal and reseal all of the seams with three light coats to prevent leakage through the stitches.

Wear Prevention

If you will be camping out for any length of time a layer of plastic sheet under your tent will reduce wear damage to the floor and also add a tiny bit of insulation. A sheet or tarp laid out inside the tent will also protect the floor from snags and wear, it also makes cleaning as easy as shaking the sheet out. If at all possible pitch your tent in the shade, it obviously makes it cooler during the day but also prevents solar degradation of the fabric, just check for sap dripping from some trees which is almost impossible to remove.

Stakes

For all but the best tents you will need to replace the stakes. The stakes made from drawn wire bent into a hook will bend and become useless. You can buy good lightweight extruded aluminum stakes made from T or angle aluminum which will actually stand the test of pounding into the ground you find in campsites, you can also DIY from aluminum at the hardware store ground to a point. In wind a good tent will remain standing setting it apart from the cheap tents which will bend or break under stress. Staking will prevent your tent from blowing away in light to medium wind but piling your gear inside will also help keep your tent in place but this may cause damage in wind, especially with cheap tents. It can be a pain to properly place stakes in rocky soil or hard baked clay, if you have climbing gear use a piton hammer, a large group might consider carrying a tough plastic stake hammer. Do Not Stomp Stakes In! You risk slicing the side of your foot or even punching the stake through the bottom of your shoe, holding a rock in your hand is also a risk for hand injuries, if you must use a thick stick as a bat to knock them in. Removing stuck stakes is often best accomplished by tying heavy cord onto the bottom third of a thick stick and looping through the stake, then using the added leverage to pop the stake out. A good bit of advice is even a well staked tent should not be left standing without at least one person watching over it ready to take it down, strong winds can pick up and either blow them away tearing out the stake attachments or on less expensive tents breaking the poles or wands, better to take down and stow the tent if you will be away.

Tarp Tent

For ultra light weight camping a UV treated nylon tarp and your walking staff makes a tent,

• 1- shorten your walking staff and stick into the ground

• 2- Connect one corner to the top of your staff

• 3- stake the corner opposite the staff to the ground

• 4- spread the other two side corners with five foot cords

• 5- stake side cords to the ground.

This gives good protection from sun and if placed mindful of terrain or a angled gutter is dug to divert runoff it will also protect you from rain. Suspend a light bug screen for insect protection.

Rain Protection

The US army type poncho is a multi-purpose item that can be used to, among other things, create a quick shelter. Two can be snapped together to form a pup tent or one as a tarp tent. Recent surplus ponchos are not only woodland camouflage but are designed to match the infrared background in a forest which is good if you are a fugitive but bad if you are lost in the woods. If you look in books like the army ranger handbook you will find ideas for using ponchos as rafts, emergency stretchers, and other useful things. In fact, a poncho is probably least useful as a piece of rain clothing.

While backpacking, rain gear (that is, a top jacket and a bottom pair of rain pants) is far superior to a poncho. Ponchos, while very cheap, are extremely awkward to fit over a backpack while hiking. Also you are likely to get at least as wet from the sweat and condensation trapped within the poncho as from the rain coming in. Rain gear is more expensive, but infinitely more comfortable for the serious hiker. Still, it's hard to beat the price of a $0.99 poncho vs the $20+ rain gear.

Trailers

A trailer or motorized camper can be very expensive if purchased new, like most yuppie retirement toys the value drops like a rock once it looks used inside. Be sure the appliances work since repairs can be expensive. Inspect the wheels and tires of a trailer, make sure lights and brakes work correctly and that the tow vehicle is able to connect. Pop up campers must be inspected carefully for mechanical function and rot especially in canvas panels, ask to leak test the camper with a garden hose. Never overload a vehicle with a large trailer, this can be very dangerous!

Shacks

A shack can be built from whatever roofing and wall material is available and are mostly limited by your ability to get the building materials to your site. A good place to acquire what you need is to watch in town for the big dumpster associated with a remodel operation. It is often difficult to seal the roof from leaking and this is where the ever popular blue tarp roof image comes from, be aware that this is quite visible especially from the air. Most shacks are made from light materials and so are somewhat safe even in a collapse, the most notable exceptions being a badly designed straw bale construction or log cabin.

Log Cabin

If you have the knowledge and time, like if you are on the run from the man and can't get out of the country, a small log cabin can be made with just a saw or axe and your hands and of course trees. It is a good idea to spike your logs together with a long nail, section of rebar, or long lag bolt to prevent collapse. If possible or use an auger to bore a hole and force a peg through. Build a small short shelter just large enough for your bed and pack. Use the largest stones you can find and move to your build site as corner stones. Dig out an entry tunnel instead of a difficult to make sealed door and use some sort of trapdoor construction unless you have lots of tools and construction supplies required to make a strong door and door frame. Continue digging a depression to make more headroom for yourself inside the cabin. Jam moss and leaves between the logs to make the cabin more wind proof, once the logs are seasoned you can use mud to parge the inner walls for a better draft seal. Make a single slope shed type roof and cover with bark, leaf, or wood shingles or a thick cover of pine boughs, if you have plastic sheeting or a survival blanket consider using it as a roof liner. If there is high clay soil you might be able to make a fireplace and chimney but watch for heat damage to your logs, otherwise make a small campfire in the center of your floor and have a smoke hole that you can cover in the roof.

If a USFS trail or fire crew sees any unauthorized construction expect to see it demolished so stay away from lakes, ponds, hiking trails, and other places frequently patrolled by rangers or visited by campers.

Cooking

If you are using a camper trailer most have propane stove installed so cooking is just like at home. For tent campers the old Coleman pressure stove is a good option. For longer trips out you might want to invest in a gas powered stove and use a distribution pole and gas hose to run it from a five gallon or larger LP gas tank, these poles have a connection on top for a propane lantern and extra valves for other propane gadgets. Bottled propane is cleaner to transport but you get more cooking per liter and most often also per dollar with liquid fuels.

The army tents used to have an chimney hole for a diesel/wood fueled stove but supply of these stoves are drying up. A person good with welding or rivets, a metal drum, and some stove pipe could build a stove for heat and cooking surface. Be careful to inspect the stove pipe hole on these tents for burning or damage.

See in the backpacking section for discussion on pressure cookers which will let you use about 25% fuel and time to cook most hot meals.

Dutch Ovens

Cast iron pots often with a lip to hold coals on the tight fitting lid and short legs to stand above hot coals is a very useful cooking tool if you will be camping for a longer time. It is possible to stack several dutch ovens if required for a large group or for multiple dishes. The cast iron lid can be flipped over and the inside used as a skillet if you don't have a fry pan, you will need to oil and cure the whole pot and lid before using. This was standard pioneer equipment that can also be used inside modern ovens as a casserole dish or to cook a roast. A common dish was a stew or beans with cake batter or corn bread floated on top, after an hour or so there will be a nice cake on top of the stew. It is also possible to bake bread inside the dutch oven. The most important use was to leave the dutch oven in a pile of coals to slow cook a dinner.

Pottery

If you are unable to get a proper dutch oven for cooking in your fire you can make something similar from clay. Pottery is not as durable as iron but is still very useful. To see if the clay in your area is suitable for pottery, roll a small ball into a stick about 18 mm in diameter, then bend the stick into a ring about 5 cm in diameter. If you have good clay it will not split and the ring will be firm enough to set on edge without sagging.

Form a pot with a mouth formed around a can or pot for roundness, allow to dry, add stub legs as it is drying and verify the roundness and evenness of the pot lip. Once everything is even and dry a minimum of 24 hours in hot summer sun or a few feet from a fire if you are careful to turn it regularly then you can fire it. Fire your pot in a hot campfire for three to four hours, it has to get red hot. Once the fire goes out let it cool slowly for the rest of the day and maybe overnight if you are not in a hurry. Now make the lid, a dome is a bit stronger, add a lip on the edge to hold coals, also add a thick ring with a wide base on top to use as a handle Press the still soft lid onto your pot, use http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Camping 5/12 some ash dust so the lid doesn't stick, this ensures a tight fit. Fire the lid as you did your pot and allow to cool. Ideal thickness for any clay part is about 1/2 inch (13mm). For a more waterproof inside and outside you can use a smooth tool like a spoon to rub the clay shiny once the pot is partly dry (leather dry) or apply a ceramic glaze or metal oxide paste to the outside before firing.

Electricity

Unless you really need lots of power like for some sort of pirate radio gig a gasoline powered generator is noisy and a real invasion of the solitude of the wilderness. Running your car engine to charge the batteries feeding your inverter is also a huge waste of fuel. Try to minimize power and if possible stick to solar for charging your deep cycle batteries. see also Cars

If you are planing long stays it makes sense to try to harness the power of a nearby river or high winds to generate power. Both can be belt powered using a deep cycle storage battery and old car alternator adjusting pulley sizes to match the required gear ratio for maximum power generation. Remember most rivers and wind are somewhat seasonal, but they can still be used to your advantage with good planning.

Solar

Unless you can score a deal, maybe some old highway department programmable sign solar arrays, you will be paying a high price for a simple solar setup.

During our winter solar camping test everything went fine with our 25watt 12 volt folding system for charging a computer, phones, and batteries until we got the polarity wrong on our lead acid storage battery which weakened its charge holding capacity. Always use a voltmeter to check voltage and polarity to prevent damage and to assure that you do not overdraw your battery. Several sunny days and we thought we had everything set, then the rain came, we were unable to do anything past charging four AA batteries a day. We were able to use our storage battery at camp to run a netbook with its internal battery removed for three days to quickly boot up ,check email, and shut down and also to charge our mobile phones and an MP3 player, after this we had to charge batteries in town. Since we did not depend on solar electricity for light(liquid fuel pressure lantern, and LED lights) or cooking(kerosene pressure stove heating a pressure cooker) our electrical demand was mostly for non-essential items.

We decided the best safety policy was to attach the polarity color coded battery clamp modular attachment to the solar panel and leave it attached to our large storage battery, we turned the panel every few hours on its wooden frame so it would be aimed toward the sun all day generating the most power. At night or during rain we would take the battery into our tent and used a 12 volt cigarette lighter receptical(same as the power port in most cars) with battery clamps colored for polarity to attach to the battery so we wouldn't accidently reverse the voltage and burn out any of our gadgets. During a nice day we could clamp the power port to the charging battery out in the sun and plug in our chargers but were careful to put the electronics inside a plastic bag in case of unexpected rain. A cigarette lighter receptical doubler meant we could charge the netbook using its car charger cable and the AA/AAA battery charger or a phone too if needed. We purchased a cigarette lighter port USB converter(12v to 5v) and four port USB hub to charge many of our small electronics(phones, a PDA, and MP3 players) at the same time, this hub also worked well for multiple device charging from the library computer in town.

For safety only attach equipment that can handle voltage surges up to 24 volts, like our netbook car charger cable does, since the idle voltage on our panel was around 17v on a sunny day. Since we wanted to test everything we could get our hands on someone attached a portable DVD player directly to the solar cell on a sunny day, it might have already been damaged but after we plugged it straight to the solar cell it would never do anything beyond showing the power on light. The other solution is to only attach gadgets when a storage battery is attached and you have double checked using your voltmeter or make/purchase a 13.6 volt max regulator.

http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Camping 6/12

Solar power on this scale is not enough to cook or even run those electrical car coolers, pretty much anything we could do with liquid fuel instead of electricity we did realizing how expensive solar wattage is.

Lanterns

If you have a propane or liquid fuel pressure lantern for light, seriously consider replacing the glass globe (that glass thing that surrounds the mantle) with one made of steel mesh or at least get one for a spare. Glass breaks too easily when you're roughing it, OTOH glass lets more light through and protects the mantle from breaking in wind. Steel mesh globes are available on-line and at better sporting goods stores or can be made from steel window screen.

You can try lighting a gasoline pressure lantern with diesel or kerosene, this take patience and if possible preheating the generator tube, this has been tested on a Coleman dual-fuel mini lantern and it works burning with a bright yellow light, but you need to keep the pressure up and pre-heat the generator tube otherwise some kerosene is wasted at the start. Always light your liquid fuel pressure lantern in a fire safe area outside. The pump cup, fuel cap gasket, and generator tube are replaceable on most lanterns, ask at most hardware and camping stores.

Troubleshooting Liquid Fuel Pressure Stoves and Lanterns

The pump cup, fuel cap gasket, and generator tube are either replaceable or cleanable on most lanterns and stoves, ask at most hardware and camping stores and if possible have spares. If the tank wont hold pressure it is probably the fill cap gasket, don't tighten it too tight as this can ruin it. If the pump doesn't work first try turning the pump handle a few times, and afterward don't forget to gently tighten. If there is still a problem lubing the pump cup with some rubber safe silicone based oil or grease or in a pinch saliva, we have used Crossman brand pellgun(that is how they spell it) oil made for BB guns, while regular oil will destroy the pump cup on many lanterns and stoves. The pump cups in the best stoves are made from leather which resists rot better than rubber and might be improvised if you are careful. If the system can be pumped up to pressure but won't flow when you open the valve suspect a clogged generator tube. The generator is a brass or steel tube that runs into or near the flame and vaporizes the liquid fuel into a gas. Some generators such as on the MSR stoves are made so that you can just pull out the cable and clean it others are made to be thrown away and replaced, the disposable generators like on Coleman stoves can often be taken apart or soaked in alcohol, the narrow tip hole can be pricked clean with a special but inexpensive stove/lantern tool that includes a generator wrench. Do NOT try to clean out a stove or lantern by burning alcohol in it this will destroy the rubber seals in many stoves and lanterns and might be a fire hazard. MSR and many Coleman stoves and lanterns have automatic pricking clean of the orifice with either a shake of the stove, turning a small lever, or by turning the on/off valve several times.

Toilet

Many people plan on using chemical toilets when they are not constrained by weight, to some these also seem cleaner. These are usually not warranted if you are able to dig a small toilet hole, the exception being in stressed wilderness environments where overuse is taxing the area. To minimize your own impact on your surroundings, dig a hole at least 6 inches to poop in. This gets down to soil with bacteria that will decompose your waste. Do not pee in the same hole as this will kill the helpful bacteria. Make sure that your hole is at least 200 feet away from any water sources to avoid contamination. If you can, use natural items for toilet paper such as smooth sticks, round rocks, or leaves (make sure it isn't poison ivy!). If you must use toilet paper, put it in a sealed plastic bag and throw it away - even "biodegradable" toilet paper can take up to 50 years to decompose. If you have a plumbed trailer or camper only dump your waste into a sewage system and not into a body of water.

Water

If you are downhill or beside flowing water and plan to stay for awhile a piece of blue tarp can be sewn into a cone shape and clamped to a garden hose fitting, this is tied in the flowing water, a length of hose can be attached with a valve at the end to deliver water to your camp, let the hose flow to remove stagnant water before using.

A small electrical pump can be attached to a length of hose, drop into a lake or creek and fill up, remember to add chlorine or install a filter in your water system that will remove Giardia.

Remember to filter or treat any water you get from the wild. River water may look pure and fresh, but it might be flowing over a dead animal upstream. Avoid drinking water dripping off of melting ice from rock formations. It may contain pulverized stone.

If you poke around country stores or ranger stations at night you will surely find a water spout, use your handy faucet knob and plug in.

If you camp near a river or stream, consider the US Army's priority of where activity is to be done concerning the river's flow. Furthest upstream is where you get your drinking water. Further down is where you wash your clothes and cookware. Last down is where you bathe.

Water Conserving Cleanup

Tools:

• 1 new reusable spray bottle adjustable for spray and streamfood quality).

• 1 or 2 recycled or disposable 1 quart plastic food containers with lids

• 1 dish sponge with scouring side in ziplock bag

• 1 dish towel in ziplock bag

• 1 wash cloth in ziplock bag

• 1 hand towel in ziplock bag

• 1 travel size bottle dish soap

• 1 travel size baby shampoo

Some people prefer to have a separate wash basin for dishes than for personal hygiene, they worry that the same basin their dishes will be washed from had pube wash water in it just a few hours before. These basins can either be used on a table or rock top or suspended between two parallel pieces of twine attached between trees, clips or clothespins can help keep the basins attached if you go this route. If you can get for the right sizes the whole kit should store inside of the nested containers.

The spray bottle is preferably tough and cam be switched from spray to stream to off and has never contained anything poisonous, you must only fill it with filtered drinking water lest you contaminate your food prep gear or your hands.

Your dish and body washing sponges and towels should be left to dry in the shade if you have time and then ziplock bagged to keep your other gear from getting dirty, until you are in a place with good water it will accumulate some dirt using the low water method.

For soap some people prefer to use Dr Bronners for everything but most people want a tough soap for dishes and baby shampoo for bathing in case there is a problem getting rinse water. Use only a few drops of soap, dump gray water away from open water to reduce environmental impact.

The dish method: For dishes start by adding a drop of soap to a sponge in an inch or so of water in your basin, sponge or scrub all of the dirt loose from the pot or dish, once the scrubbing is done rinse clean with the spray bottle. If you are in a cool or damp area you can scrub all of the dishes first but in dry areas the soap will dry onto the pots before you are done and you will need to waste water. Your clips or clothespins can often be used to hang wet pots and plastic dishes from your dry line or wipe clean with a dish towel.

The body wash method: Add a few drops of baby shampoo to your wet washcloth an basin water and wash down your body starting with your face and working down to your less clean areas, rinse off with your spray bottle, towel dry. Every other day, sometimes more in many areas you can get by by just spray bottle rinsing and toweling dry. If you want warm water remember to start with cold water in the basin and add stove boiled water, straight boiling water will melt your plastic basin.

Furniture

Army folding cots or medic stretchers make great beds and keep you from the damp ground, in cool weather use a foam pad on top.

Be careful about swiping picnic tables from Smokey Da-Bear, he will send the Forest Freddies after you.

Proper plastic folding tables are the best, resisting the elements for several years. Plastic folding tables will work outdoors and take a while to rust the steel legs even in rain, try to bring them in. The older pressed wood folding tables will warp once wet.

Folding lawn furniture and stackable resin is superior to indoor folding chairs for long term camping.

Cold Caching

Occasionally you will have drinks or foods that keep longer or taste better if kept cold. Find a place in a cold river or creek where the current is not to strong. Place the food in a durable container or mesh stuff sack and either trap it among rocks or tie a anchor line to a nearby tree. Remember that except right off of a melting glacier this method is not as cold as a regular refrigerator and hence will not preserve the food as long.

Campfires

Before you start a campfire, make certain that you're not in a drought stricken area. If a ranger sees the smoke from your fire, you're up for a fine or maybe even arrest, at the least the forest cops will will run your ID.

Stick to the old fashioned Boy Scout methods. Check to see that nothing flammable is within a six foot radius of the fire. Dig a small pit and circle it with rocks, then build a small compact fire that generates more heat than smoke, a upside down cone of sticks with tinder or paper inside seems to tbe the easiest way to get a fire going.

When cooking food over a fire, don't use fresh evergreen wood if possible. The wood releases resins and tars that can harm the flavor of the food. If there's a lot of warm grease in your pots and pans, throw a handful of white ashes into it and stir. The lye in the ash will turn the grease into a weak soap that will help in cleaning.

To put out the fire completely, pour water over the embers, stir the ashes, douse it again, and then carefully feel the muck.

Always try to pack a full sized axe (a purloined forest service pulaski tool is even better) a shovel, and a bucket when driving into or base camping in the wilderness and know how to use them and mineral dirt to extinguish a fire.

Always scrape away the organic duff and only burn on mineral earth. If there is no moisture in the ground even down to a half meter, and if when you split logs they are dry as a bone be very careful, fuel moisture is very low and a fire will be hard to fight.

Large fires almost always throw off firebrands which can light the forest on fire, even if there is no forest fire since everything is green firebrands will burn holes in your cotton and nylon tents and gear, save wood and keep the fire small.

Barbecue Grilles

If the fire danger is high a grille can be very useful to a camper. In Roadside Chow and Low Impact Crashing we discuss very creative uses including baking bread and cakes inside the grille dome.

