This week we had two preppers, both in the southeast. Both are prepping for an EMP triggering widespread panic and riots. Now both of this weeks preppers have very different ways of making it through!

First up is Brent, as near as I could figure somewhere around Florida. Now we should probably call him KING Brent since he’s building a castle as a fortress against the Horde. The castle sits on top of a small bunker that is about 2k sq ft. The castle is about 6k sq ft with two floors. From what we can see, it has a concrete floor and block walls. The castle sits on 50 acres with another 1k acres around that with a forest of trees to help provide camouflage. There is no ceiling or floors installed along with window and door openings with nothing installed. I did not even see structural provisions for supporting floors or roof or doors imbedded in the walls as normal construction would call for. I also did not see any engineered drawings or a bar napkin for design. To date, Brent has spent 1 million dollars on the castle but it appears that he has built this himself over years to get to this point.

Brent has built this for himself and his family during the coming EMP attack….He has 10 kids (8-41 years old) from two marriages and appears to be single again or she wanted nothing to do with wacked geo. This episode was filmed during a weekend when he is “evaluating his family members”, to see which two will get control of the castle when he kicks the bucket. So they are competing to be in charge of the castle, finish it and keep his vision alive. Shooting guns and bows out of window opening to simulate an attack during the rain was one of the tests. They also put up a solar array on a post, no wiring just put the array up. He mentioned needing to have 12v, 24v, 48v and of course 120v available from the array and battery bank. It is very clear that the family has had almost no training on firearms let alone being at all familiar with them. They ate food from the stores at the castle, 12 year old MRE’s which nobody had ever had but Brent.

Now the Good and the Bad:

The Good:

• I love the castle concept, with a concrete roof and windows protected, it will never burn. Great cover with the walls, not just concealment but effective cover.
• Bunker below to hold up if needed or to store sensitive items.
• Lots of acreage, that means at least space between them and us.
• Large family means more help and protection, if they are onboard.
• Has a large seed store for food production.
• 2 year supply of food

The Bad:

• The castle is not finished, it rains INSIDE. In order for this to be a real prep, it needs to be finished. Not finished =0, finished =20 points. Having spent a million bucks, he should be done, not waiting for a roof and floors.
• Food. Get some current food. 12 year MRE’s have lost a great deal of nutrition and will have a tendency to go bad. But they will do in a real pinch. I did not see a kitchen, oh that’s right, the castle is not complete.
• Toilet facilites, even an outhouse for now….
• Water storage was 350 gallons. He says that’s a year, but that’s more like 2 weeks at minimum usage for 11 people. Put large storage tanks inside or outside but store water.
• EMP protection. If that is the main concern, nothing that I saw as protected. The solar panels could be damaged let alone the inverters and charge controllers would be wiped out. Either protect it or have redundancy.
• Firearms training. Get the castle close to done and then hire someone to train and help setup the security at the castle for you.
• Start gardening. Gardening is not something to learn about when your hungry, it’s learning when it doesn’t count. Gardening is also a stress reliever and a task for those whom construction is not their forte. Divide and manage those 10 and magnify their effectiveness.
• Build a Faraday Cage. Protect the sensitive items you will need.

In conclusion, I love what Brent is doing, just now how he doing it. The castle in the woods, very cool and effective. But there is no completion in sight and when he dies, his kids could easily drop this project and get on with their lives. His vision may not be theirs brother! Maybe he needs to find a couple of guys to throw in with to complete the castle and offer them bachelors quarters when the EMP hits or just get somebody to finish the castle to a warm shell. Roof, floors windows and doors. Then you and the family could build skill-sets finishing the inside. An Inside that you could survive in if needed and is dry.

Next up is Derek Price in South Carolina. Now Derek is prepping for the same scenario, EMP or Solar Flare. Same difference as the EMP but could be global, not just regional. This potentially would be a larger event with larger consequences.

Derek owns “Deadwood Park”. Its an amusement park with a scale railroad, miniature golf course and old west town with gunfights. It has restrooms and kitchen/concession building as well. I like this place! Over the years he has been building up parts of the park buildings and making the backside of buildings to withstand the effects of EMP. Concrete and block structures that also provide cover and security. They have a small scale railroad that goes around the park and and elevated miniature gold course and scaled old west town, down to the hitchin rails. They put on gunfights and other acts to entertain customers. He has put enough food away over time to handle 15 people for 1 year, yep he is including his friends and employees into his plans.

They have a bio-diesel plant and use the concession waste oil as the base materials. Builds pits with Punji sticks in em along with a small cannon. Water source is an electric well pump. The cannon was planned for defending the complex but it looks like that’s out after trying in a few times, talk about a slow reload.

So here are my Goods and Bads on this one;

The Good:

• Love the use of your business and the propertys business as a base for a retreat. It can be built along with expansions to provide income. Tax implications are very nice with this option.
• Including family and staff. Now that’s expanding your community in the best way.
• An entertainment business that is run correctly, could in hard times still make money.
• Cooking facilities are right on site.
• Bio-diesel facility to create your own fuel.
• proactive defense options. The pits will be a force multiplier and helpful in an attack.

The Bad:

• Water storage is very limited and should be expanded. There may be times that the power pump in inoperable and you cannot use the hand pump. Water is second to shelter and ahead of food.
• Grow food. Your restaurant can support you while you have something to cook. But long term, especially after an EMP will be back to basics, a garden.
• Train without lights. After an EMP, you will not have lighting unless you have some protected. What are your plans for AFTER the event.
• Build a Faraday cage to protect items for the EMP.
• More remote intrusion devices.
• More intensive plan for defense, not just drills with friends.
• Increase the Bio-Fuel production by getting waste oil from other sources, then stabilize it and store it. Great barter item at some point.

The conclusion to this story is encouraging, I love what he is doing. A business that doubles as a retreat. You own the land not lease, you own the buildings not lease. You have income where you will survive. Even in hard times, people want entertainment, they want a diversion from reality which can be very ugly. As to the property itself, the addition of more early warning security options, you could increase your effective defense greatly. Tools and devices are great force multipliers such as simple sound and visual signals that require no power. As they continue to build, build a Faraday room. This could store generators, radios, car parts and everything that will damage with the first wave. Hunker down with the basics until the EMP or Solar Flare has completed it’s cycle and the then roll out the brave new world!

 The Faraday Room!