Step by Step through the “future training camp”

The seven horsemen of the apocalypse are rampaging, and honestly, I think there must be more than that, given the scale and number of apocalypses. But let's move away from philosophical considerations and take a closer look at the four topics we have come up with for our (first) ‘future training camp’. These focal points are, first and foremost, our intuitive answer to the question: what is needed if xy happens? What immediately comes to mind? These are therefore areas that cover basic needs and are not specific to a particular collapse scenario.

Communication

Food supply & logistics

First aid/trauma support

Protection & collective defence

In the coming weeks, I will take a closer look at each of the four topics in turn to get you even more excited about our idea and take you along on the journey to September: why these topics, what are we doing with them and why. This is probably not the last word on the matter, and it is certainly not the only way to tackle things. But it is our idea and our offer to implement what we consider important and, above all, to take action, to engage in activism and activity (the term fits better in my opinion) of a different kind.

Acceptance is followed by action

The importance of this is illustrated by a message from a chat group of people who are aware of the collapse, which often drives me personally to the brink of madness (and vice versa, I'm sure), because this kind of engagement with the topic of ‘collapse’ is not (or no longer) mine. In the course of organising and then implementing our ‘future training camp’, I would like to find people with whom I can work on my way of dealing with the topic of collapse: away from talking and arguing, from remaining stuck in feelings and inaction until everything is perfect and well thought out, and towards trying things out. This may and will include failure and mistakes, but it is still a step forward, because then things will be done differently next time. You learn from mistakes, not from inactivity in order to avoid making them.

I am quoting part of this message here to illustrate that the next steps and offers are urgently needed: ‘I've actually been in a collapse activism crisis for two years, as I also lack the imagination to see how solidarity-based prepping can be implemented in concrete terms. We have managed to open up a space for solidarity-based collapse politics and are quite good at connecting with people emotionally, but after that we just tread water.’

Well, this news resonates with me on so many levels, but probably not in the way it was intended. I can't address all the points, but I would like to comment on a few. What collapse activism? Facing the problem, acknowledging it and processing it emotionally is an important first step, but it is not activism. There is no collapse activism in any organised form that goes beyond local or regional initiatives (and there are quite a few of those, which is great, and some of them are also involved in planning and organising our training camp). How could there be, when the topic, or rather the naming of it and its introduction into public discourse, has only been taking place outside of very narrow circles for a little over a year? So the crisis, like the feeling of treading water, has more to do with how we deal with the issue ourselves, or rather where we stand: are we still in the process of realising and acknowledging collapse, of processing it emotionally, or are we ready for the next steps? It is now up to all of us to offer and develop activism/activity. We lack the imagination to implement solidarity-based prepping? Well, that may be true for some, but certainly not for everyone. There are ideas for implementation and for moving forward with solidarity-based prepping.

The ‘Future Training Camp’ is one of them. In an international context, there are numerous exciting projects already being implemented, such as power-out weekends, which make you go through a weekend without electricity. We are in contact with some of these projects and their organisers to learn from their experiences and integrate them into our scenarios. The same applies to projects in Germany that were launched after the Collapse Camp 2025. In some cities, for example, there are now collectives that have already organised communication away from Wi-Fi after people took part in radio workshops at the camp. That's amazing, and that's exactly what needs to happen in a variety of ways, both geographically and thematically. That's exactly what it's all about for us as the organising team at Solidarity Prepping, and that's where our idea comes in.

Step 1: Let's communicate

To quote Simon & Garfunkel: People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening... that's something that should be avoided in a collapse, for obvious reasons. So we will be addressing the topic of communication, among other things.

Why? Because it is important in any collapse scenario and is also at the very beginning of any assistance – whether it is climate-related natural disasters, the consequences of fascism (see ICE, deportations, Nazi attacks on shelters, CSDs...) or collapse scenarios that supposedly affect only a few (lack of medication, apartments that are too hot and no place to cool down). In all these examples and many more, the common denominator is the need for communication, without which no response to the respective collapse and no help can be provided. I would like to refer once again to the power outage in Berlin at the end of the year: no electricity, no communication that is always available everywhere. People had to come up with something, from places to charge their mobile phones to talk to family and friends to ways to obtain and disseminate official information about offers of help and contact points. Communication during a collapse imposes certain conditions, because at that moment it is not about communication for its own sake, but about the targeted, rapid dissemination of information in different directions.

What information is relevant, who needs to receive it, how do we pass it on, even if the usual communication channels are overloaded or down? These are all questions we are considering as we work with a few people to create the programme that awaits participants from Monday to Thursday and is designed to teach them things they can then use and try out on Saturday and Sunday in interaction with other people and topics. People who experience, learn, practise, try things out and make mistakes with us during this week should take all of this with them and work with it, using it not only for themselves but also for others, so that we can gradually move closer to the goal of creating structures that are capable of action. We will learn the basics of communication, communication chains and hierarchies, secure communication beyond encryption & co., and we will probably learn about and try out three technical options with their requirements, advantages and disadvantages: voice radio, Lora Meshtastic & radio as means of one-way communication.

What is required, how does it function, can it be constructed independently, what about range and costs, which option is appropriate in which circumstances, what are the limitations... these are all questions that participants will engage with intensively over four days and for which they should receive as many helpful answers as possible. To ensure that this is meaningful and provides real added value for everyone, the number of participants will probably be somewhere between 20 and 50 people, which also applies to the other topics. This is not about excluding people, but about really teaching them, YOU, something, giving everyone the chance to touch things, try things out, and it's about building personal connections in four days, forming a community. If our concept works, it will always be possible to empower 20 to 50 people and thereby create a network.

Let's get started, and next time we'll continue with supplies and logistics.