If you need charcoal and don't have any cash or access to a store get a fire going using pieces no larger than three inches wide and once the fire is down to good coals rake them into a pile and cover the whole thing with slightly damp soil. After a day or two the coals should be cool, collect them and use as regular charcoal.

Other Options

Fire Lookout

Many US and Canadian Forest Service lookout towers are no longer occupied at all times even during fire season. A maintained shelter often with a wood stove awaits. These are always unoccupied after fire season unless the area has a camper rental program. You may need to pick the lock.

Forest Fires

If your area is threatened by fire the best option is to get out. Learn to understand what affect regular wind patterns and terrain have on fire movement where you set down. If a mature forest catches fire up in the trees there is almost no possibility of surviving in place. Relocating yourself to a meadow, parking lot, center of a stream, or even the middle of a road could make the difference in survival. Some army surplus stores carry the forest service aluminum-foil and fiberglass fire shelters. These will protect a person even if the light brush around them is aflame although they are quite heavy for their rare usage. In an emergency a silver space blanket might deflect some radiant heat if you are in a safe place but will not protect anything like a real fire shelter.

Replacing Consumables

Out in the wilderness there are a few ways to make cash if you get creative, the upside is the overhead costs are low, just try to keep your nice gear from wearing out, that can be the biggest expense.

• Silver or pewter jewelry sculpting can be a fun creative job.

• Gold panning is a way to make a living good enough to support a camped out lifestyle, a special gold pan is used to allow the current to wash away and then swirl out the lighter dirt and pebbles but keep the heavier gold dust which is best found deposited at turns in rivers and where the current suddenly slows. Practice in panning and knowing where to look improves yields. A small turkey baster and clear jar are good for sucking the smallest gold flakes from the bottom of a pan.

• Sometimes mushrooms or truffles become very valuable on the world market and harvesting and selling could buy you months of supplies.

• Although very unconventional, if you have a solar panel a mobile phone with internet and a laptop or lower power netbook you might be able to use the Internet to take part time with editing, translating, and writing jobs even from the forest as long as you can cantenna wifi from a cabin or a cellular signal.

• Growing pot might not be a good idea, even though the payoff is good, as if you are caught you will loose even your backpacking gear.

• Try whittling! Just be sure to have the means to sharpen your knife if you spend a lot of time on this. Make small crafts to sell at street fairs or music fests! A couple good examples include a fat, shapely cat statue from balsa wood (just paint in the eyes) with some small holes with cut fishing line glued in for whiskers; miniature Buddhas or other religious items.

• Crochet old plastic shopping bags, with the "Green is In" fad people are happy to buy often for a decent price items crocheted from plastic bags.

• Set up a sign and offer bicycle or camping gear tune up and repair near a popular bike trail, have extra spokes, chain, screws, and tubes for bikes, stove and tent tools, spares, patch material, glue, and heavy nylon or poly carpet thread.

• Reviewing gear and tourist areas can get you equipped with camping, cycling, skiing, and travel gear for free or at large discounts, if you go beyond testing gear to writing or free lancing your reviews you can include stays at hotels, bed&breakfast's, and commercial campsites as well as getting airline and travel discounts, not to mention being paid cash for your work.

If you are already in trouble or can be heard hunting a silencer might be considered for your poacher .22, Drill holes every half inch or so on the last few inches of your rifle and wrap that section with steel window screen, secure with duct tape, you will run the risk of ruining the accuracy of the firearm so only do this modification on one you can loose.

While it is possible to make a bow and arrows this is not an effective way for most people to survival hunt if a firearm is available, bow hunting requires quite a bit of skill and arrows are easily broken or lost, a modern high power compound bow can not use improvised wood arrows safely.

Camp Farming

see also Farm It

If you are going to spend the spring or summer in one place it makes sense to vary your diet and save some money by planting a crop, for most wanna-be mountain men and women living off beaver tails and trout is unrealistic to the point of foolishness. Potatoes are about the easiest thing to grow in many areas for the amount of food they produce. A potato plant takes 2-4 months to grow depending on temperature, soil nutrition, weather, and water supply. Consider your plans for your crop, if you are moving on after a few weeks and plan to begin harvesting part of your crop early storage is not a problem but some potatoes do not keep well, for example red pontiac potatoes while smaller do store well after being dug up. Don't stress too much potatoes are pretty forgiving plants and will grow most places without too much work. Other plants will of course also grow but the potato is hard to beat for how easily you can produce a large crop while living on a piece of ground. This is against the leave no trace creed but we are realistic about feeding ourselves.

Potatoes are a simple starch with some good vitamins in the skin, but it is not a green leafy vegetable by any stretch. For greens your best bet is a little foraging around your campsite, otherwise your planting options are determined by your location. Do not plan to eat your potato greens, they are toxic members of the nightshade family, the little round fruit that sometimes grows is also poison.

You can plant as early as the soil can be worked in spring, but plastic sheet or tarp over the plants at night when frost is possible will save them from a cold snap. Break up the ground with a hoe, stick, or your hatchet breaking up a garden about a foot deep and forming a small trench for your seeds or the eyes of your food potatoes that you packed in, cover with mulch if possible. Some store potatoes are treated to prevent sprouting or may be diseased, seeds or eyes from the garden or farm store should be certified to be disease free. A good place to grow in a forest is near an all summer creek, pond, or swamp where the soil is moist but not waterlogged, sopping wet soil can cause tubers to rot. Best growth results are with full day sun in soil(use a thermometer stuck in the soil) that is between 60° and 70°F, a soil ph of 5.8 to 6.5(if you are worried a garden or hardware store has a cheap soil kit) and plenty of organic mulch mixed in and on top to feed your plants and hold the moisture. Keep watch for burrowing animals, beetles, grubs and worms, many parasites will also try to attack the plant itself, see Farm It for some organic pesticides and use effective crop rotation. So remember that if you are going to plant another garden after you harvest the first to do it in an area away from the first garden, a plot should be left fallow for three years after a potato crop is grown to prevent disease and parasites from becoming established and ruining future crops.

When your plants are at least a foot in height you can begin to harvest the baby tubers if you need to for food. After flowers die the tubers really begin to grow, and need more water if you are hand irrigating, but don't drown the plants. Inspect your plants, if a tuber(potato) sticks out of the ground it will turn green and become bitter or rot, cover it with a mound of soil or mulch. Harvest can begin when plant top dies, you can allow them to mature for a few weeks more if you like as long as the ground is not too wet or hot. Your best harvest tool is your hands since you will rarely puncture a potato, but a hoe is already very useful for mulching can also save you sore knees and back when harvesting a large field quickly so lash your toilet spade to a long stick or use the wooden handle of a real garden hoe as a trekking pole.

After harvesting, place in the sun for two to three hours to dry, brush off the soil, but do not wash until ready to use. Store in a dry dark place at temperatures between 45 to 50°F, if the potatoes get too warm they will soften and sprout. Keep them in dark place to prevent greening which makes them bittier flavored and somewhat toxic. If you have, place a cover of newspaper around each potato so if one spoils it will not spread to the whole lot.

Different species have different strengths and weaknesses, we have broken up some examples by growing season. Early season varieties, Irish Cobbler with light brown skin is often irregularly shaped, the Norland has red skin is smooth and is resistant to scab, great for baking and boiling. Good midseason choices are the Red Pontiac which has red skin, deep eyes, and stores very well, the Viking has red skin and is very productive. When planting in late season think Katahdin it has light brown smooth skin, and is resistant to some viruses, verticillium, bacterial wilts, another choice is the Kennebec a smooth light brown skinned potato that is resistant to some viruses and late blight, good for fries and hash browns.

Urban Living - For all the ways of finding undisturbed sleep, starting a housing co-op

Moving Out

If you are still getting together the money to move into a permanent address of your own, you should also be assembling your hope chest of things needed in a modern home. Since you should have already assembled camping and road survival gear you have many basics to use it if you need to. Remember that your camp gear is optimized for portability while home furnishings are designed for comfort without mobility in mind. Don't wear out your expensive sleeping bag or other gear when you could pick up a blanket and futon mattress for cheap.

Check the papers and online for places to rent, avoid rental agents, they just surf the papers and net for you saving maybe a few hours and then charge a months rent, payoff for them is between $200 and $1000 per hour.

Furnishing

Here is a list of some of the things you should consider getting if you are taking a semi-permanent address.

Kitchen

Silverware of some form: a knife set and cutting board, steak knives, paring knife, utility knife, and a good cleaver (look in the Chinese food section). Cookware varies by need. When living alone, all you need is a small pot and a tiny frying pan, but that is if you never have visitors. If you're cooking for a group, get bigger. The thrift store can be your friend here. Honestly, though, if you're getting an apartment and like to cook, it may be in your interests to drop a little dough as soon as you can on good cookware, silverware, and cutlery. A Chinese wok makes for inexpensive quick meals from nearly any meat or vegetable available. Add a bamboo steamer for more utility. A good pressure cooker can be cheap or expensive but a good set set saves you large amounts of fuel, electricity, and time when cooking. Research before buying. For unfurnished places a hotplate, some pots and pans, a toaster oven, and maybe an inexpensive pressure cooker or two let you cook most foods. Microwave ovens are mostly just for warming things up very quickly, although you can sort of cook in them if that is all you have. If you happen to be in the presence of some more technologically gifted activists, and you score a microwave oven for cheap or free, please consider its potential value as electronic parts, where cooking with it may be unproductive. There are combination microwave/toaster ovens. Some even have hot plate pads on top. Consider the price against buying separately. If the place has no refrigerator, just buy dry foods and things that keep at room temperature. If you buy meats cook them right away, which will preserve them for a day or two. Most of the stuff in a refrigerator is moldy leftovers or stuff that would be fine at room temperature or in an DIY evaporator cabinet cooler.

Sleep

You need bedding pillows, sheets, and pillow cases, consider a big electric blanket, even if you cant afford to heat the whole house you can sleep warm, even then get one or two comforters. A note on bedding, if you plan on sharing a bed, and once you have, sleeping alone will never be enough again, get your top sheet and any blankets a size or two bigger than your bed. If you have a full size bed get queen bedding, if a queen, get king. This will kill that "don't hog the blankets" argument before it even begins. As for the bed itself, save up as much money as possible and get the best you can afford as soon as you can. You spend a third of your life in bed, and quality sleep affects your entire lifestyle. Don't skimp on your mattress. Oh, and buy it new, or you run the risk of 6-10 legged roommates sharing your bed. Eeew. If you don't have the money for heat think about making the canopy and curtains mentioned in Free Furniture .

Bath

Towels! Get them new, for the same reasons as the bed. You should consider your soaps and the like before moving as well. A shower curtain, toilet brush, and Do Not Forget a toilet plunger; you will regret it. We actually advocate giving them as housewarming gifts, because no one ever remembers the bloody things until it's too late. Don't bother with expensive things at this point, though. Just get sturdy and practical. Lots of bleach and maybe an industrial cleanser or wax stripper will help you clean off the nasty crud you find when you move in, and you might not be afraid to let your boy/girlfriend visit the place. There are scrub brushes which can be used to scrub mop the floor, but if the gunk is really bad use a putty knife, just be careful not to damage the floor.

Plumbing Basics

If you have a clogged pipe or drain start with a classic suction cup shape plunger, this is useful for more than clogged toilets, you can plunge most any drain including shower and floor drains and sinks, there are smaller plungers made for sinks, don't get one of the plungers with the tapered end made only for toilets. Another thing to do if your sink is clogged is to unscrew the U-bend with your hands, often it is just a glop of mixed hair and grease clogging the works, this is also where stuff that falls down the drain can be recovered. If the plunger or disassembly will not clear a clog but the pipes appear intact you can try snaking the drain. A drain snake can be very cheap but the cheapest snakes are only good for small pipes to poke holes in a clog, better snakes are thicker, longer, and let you crank the end to drill through tough clogs. For the many everyday clogs a cup of lye pellets and some boiling water will dissolve most hair and grease clogs, if you cant get lye in your hardware store concentrated clothing bleach works too sometimes, add the lye and boiling water or bleach and leave so the clog has time to dissolve.

Legal, Leases, and Landlords

The term Landlord has it's origins in fuedal times where serfs would work the fields and lands and give all of the fruits of thier labors to one person or family in return for a right to live there and keep a modest amount of food not to starve. In modern times, it basically works the same way. Landlords, along with the Employer, the Banker, and some say Cops are forces that can cause real inconvieneince if things turn nasty. Do not get us wrong. Some landlords are actually very good in thier role as long as the rent is paid, and have a reputation of charging a fair price and fixing what needs to be fixed. However, many are cut-throat slumlords choking every last penny they can eek out of a tenant while fixing nothing, invading privacy, and placing folks they do not like on quasi-legal databases they share with others of thier kind. Even the kindest little old lady landlord will lose no sleep at night charging you extortion late fees and have maintainence gleefully tossing all your picked-through stuff on the curb if you are more than a week or two behind (sometimes more sometimes much less)! She will have another tenent in a few weeks, while you will be looking at The Street or Squatting if you have no emergency funds or back-up.

Leases

Be sure to read the contract carefully. A favorite legal trick of ours is to line out and initial anything unfavorable or prejudicial to our renters rights in the contract you sign, if you can get away with it. Just draw a single line over the words in black ink, no X-es or scribbles; it must still be readable under the line out, You can also box and X paragraphs and sections, again initialing them. If they even read the contract and object to your changes, move on to another place. They do not need to countersign these edits because this is the document they will use to attempt to evict or sue you. The judge will laugh them out of court.

Know the laws about reasonable inspection and notice for eviction and repairs. Many states have minimum statutory punishments paid in months of free rent if the owner walks on your rights. Be brutal if the landlord is a big slumlord.

Be sure to document any damage and keep the photos so you will not be charged for the damages. A big scam with slumlords is keeping deposits for even the tiniest scrape on the wall or smudge in the carpet. In some areas, it is so common that half the landlords practice this.

Do not cosign leases with folks you do not trust. Stories have been told of folks cosigning for thier buddies to get an apartment and in roomate deals, only to get screwed when the rent has been skipped on and the place has been damaged.

Eviction

The laws vary state to state and even city to city. Know these laws. Even in the most landlord friendly places, they are at least going to have to file and give you a court date before the 'notice to vacate' notice is given (which in some states is 30 days, others 24 hours!) While most judges deal with landlords on a monthly basis, it may be in your interest to go to the court. The biased court system always awards an eviction by default if the tenant does not show, but delays the decision if the landlord does not.Be sure to bring all reciepts to the court as some slumlords will 'lose' payment records. If you can prove that you are sincerely trying to pay what you owe, but are going through hard times, some (but not all) judges may give you a bit more time to pay - or secretly plan to screw the landlord, get another pad, and your stuff to safety!

In some cities, there are churches that may pay all or some of your rent one time only. Folks have reported varying success with this, but that may be worth checking into.

Rooms for rent, hostels, bunkhouses, and boarding houses usually go by the more landlord friendly laws governing hotels and motels. Most places that have weekly or daily rent operate like this. The landlord can kick you out on spot for little reason and do not need a court order or eviction procedure.

Starting Out Cheap

Inexpensive Apartment

This is perhaps the most optimal starting out arrangement. You will have to be 18 or older with a valid ID or emancipated and declared legally adult by a judge. You will also most likely have to sign a lease saying you will be there for a period of time ranging from a year to 6 months. What keeps some folks out of this is the enormous amount it takes to set up. Most landlords are going to want a deposit equal to the first months rent plus the rent itself. Many even tack on an application or processing fee of 20 USD to 100 USD on top of that. Some may even want the last month's rent as well. Bear in mind, this is before hooking up utilities. That said, if you look around, deals can be found on deposits and reasonable rent can be located as well. In college towns, the best times to look is during the summer or right when semesters are ending as students tend to take up all the reasonable housing. It is even possible to get utilities paid apartments, but be careful because many of these get skimpy with heating or air because they pay it.

An apartment can be cheaper than motels, hostels, or rooms for rent if you take into account security of stuff, privacy, and piece of mind if the initial start up can be met.

Once again: do not cosign a lease with anyone you do not COMPLETELY trust. The authors of this project know many who got screwed like this.

Weekly Rate Motels

This is the most expensive way to go. However, it bears mentioning because it has the one advantage of not needing a sizable deposit. Unlike hostels or rooming houses, they will tolerate kids. Even the crappiest motels offer a TV for entertainment, a clean bed, hot shower, and privacy. This is much preferable to the street as long as money is available and you have immediate plans to move to a more economical housing solution. However, the cash to maintain one of these can be higher than nice apartment rent, even if reduced weekly rates are used. Be sure to load up on the free towels and soap when you depart to make up for paying high rates. Be sure to get any stuff out before checkout or you may lose your stuff. This is only to be used in temporary situations and more income is on the way. Unlike Hotels, most of these also do not require credit cards, only a valid ID. Be also aware, that during certain peak season events in places, motels have been known to jack up rates with little notice.

Be aware that these Hotels can be traps for the working poor. Eating out all the time combined with rents that take up most of the paycheck has many trapped in situations where they cannot save to move out without 2 throwaway jobs or one really good paying job.

Hostels

Hostels are located in many adventure tourist destinations worldwide. Most are going to require an out-of-state ID to get in, though. Research the rules and clientele that hostel is aimed at. Most hostels are for college age travelers, but long term housing for low income people or migrant workers exist as well. It is a good idea to get an idea of the social scene and find out how much a stay is. Many hostels are dorm type arrangements where you may be rooming with a dozen or more people. Also don't be surprised by people engaging in sex hidden only by their sheets, loud snoring, and questionable hygiene. Keep a close eye on your gear and never let anyone see anything of value. Before taking a room at a hostel check for hotel discounts and coupons especially in the off season that may be actually be cheaper than a hostel dorm room.

Rooming Houses

You can find ads for these in the newspaper or occasionally craigslist, though most traditional rooming houses advertise by newspaper. Like hostels, rooming houses may consist of a private room where a bathroom is shared or sometimes just bunks. Still, this can be much cheaper than motels and less picky than Hostels. Most of the time the management is going to want a week's deposit plus one weeks rent to move in, but this varies widely. Be sure to be cautious with your stuff for theft. Also realize when the pigs bust rooming houses (often because some are in high crime areas), they may knock in every door, leaving your stuff exposed.

Roommate Situation

Sometimes, it can be practical to move in with someone who has already set up a pad. There are numerous ways to find these people ranging from your circle of friends, coffee house bulletin boards, craigslist, and the newspaper. The amount of cash needed to get into a roomie deal varies greatly from more than to get a nice apartment (from many folks trying to pay for huge house that they can not afford) to less than a rooming house. Most roommate situations are very temporary things. The more roommates there are, the more volatile this situation can be as eventually some will move off, some may come up with some excuse about the rent money, or person disagreements about living styles can get out of hand. Be sure to interview to make sure your potential roomie is going to be compatible with you. Also be cautious of rooming with friends because if bad things happen, some friendships can be lost.

The advise we give under leases and landlords applies double in this situation, even above renting apartments. Bad roommate deals can end up with someone being caught with the lease. Do not sign this unless you truly trust the folks you are rooming with and have known them for some time.

Sofa Surfing

If you know several sympathetic friends, you can ask to sleep on their floor or couch. With the right network of friends, you may be able to bounce from place to place for a certain length of time. Bear in mind, however, this can get old very quickly. Welcomes can be worn out. Also, friends that are coupled or find a new boy/girlfriend are going to be less likely to agree with this than single friends. Do not get complacent and stop looking for ways to http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Urban-Living 5/14 get your own place just because you found a temporary couch. Misunderstandings or bad scenes concerning sex occasionally happen if you are crashing with both gay and straight apartment owners even if they are already in a relationship. Unless you are down with it, be frank. Don't be clueless and carefully analyze both your intuition and the advice of friends, be wary of engaging in survival sex.

