Defend the Northwest
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PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE

FIELD GUIDE

Practical knowledge for practical freedom. No paywalls. No institutional permission required. Start where you are. Build what you can.

WATER
PUBLISHED

Water Basics

  • ›Know your watershed and municipal water source
  • ›Annual well water testing — what to test for and where
  • ›Basic filtration: gravity, ceramic, activated carbon, UV
  • ›Emergency water storage — safe containers, rotation schedule
  • ›Rainwater collection — what's legal in your state
  • ›Signs of contamination — turbidity, odor, taste, testing kits
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PRIVACY
PUBLISHED

Privacy Ops

  • ›Switch your communication to Signal
  • ›Replace Google search with DuckDuckGo
  • ›Browser hardening with Firefox + uBlock Origin
  • ›VPN selection — what to look for, what to avoid
  • ›Phone hardening — GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, settings audit
  • ›Password management with Bitwarden
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REPAIR & TOOLS
COMING SOON

Own Your Tools

  • ›Right to repair — your legal rights and where they stand
  • ›Basic hand tool kit — what you actually need
  • ›Appliance repair fundamentals — where to learn
  • ›iFixit and repair databases — how to use them
  • ›Local repair cafes and tool libraries — how to find them
  • ›Backup tools for grid-down — non-electric alternatives
GUIDE IN PROGRESS
FOOD & LAND
COMING SOON

Grow Something

  • ›Container gardening basics — small space, real food
  • ›Pacific Northwest planting calendar
  • ›Seed saving fundamentals — open-pollinated vs hybrid
  • ›Soil building without expensive inputs
  • ›Foraging in the Pacific Northwest — edibles, safety, ethics
  • ›Community gardens and land access programs
GUIDE IN PROGRESS
COMMUNICATIONS
COMING SOON

Communicate Off-Grid

  • ›Ham radio basics — getting licensed, entry-level gear
  • ›GMRS and FRS radios — no license required
  • ›Mesh networking — Meshtastic and local node setup
  • ›Offline maps — OrganicMaps, OsmAnd, downloaded tiles
  • ›Signal over wifi — communication without cellular
  • ›Neighborhood communication plans — building a local tree
GUIDE IN PROGRESS
LOCAL ECONOMY
COMING SOON

Keep Wealth Local

  • ›How to find local credit unions — what to look for
  • ›Farmers markets and CSAs in the Northwest
  • ›Local business directories — how to find and support them
  • ›Barter networks and time banks — how they work
  • ›Buy Nothing groups and community resource sharing
  • ›Supporting Indigenous-owned businesses in the PNW
GUIDE IN PROGRESS
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