Selin Oztuncman

selinoztuncman@gmail.com

‘Prepping’ for disasters in the UK

‘Prepping’ can be described as the practice of actively preparing for expected or unexpected disasters or emergencies by food stockpiling, homesteading, bushcraft and more. There is major stigma surrounding such activity, as it’s highly prone to being associated with tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorists or pro-gun extremists.

As I tried to wander into the lives of preppers in the UK, my purpose as a journalist was to tell the story of a misunderstood community while pointing out important nuances and providing expert opinion on disasters and conspiracies. Although it is hard to generalize the attitude and characteristics of a big community by just two members, it was important to convey the messages and experiences of those members who claim to be regular preppers and also “regular” people.