The advice to travel light and watch your stuff applies double in this situation. Few people want to have their pad stacked with tons of someone else's stuff. Always be packed up and ready to leave forever on short notice. Never leave anything unattended unless you have known who you are crashing with for a long time and they are very trusted. Avoid pissing off those who lend you their hospitality by leeching their food, smokes, or other supplies unless offered. Respect their personal rules of the house and do not bring anyone or anything over without approval. Try to spend the day out (even though being out may cost more money) so they don't get sick of your face. Come home at a reasonable hour so they don't have to wake up or get their door in pajamas to let you in. Stay clean, shower every day, shave and use deodorant, take your shoes off by the door and keep the place clean. Making the place smell from you or your wet dog is their easy excuse to kick you out. If friends are giving you crash space because you are a hard luck case (especially if you have also borrowed money from them or eat from their supply) NEVER NEVER come around flashing cash, a new gadget, or expensive unshared food! This inducement to jealousy is easily the last straw for many couch crashers we have known.

Intended for travelers and adventurers, conservative use of the couchsurfing website for "in town" crashing is discouraged and might hurt your couchsurfing reputation and scare people out of hosting, but it is a good tool for emergencies if you can make yourself seem on vacation.

http://www.couchsurfing.com - resource for sharing short term, free living space. Just keep in mind that couchsurfing is largely about community and forging friendships, so someone who just wants a crash pad and nothing else might have a tough time. Every couchsurfer has an online ID and people who you stay with will rate you. This is to weed out the creepy types, so be somebody who people would enjoy to have over, token gifts and good stories are a nice touch. For the greatest success, contact a number of people weeks before you're planning to visit and aim to stay in less popular cities and/or travel during less popular times.

http://www.hospitalityclub.org - free accommodation community with 437,042 members.

http://www.globalfreeloaders.com - free accommodation community with 56,961 members.

http://www.bewelcome.org - free accommodation community with 7,236 members.

http://www.tripping.com - global community of travelers offering free accommodation.

http://www.belodged.com - more confidential system of free accommodation networking.

http://www.warmshowers.org - community of touring cyclists offering free accommodation.

http://www.Stay4free.com - Members make their spare room available to visitors for free in return for accommodation when they travel themselves

http://www.place2stay.net - Provides a network of people who need and offer free accommodation worldwide for travelers.

http://dir.yahoo.com/Business _and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Travel_and_Transportation/Lodging/ Lodging Directory The lodging directory on yahoo. go stay with a family, rent a room, share an apartment, stay on a farm....

Homeless Shelters

The last resort after all of the above, Homeless Shelters do offer a bed and bath. Most even offer meals or laundry. However, most shelters require you show up in the afternoon to secure a bed and kick you out in the early morning. A few go a step further and may require a letter from a church or social worker and may require you to enroll in certain drug rehab or job training programs. You may not hang around there or store your stuff. The time you have to be there actually hurts people getting jobs as night work leaves you back on the street during daytime and many daytime jobs may let off too late to claim a bed. Day beds are very rare. A few may allow you to come in later if you a have a note from an employer. Be careful if you do this, because some employers may make unfair assumptions about you as a person due to homelessness if they find out. Do not even think about coming there highly intoxicated as some may refuse to let you stay. Shelters are popular places for cops to raid looking for fugitives.

Many cities are forcing anyone who wants to stay in a homeless shelter to get tested for TB before even being allowed to stay (except during inclement weather conditions). Most only give these on certain days and it takes two days for them to read the test, so you may still be outside anyways. Once it is read, many facilities give you a card to show when you show up again.

Some only take men and some only take women. Women's shelters tend to have better funding and less waits for beds, but this can vary according to area. A few will take kids (either runaway or rarely homeless families), but expect social services to be nosing around asking questions pushing for foster care or being shipped back to a relative if a minor is involved. Sometimes during inclement weather, they have been known to open up more beds.

You may have to put up with the facility's religion if the facility is part of a religious organization. Even if the faciity is not religous, perception amongst the staff tends to look down upon those who are in situations where there is no alternative. You are automatically assumed to be irresponsible, a drug head, or criminal. While caring people exist, most are jaded from years of dealing with the mentally ill, addicts, and liers. Expect indifferent treatment at best and outright contempt at worst.

Because of all these limitations and hassles that can many times hinder more than help, we suggest you use one of the above methods or grab a cheap tent and try your hand at stealth camping if the city you are in has stretches of unpopulated wooded areas if worse comes to worse.

Creative Methods

Good for you if you find a good place to stay in the city without having to use creative methods. But if not below are some ideas for those who might think they are out of options. You will sometimes even find yourself with access to an abandoned building, open unused room, and maybe even a bed in a house but for social, security, or other reasons no access to a normal kitchen, laundry, or bathroom. Many of your needs will be met using your regular camping gear like sleeping bag, ground mat, and stove but often you can take advantage of the utilities and environmental control offered. See Low Impact Crashing for furnishings, basic utilities, and services. Be smart about using really expensive camping gear if you are walking the very gray line of creative urban living, this stuff has a great resale value on ebay, and it would be a shame to either wear it out or have a cop or fellow cam dweller lift your gear to sell for a few bucks. Keep your gear packed and organized at all times so you can pick up and run if the heat comes down on you. Don't overload yourself with gear, if you cant wear your pack everywhere and keep it safe while sleeping there is no reason to expect it to stay around for long, some crackhead will rip you off and sell your stuff just as readily as he will give blowjobs for another fix.

Free Naps

Anywhere you find seats you can usually catch some Zzzz. Often just a fitful nap not the peaceful sleep you really needed, expect to be awoken by security after a time.

• Airports are the best for this and can often get a whole nights sleep in. See http://www.sleepinginairports.net/

• Hospital - Try crashing at the Waiting Room of the local hospital. Tell the nurses that you're waiting for your sister/friend/whoever to have a baby, then lay down on the floor and catch some Zzzs. Might not be too comfy, but definitely safer than sleeping under a bridge. Eventually, the hospital staff will get wise to you but hopefully by then you'll have gotten some rest.

• Library - Find a book or newspaper to hold, which is quite easy at the library, and doze off, since it appears you were legit and just reading they will likely not throw you out unless it is a security guard or cop and your skin is the wrong hue of brown.

• Bus and train stations.

• Malls - Most are open from about 10am to 9pm, and have assorted seating areas indoors and out. If you can stand the noise, sleeping in a mall is fairly safe as far as unwanted attacks go. When was the last time you saw someone raped in the middle of a mall? Not that rent-a-cops are the most attentive personnel, but to avoid being woken up sunglasses, headphones, and a book are helpful when you want to be left alone. Make sure to use your pack as a pillow, lying directly on top of it, or tie the straps to your arm and keep it in between your body and whatever you are sleeping on.

• Big furniture shops.

• If you're in a college town, simply go figure out where the frat party is, make friends there and find a couch to stay (or pass out late at the frat house). Only works if you are around the age of a typical college student. They will not want some 40 year old showing up.

• Under a tree (not fern), in a doorway or bus shelter.

Rooftop

Many buildings have a flat roof and parapet to keep people from falling off. If you don't want to challenge a fire escape you could set up on businesses with flat parapet roofs like one story strip malls and mini marts, climb the dumpster or something else in back, just remember if you make too much racket running around the roof they will probably come up and find your squat. If the rooftop has both a real drain (most do) and a hose faucet if you are lucky you are set. There are even some rooftops with unprotected electrical outlets in range of wireless Internet! If it was not for blazing hot temperatures in the summer daytime sometimes in excess of 120 degrees F or vulnerabilities to strong winds knocking your tent off the roof or lightning dangers, all the comforts of home are here if you can keep quiet.

On larger buildings it gets trickier but the payoff is your "yard" can be quite large. You will either have to attach a ladder to the roof from the fire escape or pick or break the inside lock to the roof access. Even then you need to assure regular access to the roof from outside while keeping random people from noticing your squat. We have seen people try to bicycle lock a ladder nearby to get up on the fire escape, and rope it up once on the roof, but this is a real workout to raise and lower it every day, it is suspicious activity to any witness, and the ladder is easily stolen. Once you have access to the roof you can build a shack to live in or just camp out in your tent or hammock. Take advantage of electricity and water connections running to air conditioners and lights, but be careful these are live deadly electrical wires and there is no way to turn them off unless you can access the fuse or breaker box inside. In addition to a squat your rooftop might have enough space to start a rooftop garden like we discuss in Farm It . If you are a legit renter, get tight with the building manager or borrow and copy the roof keys. If you know someone living in such a building ask them to help you get access, the rub is they have to trust you to not rat them out if you get busted.

You might also try to access attic space to survive in winter but again be sure to use extra stealth when entering or exiting the building, some attics are also safely accessible from the roof through vents. If camping in an attic you may have to lay down plywood or boards to keep from stepping through a sheet rock, plaster, or other weak ceiling. You must try to keep your activity to places over a hallway where people will not be too suspicious of your occasional sounds. This is a difficult to keep secret squat and often requires lots of work and resources. Consider a different idea unless you have a friend in the building who can help you out. But, like roofs, attics get dangerously hot during warm summers with temps going even above the rooftop itself!

Bridge

We all have seen campers under bridges. Bridges offer protection from sun and rain and, if located in a nonresidential area, there are often longer times between camp breakups by cops compared to more exposed camping spots. If trash starts to visibly build up the city will often kick everyone out and come in with a prison work crew to throw everything away including your camping gear. Some bridge campers will tap lighting and irrigation systems to provide basic electricity and water needs, there are dangers of contaminated or untreated water and obvious electrical dangers involved with these activities as many bridges have the same 440 voltage or higher lines as streetlights do..

Spaces between and behind buildings

Think about the narrow space between buildings, Some boxes or a dumpster blocking the entrance give you some privacy. If you keep it clean and move out during the day the owners may not brick or fence over your camping spot, but remember that it is first come first serve every night.

Parks

Most urban parks have overgrown areas large enough to allow real camping. Try to find a place hidden by thorns and vines that will discourage city workers. A regularly used trail will lead other homeless or even park services to your hideout. To avoid making a trail use rocks as stepping stones if possible. Steep forested hillsides are great to hang a hammock for a few days. Hammocks can be regular blankets or drapes with both ends tied into a knot and tied to the tree with strong rope. Never make a mess, as this will attract the attention of park services and force them to evict you. Leave packaging in the dumpster where you found its contents. Leave no trace! Urinate away from the wind or you might have your little set-up smelling. Do your other business away from your camp and bury it.

Treehouses are also a real option short term. Without too much trouble a little platform can be created by a crafty houseless person. Add an army poncho for camouflage and shelter from rain and you have one of the most ideal places to sleep. You sleep well hidden and away from animals, both human and not. The difficulty is the obvious damage to the tree from repeated climbing by an adult human.

Storage Space Rental

What freak has not dreamed of renting a storage unit for a home? Unfortunately, the on site management is almost always against this. One inspection by the fire marshal, and the site manager is canned and the owner is in big trouble. It might be possible to bribe a manager but the trouble of modifying the unit, lack of water or bathrooms, and the locking of the buildings are all problems that make it almost not worth the trouble. Most of the time, merely asking about this will prevent you from renting in the first place. Or it could earn you a stern 'get the hell out and take your stuff with you' if you already are.

The good news is that a small storage unit can be very useful to a person without a regular home. Just be sure the overall cost of storage and moving does not exceed the value of the stuff. Sometimes it is cheaper to just start over and build up anew than hold onto stuff. Storage facilities, depending on area, run for fairly cheap and provide a great haven for valuable items that are not realistic to carry with you or may need when a better living situation comes around. Be sure to have a friends mailing address, valid phone number, and ID as well. As always, when conducting business, dress as cleanly as possible when opening the unit.

Day use policy of a storage unit varies from one place to another. Stories are told of some homeless people using a rented unit to catch a daytime nap on a cot with the door open and the permission of the manager. Some managers won't mind you using a light bulb electrical outlet adapter to run or charge electronics, but this all depends on the attitude of the manager. If you want to try any of these day use tricks do it in a storage site different than where you are keeping your stuff.

No matter the scam, do not jeopardize your stuff's storage by trying to camp out there! Being homeless and getting kicked out of your storage is not pretty. At best, you may have to move your stuff on very short notice to somewhere else. At worst, you could be arrested and upon return find your stuff picked though and in the dumpster.

Bike Locker

Some say that rented city and college bike lockers can be converted for personal use by modifying the lock. Even if not such a realistic place to urban camp, this is one of the few 24 hour accessible lockers that a homeless person can safely stash some gear in. Check rules about city inspection of contents.

Tent Cities

Many cities have an informal or well organized homeless movement which often with local assistance is working for the right of homeless groups to establish transitory or permanent settlements in or near urban areas where there are many services and sources of sustenance available to the homeless person. Examples are Dignity Village in Portland Oregon , or Tent City Three and Four in the Seattle area although there are usually car parks and small tent enclaves hidden in most cities near older industrial zones, electrical sub stations, railroad easements, and parks. Occasionally unauthorized or contested tent camps will be raided, the cops have been know to slash their way through camps with razor blades to destroy tents and packs hoping to drive the homeless away. Acquire shelter materials or a larger tent locally for long stays and use this for your shelter, try to keep your nice tent packed away for emergency moves or in safe storage elsewhere once you get settled. Always keep your gear neat, organized, packed, and ready to go . Many tent city campers will leave a cheap tent, ground pad, and sleeping bag in camp during the day, it just depends on how safe the camp is and with sleeping bags how bedbug free it is, you will find only the naive or foolish leaving anything of value in camp when they are out.

Dumpsters

This is simple, don't sleep in dumpsters. The reason for this advice is that while you are having a stinky but restful night of sleep safely hidden from the cops and security who want to arrest or molest the homeless you might easily oversleep and wake to find yourself being dumped and compacted in an automatic dumpster unloader garbage truck. So while it may be one of the easier places in a downtown area to catch a sticky nap, don't do it, try stealth camping in an industrial area or under a bridge.

Underground Structures

Many cities have old established tunnel, utility, or unused subway networks that might be opened for our use. Be sure to explore large drainage tunnels during the dry months of the year and if safely possible active train tunnels although this may entail serious risk unless there is a maintenance walkway wide enough to prevent a fall onto the tracks when a high speed train passes. Just check any interesting holes, tunnels, access pannels, or doors that appear to lead into walls, sidewalks, or hillsides. In New York and London lost subway stations have been turned into meccas for street punks and the homeless. In rural areas re-purposed military nuclear war bunkers and missile silos can be found although most are on farmers land, made into historical sites, or destroyed by the DOD, a famous example was a group producing the majority of Amerikan LSD operating out of an abandoned underground nuclear missile launch silo.

Abandoned or Unused Structures

You can see many ideas on Squatting in that chapter. Remember that even if there is a bad draft or leaks a building is a great way to conceal your regular camping tent and living activities. If you are traveling light a hammock suspended from lag bolts anchored into the wall studs beats sleeping on cardboard or newspaper, tarp or plastic sheet suspended above your hammock or mat will protect you from leaky roofs. Remember to restrict indoor cooking to cement floors or fireplaces because of the fire hazard, also ensure adequate ventilation of your cooking area because of the real danger of carbon monoxide poisoning, best practice if possible is to cook outdoors in a concealed location.

The Street

When you run out of options, you are stuck out on The Street . It can be so bad that some people turn to survival sex exchanges or commit petty crimes just to get a nights stay in jail.

Suburban Living

Suburban areas are likely the most difficult to improvise housing. Short of renting a basement or garage for a very small amount, it will be difficult. The suburban sprawl was designed with a petroleum powered vehicle in mind, so most services are a highway drive away. Radically-dressed and -minded outsiders will likely be harassed by the local police

Garden Shed

In older neighborhoods with large lots adjoining park or wetland areas there are sometimes disused sheds or old garages. Look for unkempt yards or long grass without foot trample around the out building this may indicate an elderly homeowner or uninterested renter who has no use for the building. Choose and use a path of approach that does not leave a trail visible from the house or easily noticed from other homes. Whatever the plan light and smoke discipline are absolutely essential for most of these ideas, bored neighbors are either totally oblivious or constantly snooping for any excitement.

Garden Shed Kit

A mini-barn or garden shed can be purchased at most North American hardware stores. All that is really needed is a concrete platform or four stone corner pedestals to start. These quick shelters have two benefits in a suburban area they may not be noticed by neighbors if built quickly during the work week, they are also a quick way to get shelter on a piece of land you plan to build a larger alternative home. These were proposed as a third world emergency prefab home after disasters. A good idea is to build on property of a friend who you will share utilities with. Contact a manufacturer with your plans, most will have at least one design with a normal size door and windows, some will custom cut the wood to include windows and doors where you want them as well as the overall height and size to your liking. If a move is required most quality sheds in good shape can be transported on a flat bed pickup truck and only require a new cement platform to be poured at the new location.

Useful upgrades to a quick build shed home include the following features:

• Normal size house door with proper lock (as opposed to double barn doors).

• Windows angled to catch summer and winter sun.

• Overhang roof and extended length cement platform or gravel porch.

• Garden hose plumbing or buried pipe for regular water utility.

• Drainage into a gravel/sand pit or garden next to your shed-house if soil drainage allows.

• Rain gutters and storage barrel for washing water.

• Electricity, include a circuit breaker of a lower value than the circuit you are connecting to so your breaker will flip first.

• Solar electricity and LED lighting is a viable option for charging a few electronic devices and batteries.

• Dry wall, paint and insulation make this shed house more livable.

• Shower curtain rail around porch for showering in summer.

• Fold away bed and table saves room in your shed house.

• Freight pallets cut to size and plywood make a good floor above the cold cement, tile or carpet over.

• Propane gas for heating and cooking can be plumbed in using camping components.

• Fireplace or wood stove for heating and cooking makes sense in some areas.

• A directional WiFi antenna mounted on the roof can let you connect to a house even hundreds of feet away.

• Toilet plumbing can be a challenge to include on a low budget; an outhouse or chamber pot would be easier.

• Tall bushes, garden trellises, and shrubberies around your shelter will obscure the view by neighbors giving you privacy.

• Solar water heating system can be made and insulated hot water storage can use LP gas or kerosene to heat water in winter.

• Telephone service only requires stringing or burying a two conductor wire from a nearby building.

• Rigging a 12 volt DC system for lighting and small appliances (available at RV stores and truck stops).

Car

How to camp comfortably in your Cars

The practice of finding and squatting a random unlocked car can be quite dangerous, as angry auto owners have been known to attack and even shoot homeless people sleeping in their vehicles. Use this tactic as a real last resort, and try to only use clearly abandoned or unused vehicles with dust on the windshield or flat tires if you must.

Squat a House

At the edge of the suburban rural boundary, in badly planned cul-du-sacks, greenspaces, or wetlands, and near parks there are often pockets of older neighborhoods where a house may sit for years unoccupied waiting for inheritors to sue each others asses off until the lawyers take the house and divide the spoils amongst themselves. Look near large construction projects for houses slated for destruction or partially finished structures with a good roof abandoned by bankrupt contractors. An old weathered for sale sign might be a house open to squat, but could also mean somewhat regular visitors depending on the housing market, take down the realtor's sign. Even better finding an incomplete subdivision with some nearly finished homes.

Deciding to squat a house takes some good detective work. Find a place where it is apparent that the yard work is not being taken care of, peek in the windows has anyone been home in a few months. Does it appear that the house has been squatted or burglarized without any cleanup? All of these are good cause to stake the place out. Put a padlock on the front door and see if it is removed, camp out in the back yard if you can do so discreetly just to be sure. Try before you pry, an open door or window might remove the charges of breaking and entering if you get busted.

Squat the place. While you are squatting light up your devices you use and go outside to see what is visible at night, pull the shades and check again, light and motion will give you away most easily. Keep your travel in and out infrequent, at night only if possible, no music or noise. Cooking fires, cigarettes, and grilling might be noticed from the smoke and smell. If you kept clean you will be hard to spot. To the average WASP the homeless are dirty and distant, the suburban and rural townies and cops won't tolerate filthy bums, but will they even notice a clean one?

