The Preparation
Eighteen cycles, each practiced at a real place near home.
Eighteen cycles, practiced at real places near home
The Preparation is a path of sixteen cycles, and each one builds a practical skill, from first aid and flying to welding, farming and building a business. The book also has you build a cycle of your own, and we added one more: running your town on the record. Pick a cycle to see the places in and near Deer Park where a young person can start.
The 18 cycles
Pick a cycle to see its anchor course and the local places to do it.
Medic
Pilot
Cowboy
Builder
Chef
Heavy Equipment Operator
Work
Welder
Fighter
Sailor
Survivalist
Farmer
Entrepreneur
Investor
Hacker (AI)
Maker
TAAL Operator
Build Your Own Cycle
Feeding Deer Park
A market-first path for a young farmer: start from what the town eats, then build the supply to meet it.
- 1Find out what Deer Park eats
A community food assessment asks what households need, what they can afford and why, and what stands in their way.
- 2Grow to that demand
Plant what the town will actually buy, instead of what is easiest to grow.
- 3Sell up the ladder
Start with direct sales, then small wholesale, mid-tier, large wholesale and institutions. Each step up asks for more insurance, certification and capital.
- 4Share the middle
Growers pool processing and distribution in a co-op, as the Blackbird cooperative does, so small farms can reach the bigger markets.
- 5Deliver close to home
Move the food to Deer Park households and kitchens locally.
Built on Chris Newman's First Generation Farming and the Blackbird cooperative.
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Cycles 1 to 16 and 18 are based on The Preparation: How to Become Competent, Confident, and Dangerous, by Doug Casey, Matt Smith and Maxim Smith (2025).