After realizing that we must adapt to survive, I realize how lucky we are. Our family situation has not gotten worse, and we are healthy. The more I learn about The Great Reset and Agenda 2030, the more grateful I am we are home.
Unfortunately, many people I knew could not survive the combination of the Venezuela crisis and the pandemic. However, a few of my childhood friends were able to adapt to survive – and even thrive. They are small-town-born and bred, honest, down-to-earth, God-fearing people. They are the owners of the stories I bring along today for all of our readers.
I had advantages that others did not
I had huge advantages over many of my coworkers and friends. Being a prepper, I mentioned stocking a good pantry, installing a generator, a water tank, and getting an induction kitchen with the proper cookware. Do you think they listened? They were more like, “Hey, the steaks are on the grill, the beer is cold, kids playing in the pool…what can go wrong? Preparing for the Apocalypse is for weirdos.” (No wonder you suffered hardship, Pedro. I hope your nothing-but-lentils diet for two months doesn’t make you sick.)
Initially, my goal was to improve my immediate financial situation by obtaining a few beneficial skills like learning English and industrial machinery inspection. Now, my goals are to become self-reliant and independent.
Most of my childhood friends could not afford to leave the country. They could not even leave town due to limited resources. Many of them were unable to study a long-term career as I did. My studies were decisive in my life. Not just because of the financial means to provide for myself, but because it shaped my entire approach to problems.
Now, how did others adapt to survive? Let’s get on with my friends’ stories.
Orlando’s story
Note: We live in a small town, and I’m sure eventually someone will transmit this to my friend. He’s a great guy, by the way.
Orlando couldn’t make it to the big city to pursue a long-term career. So the need to adapt to the local market labor was inevitable. Staying in a place with low-priced working services, like grid power and water (until the 2019 crisis), worked for a while. No rent payouts mean all of your money goes to basic needs. (One of the main reasons for me coming back and bringing my only offspring with me, indeed.)
Orlando studied later in a city institute and got a technician degree. That was enough to give him a competitive edge in the reduced labor market in our town. By diversifying his income, he could make it through the worst of the collapse—trading services like IT for small businesses for food or new clothes. (He could later sell or trade the clothing.)
Orlando did not stop there
Using a borrowed Wi-Fi connection, Orlando researched how to invest and make money. (Even in our depressed and destroyed economy.) He joined a community of Venezuelans abroad, and they suggested he start crypto trading.
Note: I do not recommend anyone without a degree involving advanced math attempt crypto trading. But it seems to have worked for him.
Many nights were spent studying, practicing, and learning to achieve the needed confidence to make his first investment. One of his brothers living overseas told him it was not going to be profitable. However, he persevered. Whatever profit he made from digital currency, he invested in physical goods with careful timing. These goods would have a great resale value, and they would sell immediately.
He bought non-perishable merchandise like shampoo, soap, toilet paper, everything covering the basic needs. He would buy one unit every few days and stash them. Over time the value of the merchandise grew. Even though it would be easy to sell the merchandise immediately, he chose to store it. Orlando used a closet to keep all of this, floor to ceiling. Smart move!
In Orlando’s words, “Crypto trading is a risky activity, and precautions will never be excessive. However, without even a patch of land to exploit, my options were quite limited.”
Here are some links to explore showing how deep underground crypto is in Venezuelan economic affairs: HERE and HERE
But, wait, that’s not all
Orlando, with the proper tutorials and skillful hands, also fixed appliances for profit. Fans, air conditioning electronics, fridge electronics, car ECUs, sound systems, anything with chips and electronics that he could disassemble, he could repair. He has a massive amount of “scrap” material in his workshop (just like my dad), where he finds usable components.
Orlando worked 10 to 12 hour days. He had to repair appliances many times with a 12v bulb wired to a car battery. Sometimes eating only vegetable soup for days because there was nothing else. Although Orlando lost weight, he was not in as bad shape as many other people. Fortunately, my friend was able to capitalize and look for the means to diversify his income, which was the key to his survival.
Lucia’s story
Note: Lucia is a great girl. Intelligent, college-educated, and lived abroad for some time while working in another country in South America.
Lucia witnessed the collapse of the country she was living in up close. She watched as neighbors committed suicide before the bank executed their mortgages and threw them out of their homes. Many people in the cities filled up their luxury patios with firewood in winter to avoid paying the heating bills. Their swimming pools were used as water reservoirs because they couldn’t afford to pay the water bill. Neighbors replaced decorative bushes with potatoes and carrots.
Lucia returns to Venezuela
Life (personal and family issues) brought Lucia back to Venezuela. Upon returning, she found her savings frozen and then stolen abroad. Working small jobs here and there for a while, Lucia hung on until the family could reopen the business with a loan from friends abroad. And then the pandemic hit.
Food scarcity was something she had experienced already, but not to the desperate levels within the period 2017-2020. Fortunately, the public relationships job Lucia had before this required her to be in good shape. As a result, she was used to a strict diet and had lost a great deal of weight. Therefore, Lucia could deal with the lack of food because of her diet.
Her diet consisted of eggs, cheese, and poultry, with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits. Most of those items were still available and at somewhat reasonable prices. Knowing how to balance her calories and what to eat, she kept herself healthy and survived.
Now, Lucia works a full-time job in the local news media and is a 10-minute walk from her home. No need for a car, nor commuting, nor expensive fancy clothing. She also works online in voiceover, freelancing for foreign companies, and as a P2P teacher in her journalism area of knowledge.
How could you adapt to survive?
My friends’ survival is an inspiration to me and I think we can all learn a bit from their stories. Others I know have made adaptations to survive, whether it be income diversification or new eating habits, or something else entirely. (Kudos to those who give up meat. I am a carnivore and think it would be much too hard for me!) Change is good and sometimes needed for survival.
After all, it’s not really survival of the fittest. It’s survival of the most adaptable.
How easily could you adapt to survive? Have you had to make drastic changes to your diet or other areas of your life? Do you have a diversified income? What are you willing to change and how in order to survive? Let’s talk about it in the comments section.
About Jose
Jose is an upper middle class professional. He is a former worker of the oil state company with a Bachelor’s degree from one of the best national Universities. He has a small 4 members family, plus two cats and a dog. An old but in good shape SUV, a good 150 square meters house in a nice neighborhood, in a small but (formerly) prosperous city with two middle size malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival stories from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. Thanks to your help Jose has gotten his family out of Venezuela. They are currently setting up a new life in another country. Follow Jose on YouTube and gain access to his exclusive content on Patreon. Donations: paypal.me/JoseM151