Always make your living space as near as possible to the back door on the ground floor, clean that room up first for occupation. Since this is not your house be ready to run if you hear someone trying to enter through the front, legit owners drive up and enter through the front door 99% of the time without doing a walk around, pile up junk in front of the front door to make noise and slow them down. Barricading the back door means that even if the owners or another squatter tries to take the place you will have the option of using the back door for escape when the give up and head to the front. Always have your bags packed for a quick escape, if confronted be apologetic but be sure to get away before anyone gets violent. It might help if you tell a story of your dead grandfathers house in this town that you thought you were squatting in, this is just a weak distraction to get out the door and prevent violence, be cool, smile, grab your pack, don't let anyone get their hands on you, know your escape routes have at least two. Expect the cops in the area soon so get away from the property and into a store or movie theater, lock your bike at a different store bike rack and stash your pack safely nearby, maybe do a covert tree stash, the pack really gives you away, retrieve everything after dark.

Fuel Up

In many places oil heat is still in use or a partly filled tank remains. Most older systems are easy to tap but unless you can access the basement require a fuel transfer pump, just ask nicely for some fuel and fill up by pumping from the outdoor fill pipe. Camping stoves designed to burn diesel fuel and kerosene will burn furnace oil just fine.

See also Squatting

Free Furniture - Creative methods for kitting out your dig.

After a hard day supporting the revolution, you may need something to sit on. If you're broke, moving, or just plain creative there are plenty of ways to get furniture that don't involve a small loan from a specialty store or flimsy fiberboard and plastic box store crap. Furniture is everywhere, literally being given away... if you know how and where to look.

Plastic Milk Crates

Plastic milk crates are reusable containers that milk factories use to ship milk jugs to grocery stores. You can usually find many of these on the back docks of grocery stores awaiting return to the factory. These can also sometimes be found in trash or even left by other people. Regardless of the stern legal warnings promising stiff fines for private use imprinted on the handle (mostly to keep them from being used by other dairies), these crates have been used for decades. Quick and easy storage boxes, stools, and even temporary bookshelves when combined with boards are just many uses.If you find a large piece of plywood and place this on top of four of these, you have an instant make-do coffee table. Use your imagination.

Free Boxes

If you need cardboard boxes to store stuff in, check with local businesses. Most of the time you can go up and ask the manager to save some boxes for you because you are moving. It is possible to have the US Postal service and other shipping companies send you free boxes. There was a website since closed due to a FedEx lawsuit showing how several dozen flat packed boxes could be cut and folded into useful chairs and sofas. However, thanks to the Internet Archive, you can see photos of the various projects:

• http://web.archive.org/web/*/://www.fedexfurniture.com

Table

Two saw horses or police/construction barricades + one door = one large dinner table or desk. (Remember to remove the door knob.) Construction signs made of sturdy, painted plywood and improvised legs screwed together make a very distinct coffee table.

Foam and Bean Bags

If you have a knack for sewing you can make simple bean bag type furniture and fill it with whatever stuffing you can get your hands on. Styrofoam shipping pellets are surprisingly comfortable in a bean bag seat. Liberate some closed cell foam as used in most furniture and kids mattresses and use this as a more solid filler for your furniture. A piece of NiChrome wire and the proper power supply (measure the ohms of the cutting wire with a multimeter and add resistors if needed) you can make a large hot wire foam cutter.

Recycled Junk

If you know where your local newspaper is located, their dumpster will surely have some of the thick cardboard tubes from the huge rolls of newsprint. These are about six feet long, and can be cut into pieces for use as legs on desks, tables, etc., but not chairs, as they are too thick (6"-8"). Either way, four three-foot sections of that tubing, and a 3x5 piece of plywood liberated from your local construction site will make a bitchin' table. Another free table is the big wooden cable spools used by the power and phone companies.

Auto-man Furniture

Take the seats from an old or totaled beater car. Backseats, especially the bench-style found in older sedans and mini-vans, make great couches when put up on blocks. The bucket seats that usually make up passenger seats and middle rows in vans can be converted into nifty easy chairs. If the car is old enough to not have electric seat adjustments, it will probably be a recliner, too. This means that bench seat can often be converted into a short double bed. Score!

Lawn Furniture

Lawn furniture is light and folds easily to fit into your car or bicycle trailer. Many people dump the one year old lawn furniture at the street in spring or fall. While a chaise lounge is all right to sleep on solo, making love is a good way to make it fall apart.

Kids Stuff

A crib can be made from a laundry basket and an easily washed pillow or a folded blanket in a pillowcase. A plastic bucket is great for bathing baby. Your stroller, or a baby bike seat strapped to a chair make a cheap high- chair. The cheap vinyl shower curtains at dollar stores are very effective 'rubber sheets' spread out under the fitted sheet. A hand towel with a head hole cut and hemmed is a good washable bib.

When traveling or taking a temporary home with children along, your camping ground mat or exercise mat is a great bed; there is no worry about falling out if they roll off, and children usually prefer firmer beds. Car seats are very important, as the leading cause of death for children 14 and younger are car crashes. Call your local hospital or fire department and ask if they have vouchers for a free car seat. Also check http://www.seatcheck.org/ to find a location to have a free check performed on your child's car seat to insure that it's safe.

Free Furniture

Reuse

You can often find free furniture on http://www.craigslist.com , http://www.freecycle.org/ , http://www.regioshare.org and other community sites, if you look in the free section for whatever area you are in. All you would need to do is contact the owner of the furniture and pick it up from the location listed there. Also, sometimes folks who need to move quickly will simply give you nice furniture just so they will not have to haul it with them. You can also score used furniture by keeping up with apartment staff that evicts folks about a week or two after rent time or keeping an ear living in dorms near the end of terms.

Diving for Furniture

Making furniture out of scraps of garbage that you find around when doing urban forging can be wonderful, and any DIY shop will have salesmen willing to explain how, or you can check online for a DIY site. Additionally, furniture can be found whole when foraging, especially in the back of furniture stores, and drop offs, like the back of thrift stores. (Warning: Taking items dropped off at thrift stores or donation boxes constitutes theft of varying degrees depending on what jurisdiction you're in.) Most thrift stores don't have cameras despite the frequent claims to the contrary on the signs they often hang up, so try hunting out by the side of their dumpsters at night for furniture the employees were too lazy to lift into the dumpster -- often times it's still in decent condition and just didn't sell within a certain time frame. You can also pick up some pretty good furniture from the curb of an uppermiddle class neighborhood on trash day.

Futon

It is often possible to acquire a second hand futon pad without a frame, these are great for a convertible sleep and work area since they roll up or fold into a couch. As soon as possible a base must be made from something which will allow air to circulate under the pad otherwise you will likely ruin the pad with mold growth, this will also make the futon pad a health problem for future users. Check all new and used futon pads for mold. Several wood cargo pallets will provide sufficient ventilation to prevent mold growth. We try to find futons after college ends in the spring, futons outside in winter are usualy already wet and sometimes moldy, so check, and there is no easy way to dry them

Mattress

Sometimes, mattress stores that deliver the mattresses to people's homes will haul off the customer's old mattresses for free as a service. Near the end of the stores hours, go to their loading docks and ask if they have any used mattresses that are going to be thrown away. Usually, they will give them to you or just point to the dumpster. If they are not willing to give away, waiting until the place is closed (an hour or so and the parking lot is empty) and checking the dumpster is also good. One revolutionary reports a place in his area that always has 2-3 in a clean dumpster every day. Be sure the dumpster is not shared with a restaurant or other place that may foul up your new score. If you do not like what is available, you can always check back the next day. Don't fear a stained mattress, modern spring mattresses are mostly synthetics which dry quickly especially in summer Some dish or laundry detergent can be rubbed wet into the stained areas and rinsed out using a garden hose or shower head, allow to dry by propping upright outside on a warm day, turn over several times so the water doesn't just collect at the bottom.

Hotels and Motels typically change mattresses on occasion. Many of the nicer motels change out all mattresses on a seasonal or yearly basis while others replace mattresses as they get stained or torn.

Foam is by far the cheapest mattress. Go to any furniture repair, sewing, or upholstery shop to have a piece cut for you. Don't buy it unless they let you lie down on it to test the firmness. It is smart to cover the foam to keep it clean and prevent mold and mildew. If you are handy at sewing, you can make yourself a fitted cover. Failing that, stack up those free homeless shelter blankets or dive some couch cushions from the dumpster of a furniture or thrift shop.

In cool and damp conditions it is necessary to take extra precautions to prevent mold from growing on your mattress. Flip the mattress every other day, and every fourth day also turn it to face the opposite direction. This way different parts get a chance to dry out. Propping up your mattress at an angle during the day with a stick or broom is also a good way to let it dry out. We also hear that occasionally dusting it with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or borax might make mold growth less likely and help get rid of any used furniture stank.

Build Your Own Furniture

DIY Japanese Screen

With a roll of paper, some small brass hinges, and lightweight wood framing you can make Japanese type screens. Use these to make light movable dividers that will not take the light out of a room. Excellent for separating a sleeping area which is cleaned up in the morning to make a larger living/work space. You will also have the option to paint and decorate your screens to your liking.

If you are careful in placing hinges at the exact same locations on every panel (use a measuring tape and mark location with a pencil, then add the hinge) after your screen is built you can tap out the pins from the small brass hinges and insert a nail or cotter pin into where you removed the standard pin. Now you can connect as many panels together as you like for a wall and still easily take them down or separate when moving or redecorating.

Frame Bed

Get ahold of some two by four lumber, this is easier than it sounds, if you are squatting and can't afford buy lumber(which is the best choice by far) there are going to be all sort of sources. Try looking around construction sites, or the shipping dept of some local company. If possible get some one by six lumber about 80 inches long too. You will want to make a bed frame that the inside area is 39 inches wide and 75 inches long, the size of a twin bed, that way you can use standard size sheets and blankets and maybe even scam a real mattress at some point. Read these directions twice with a handy friend before cutting or screwing anything together What you need

• 2x 80 inch long 2x4 lumber

• 2x 40 inch long 2x4 lumber

• 2x 80 inch long 1x6 lumber (2x4 will work in a pinch)

• 12x 39 inch long 1x4 lumber (skimp too much and the bed will be weak)

• 1x box two inch wood screws

• 1x box one inch wood screws

• 4x 12 inch long 4x4 lumber

An electrical drill to drive the screws helps, a professional grade cordless drill with extra batteries is best for disconnected squats

• Leave the long (80 inch) boards a few inches long (you can trim the extra later)

• Lay the boards on edge on the floor and mark the location of the 39 inch boards with a pencil so that you have a 39x75 inch inner area

• Long 2x4 boards to the outside

• Screw wood screws through the two long 2x4 boards (on their edges) and into the 40 inch 2x4 boards (also on their sides)

• Measure the inside of the frame to be sure that a 39x75 inch mattress will fit (with a little extra space if possible) before continuing. You now have a rectangular frame.

• Screw the 1x6 boards down securely onto both sides with long screws flat against the bottom of the frame, attaching to the long boards as well as the 39in inner boards so the bed frame won't twist.

• Saw off the excess long board so it is flush with your 39 inch inner frame rails

• Place the 4x4 legs onto all four corners and use at least 8 screws to tighten them down through the 1x6 lumber(you should get helpers to hold the bed frame level for this so the legs mount flush)

• Screw your 1x4 slats down leaving even spaces, these gaps allow the mattress to breathe.

If you have some plywood or left over lumber building a headboard and securely attaching it to the bed frame with 2x4 lumber makes it much easier to read in bed and keeps your pillow from falling off.

Push two of these frames together to make a queen bed for a couple, this is easier to move and stronger than one big frame.

Victorian Curtain and Canopy Bed

When we think of Victorian four poster beds we forget that those long spindles were not for style, but a place to hang the curtains and canopy, turning a bed into a little tent of warmth. No more cold morning wake-ups even in the coldest, dampest squat; you can even hang your clothes up inside your canopy and be warmly dressed before inhaling the cold, damp squat air. A word to the wise: even in a regular home curtaining your bed and dressing warm will reduce your home heating fuel waste. Think green!

The height of your canopy poles is up to you. Higher poles will make it easier to dress in the morning, while lower poles will make it easier to keep warm. You don't need to use anything bigger than broom handles screwed tightly to your bed frame with a few pieces of metal strapdown tape (fold in the edges so there are no sharp points). Use thin cotton bedsheets as curtains and canopy; they breathe the easiest and won't get too damp from condensation. Cut and hem them to size (twin sheets should be pretty close in size). Reinforce the canopy corners and punch a large grommet; this will slip over a screw or peg at the top of your canopy poles. The same is done for the top two corners on each of your side curtains. It is a good idea to sew tie strings every foot or so so that the curtains can be puled tightly closed. A split overlapping curtain on the side you like to wake up on will make getting in and out easier but keep the draft out.

rfJmage:Bedpost.png

If roof leaks are a problem in your squat think about using a tarp for a second upper canopy, but make some sort of hoop frame to keep your breath from condensing on the tarp and dripping onto you.

Simplicity

Try not to overload a small room or flat with too much furniture. We try to be simple and frugal. The acquisition of too much junk ties us down and makes boosting out and onto the road more difficult. Don't screw over friends and supporters by leaving a room filled with junk when you disappear. If you can, live as much as possible out of your pack, even during long term crashes. This is especially important if you are in a situation that requires a high degree of mobility. For example: couch surfing, homelessness, jobs that require traveling, or volatile situations where you may need to move quick. See Pack Your Bag

Moving the Stuff

Moving tons of furniture is a pain in the ass. Professional moving companies usually charge high, by-the-hour rates then only give you two guys who proceed to slowly bubble-wrap everything and take their own sweet time. The bills can easily get to 800 USD or more to move a small flat full of stuff across town. This may be okay if you have loads of cash or irreplaceable family heirloom antiques, but a bit much for the rest of us. Of course, there is always U-haul. But, this too has drawbacks. Uhaul may be pretty reasonable for in-town moves, but if you are moving a great distance, can go into the high hundreds or more. Uhaul is also going to want to see insurance, a valid driver's license from someone, and a credit card. If you have a car, you could try using multiple bungees, loading it down, and praying the cops do not look for someone to harass. But using a small car takes many trips, is only economical for cross town moves, and you cannot exactly strap refrigerators to the top.

If you are moving across country, you need to consider if all of your goods make economic sense to take with you. As you have seen above, furniture is pretty cheap. Shipping, Renting trucks, or paying movers to cart the stuff across the state or country is not cheap. It may, in some situations, be better to sell or donate your furniture to someone who needs it and reestablish later.

Some of the more creative ideas are below:

Hand Truck

Simple: Get, beg, liberate, or borrow a hand truck. Your life will be easier. A hand truck or dolly will help a team of movers move the largest furniture. Even a refrigerator can be moved across town by a minimum of two strong people on foot, be careful on hills and plan for emergency stopping. The best hand trucks for appliances are extra wide and have a big strap which will wrap around the appliance but rope and the right knots will help in a pinch.

Strapping

If you are likely to encounter stairs the only safe way (at least for the furniture or appliance) is to use heavy strapping to help you hand carry. We are talking about the heavy strap like is used for seat belts or making rappelling harnesses, we need something that will resist abrasion.

One type of strap carrier uses between twenty and twenty five feet of strap and a heavy steel slide buckle (tied or sewn properly works too) to make a loop with adjustable size, be sure to slide a cutoff wool sock or tape over the buckle to prevent scratching your furniture. Your big loop crosses under your load and the loop ends rest on the shoulders of the two carriers. Stand up properly with straight backs and the load lifts as well.

Cycle Moving

With creative use of rope and either caster wheels screwed into the frame or a strapped on caster platform or skateboards even couches and beds can be moved good distances as long as there are no major hills involved. If possible move during the day when traffic is light and attach plenty of orange or white flagging. If you are looking to avoid cop trouble look into the laws for non-motorized vehicles like horse carriges, this said even if you are legal in some places the cops will jack you and tow your furniture, seriously with a flat bed tow truck to the impound lot!

Find a Friend With a Truck

Not to be underestimated is to ask a friend who has a valid Driver License and a working vehicle to help you move your stuff from your old pad to your new pad. Being able to offer cash, beer, or other valuable substances can more easily persuade this person to help you. Needless to say, be sure wait to let them imbibe in such beer or substances until after the move is done to avoid DUIs or other unpleasantness.

Rural Living - Everything country sleep related.

For the purposes of this article, rural living means somewhere between the suburbs talked about in Urban Living but not quite to the point of wilderness survival or camping. However, with the over development of land, this is disappearing in many parts of the country. Fortunately, there are still many places in the Empire along the numerous parish and county highways and byways. The payoff in privacy and peacefulness can be well worth it. If you are accustomed to the purple haze of the nighttime city sky, you will be amazed at the detail and majesty of what the stars look like without light pollution! Some of the communities of rural Amerika can be very kindhearted people, if not a bit nosy and gossipy. If you get a good legal spot, you will not have to worry about city or suburban covenants telling you you cannot have your broken down car in the front yard or be able to paint your house purple.

Rural living does come with drawbacks other than limited services, though. Almost all the vast tracts of land are owned by somebody. You either need to own this outright, get permission, or simply be able to avoid notice. The nearest supplies which were as simple as a quick Wally World run in a city or suburb may be an arduous miles-long trek. You may also find services such as internet, cable, and in some places electric and water to be limited. Living out in the sticks can also leave you very isolated compared to being even in a small city (which actually some folks may consider an advantage!)

Rural survival can work if all this sounds like your cup of tea. Be willing to research and reach out following leads. Do not being dissuaded by dead ends and rejections. It is very possible to find some old hippy or soft heart with a patch of unused land. You could to be able to set down a shack in the back 40 with maybe some bee hives or a garden! We knew a drifter who did this once he got to Hawaii and he is still living there by selling honey every few months and eating from his garden. Unlikely? Who knows. But - maybe your story awaits here, too.

Rural Housing

Just because you are out in the boondocks does not mean there is a lack of rentals. Rentals still exist, but are much further apart and less numerous. Rural trailers, rooms for rent, sheds, cabins, and even work-for-rent ranch and farm deals can usually be found in the newspaper of the nearest major city or state newspapers. Sometimes even craigslist can be given a go as internet begins to spread in even some of the more isolated areas. Be sure to follow our advice in Urban Living about apartments, leases, landlords, and roommates. Bad deals and slumlords are out in the sticks, too. You can get screwed even worse than the city by being stuck way out there with a very high rent and maybe a choice of 2 to 3 jobs or sometimes none for dozens of miles!

There are no homeless shelters but the woods of the highways and byways and what ever lean-to you may be able to build. Rural stealth camping will be covered later, if you find yourself without shelter in the middle of nowhere.

Truck stops usually maintain showers and lounges for a small fee to use. Some even have bars or cheap rooms for rent or a rest lounge with a couch for tired folks, if someone seems nice or is down on their luck. No one will usually have an issue with you car dwelling for a certain period of time, but be careful. In times past (and some would say to this day) these places have been hotbeds for drugs and prostitution because of frequent traffic from well paid truckers and travelers.

It is very possible to find abandoned stables, storage sheds, barns, shut down mills and factories, and even abandoned military installations in the spaces between civilization. However, just like squatting in an urban environment, always check for signs of recent activity and traffic to and from and into the structure. Even stuff way out there can be checked into by land owners or even other squatters from once a year to once every week or so!

Communes and Compounds

While there are examples of urban communes and housing shares, the majority are located in rural areas and small towns. The types of communes vary very widely. Many are based on some sort of theme like a religious belief, sexual orientation, lifestyle, political beliefs, and pretty much everything under the sun. Some advertise openly on database sites and others are only spread through word of mouth.

