Emmi Tuovinen

Preparedness Requires Skills

Preparedness requires skills

Households’ preparedness skills in different types of emergencies are an important part of comprehensive security. When power cuts occur due to a storm or you end up in quarantine due to the coronavirus unexpectedly, you have to know how to prepare for them. Is our home emergency supply kit sufficient enough for three days and do we even have adequate practical knowledge how to use it. 

Coping with exceptional everyday life requires skills. We must be able to plan our food and manage with existing food supplies, sometimes even without electricity. Many of us have already learned to prepare for these shorter disruptions with for example dried food although the concept of home emergency supply kit is not necessarily familiar to younger people and those living in cities.

Future skills in preparedness

Preparedness concerns both preparations for longer–term exceptional situations and preparedness for changes in personal life.

The impacts of climate change on our lives must also be taken into account

Perhaps we need wilderness skills and knowledge to identify the natural products, mushrooms and herbs that are suitable for nutrition. If food production becomes more complicated, will sustenance farming be a valuable skill in the future? Repair and maintenance help to prepare and adapt when everything is not available as before or access to shops becomes more difficult. In an increasingly complex world, cyber skills, media literacy and knowledge on economics will also become increasingly important and be integrated into everyone’s daily life.

The list of preparedness–related skills mentioned above could be continued. One of the most important skills in preparedness is ability and skills to learn new things. Learning new practices, acquiring information and taking up the necessary skills are rewarding and a skill that should be maintained throughout our lives. For some of us, climate change may also create a need to educate ourselves in a new field.

The Martha Organization promotes comprehensive security by teaching people everyday skills. The possibility of living well–functioning everyday life increases the ability to adapt to changing situations. During the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen that it has been more difficult for those in a vulnerable position to adapt to the changing everyday life and environment. Everyday skills and sufficient resources for everyone will enable even better state of comprehensive security in our society.

The Marthas are experts in teaching practical skills

While preparedness is simultaneously about adapting to an ever–changing world, it is also about actions for the future. As is often said, it is easier to make preparations and adapt to changes that we do not want. The Martha Organization aims to teach skills for both adapting to, preparing for and influencing climate change through everyday actions. Our aim is to empower people to act sustainably in their everyday lives and to influence the realisation of more sustainable structures and solutions.

Emmi Tuovinen
Development Manager, Food, Nutrition and Preparedness

The Martha Organization