u dont need to visit archives for this information. there are many places in this time where you can experience pre/early industrial lifestyles today.

I like how you define appropriate technology:

“appropriate technology is a real mix between age old traditional craft and modern knowledge”

The people taking this to the extreme, and who I find incredibly inspirational are:

http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/
http://openfarmtech.org

Check it out! (and join me in giving them $10/month to forward their important work)

Smiles,

Josef.

On the positive side, that for anyone looking to reskill themselves now for our inevitably altered and more challenging future, the list is surprisingly long and big on choice. Somewhere in the back of my mind I’d been assuming that any kind of reskilling for a post-oil, relocalized world would involve mundanity and being forced to follow a specific line of work against one’s wishes. Looking at the list in print I realise it’s almost the opposite case. When we can no longer import products cheaply made in distant factories by exploited workers using exploited materials, the onus switches to being able to manufacture and service equivalents locally, creating opportunities for skills and careers that wouldn’t currently be viable in our economy.

Which leads me on to the negative side, looking at the list also makes me realise that in the real world I know very few people with a skill or career mentioned on the list. I can only speak for the UK here, but you could argue that in recent years the government has done everything possible (consciously or unconsciously, you choose…) to eradicate these kind of careers. When you take this into account, you realise it’s going to be an uphill struggle to reskill the thousands upon thousands of call centre workers, the entire state-employed management tier of bureaucratic non-job workers, carphone warehouse salespeople, bank staff, beauty therapists, 99% of all IT workers, 99% of shopping mall retail workers, 99% of the drinks/entertainment industry (bouncers, bar staff, DJs), music/film/tv industry, pharmaceutical industry, arms industry, car industry, the CCTV manufacture and operation services, airline industry, the construction industry (those involved in concrete box Barrat urban sprawl new town abominations, plus the whole roadbuilding thing…)…I could go on but I think you get the picture….

To misquote Crash Gordon himself, I think the UK is spectacularily badly placed to ‘weather the first skills crisis of the post-oil age’

Britain’s last Master Cooper (barrel maker) is looking for an apprentice if anyone wants to bite the bullet.

Alastair Simms “fashions superb wooden casks from his workshop at Wadworth Brewery in Devizes”.

Apparently – according to the Bristol Evening Post – in the first half of the 20th century there were about 600 traditional-style coopers at work in Britain’s brewery industry, bending and hammering out sturdy oak barrels for countless pints, but timber shortages and the advent of modern metal casks have all but consigned to the 21st century scrapheap a craft that dates back to the times of the Romans.

“I don’t really know why I’m the only one left. It’s one of those trades that has slowly died out over the years. Today’s beer barrels are made from stainless steel or aluminum. But for me, casks made from English oak are far better. In a wooden cask the temperature of the beer remains the same once it’s on the dray (the delivery wagon).

“But the temperature of beer in a metal cask changes after a couple of hours. We are the only commercial cooperage in the country now.”

Fancy it?

It is my understanding that most of the improvement in infant survival is due to sanitation – sewage planner and health inspector.

Keep your drinking well at least 100 feet from sewage/manure/refuse/night soil, and you dramatically reduce incidence of cholera.

Oxen trainer, shaman, parchment maker, goatherd, goose girl, cowherd.

Things to do after Rome burns

Coppicer, hurdle maker, rake maker, fork maker, besom maker, handle maker, hoop maker, ladder maker, crib maker, broaches and peg maker, clog sole cutters, bodgers, charcoal burners, oak basket maker, trug maker, stick and staff maker, field gate maker, willow basket maker, net maker, stone mason, joiner, roofer, floor layer, waller, carter, thatcher, slater, lime burner, paint maker, glass blower, glassmaker, wagoneer, coach driver, glazier, stained glass artist, brickmaker, tile maker, bricklayer, tiler, chimney sweep, cartographer, plumber, decorator, bridge builder, French polisher, sign writer, hedge layer, dry stone waller, woodcarver, woodcutter, cosmetologist, missionary, hunter, stile maker, well digger, peat cutter, gardener, horticulturist, vintner, arborist, tree surgeon, miner, forester, farmer, ranger, con artist, stevedore, pickpocket, warden, naval architect, shipbuilder, sailor, waiter, vaudevillian, boatwright, harbourmaster, lock tender, toll collector, confectioner, chemist, druggist, ratcatcher, trapper, poacher, highwayman, sheriff, deputy, community organizer, legislator, woollen manufacturer, nightwatchman, militiaman, tax collector, soldier, adventurer, constable, stable hand, assassin, pirate, shepherd, shearer, bee keeper, miller, witch, wholesaler, fisherman, wool broker, orchardist, tutor, veterinarian, chair maker, iron founder, blacksmith, wheelwright, cooper, coppersmith, millwright, horse breeder, horse trainer, teamster, harness maker, housewife, magistrate, tinsmith, monk, nun, priest, minister wood turner, coach builder, boat builder, sail maker, oar maker, rope maker, wainwright, block maker, leather tanner, glover, saddler, horse collar maker, boot and shoemaker, cobbler, clog maker, knife maker, cutter, housekeeper, butler, tallowmaker, millstone dresser, potter, printer, typographer, calligrapher, bookbinder, paper maker, moneylender, furniture maker, jeweller, mechanic, boiler maker, engineer, boilerman, soap maker, gunsmith, ironmonger, sword smith, brush maker, chandler, artist, sculptor, horse breaker, horse trader, ship chandler, goatherd, cowherd, canner, dentist, diver, harbour pilot, outrider, denture maker, firework maker, cycle builder, bone carver, dancer, musical instrument maker, clay pipe maker, fitter and turner, tool maker, jeweler, gem cutter, goldsmith, spinner, weaver, dyer, silk grower, tailor, seamstress, milliner, fortune teller, salter, hatter, lace maker, engraver, button maker, machinist, mat and rug maker, crochet worker, tatting and macramé worker, knitter, quilter, smock worker, mail carrier, embroiderer, ditch digger, rabbiter, leather worker, day laborourer, felt maker, fish smoker, charwoman, launderess, jailer, roper, storekeeper, stocker, stock clerk, vendor, bacon curer, butter maker, cheese maker, brewer, cider maker, seedsman, naturalist, hatter, optometrist, ophthalmologist, lighthouse keeper, surveyor, rower, drummer, market gardener, wine maker, distiller, herbalist, oyster farmer, fish farmer, ice cream maker, butcher, café owner, fishmonger, pie maker, cook, scullery maid, farm hand, handyman, boarding house operator, grocer, landlord, tinker, pickle maker, baker, mental health practitioner, paintmaker, painter, hotelier, judge, lawyer, coffee roaster, doctor, nurse, storyteller, puppeteer, puppet maker, binderyman, teacher, naturalist, historian, jester, actor, archivist, historian, ink and dye maker, editor, illustrator, administrator, poet, writer, midwife, barkeep, innkeeper, bookseller, librarian, musician, singer, village idiot.

Re toilet paper, here in the UK, and also cycling in France, there’s ample plant material usually available when wild camping or cycling–dandylion or dock leaves, sphagnum moss up on the moors, or even snow! I’ve also found sheeps wool caught on gorse bushes useful. I guess in my native California you would need to watch out for poison ivy, but surely there’s knowledge of what native peoples/early settlers/ancient peoples on the land used?