If you want to try this out, make sure you do research into that particular community's requirements. Some have rules where EVERYTHING must be shared meaning your car could end up being driven by everybody and your road laptop could end up in the community computer lab with little say so. Some go further with sharing than that where even wives and husbands are shared. Some may have no sharing at all and you will be frowned on as a leech if you do not buy your own food and provide for yourself. If you occasionally partake of herb or drink a bit, you may want to check into this too. Many places may either encourage or strictly forbid these things. If you are just traveling through while on an epic adventure, make sure they are cool with that. Some communes may want more permanent commitments while others actually love to get free spirits for the tales of unusual places.

Make sure your political beliefs match. You will not get along with an ex-convict white supremacist sanctuary showing up with "Eracisism" bumper stickers on your car or if you are black. Nor will you be very welcome if you are a guy and try to drop in on a Wiccan ultra-militant lesbian feminist ranch. We at STW encourage you to avoid narrow minded zealots of any type! Be careful also that while there are sincere communes out there, some egotistical folks may be using it to keep people there for their own source of followers and henchmen to cough up money and labor. Be prepared to leave at any sign of brainwashing, physical or mental or sexual abuse, and avoid any place that "locks" you in. Even out in the boondocks with no car, you always can travel if you have two functioning feet.

More on communes is under Community Centers and Communes in our Fight section.

Stealth Camping

While most all of rural land is owned by someone, many people own so much land that they cannot possibly patrol it all or merely keep land for investment purposes and visit it rarely. In most places standing common law is that short term camping is explicitly permitted anywhere that the land is not posted with no trespassing signs. The homeowner can find you and demand you leave immediately but must allow you to pack up, they can ask the police to prosecute you for doing any actual damage including littering so keep it tidy. It is very possible to obtain a small dull colored tent or hammock and camp in forests quite a ways behind trees off of rural highways. One place to do this on interstates as they tend to have many cop cars but they never seem to pay attention to the trees set up to absorb the highway noise. Very important is to make sure your tent is not visible from the road. Make sure you avoid camping near brier patches near water sources as these tend to be areas that attract guerrilla pot farmers. You do not want your tent slashed by some pig thinking your tent is a base camp for a huge pot grow! Be particularly mindful of leaving valuables around during hunting season. Try to avoid camping in plots of woods within earshot of inhabited buildings or trailers.

If you are lucky, we have known folks get away with this for months. It probably is not the best solution for sheltering, but if you are biking cross-country or are just sick of squatting in a city, this can be fairly safe if common sense is used. Set yourself up with a farm job, a bike, and near a rural truck stop or general store and you are in for an adventure.

Now, if you are fortunate enough to have a car, you will probably be more limited in secure spots. Getting past barb wire fences and getting through ancient locked gates probably is not the safest place for the car. Recent car tracks or a strange car on the land is a sure giveaway and can lead irate landowners armed with high-powered rifles to your location, just remind them of your legal camping rights and then leave as asked. Neither is just leaving your car parked alongside a road as rural county cops regularly put tow notices on cars that look to be abandoned. Stealth camping is best done with a bicycle or small motorcycle that can be walked up into the hidden screen of woods with you. Consider tarping over your bike since the reflectors really stand out and people might come looking for the shiny abandoned stuff in the woods.

By all means, if you are stealth camping, remember the "stealth" part in camping. Walk light to avoid leaving visible trails from the entry point in the woods directly to your camp, try to follow an established trail or road and branch off from there. Do not be a total slob and leave the land littered with garbage like water bottles, discarded clothes, and cigarette butts, this will get you busted if they are looking to punish you for camping. Keep your voice down as sounds can carry further than you think in the woods. Try to use a camp stove, but if you must build a wood fire, keep it small, infrequent, and short-lived leaving no trace afterwards, most of all don't start brush or forest fires, also think wind the wood fire smell carries as does grilling meat and cigarettes. Avoid overuse of flashlights, mobile phones, and computers as sometimes this can be seen from outside the woods for much further than would be liked - even from a bored county cop surfing porn after sundown from the side of the road on his 3G laptop!

For more detail into camping, read the Camping article also in Free Shelter.

Creative Construction

If you have either permission from some kindhearted soul or manage to own a slither of land, you suffer none of the ordinances of the city nor stupid "community covenants" that plague some suburbs. This means you can be really creative with your shelter. Some of the wilder ideas that we here at STW have come across, we will share.

Recycled Sea Shipping Container

Super strong and designed to be waterproof, the standard 24 and 40 foot shipping container can be made into a house by cutting holes for and installing a door and windows. It is cheaper for a company to sell a well-used container than to scrap and recycle it. If you plan to use it as a home or barn you will have to address ventilation and insulation issues, otherwise you will face condensation problems. Strength is mostly in the stacking direction, twisting or loads against the walls like from burial may cause structural failure.

Straw Bale

Straw bale is one of the easiest, simplest, cheapest ways to build either a full size house or hut. For a small structure all you really do is create walls out of hay bales, staggering them like giant bricks, and add a waterproof cover, sometimes coating the outsides with concrete, mud, leaves, or wood to keep the walls dry. This is not necessary. With properly placed support beams, the house will stay safe through wet times and rain. Straw also acts as an insulator. If you will be living in a very cold or windy area with an abundance of hay, we would suggest doubling up walls. A small sleeping hut consisting of straw bales, freight pallets to support the roof bales, one or more large tarps for wind and weather protection, and rope or fiber tape to secure the tarp could be made for a very low price, don't forget to save a few bales for a raised bed or floor so you won't loose body heat to the cold ground. Ask at the feed or hardware store if they offer cheap or free delivery out to your building site.

Yurt

For a few grand a decent sized yurt can be purchased. The mountain peoples of China, Mongolia, and even part of Afghanistan use yurts for mobile housing. A canvas roof, round wood walls, and a smoke hole or plastic skylight are normal features. A quality yurt will last up to ten years in a damp climate and longer in a dry one.

Much information about yurts (yrts or gers) is online. Some links for building plans can be found on these sites:

• chaingang.org/yurtquest/links.html

• chaingang.org/yurtquest/yurtp.pdf

• http://www.bioregions.org/pdfs/GerOwnersPamphlet.pdf

• http://www.tiny-house-living.com/yurt-plans.html

• http://www.nmt179.com/resources/yurt-plans.html

• http://www.currentmiddleages.org/tents/

• http://www.livingintheround.org/?tag=yurt-plans

Ferro-cement

Ferro-cement is an extremely strong, easy-to-deal-with material. Not to mention cheap, and ferro houses can take just about any shape, making them easy to hide in places the pigs would never think. Below is a free e-book about ferro. Very informative.

• http://ferrocement.com/casa-contents/contents.en-ferroHouse-web.html

Greenhouse

PVC tubing arches and UV resistant plastic make for an acceptable shelter and an excellent source of food for under $100. These are most effective in low wind areas which have mild winters but become unbearable to live in in summer. Black plastic sheeting over the soil and a perforated garden hose under the sheeting allow irrigation and conservation of water slits in the plastic allow plants to grow. Twine hanging from the arches can be used to hang overloaded cucumber and tomato plants.

See Farm It

Mobile Homes

The mobile home often elicits snickers and jokes with heavy racist and classist overtones when mentioned. Of course, this may be part of the CorpGov marketing machine scaring people into buying/renting overpriced and over-sized houses financed with adjustable rate balloon mortgages. There is no shame in a manufactured home. The quality is comparable to the contractor built houses found in most Amerikan subdivisions. A word of caution though, be very careful reading the contract and loan, there have been many cases of 'gotchya' clauses which include overpriced land leases, surprise fees, or even repo/eviction clauses for failure to pay on time these are less common when choosing to use your own piece of land and paying cash for the house.

One advantage of a mobile home is it can be moved if needed, but not on a regular basis. You are going to need to find someone with the proper flatbed truck, crane, and equipment to move it to a new prepared site. Be careful and get an inspection before buying as the mover is usually not responsible for a house that falls apart during moving due to rot or abuse.

Purchased used single wide mobiles are sometimes as cheap as three to six months of minimum wage earnings plus transportation costs. Beyond the trailer park style single wide homes there are also double, triple, and even larger designs that many would think were built on site. Some commercial trailer park sites charge for the lot, but this is usually much less than apartment rent. Also, be aware that most mobile homes are not as secure as regular homes in inclement weather such as tornadoes or hurricanes. Have a disaster plan in mind for the small chance of this happening.

School Bus

Even if it will never run again a school bus is still a possibility for shelter; tow it to your site put it on blocks and remove the seats. The upsides are a reasonably large living area and potential for relocation. A bus cabin is real cleanup problem when you vacate, it will also invite police attention so place this option towards the bottom of your list.

Interesting Rural Places

The spaces between cities can be as diverse and filled with interesting places and people just like any city. Below are a few examples that some of the contributors at STW have run into during travels.

Slab City

You could always park in Slab City (4 miles outside of Niland, Callifornia) and call that home. Not many resources of any kind. You need to buy water and solar is about the only way to get cheap electricity. Mild winters but flaming hot summers.

Immigrant Labor Camp

If you happen to appear somewhat browner skinned, most rural WASP's will look right through you if you play to their expectations, taking on Latino laborer dress and keeping your mouth shut can work as great camouflage. Migrant labor camps are usually provided for workers as part of their pay. Conditions are often sparse to tragic as CorpGov and independent farmers just want to make a buck, these are usually not the place to look for shelter unless you look and speak like a native of the lands south of the Rio Grande and are in a very tight situation.

Black Mesa Navajo

The Native peoples of Black Mesa, AZ run a program for outsiders to come and live and work with a family or an elder. You will be expected to perform physical labor, and drugs and alcohol are strictly forbidden. They ask for a commitment of at least a few weeks, but shorter or longer stays can be arranged. Visit blackmesais.org/cultural_sen.html or email blackmesais@riseup.net

Wilderness

See Backpacking and Camping

Adverse Possession

In Free Land we describe acquiring abandoned property legally by squatting for a defined period of time. This is an excellent way to gain a good shelter and useful private land, you can even sell it later, this doesn't work for public land.

Guides

Remote Areas Development Manual

Search http://eric.ed.gov/ for the "Remote Areas Development Manual" it is the pocket size book that gives you almost every DIY technique to build a well run farming village.

Peace Corps Building Manual

Visit the website http://home.comcast.net/~kellyjmorris/build _docs.html which has a free download of the Peace Corps Construction Manual which teaches how to make block and brick construction with minimal concrete or local soils, it also covers digging wells. Like military manuals the Peace Corps publications are written under government contract with your taxes and are in the public domain, feel free to print, bind, and even sell these books.

Magazines

Back in the 1970's the big back-to-the-land magazine was The Mother Earth News ( TMEN). Many back issues are sought-after for their still relevant information and DIY projects (They also sell CD-ROM archives of many of their projects and articles from the 1970's, considered to be TMEN's heyday). In 1986, they were bought out by New American and changed much of the magazine's demographics to suburban types. In 1990, much of the editorial staff left and founded BackHome Magazine ("Your Hands-On Guide to Sustainable Living"), which maintains the rural emphasis of the original TMEN .

There is another publication; Backwoods Home Magazine . While it does have some good information on homesteading, some of the editorials often have a conservative libertarian bias and sometimes veer into conspiracy theory-land.

Another magazine, again with a similar name, is The Backwoodsman , which has heavy emphasis on primitive living and wilderness survival. It fittingly uses "The Magazine for the Twenty-First Century Frontiersman" as it's motto.

All four of these publications maintain websites and sell collections of their past articles and projects, either in book or CD-ROM format.

• BackHome Magazine: http://www.backhomemagazine.com/

• Backwoods Home Magazine: http://www.backwoodshome.com/

• The Backwoodsman: http://www.backwoodsmanmag.com/

• The Mother Earth News: http://www.motherearthnews.com/

Another good publication on self-sufficient living is Countryside & Small Stock Journal , which started in 1973 when Small Stock Magazine (founded in 1917) merged with Countryside (founded in 1963). It's more of a network of homesteaders than a slick publication, so you will have access to lots of useful information.

• http://www.countrysidemag.com/

The Energy Self Sufficiency Newsletter was published for only two years (2005-2006), but the editor, Larry D. Barr, saw fit to archive all the issues on-line as .pdf’s. You can download each issue seperately, or in a bunch (46.4 Meg) as either .zip or .tar.gz formats.

• http://www.rebelwolf.com/essn.html

Original Rural Living

If you are considering moving to the country, especially as a group, you are talking about farms and farmland. There are some farms for rent, and occasionally a family that has to be away for a year or two will let you live on their farm if you keep the place in repair. These can be found advertised in the back of various farming magazines and in the classified sections of newspapers, especially the Sunday editions. Generally speaking, however, if you're interested in a farm, you should be considering an outright purchase.

First, you have to determine in what part of the country you want to live in terms of the climate you prefer and how far away from the major cities you wish to locate. The least populated states, such as Utah, Idaho, the Dakotas, Montana and the like, have the cheapest prices and the lowest tax rates. The more populated a state, and in turn, the closer to a city, the higher the commercial value of the land.

There are hundreds of different types of farms, so the next set of questions you'll have to raise concerns the type of farm activity you'll want to engage in. Cattle farms are different than vegetable farms or orchards. Farms come in sizes: from half an acre to ranches larger than the state of Connecticut. They will run in price from $30 to $3000 an acre, with the most expensive being prime farmland in fertile river valleys located close to an urban area. The further away from the city and the further up a hill, the cheaper the land gets. It also gets woodier, rockier and steeper, which means less tillable land.

If you are talking of living in a farm house and maybe having a small garden and some livestock for your own use, with perhaps a pond on the property, you are looking for what is called a recreational farm. When you buy a recreational farm, naturally you are interested in the house, barn, well, fences, chicken-coop, corrals, woodsheds and other physical structures on the property. Unless these are in unusually good condition or unique, they do not enter into the sale price as major factors. It is the land itself that is bought and sold.

Farmland is measured in acreage; an acre being slightly more than 43,560 square feet. The total area is measured in 40-acre plots. Thus, if a farmer or a real estate agent says he has a plot of land down the road, he means a 40-acre farm. Farms are generally measured this way, with an average recreational farm being 160 acres in size or an area covering about 1/2 square mile. A reasonable rate for recreational farmland 100 miles from a major city with good water and a livable house would be about $50 per acre. For a 160-acre farm, it would be $8,000, which is not an awful lot considering what you are getting. For an overall view, get the free catalogs and brochures provided by the United Farm Agency, 612 W. 47th St., Kansas City, Mo. 64112.

Now that you have a rough idea of where and what type of farm you want, you can begin to get more specific. Check out the classified section in the Sunday newspaper of the largest city near your desired location. Get the phone book and call or write to real estate agencies in the vicinity. Unlike the city, where there is a sellers' market, rural estate agents collect their fee from the seller of the property, so you won't have to worry about the agent's fee.

When you have narrowed down the choices, the next thing you'll want to look at is the plot book for the county. The plot book has all the farms in each township mapped out. lt also shows terrain variations, type of housing on the land, location of rivers, roads and a host of other pertinent information. Road accessibility, especially in the winter, is an important factor. If the farms bordering the one you have selected are abandoned or not in full use, then for all intents and purposes, you have more land than you are buying.

After doing all this, you are prepared to go look at the farm itself. Notice the condition of the auxiliary roads leading to the house. You'll want an idea of what sections of the land are tillable. Make note of how many boulders you'll have to clear to do some planting. Also note how many trees there are and to what extent the brush has to be cut down. Be sure and have a good idea of the insect problems you can expect. Mosquitoes or flies can bug the shit out of you. Feel the soil where you plan to have a garden and see how rich it is. If there are fruit trees, check their condition. Taste the water. Find out if hunters or tourists come through the land. Examine the house. The most important things are the basement and the roof. In the basement examine the beams for dry rot and termites. See how long it will be before the roof must be replaced. Next check the heating system, the electrical wiring and the plumbing. Then you'll want to know about services such as schools, snow plowing, telephones, fire department and finally about your neighbors. If the house is beyond repair, you might still want the farm, especially if you are good at carpentry. Cabins, A-Frames, domes and tepees are all cheaply constructed with little experience. Get the materials from your nearest military installation.

Finally, check out the secondary structures on the land to see how usable they are. If there is a pond, you'll want to see how deep it is for swimming. If there are streams, you'll want to know about the fishing possibilities; and if large wooded areas, the hunting.

In negotiating the final sales agreement, you should employ a lawyer. You'll also want to check out the possibility of negotiating a bank loan for the farm. Don't forget that you have to pay taxes on the land, so inquire from the previous owner or agent as to the tax bill. Usually, you can count on paying about $50 annually per 40-acre plot.

Finally, check out the federal programs available in the area. If you can learn the ins and outs of the government programs, you can rip off plenty. The Feed-Grain Program of the Department of Agriculture pays you not to grow grain. The Cotton Subsidy Program pays you not to grow cotton. Also look into the Soil Bank Program of the United States Development Association and various Department of Forestry programs which pay you to plant trees. Between not planting cotton and planting trees, you should be able to manage.

Squatting - Seth Tobacmans 1987 pamphlet edited and updated by the Steal This Wiki team

Note:The contents of this page are based on the graphic novel "Survival Without Rent." Survival Without Rent was originally published in 1986. It was revised and expanded in 1989. Not being all text, it included fantastic illustrations, some of which can be viewed at a site that contains images by squatter, activist and artist Seth Tobocman. Small stylistic changes were made as it was keyboarded for uploading to the Internet in February 1997. This book is intended to help people take back the homes that have been taken away from them by government and business. It is dedicated to Eleanor Bumpurs and to the East Fifth Street Squat.

As we all know, laws and police tactics change over time, but the principles remain the same, and we can always use this information. Repurposing a run down structure as a shelter is a tricky, yet rewarding task. This section is designed specifically for locating an abandoned building and making it your somewhat legal residence for as long as possible. As opposed to Low Impact Crashing , where any survival trick goes and the stay is expected to be of a shorter duration, the steps listed in this section are designed to be as legal as possible in order to prolong your squat and make it more CorpGov resistant, eventually you can sometimes even become the recognized legal owner if you can stick it out through the legal concept of adverse possession, see Free Land . As this is now part of the wiki it has been over time edited to differ from the original squatting guidebook which was very specific to New York legalities. We expect to see many more abandoned buildings and homeless squats as the USA and the world visits the economic slums in the near future and present. If you see something that is out of date, the base document is after all over 25 years old, and no longer correct as with the rest of the wiki, fix it!

Legal Issues

Seeing as squatting always involves entering someone else's property without their consent, it is often useful to notify yourself of the local laws. This can encompass anything from Illegal Trespass to Criminal Damage, police laws on eviction of houses, renter protection laws(sometimes apply), homeless protection laws (yes, they exist in some very cold countries), etc. Even if squatting has been made completely illegal it will help you stand your ground should you get arrested or kicked out for it. On the sunny side there is often laws that deal with eviction or can even give you rights as an occupier. This could mean you can officially request water, gas and electricity to be connected, or that you can prevent or postpone eviction. It can mean the difference between being evicted the first week or staying there for years.

One useful link in this can be the legal guide of Squat.net: http://legal.squat.net/

Foreclosure Squatting

In late 2007 as the foreclosure machine gets into full swing and the banks are taking away the apartments and houses of even those who pay their rent every month a new opportunity is available to squatters. Often landlords bought and built on speculation of ever rising land values and low interest rates. Now as additional credit is no longer available the risk taking of the landlords affects the renters as a surprise eviction with only days or weeks can be attempted by the banks or government. If this happens to you a ready made squatting solution may have been delivered with the eviction notice. After the eviction notice discontinue paying rent, the old owner no longer has a right to your money if he has lost the property because of delinquent taxes or bank foreclosure, but continue paying regular utilities so they are not shut off. Stash any valuables you want to keep with friends as your eventual evicter may be rough with your stuff. Now get legal help and unite your building and others like it in defiance of the CorpGov banking system, squat your own apartment!!

Authorized Foreclosure Squatting

Here's a novel form of squatting; your own home. See, times are tough and lots of people are defaulting on mortgages. Quite a number of them continue living right there, not making payments, as defacto caretakers of the bank's property. Letting you stay keeps it maintained, prevents vandalism, and keeps squatters out!! The banks have sometimes found it less expensive to not to finish the foreclosure and eviction process, instead holding off the final eviction waiting perhaps for a federal bailout. In late 2009 a program is offered by many banks where you turn in the title and sign away all rights to keeping the home in exchange for being allowed to remain while paying rent.

Oh, you're already out of a place, and need one? Contact a big bank and offer your services as a live in caretaker. Offer to do it in return for living space- maybe they can toss in the water and electric as fringe benefits, maybe not, but it's a legal home, a way to mooch off the system that kicked you out to begin with, and a temporary but hassle free living place. MAYBE it can even turn into a long term way to earn a living as a caretaker. This is worth exploring.

Disputed Loan Hassle

Lastly always show up for all court hearings, with a lawyer if you can still afford one, about your property or loan and protest the legitimacy of the banks ownership of your loan and right to even attempt a foreclosure. This tactic has earned many people a free house since it is difficult to reconstruct the complete undisputed loan holder paper trail what with the twisted derivative and option markets and bank credit corporation bankruptcies of the last few years. The trick is that most banks flipped the mortgage ownership to wall street traders a few weeks after the home sale to package and sell as dodgie investments, they are often impossible to properly track considering the crash and brokerage closures they caused. The banks have to pay the lawyers that are trying to take your house and right now the housing market is crashing, it is a losing investment to a bank that is facing bankruptcy anyway, make the job too expensive and they might go away. Once you publicly repudiate the loan or foreclosure rights of the bank you just need to successfully stick it out for the statutory period of adverse possession without them bringing any more legal actions to become the undisputed legal freeholder of the property.

See Free Land for more on acquiring legal rights to a property through adverse possession of property aka squatters rights.

Security

Since YOU broke in to a squat, do not assume that others will not. Remember, you do not have any legal rights to squat or secure your possessions on this squat, and others may want to freely acquire them from you. To put it simply, you must think ahead when choosing a building and finding a way to secure your possessions.

When first inhabiting a squat, find or create a "safe room." You will want this to be as small and indistinguishable as possible. Put a dead bolt on the room and use it for the storage of valuables. Make sure there is enough room to keep anything you wouldn't want missing when you leave the squat as well.

In a day or two you should have all the windows boarded up, and all but one entrance sealed. Attempt to have the one entrance look as inconspicuous as possible, and keep a locking mechanism on it at all times (from both sides). Make sure the hinges face THE INSIDE of the door. A good way to secure a door is to place two deadbolts near both the top and bottom corner of the door, opposite the hinges, and paint over them. On the inside secure your entrances with a bar.

Do everything to prepare your squat for siege! Most abandoned or foreclosed properties are located in really scrappy, low income neighborhoods and their lots may already be used as dealer grounds or other dangerous criminal activity. Honestly, if a person, or a group of persons, wants your stuff badly enough, they will find a way to take it unless you're adequately prepared and able to defend.

Repairs

Leak Management

If your squat place has a leaky roof buckets and pans might be enough until you can do some repairs. For major damage that threatens to rot or mold your place you need to set up a system of tarp pools and chutes. Large tarps and sheet plastic can be used, we found good instructions in an old firefighters training manual.

For a pool the tarp is under-rolled from four sides with the under-rolling forming walls, then the corners are folded under to keep the rolls tight. If a spillway is needed one corner can be left without an underfold. The pool can be emptied with a garden hose siphon, don't let the spoiled water touch your mouth, coil the hose up in the full pool forcing out the air and plug the end, when you are downstairs unplug the hose and the siphon will run.

A tarp water chute is made by under-rolling the sides of a tarp and running it downhill or stairway to the outside.

It might be possible to make a large cone from a tarp or plastic and clamp drain pipe or hose to run water out from a large building, it is best to drain this into a storm sewer.

Drainage

In a condemned building squat where there is no possibility of rebuilding the bathroom plumbing you might consider cutting a hole in the floor and installing a drain using inexpensive drainage tubing and cement or roofing compound for a seal and running it out to the city storm sewer, this will only work on upper floors where a gravity siphon will carry the water down and across the yard. If possible also seal and build up the floor to slope into the drain, have a cleanout or elbow trap in the pipe to catch valuables, crud, and hair making repairs easier. Before you give up on clogged pipes and tear them out try the following, dump a bottle of bleach, lye, or drain cleaner down the drain to dissolve most hair or grease clogs. A toilet plunger, wire hangar with hooked end, or a drain snake will open most plugged pipes that bleach won't open. The downside to bleach is it is toxic and can cause pollution, snaking is pretty safe but can be very messy.

Replumbing

If the pipes are ripped out of your squat start by replumbing with scrap pipe, garden hose, splices, and hose clamps all attached to the wall and easy to repair, an improvised reinstall will not look too nice but will work just as well as real pipe in the short term when there is a question of how long your stay will be.

Shower Enclosure

If you are not fortunate to have a plumbed squat building or access to a lockable public restroom but can access an unused room with a floor drain you are still in luck. Plastic sheeting is an inexpensive way to make a temporary shower enclosure in a room and still be able to live in it without soaking your gear while also providing some privacy. Hang your siphon shower directly above the floor drain, then hang the plastic sheeting from a hula hoop or PVC pipe frame, it should work to hang it directly from the ceiling, wrap the curtain sheet around with an entry slit and attach a second piece that acts as a collection tub on the bottom, cut a hole for the drain and tape down around the floor drain, an extra flap of plastic over the opening slit will help prevent splash out. A kids inflatable pool is another good way to catch water, be careful especially with the larger pools as they can end up being quite a heavy load on a rotten upper floor, siphon the waste water out the window with a piece of hose if you have no nearby drain or tarp drainage chute.

Rewiring

Attach wire or extension cords high up on the walls, be careful about taping and protecting splices and don't overload the capacity of the wire. A rule of thumb, warm wire is always dangerous shut it off now, cool wire still might be dangerous, get a real electrician to check your work as a first priority. Keep any wiring that is not strung inside the walls up too high for kids or water to get to it. For any long term squat you will need a circuit breaker box to protect against shorts and overloads. Get help from somebody who is properly trained electrical repair to plan the wire, breakers, and anticipated loads for your system, an unplanned ad-hoc setup often causes fires.

Squatters who have not rewired a structure should try to keep electrical loads a low as possible, heating cooking, and even clothes drying are best done with gas appliances. Refrigerators and even large shop vacuum cleaners will also stress an electrical system.

Door and Frame

It is a good idea to upgrade the door frame with heavy timbers or brick and cement and connect it to the existing door frame and wall with steel bolts. A 2x4 or larger wood door bar that can be dropped into place across the doorway and heavy steel braces will hold the bar on your new reinforced door frame. This makes eviction squads or other competing squatters work that much harder to take away your home as well as making it safer from those who would do you harm.

A cheap personal alarm with the door jam sensor is a good portable and noisy way to monitor doors and windows against surprise visitors.

A Warm Bed

One of the most miserable parts of alternative housing and homelessness is that it seems that you are damp and freezing your ass off 24/7 all winter long. Most squats have no electricity or piped in gas so heating is really expensive and often dangerous. The worst time to feel cold is when you are trying to sleep, being chilled at night ruins your health and keeps you from getting proper rest, making you ineffective to your cause.

Cargo Pallet Bed

For the most part we spend our first cash to equip ourselves with a decent sleeping bag and this is your top priority in getting proper bedding. Once this is taken care of you need to get off of the ground and get some sleep. Even a dry floor in an unheated squat steals heat and collects condensation preventing a truly warm nights sleep.

Dry cardboard and newspaper have some insulating properties if you have no other options but they get gross and collect condensation sometimes as quickly as one night or two in winter.

While you are collecting the stuff you need to make a proper bed, find two or three wooden freight pallets in good condition to get you off of the floor. They are behind almost every business, factory, and strip mall. Be sure to hammer down all nails so you don't rip your bag or hurt yourself, now pad the pallets with a few of those cheap lint blankets they give away at homeless shelters or if you cant get any blankets use a protective layer of newspaper or cardboard. If you already are carrying it cover the rough surface of the pallets with your closed cell foam (non- inflatable) camping or yoga pad.

Now that you are off of the ground and feeling a little better lets try to make you a decent bed that will really keep you warm and keep the cold out. See more beds in Free Furniture

Hammock

If you travel light you might have a hammock in your gear, just screw some heavy duty eye-bolts or hooks into unrotted studs in the wall, if you want to insert a hook into cement you will need a drill and plastic or metal inserts. The tarp you hang over your hammock when camping can also protect you indoors from roof leaks.

Living Arrangements

It is a good idea to clearly mark the entrance of a women's only squat if that is how you want to form your group. Making a squat female exclusive is not to be a hate or anger based settlement decision but should serve the security and emotional needs of the squat team. Women must make every attempt to have a solid locked door by the first night of occupation as much physical and most sexual violence is directed at women.

It is also not a bad idea for men to try to find male exclusivity in living arrangements to reduce the likelihood of a misunderstanding which could result in accusations of sexual assault or harassment of women or minors. A segregated squat will also put any temptation of actual misdeeds at least against women beyond arms length.

http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Squatting 6/23

If a family with children is seeking to occupy a squatted property a parent or guardian should be present at all times the child is in the squat. Presence of a legal guardian is to safeguard the child both from the so called child welfare authorities who may try to illegally capture and hold a child, as well as from potential predators who may reside in or attempt to take over the squat. Squatting is not a legal reason for the state to take your child away, know your child's rights.

Stealth Squats

Flip to our chapter on Urban Living#Squat a House for more on tactics and safety for temporary stealth squats

Defense in an Eviction

Buildings are ready built obstacles waiting to be barricaded. Occupy these early, as contractors will attempt to destroy or occupy them. A building waiting to be destroyed is also a completely valid source of materials. Consider first whether to barricade the whole house, just the upstairs (removing the staircase, blocking off the stairwell and using an upstairs window as the only access), or just one "strong room". Decide according to the amount of people, time and materials available. Barricades can be done on a very low budget using materials collected from skips or disused yards in the area. They need to be solid and able to resist sledge hammer blows.

You will need:

Tools - Hammers, saws, shovels, buckets, a crowbar, sledgehammer and screwdriver.

Materials - Nails, screws and fencing staples; timber, old bed frames, wire, tin fencing and wire mesh (often used on building sites, can be borrowed, perhaps), doors, anything heavy or that could be filled with rubble, water or earth (e.g. oil drums); car tyres, mirrors, anything else you like! For concrete, mix sandy gravel and cement in a 3:1 ratio.

• Make sure you have a good store of materials within the building before starting.

• Keep the details of barricades as secret as possible and develop your own eccentricities!

• Pulleys help when lifting heavy objects.

• Tempt people to help with tea, cakes and bourbon cream biscuits.

To make a barricade, alternating layers of planks or doors and metal nailed into the doors or window frames make a good start point. Next, nail vertical beams behind these with a support prop to the floor at 45 degrees. Reinforce the base of the prop with another beam nailed behind it into the floor joists. Then fill the whole area with rubble, car tires and other debris.

Stairwells can be sealed off using long planks, with water or rubble-filled oil drums on top. Removing the staircase as well makes access to the first floor even more difficult. It is vital to leave clear warning messages that any attempt to cut through the planks will result in a serious headache!

Entrance points must be kept shut at night and should be quick and easy to secure. Reinforce wall cavities with concrete. Floors should be reinforced or strewn with rubble to make entry into barricaded rooms from below harder. Consider digging into the floor or basement, building a wooden box bunker and then filling the remaining space with rubble and tires. Have a good access tunnel with lockable gates. These have been used on Claremont Road and at the Darwen squats during the M11 and M65 campaigns in 1994

These blocking tactics push the focus for their assault onto the roof, forcing use of expensive cherry-pickers. Attic spaces should be occupied, filled and reinforced from both inside and outside if possible. Chimney stacks are ideal fixtures for lock-ons, although for safety they should be demolished to the level of the roof tiles. Heavy chains cemented into the building make a good connector for catching cherry-pickers (see chapter 12). Scaffolding or wooden towers emerging from the roof are a bonus, as are nets between houses and from trees to houses. Nets, as with tree defense, help movement around the threatened area if ground level is sealed off.

Original Content

Introduction

The housing situation in NYC rapidly becomes worse and worse. Abandoned buildings deteriorate with every winter. Low income housing and homesteading programs have disappeared along with our elected officials' promises. Now is the time to take the situation into our own hands. What we're saying is that housing policy is dishonest and an insult to anyone living in welfare hotels, crowded conditions or in the park. These laws are put together by people who can only be described as common criminals who wear nice clothes and live in two or three nice homes. They would never dream of living in the conditions that we are used to. These people profit from our misery. They don't have a grain of sympathy for us, our children, or the sometimes unbearable conditions in which we are forced to live.

This little book has been put together to help people with little or no money find a solution to their housing problems. We hope that after reading it, people will look at an abandoned building in a totally new light. You might think that living in the conditions we describe in this book is pretty crude. We hope you won't be forced to live like this. But if it sounds better than what you've got now, we hope you'll be inspired to give it a try.

We will go through a step-by-step guide on how to find your building, what to look for, and the cheapest and easiest ways of making it comfortable. Once you are in the building, you will have to deal with the law eventually, so we have included a section covering some basics to keep the police from messing you up. We aim in this book to show methods that you can use to live more comfortably and safely than on the street. We believe that -- even if you have no money at all and don't want to have anything to do with other people -- you will still find the ideas in this book useful. It may be less work and in some ways more comfortable to live in a shelter. However, we believe that if you can manage to take an empty building, you will have a home with more self-respect and more independence than just about anyone. You can get off the street or out of the shelter and make a decent home for yourself very simply. If you do, we hope that you will use whatever political, legal, or other means you can to keep the powers-that-be from making you homeless again.

Mayor Koch once said that if you can't afford to live here, you should get out. Let's give him (and his successors) our answer: We're taking our homes for ourselves here. Koch and his cronies can take it or leave it themselves. You can improve a vacant lot without being busted for trespassing -- insist on your right to squat on unused PUBLIC property.

Here are some (now outdated) facts to consider if you are not sure whether it is right for you to make a home for yourself in a building that you don't "legally" own.

• Two-thirds of New Yorkers pay 40 percent or more of their income for housing, while most of the top quarter of the income scale pay less 40 percent.

• One hundred thousand people are homeless in New York City.

• The city government owns 65 percent of the vacant properties in Harlem and other areas of the city.

• Thirty-six thousand apartments were converted to co-ops and condos between 1981 and 1984.

• Twenty-seven percent of homeless people were forced out of their homes by eviction.

• Three hundred and ten thousand units have been emptied by abandonment, disinvestment and arson.

How to Form a Group

This first part is often the trickiest, since a bad, un-together group will do more damage to the project than the city government will in many cases. The people you live and work with are more important than the building that you chose. One of the most important aspects of a group is diversity. Every group has its own style: some are more political than others; some like to party; some like to be real business-like and legal; some are arty; others are just trying to get over and off the street. Whatever your group is like, you should keep in mind that not only do you have to relate to each other, you also have to relate to your community. If your neighborhood is all the same ethnic group as the members of your group, you don't have to worry about diversity. But if your group has only token members of the main ethnic group in the neighborhood, then you could get yourself in some trouble.

Choosing Your Team

A group of people living and working together who all agree on everything cannot exist: someone in the group is always going to have to shelve, give up or compromise on an idea. As you will be living in the unfamiliar condition of having no landlord, no way of calling in the police to settle your differences, you should give some thought to the kind of people you want to live with.

Assembling Your Squat Team

Once you've decided to squat, its up to you to make the first contact. How you do this depends on your situation. If you live in a welfare hotel or a shelter, you will have a readily-available supply of people who are in the same situation as you. After studying this book, the next time someone says to you, "God! I'm sick of this shit," spring the idea on them. Sit down, have a coffee and go over the pros and cons of squatting. We're sure you're going to disagree with some of the things we say, just as sure as you will come up with ideas of your own (with enough energy and luck). Communicating with people in this way you will soon find yourself in a group which is seriously considering the option of squatting.

We feel that six adults is a big enough group to go to a building (figure out yourselves what "adult" means). If for some reason your group is only two or three people, don't be discouraged. Go ahead with the project, since once a building is opened, within weeks you'll have people coming around, looking for a place to stay.

If for some reason you happen to be isolated, that is, living alone in a hotel, or even in the park, and you can't get enough people interested or organized, then don't give up! Remember that this city is full of homeless people and all you need is a few of them to start your group. You could advertise on lamp posts and bulletin boards. For example: "Wanted: people interested in homesteading. Contact —." (Note: some squatters call themselves

http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Squatting 9/23 homesteaders when dealing with the public, but in many areas no one understands what this means.) The groups listed at the end of this book may help you make contracts.

Rules

We have found that a set of rules is must for any new group. The rules should be discussed in detail and agreed upon by all concerned. They should be written down, since verbal agreements tend to get pretty vague after a few months.

Here is one set of house rules you can think about if you need ideas for your own:

• No hard drugs: they can be used as a pretext to throw everyone out of the building.

• No violence.

• No stealing.

Breaking any of these first three rules can get you thrown out of the squat, though everyone should remember that squatters have no legal right to throw anyone out or evict them.

• Every member must work a minimum of hours per month on the common areas of the building. Jobs may include childcare and other non-construction work. What work people do depends on their abilities.

• Every member must pay a certain amount per month to a construction fund for the common areas of the building: roof, stairs, plumbing, electricity, etc.

• The construction funds should be deposited in a joint account, which requires at least two signatures to get money from. The name on the account should be something like "The 537 E. 5th St. Homestead Association."

• All new members must go through a trial period in which they work on the building with old members for a month, and can then be accepted as a member by agreement of all the other members.

We want to emphasize again that these rules are our own, and you will probably need to adapt them to your own circumstances. We also hope people will keep in mind the cruel wave of evictions that has made so many people homeless when they consider whether or not some offense is serious enough to throw a member out.

Finding a Building and Investigating It

Finding

New York City is full of empty buildings that range from totally destroyed shells all the way to buildings that are in OK shape. The way to find a building is to simply walk around the streets with your eyes open. Try to concentrate on areas where people are already squatting or homesteading, as you will usually get less hassle from the neighbors if you squat there. Look at the buildings surrounding the one you've got your eye on.

If the surroundings look as if they've been renovated for well-off people, this may mean more hassles from neighbors and police. The neighbors can be dealt with just by talking to them and explaining your case. Give them some figures on how many people are homeless. Tell them who is in your group and how you came to be in the situation you're in. Be realistic and honest. See what you can find out from them. Ask about the history of the building and whether or not any one has been using it since it was abandoned.

Try to get an idea if any community groups, politicians, gangs or real estate operators have an eye on the building. If so, figure out if they are for real and, if not, whether you will be able to take the building and keep them off your back. If you think they are for real, you might approach them and see if you can work together. You may also meet squatters who still have room in their buildings and are looking for new members.

Be polite, but be careful of people who are in too big a hurry to be your friend. Be particularly careful to avoid antagonizing any of your neighbors during the first month, that is, until you've established your residence. As for dealing with the police, refer to the chapter on legal hassles.

Triage Marks

You will notice that some buildings have been painted with squares. These squares are painted by the city government to indicate the status of the building. An empty square indicates that the building is abandoned. A square with a slash in it indicates that fire fighters should be cautious entering the building. A square with an X in it indicates that the building is condemned. Don't presume the building is not good: perfectly good buildings get condemned all the time.

Ownership

It's worth knowing whether a building is still privately owned or has been taken over by the city government. If the owner of a building shows up and wants you out, it is easier for him to get you evicted than it is for the city to get you out of one of their buildings.

Also, if it ever gets to the point that you want to hold on to the building you have squatted and stay there over a long term, it is possible to do so with city-owned buildings, but practically impossible with privately-owned buildings. People on the block may know if the city owns a building or not, but to be sure you should check at city hall. In NYC, the place to go if the Office of the City Register, Room 20531, Chambers Street.

Take the exact address of the building with you. In the office, look first at the Lot and Block maps. Find the block number and the lot number of the address in which you're interested. The records are kept according to these numbers and not according to addresses. When you have this information, check out the micro film for the building (you need ID to do this). When you're reading the microfilm, go directly to the last few pages in the records to find the last transaction, because this will tell you who owns the building now. The city government ends up owning a building when the previous owner didn't pay the taxes on it; the city takes the building (forecloses) in lieu of back taxes. So look for a statement of foreclosure.

Inspecting the Building

Walls

Have a look at the exterior walls of the building you're researching. You may have to wait until you've gotten inside before you can get to the back of the building, but what you need to look at is the same. Are there major holes in the masonry? If they can't be filled or covered, they might be significant structural defects. Are there signs of bulging or sagging? Are there wide gaps where the mortar joints should be? If the answer is "Yes" to any of these questions, find another building to squat.

Major Code Violations

Is the fire escape pulling loose from the wall? Is it falling apart? Is the cornice (the part that sticks out from the face of the building along the roof) broken apart and dangling? If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes," you've got dangers to people walking on the sidewalk in front of the building, and so you will have to fix these problems. But remember: though a cornice is just a decorative frill (and so can be removed or tied back so it won't fall), its deterioration can be a sign of overall deterioration. A dangerous cornice is a building code violation and can get your squat closed down.

Entry

OK, so at this point you've got your eye on a certain building and, from the outside, it doesn't look too bad. Now for a look inside. To be on the safe side as far as getting hassled goes, it may be best to go in the evening when it is dark. But it may be that, after familiarizing yourself with the neighborhood, you feel comfortable with entering the building during the daytime. Either way, bring a strong flashlight and be very careful where you step and what you hold on to. It's very easy -- if you are not watching what you are doing -- to step through a rotted floor board or lose your balance when a piece of broken window frame comes loose in your hand. The riskiest part of an abandoned building is usually at the top, because there are usually some bad leaks in the roof that will cause rot. But dangers can be found aplenty on the lower floors, too: vandalism and fire damage can be found anywhere in a building, and years of leakage will result in lower-floor rot as well.

Normally the easiest way in is through the back. You can climb up the fire escape and go in a window. Even if the back is bricked up, you can get to the roof, and from there it is often easy to find a way in. Now, say there's no way into the back -- what do you do? You're going to need about five people and a 12-foot ladder. Two people are needed as lookouts; one person holds the ladder while the remaining two enter the building. It's always useful to have one person with you who has some knowledge of old buildings, so if no one in your group knows old buildings, you should get someone who does to help out.

If you are unfortunate enough to choose a building that is totally bricked up, your only way in will probably be on the roof. If you can't get up to the roof, you will have to chisel out a couple of concrete blocks from a window and get in through the opening you've created. We recommend that as few people as possible do this so that too much attention isn't attracted.

It is easy to get in if you can get friendly with someone who lives next door: you can get onto the roof of the building you're interested in through this person's building.

So! After days of planning, hassles, people not showing up, and trying to get organized, you're finally inside and ready to inspect the building. It will almost certainly look and smell like shit: it will be full of old rotting furniture, rubble and ceilings that have fallen down all over the place. Some apartments in the building will be burnt-out. Don't be discouraged by any of this, for it's all quite normal.

Interior Inspection

Inspect the roof. Check it for holes. Look for missing, burnt or rotted joists, which are the timbers that support roofs and floors. Rot can be tested by sticking a knife in the lumber as far as it will go. When checking for rot, find a spot where the leaking water soaks in and doesn't dry up right away. Up to an inch may be rotted or burnt, and the timbers might still be OK. The ends of the joists can suffer a lot of deterioration without endangering the structure, but the joists in the middle cannot be weakened without risking collapse. Check the parapet walls around the roof to see if (or how badly) they are falling apart and what will need to be done to them to make them safe.

Stairs

Inspect the stairs. If you're lucky, there will be nothing wrong with the stairs except for some missing steps. If the building has no staircase at all, you will have a lot of work to do, perhaps too much. Until you are able to replace the stairs, you will have to use the fire escape or a ladder in place of stairs. There are enough buildings with stairs around that you may be wasting your time on one that doesn't have any staircase at all. One squat in NYC was evacuated by the Fire Department for not having stairs. Eviction by HPD (Housing Preservation and Development, which is the landlord of city-owned buildings) can be delayed by legal means for a long time. But evacuation by the city's Fire, Health or Buildings Departments is swift and hard to contest.

Floor Joists

Inspect the floor joists. These are the timbers that support the floors. Make note where they are missing or damaged. If the floors are sloping more than an inch or so, this may mean that the structure has shifted so much that it has become dangerous. If timbers are dangerously damaged, they can be braced by scavenged lumber (four- by-fours are best).

Pipes

Inspect the sewer pipes. The toilets will typically be smashed or missing, but the water pipes may be in salvageable condition. Follow the waste pipes through the building down to the basement, checking for holes along the way. Look for holes in the walls which HPD -- upon taking over the building -- may have made in order to damage the pipes and thereby discourage squatters. Copper water pipes will certainly have been stripped, but if there were steel pipes originally, they may still be in place and usable. If your plumbing is in OK condition, you can probably get your water running pretty soon. Otherwise you can get water from a fire hydrant, which can be opened with a pipe wrench.

Door

Inspect the front door. If the front of the building has been sealed with concrete blocks, make sure that the door or any windows are ready to use before you knock the blocks out. If there is already a working door you can use or if you have to knock a hole in the block wall and install a door in the opening (see below), make sure you are ready to keep the building secured once you have opened it and made your use of the building public.

Getting In

Now, you're ready to move in. If the area you're in is run-down, it's possible that no one will bother you while you smash out the concrete blocks. With a twelve-pound sledge hammer, a door sized opening can take as few as seven-and-a-half minutes to create. Quickly get all the broken blocks off the sidewalk and into the building; sweep up to remove signs of your work. You may want to keep a low profile and do this while look-outs watch for the cops, or bring along lots of friends and supporters, and dare the cops to intervene. It is also possible, and it may be preferable, to work from the inside out, to chisel the blocks out discreetly, one by one.

Outside Door

You should have a door and frame prepared to set into the new opening. Measure and mark the hole you've opened with your new door in mind. In any case, work quickly and as quietly as possible. Once inside, unless there is a usable door in place, either set up a barricade or install a door. Steel door frames and doors are easily scavenged from demolition or rehab sites. Unless you're pretty strong, it will take two people to carry a steel door or a cart to roll it on.

To install the front door, set the frame in the opening and fill in around the edges with pieces of broken blocks and some mortar (a couple of bags of mortar mix should be enough). Make certain that the bottom of the door frame is exactly as wide as the top when it is set in place. Otherwise the door won't work. Use a board that has been cut to exactly the right width to keep the correct space at the bottom of the frame while it is being installed. Make sure the frame is straight up and down and not crooked, bent or twisted out of line in the opening. If the frame you have is bent, you can straighten it with a hammer, laying it on the pavement and using a block of wood to protect it from getting dented up too much.

Install the frame so that the door will open into the building. There are steel tabs on the inside of the door frame that are meant to be bent out so that they will anchor the frame into the mortar joints in the block wall. As you fill in the opening around the door frame with mortar and block, be sure that the inside of the frame itself is filled with mortar and block pieces, because the frame is not solid by itself. If you're not able to afford or install a heavy duty bolt lock on the door, a heavy chain and a padlock will do the trick. Pass the chain through a hole in the door and around the door frame.

Posting Your Claim

Paint the name of your group and your address on the door. For the example: "The 537 East Fifth Street Homestead Association and Neighborhood Improvement Committee." Do all the work that you can in advance so that on your opening day you can simply set your door, lock and door frame in place all in one go.

Security

If this is more than you can manage right away, you'll need to rig up some sort of barricade for the doorway and have someone inside at all times to let others in and out. You should not leave your building unattended in any case, especially right after you move in. It is good to have someone on hand to watch the place when most people are out during the day. The risk from police and other evildoers is high right after the building is occupied. Don't let anyone in that you're not sure about; don't let any cops or city officials in under any circumstances unless they have a warrant. (See the legal section for what to do if the police do have a warrant.) Keep the door closed and locked at all times, don't sit out on your stoop with the door unlocked or open. Needless to say, you're in the building illegally, and so there is no need to make your front door an open invitation to cops and thieves.

Nothing is worse than coming home to find that your tools, sleeping bags and heaters have been ripped off -except maybe walking upstairs to your apartment and meeting a junk-sick thief running downstairs with your radio in one hand and a knife in the other.

Your security depends on making it so difficult to enter your building that most thieves will pass it up. If your building looks funky and people on the street can see that only poor people live there, you won't need as much security. You should keep your ground floor windows barred or sealed with concrete block or even plywood. Eliminate hand and footholds by knocking them off or by setting nails or broken glass in masonry cement or roofing cement. More of the same or coiled barbed wire around the base of the fire escape and continuing across the face of the building at the second floor level will help to deter climbers. Grates on windows facing the fire escape are good, but it will take a lot of them to do your whole building. It might be good enough to bolt full sheets of plywood to the outside of the fire escape railing on the second floor. This will make a wall around the fire escape too high to climb over. You can top it off with a coil of barbed wire or nails. The roof is another point of entry, so be sure that the penthouse door is secured.

Establishing a Claim

Note well that having a front door with a lock, beds and other basics such as a kitchen is good for your own wellbeing, but it is also important in establishing that you are a resident and not a trespasser. It may seem like a small point, but it is actually quite important. It can make the difference between getting run out of the building by the cops if they feel like doing it and getting them to back down so that they will have to wait until HPD manages to go through the lengthy proceedings necessary to legally evict you.

Emergency Repairs

In most cases, the most important repair that abandoned buildings need is work on the roof, which will almost certainly leak. The roof will typically have a large hole or two in it caused by a fire, fire fighters or vandals from the city government. For your own comfort, it may only be necessary to locate a room into which there is no leakage. However, a building in which the roof leaks will have lots of spaces in which no one will be able to live. You want to avoid squatting in a building such as this, because the more people you have living in your building, the better your chances of resisting eviction and protecting yourself against hassles from the city and from thieves and drug dealers. The more people you have, the more comfortable and secure you can make your place.

Roof

The long-term maintenance of a building depends more on the roof than on any other single thing. If the roof is not maintained, it will eventually rot until it collapses. The floors will go and, sooner or later, the exterior walls will collapse. Then what you got is a pile of useless, rotten timber and broken masonry -- which will cost the city a lot of money to clear out and turn into a vacant lot. Unfortunately, letting abandoned buildings rot until they collapse is just what HPD is doing with the buildings it owns. Don't let the city get away with it!

Clear the roof of any debris and sweep it clean. Patch the holes. You can lay 5/8-inch-thick plywood boards over them. Try using mineralized felt paper and roofing tar as a way of patching holes. If your roof is so far gone that you have to cover it entirely, get someone who works as a roofer to help you out. To do this kind of work, in NYC you might be able to get the materials you donated by groups or organizations such as the Riverside Church, the Church of Saint John the Divine, or the Listener's Auction radio station WBAI-FM.

Planning

If you have some work to get done, its helpful to write your plans down on paper, step by step, and keep track of any changes you make in the plans as you work. Make drawings or diagrams that describe and show how to do the jobs that are hard to explain in words; they will make it easier to organize and help get people involved in the project. Books such as the Reader's Digest Complete Do-it-Yourself Manual or Carpentry and Construction are handy for dealing with construction problems and can be found in the public libraries. We've found that books dealing specifically with roofing, electrical work, plumbing and other "specialized" trades are also easily obtained.

Temporary Roof Repairs

If repairing the roof is too big a project to take on right away, you can use polyethylene plastic sheeting to protect the roof temporarily. Get a hundred-foot roll of 4 mil plastic that is twenty feet wide, and a couple of buckets of flashing cement. (Be sure to get flashing cement, because other kinds of roofing tar won't do the trick.) Begin by clearing and sweeping the surface of the roof clean. Fill or cover up all the holes. Make sure that the roof drain is clear and unclogged at all times. Unroll the plastic so that the entire roof is covered. If you have to cut the plastic to cover the entire roof evenly, make sure the lap joints where the edges of the plastic meet each other are perfectly sealed with flashing cement, leaving not even the smallest gap. Drape the ends of the plastic over the parapet walls on all four sides. Lay bricks or boards on top of the plastic so that the wind doesn't blow it around. Fasten the ends to the walls with the flashing cement or with boards that have nails driven in to the mortar joints between the brick in the parapets.

This is a somewhat temporary protection, but if you do a good job, it should make it through the winter. But summer heat will certainly cook the plastic until it breaks apart. To make your plastic roof a bit more permanent, spread flashing cement over the entire surface of the roof before laying the plastic down. Make sure that there are no bubbles in the plastic and that all of the plastic is stuck to the cement below.

Windows

If you have leftover plastic, you can use it to seal the places where windows are missing. Use lath, which is the thin slat with which plaster walls used to be made, to nail the plastic to the window frame or staple it up using strips of cardboard as reinforcement. You can also use leftover plastic to make tents for your living areas: these can be really handy in the cold winter months in NYC.

Frame Repairs

Shore the place up. Close off any areas of the building where the floor or the roof is unsafe. Then if you can't replace, repair or reinforce the damaged timbers, you can brace them with four-by-fours or pairs of two-by-fours that have been nailed together. Be sure to brace the damaged timber against something solid or otherwise you're just making the problem worse. The brace must ultimately be supported by a bearing wall or footing. You can brace down to a joist if its near a load-bearing wall.

You can generally assume that brick, block, or stone exterior walls are load-bearing walls and that interior walls (studs with lath and plaster) are probably not. However, just because a wall is not a load bearing wall doesn't mean you can take it out safely. Even if it is only a partition wall it can't be safely removed if there are walls in the corresponding places on the floors above it. Even if there is no wall above the one you're thinking of removing, you have to make certain that the floor joists above are not being supported by or, as a result of settling, come to rest upon it.

Stair and Floor Repairs

Missing stair steps can be temporarily replaced with wooden ones. If there's no other way to secure them in place, drive nails through the top and then go underneath and bend the nails' tips over so that they will hook on to the steel part of the stairway. Cover holes in the floor with plywood until you can get around to replacing the missing flooring.

Pipes

Holes in sewage pipes can be patched by a variety of methods, including fiber glass, auto body filler with window screen, and even roofing cement. The waste pipes have already been discussed: they should be tested to see if they will drain but not leak. Until you've got the pipes working, you'll have to dump your piss and other waste waters in the storm sewer in the street. Do not dump your waste waters out the window!

Debris Removal

To remove debris, start at the top of your building and work down. Don't throw stuff out of upper story windows, because you may draw justified complaints and hassles from your neighbors. Since you may not be able to get the kind of tube that contractors use to get stuff down from the upper floors to the street, you may have to take up the flooring in the same corner on each floor and throw the unwanted stuff down through the holes. Once at the ground floor, the debris can be chucked out the back of the building or bagged and taken out for bulk refuse collection by the Sanitation Department. It might take quite a few tries to get a response from Sanitation; it depends on who you talk to. When you find someone who is helpful, get their name and extension, only deal with them in the future. If you use the through-the-floor method, hang a curtain of plastic that stretches from floor to ceiling on each of the affected floors, so that dust or asbestos particles won't spread all over the place.

Asbestos Safety

Asbestos causes cancer and other serious diseases. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos fibers. Studies of exposure to asbestos suggest that as little as one day can result in significant damage to the respiratory system and disease. But the health risks of asbestos come into play only if the fibers are released from the material and enter the air. If the material is in excellent condition and not in a living area, left it alone. A greater hazard can be created than originally existed if the asbestos is removed by inexperienced people. Only trained asbestos abatement professionals should remove materials containing asbestos, which is typically found in boiler and pipe insulation. It may also be found in radiator covers, fire-proof doors and certain kinds of light-weight construction blocks.

If you see insulation that is not fiberglass, that is ripped, split, ragged or powdery looking, don't touch it!, you should get the material tested for asbestos. Contact the White Lung Association (at 718 389 5546) and arrange to have a sample tested. The WLA also gives courses in asbestos removal.

If for some reason you must handle asbestos, be sure to wear disposable gloves and a respirator that has been approved for use with asbestos. A half-face respirator equipped with a High Efficiency Particulate Absolute filter will be sufficient. Keep the asbestos wet. The weight of the water will keep the asbestos particles from becoming air-borne.

Document Homestead Repairs

It's a good idea to take photographs or shoot videotape of the work you have done on the building, even if it seems as if you are documenting crimes you have committed. You're not! Save your receipts for any materials you buy. Keep records of the jobs you did and the hours (or weeks or months) it took you and your group to do them. All of this is documentation that you are a homesteader and not a trespasser, a vagrant or a drifter which are common stereotypes for squatters.

Light, Heat, and Fire Safety

Light

Candles are the easiest way to provide light. The best kind are in tall glass containers, the kind that often have pictures of saints or magic charms on them. They last a long time and are not easily blown out. The cold does not easily shatter them. Somewhat better light can be provided by old-fashioned kerosene lamps. If you use them, trim your wicks now and then to make the brightest flame and least smoke. Coleman lanterns generate light as bright as incandescent light. The kerosene type is safer than the gasoline ones, although they take longer to light. Kerosene is generally cheaper and easier to get than white gas.

Heat

In New York City, heating is not merely a creature comfort in the winter. Tenants can sue their landlords for not providing enough heat and it is well known that are deaths from hypothermia among people living on the street and in unheated apartments.

Kerosene Heaters

We think kerosene heaters -- though they can be messy and fire hazards -- are a practical and economical means of heating. Kerosene heaters aren't legal but can be bought in the outer boroughs and New Jersey. It's worth it to get your kerosene outside of Manhattan since the price will be much higher in this borough of the city. Please! do not store your kerosene in rooms in which heaters will be operated and never go to sleep with the heater on.

Wood Stoves

Get a wood stove if you can, because it can be a very cheap source of heat. Wood stoves are also safer and healthier than kerosene heaters. If you can't find one, you can make one from a discarded steel drum. The best wood stove designs are various versions of "rocket stove" developed by Larry Winiarski. A company by the name of "Stovetec" mass produces these and distributes them to struggling countries. We discuss making chimney effect or rocket stoves in Low Impact Crashing#Chimney Stoves

Start by making two holes in the drum: one to put the wood in (this one will need a door to keep smoke from backing out into the air), and another for the smoke to go out and into a flue pipe that you will have to make. The easiest way to cut these two holes is to drill a piolt hole to start each new cut, and then make your cuts using a jig saw with a sheet-metal blade. If there is no way for you to make use of power tools, you could even cut the holes using a cold chisel. The hole for the flue must be measured to fit the flue pipe: four or five inches in diameter seems good to us. The swinging door will have to be attached by hinges that are located along the bottom of the opening. The door will also have to be lockable.

A damper will allow you to control how fast the fire burns without opening and closing the door (which is also a method of controlling the blaze). A damper can be made by cutting a round piece of sheet metal slightly less than the diameter of the flue. Punch two holes on opposite ends from each other in the lue pipe. Stick a piece of heavy wire through the holes and attach the round piece to it. When the round piece is in the up-and-down position it allows the smoke through freely and thus stokes the fire; the more you turn it toward the side-to-side position it restricts the flow of smoke and thus the pace of the blaze.

You will need to set the stove on some kind of support that will keep it well above floor level. You can use anything you can find -- bricks, old bed frames, etc. -- as long as it won't burn or char. Never burn painted, shellacked or treated wood in your stoves: they give off poisonous fumes and gases.

Smoke

Since complaints can be made to the Fire Department about smoke coming from your squat, it is important that the smoke from your stove runs out of a proper flue or chimney. If your building has a chimney, make sure it is clear of obstructions. To see if the chimney is clear, you can put a flashlight in one of the flue holes, take yourself up to the roof and look down to see if you can see the light. You can locate the chimney stack in your apartment because it sticks out into the room from the wall on either side of it. The hole for the flue in the chimney may be open or bricked up or completely hidden by plaster or sheet rock. If so, just chop it open with a hammer.

If you don't have a chimney or the chimney is blocked and you can't clear it, then you'll have to chop a flue hole in the wall or run the flue pipe out a window. In either case, the flue pipe should go all the way up and past the roof by five feet.

Fires

Every room where people spend time needs two ways to escape from fire.

Fire extinguishers and smoke alarms are well worth having for your own safety as well as in case any city officials manage to get inside your building and have a chance to look around for code violations. Place the smoke alarms so that the stoves don't set them off continually. Keep your place well ventilated no matter how you heat it in the winter, and never leave a fire or a heater unattended.

Keep passages, halls, stairs and fire escapes clear of obstructions. Place fire extinguishers or buckets of sand or water on every floor and in locations where they can be easily reached. Form an arson watch. A round-the-clock fire and safety watch may be advisable for your situation. If so, there may be already an arson watch group or community safety patrol of some sort in your neighborhood. These organizations are well worth joining or starting yourself with others squatters and/or with like-minded tenants in the area.

On the afternoon of 9 February 1997, a small, accidental fire broke out on the second floor of the East Fifth Street Squat. The cause of the fire was a faulty electric space heater. The residents evacuated the building and left it in the hands of the Fire Department, which delayed in putting out the blaze, thus making the fire more damaging than it needed to have been. Once the Fire Department was through, the combined forces of the police and the Department of HPD conspired to illegally keep the residents from returning to their squatted building, which was deemed "dangerous" and demolished right in front of its former occupants within a day or two after the fire. The moral of the story seems clear: put your fires out yourself and trust the Fire Department as much as you do the police!

Makeshift Toilets, Water, and Cooking

Waste

Use buckets or empty bottles for waste waters. Keep the buckets from getting foul by never putting toilet paper in them and by rinsing them with lime or a disinfectant. Construction sites are easy sources of empty five gallon buckets. As far as shitting goes, do it on a few sheets of the New York Times, wrap it up, put it in a plastic bag and throw the bag into a trash can on the street. To avoid unnecessary hassles, do not use the trash cans owned by your neighbors. If you let your place get unsanitary, you can have complaints lodged against you by the Health Department, which will not only get you thrown out in a big hurry, but will also make hassles for other squatters.

Food Storage

Keep your food hanging in a bag or on a shelf hanging by wire so that mice and bugs and cats can't get to it. Do the same for your garbage and dispose of it every day. This way you won't get any mice or bugs and your cats will only eat what they are supposed to.

Alcohol Stove

To make an alcohol stove start with an empty can. Loosely pack it with cloth: gauze bandage is best. You will need something to set the can on so it doesn't rest directly on the burner. You can place a grill (an old refrigerator shelf will do nicely) on top of some bricks. Or you can place the burner can inside a larger one. For example, you could put a beer can inside of a coffee can. (Your pot would then sit on top of the coffee can.) The larger can should have holes punched around the top with a can opener, so that when you put a pot on top the burner won't be sealed off from the air. Punch holes around the bottom rim of the can to help the flow of air. You may find that holes around the top of the burner can are also needed. To fire it up, pour rubbing alcohol on the cloth until it is soaked and then light it. The stove should burn for about 15 minutes. (Never refuel while its still burning, and never use anything stronger than 70% isopropyl alcohol as fuel.) Enclose the whole thing in a metal reflector to keep the heat in and cut down on drafts. Otherwise, it'll take forever to get anything hot. If water accumulates in the gauze, just take it out and squeeze it dry.

Stoves

You might consider using propane camp stoves with large tanks and hoses attached as your food-cooking device. They are very practical and economical. You might consider using an ordinary gas stove: they are easy to find on the street, and you can put propane jets on them to make them work better. But you should be careful that the one your are using doesn't leak. A backpack stove is handy for traveling light and is small enough to hide easily in a building in which there are security problems.

Make it Comfortable

To make your squatted apartment space more comfortable, contact the Red Cross and the local churches. They might well give you blankets or sell them to you for cheap. When the weather gets very cold, a tent of some kind around your bed will really make a difference. Insulation can be made by putting rugs or thick cloth on the floors, walls and ceilings. If no one is living above you, you can fill that room with garbage bags filled with newspapers. Newspapers can also be used for wallpaper (especially The Daily News, "New York's Picture Newspaper"). Such wallpaper -- especially if it is painted over -- will reduce the problem of old paint or plaster that has begun to flake off.

Windows

Windows and panes can be scavenged from construction sites at which buildings are being renovated, and from window suppliers that leave unwanted stuff out on the street. Doors can also be obtained in the same ways.

Utilities

Electricity, water and other services can all be provided by a variety of methods that you will be able to discover by using your imagination and staying in contact with other squatters. Getting hooked up with the public utilities providers can be a way of strengthening your case that you are community members and not trespassers.

Legal Hassles

Every effort you can make to show that you have established as normal as possible a residence will be an advantage in dealing with the law. Operate on the assumption that you are a law-abiding citizen and a legal tenant of the building in which you are squatting until it has been decided otherwise in a court of law. Use your address freely, and get library cards, swimming cards and other forms of ID that have your address on it.

Mail

Have mail sent to you at your building. This will help you prove that you live there and that you aren't breaking- and-entering or trespassing. Put your address on the front door and make a mail slot in it. Find out when mail is delivered to your street and be there when the mail carrier comes by. Explain that you are living here and that you will be receiving mail at this location. Sometimes the carriers will be uncooperative, but usually they will be friendly if you are friendly. If friendliness doesn't work, it might be that the carrier you've talked to isn't the regular one, or that several carriers take turns delivering mail to your street and thus don't feel any inclination to helping you out. Try a different mail carrier.

If nothing else works, try the postmaster at the office for your route. He or she might tell you that there has to be a mailbox locked and unlocked by keys for the carriers to deliver mail, or that you are not a legal tenant, or that you don't own the building, blah blah blah. Point out as politely as you can that the building isn't a multiple dwelling unit, that it is undergoing renovation at the moment, and that the addresses on the letters that will be sent to the people who are living there will not have separate apartment numbers on them. Tell the postmaster that you are living there and (more to the point) have not been evicted yet, so your legal status as a tenant simply has not been decided in court as of yet. Tell that bureaucrat that your tenancy is a civil matter between you and the City of New York, and not a criminal matter involving the federal government and your right to receive your mail.

If nothing works, it may actually enable you to get an eviction case thrown out of court. If you cannot get any of your mail because of the Post Office's refusals to deliver it, you literally can't be served with an eviction notice, which typically arrives by mail and is not served in person!

If it is not delivered to your building, your mail will be held for you at the local post office. Once picked up, such mail can still serve as proof of residence.

Registered Mail

Never sign for or accept any registered or certified mail until you are absolutely sure it is not from the city government. It could be a summons or an eviction notice!

Appearance

There is something to be said for putting wild shapes, slogans and colors on the front of your squat: it underlines the changes that the building is going through and shows that you are proud of them and of your role in bringing about these changes. There is also something to be said for making the front of your building look as much like an ordinary building as possible. In either case, working diligently and productively on the front will give your neighbors a chance to size you up, to come out and talk to you. They will respect you when they see you working on your place.

Neighborhood Association

Go to block association meetings and seek their support. Although the members of the block association may be merchants and professionals, they may want to help you if they see that you are making good use of the building and that you are not housing or attracting drug dealers, users, pimps or prostitutes. If there is no block association, you may want to start one. You can rally your neighbors by pointing out that both squatters (or homesteaders) and rent-paying tenants want to stop the twin-headed monster of benign neglect and gentrification. Once you've got your block association together you can go to your local Community Board to seek their support as well. Its also worthwhile to check out whatever housing and tenants' organizations are active in your neighborhood.

Bureaucracy and Eviction

If you are confronted by the police or officials from the Department of Housing Preservation Development, you have a right to all the protections inherent in the eviction process. You can ask for a postponement of your case because you haven't been able to get a lawyer, or because your lawyer has had insufficient time to prepare your case or cannot appear in court the day your case is to be heard. And so on. In the meantime, you're still living in your building. Since HPD is often bogged down in lengthy eviction proceedings -- some of which it loses -- this bureaucracy may very well try to get other city departments to throw you out.

Welfare and Children

You cannot be denied welfare benefits because you are a squatter. It is illegal for the Bureau of Child Welfare to take your children from you on the grounds that you are a squatter. Besides, plenty of people pay rent to live in apartments that are in terrible condition; these people's children are not taken from them because of these conditions! Persistence and good legal advice will be your best weapons as you try to make sure your rights are being respected and are not being arbitrarily violated.

Public Officers

Don't let anyone from the city government or the police department into your building, even if they claim they have a warrant. If they do, they can slip it through the mail slot or under the door so you can read it first. Don't identify yourself or answer any questions through the door.

Legal Notices

If you do receive a legal notice with your name on it, don't miss the court date unless you've cleared it with your lawyer or an informed housing activist in advance. If the notice doesn't have your name on it or says "Resident" or "John Doe" or something, definitely do not answer it. It most likely shows that the HPD has not yet made a really serious attempt to find out who each and every one of your group is, and that they are trying to get an easy score with the "Anyone living at this address" bullshit. But you should take the notice to a tenants' rights organizer or housing lawyer for advice, and then take it to the clerk of the court's office so that you can put it on record that nobody with those names live at your building.

If the people in your building start getting eviction notices, be sure that there is always someone living with you (who has proof of residence) who hasn't been named in a notice. In this way, if it comes down to an eviction, HPD won't be able to seal the building since there will still be someone living there that they can't evict yet. Once the "eviction-minus-one" is over and the cops are gone, you can move back in without problem.

Public Safety Evictions

If the authorities have served you with notice that the building is going to be evacuated for reasons of public safety, you'll have to come up with a detailed plan that shows how you you are going to repair the problem. You will no doubt need the help of professionals to do this, and you'll their help right away, for you've got only a few days to get a judge to issue a stay of execution order. Call the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) at 718 292-0070 to start.

Public Support

At the first sign of trouble, someone should be using your "Eviction-Watch List" to contact all your friends and supporters, so that as many witnesses are on the scene as possible. This will keep the cops on their toes and "best behavior," that is, slightly less likely to start beating people up. If the cops get through your front door, write down their badge numbers and names, demand to see their identification, etc. etc. Have witnesses to absolutely everything. Videotape, audiotape and photograph whenever possible. You have a legal right to make a record of all that takes place. If the cops ask to speak to your leaders, tell them you don't have any. If they ask "Who is in charge?" or if they ask if you are in charge, tell them "Nobody is in charge." Never admit to having leaders, even if you do, and you will (like it or not). At all times, be firm and reasonable with the cops unless you are ready for a fight. Be forewarned that the police in NYC are always ready for a fight.

Organizations

These are some of the organizations that can be helpful:(V=phone number verified in 2008)

• V-ACORN: Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now 1-877-55ACORN - 718-246-7900 fax 718-246-7939 natexdirect@acorn.org http://www.acorn.org

• V-Center for Constitutional Rights 212 614 6464 http://ccrjustice.org

• V-Church of Saint John the Divine 212 316 7400

• V-Legal Aid 212 577 3300 - 212-577-3346 http://www.legal-aid.org

Metropolitan Council on Housing 212 693 0550

Stanley Cohen, Attorney 212 979 7572

Jackie Bukowski, Attorney beech@ix.netcom

Sanitation Department 212 534 5493

White Lung Association 718 389 5546

Riverside Church 212 870 6700

People's Firehouse: Housing and Community Development 718 388 4696 All numbers verified in February 1997

Outside Links

http://www.rocketstove.org - Step by step plans for constructing rocket stoves

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Ship_warehouse_fire - Ghost Ship warehouse fire

Finding a Commune

Due to stigma attached to the name title "commune", many communal residential communities that would have once been been so named, along with other communities formed in similar spirits, are now called "intentional communities".

Anyone with access to a home or piece of land can start an intentional community or commune, but there are also many existing ones that people can join. There are many different sorts of communities, and many different ways for them to work, but plenty of general concerns for all people considering this lifestyle to consider.

Finding Communes

With communes constantly springing up and breaking up all the time the only way of keeping track is websites that list them, meaning you have to trawl through pages, searching addresses and plotting them on a map. Another method is volunteering, less communal but hundreds of farms, See Get a Job .

The Fellowship for Intentional Community ( http://fic.ic.org/ ) has a large, easily searchable database (http://directory.ic.org/records/?action=search&advanced=true) of intentional communities, planned communities that promote social interaction, not limited to, but including, what were once called communes. This database allows one to search based on a number of criteria, including location, size, religious/spiritual path, openness to queers, use of drugs, dietary practices, and decision making and leadership style.

There are many other directories of intentional communities, including some with a more particular focus:

Intentional Communities Database - http://icdb.org/

Cohousing Association of the U.S. - http://www.cohousing.org/

Ecovillage Network - http://www.ecovillage.org/

Diggers & Dreamers - The UK Guide to Communal Living - http://www.diggersanddreamers.org.uk/

Directory of Intentional Communities and Ecovillages in Europe - http://www.eurotopia.de/

Christian Intentional Communities on the Web - http://www.newcreation.org.uk/links/

Felowship of international communities - http://directory.ic.org/iclist/geo.php

European ecovillage directory - http://www.gen-europe.org/addresses/EVindex.html

Connects farmers interested in teaching with people interested in farming - http://www.growfood.org/farms

Archived list of anarchist groups, projects and collectives from Eastern Europe -://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zUNVH- Dbng0J:abb.hardcore.lt/joomla/index.php%3FItemid%3D60%26id%3D10%26option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dsection+Communities+in+Struggle+ (Eastern+Europe)&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

In the city or in the country, communes can be a cheap and enjoyable way of living. Although urban and rural communes face different physical environments, they share common group problems. The most important element in communal living is the people, for the commune will only make it if everyone is fairly compatible. A nucleus of 4 to 7 people is best and it is necessary that no member feels extremely hostile to any other member when the commune gets started. The idea that things will work out later is pig swill. More communes have busted up over incompatibility than any other single factor. People of similar interests and political philosophies should live together. One speed freak can wreck almost any group. There are just too many day-to-day hassles involved living in a commune to not start off compatible in as many ways as possible. The ideal arrangement is for the people to have known each other before they move in together.

Once you have made the opening moves, evening meetings will occasionally be necessary to divide up the responsibilities and work out the unique problems of a communal family. Basically, there are two areas that have to be pretty well agreed upon if the commune is to survive. People's attitudes toward Politics, Sex, Drugs and Decision-making have to be in fairly close agreement. Then the even most important decisions about raising the rent, cleaning, cooking and maintenance will have to be made. Ground rules for inviting non-members should be worked out before the first time it happens, as this is a common cause for friction.

Radical Communes

Structures: A low-rise or multilevel warehouse can be subdivided with cinder block walls much like a storage unit center with cyclone fence for secure ceilings allowing the central heat to work. In very rural areas military tents at first transitioning to inexpensive storage sheds. Most of the day will be spent in community areas and the small rooms/cabins/tents are for solitude, sleeping, and secure dry storage. Other ideal remodels for apartments are closing nursing homes, Hotels, motels, small hospitals, or old office buildings. Most people will want to move on to more normal dwellings once they get a job or start a serious relationship. Squatting has more ideas about structures and organization.

Utilities and Services: Have plans for garbage disposal, network, electricity, water, sewage, and heat. Also have in mind that some people will fill a room with junk then freak out and leave. Fire sprinklers and a good sprinkler water supply for every room is a must. If you can't get the city to accept your settlement try to make an arrangement to get power and utilities from a nearby property. Have private meters installed at the utility split so your group will pay for it's fair share.

Internet: Internet with a fat connection is a must for rebels, rugged computers could be placed in common areas. Consideration should be given to unofficial caches of pirate media on the network to keep the connection from bogging down from downloaders, an internal PTP setup can help share files. You could install a VOIP asterisk server and make a communal telephone exchange. A large file server for internal use is useful.

Activities: Regular activities and social gatherings are key to making a working large commune. Look into the history of the YMCA. Evaluate the services provided by a university dorm and try to come up with low cost options to many of these for your tenants. If you are able to pull this plan off and not be a filthy slum lord rents should be very low. Services for bicycles is important, the shop must be crewed to prevent tool theft and help to those new to bike repair.

Rules: Security physical and network should be a high consideration as you will surely have occasional pigs undercover in such a radical crash site. All questionable legal activity must be kept at the individual level as official endorsement could endanger the co-op or owner. Strict rules preventing interference in the lives of others and violence must be enforced, there is always the offer of the road to trouble makers. Rules requiring securing personal items will reduce distrust from theft.

Making it Work: This dream of ultra cheap housing is thwarted by local zoning regulations it is difficult to get variance for housing in an industrial area where you might find a warehouse. Try lobbying the city council if you have the backing to try such an idea. We have seen churches be allowed to ignore zoning on church owned property. Try organizing as the "Mosque-Church-Synagogue-Temple of no Homelessness" and really teach the religion of nobody left behind (Registering your group as a church through the Universal Life Church ( https://web.archive.org/web/20110914133838/://www.ulc.net/ ) can save on paperwork, and having all your members Ordained Ministers can be a strong show of solidarity).

An idealistic democratic power struggle, while appealing, may fail and lead to power struggles that destroy a commune. It might be better to run a slightly impersonalized apartment building with a radical landlord than a failed radical commune with an overly specific goal and too much group planning.

Free Shelter By City

Keep this database up to date: https://stealthiswiki.com/library/liberate

Help us out! If you have recently been in, live in, or have knowledge about a city you feel a brother or sister may be interested in.. by all means edit away! Many may be stuck in small, piss-ant towns and want to know if the grass is greener in a far-away destination that they can not get from wikipedia or tourist ad. While we try to keep each city up to date, you will notice many cities have sparse info, some non-existent content, some way out of date, and some that are incredibly useful. Let's make more examples of the latter.

To add your city to the list, simply add the city's name, enclosed by double brackets. If you "edit" this page, you'll see how the rest of the list is formatted. Once you add the city to the list, click on it and use the Free This City Template to start populating each page. When adding new cities here, please also add them the main table of contents .

If you are a reader wanting to get the hell out of where you are or just a change of scenery, check out Urban Living , Rural Living , Squatting , and The Street which are really good general articles with lots of advice.

There are also some very good city forums where folks share good information here: http://www.city-data.com/

Liberate

• Free New York

• Free Portland, OR

• Free Black Rock City AKA Burning Man

• Free Tibet

Misc.

1. Provisional-Headings
   • Free England
   • Free Rochester, NY

2. Archived Texts
   • Free The Wrekin, UK

Not yet re-added

These are web archive links from the original wiki. City/area guides that are over 10 years old. If you see something valuable in them, feel free to add them to this site and update them.

• Free Atlanta

• Free Austin

• Free Baltimore

• Free Baton Rouge, LA

• Free Binghamton, NY

• Free Chicago

• Free Dallas

• Free Hawaii

• Free Iceland

• Free Indianapolis

• Free Jerusalem

• Free Jackson, Mississippi

• Free Las Vegas

• Free Los Angeles

• Free Melbourne, Australia

• Free Minneapolis

• Free New Haven

• Free New Orleans

• Free Philadelphia

• Free Phoenix

• Free San Diego

• Free San Francisco

• Free Seattle

• Free Slab City

• Free Vancouver, BC

• Free Central New York State

• Free Raleigh, NC

• Free Jacksonville, Florida

• Free Madrid, Spain

Half-finished titles even 10 years ago:

• Page Ideas

• Free Boston

• Free Cleveland

• Free Cincinnati

• Free Columbia, MO

• Free DC

• Free Fall River, MA

• Free Wilmington, DE

• Free Miami

• Free Pittsburgh

• Free St. Louis

• Free Tampa

• Free Brisbane, Australia

Get a Job - Volunteering on farms, all expenses payed, or cashing up.

Vacations - Drifting

Liberate - Finding free shelter in specific cities.