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What’s your apocalypse skill? Finding a…

Entertainment · October 9, 2026 · The Conversation · 5 min

Take inspiration from Doomsday preppers with the idea of learning practical skills.

<a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/attractive-young-woman-makes-fire-keep-1987022555?trackingId=5ec690f7-f552-4758-854c-dcf55be36ae6&listId=searchResults">PV productions/Shutterstock</a> </figcaption> </figure>

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kezia-barker-2762869">Kezia Barker</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/liverpool-john-moores-university-1319">Liverpool John Moores University</a>

In online <a href="https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tran.12362">“prepper” communities</a> – where people discuss ways to prepare for potential emergencies and disruptions – members often jokingly refer to their <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003512240-3/apocalypse-skill-kezia-barker-rosie-cox">“zombie apocalypse” skills</a>.

These are the capabilities they would bring to catastrophic or <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/doomsday-preppers-13556">post-apocalyptic worlds</a>, where the demands of today’s job market suddenly matter less. Participants ask questions and exchange tips, debate ethical scenarios, and support those increasingly anxious about shortages, instability or the prospect of civil unrest.

These “apocalypse skill” musings can work to reinforce ideas that the superior value of physical strength and traditionally masculine skills will be <a href="https://ohiostatepress.org/books/titles/9780814214329.html">restored by a catastrophe</a>. But these discussions can also have the opposite effect. They can recast <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecge.12070?scroll=top&needAccess=true">domestic and caring labour</a> – the provision of food, water, comfort and support – and the work of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20438206221088381">maintenance and repair</a>, from underpaid, low-status activities to essential skills for survival.

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Hobbies can bring joy, wellbeing and focus to our busy lives, but so many of us don’t have one. If you’re ready to replace scrolling with stitching, or hustle with horticulture, <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/the-hobby-starter-kit-186342">The Hobby Starter Kit</a> (a new series from <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/quarter-life-117947">Quarter Life</a>) will help you get going.

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The <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/preppers-stockpiling-food-uk-burnham-war-ai-disaster-b3039582.html">typical image</a> of a prepper puts too much emphasis on their stuff – <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8v1y5g3rpo">stockpiles of food</a> and water at home or equipment packed in emergency grab-bags – and too little on the importance preppers place on learning survival skills.

A <a href="https://www.monbiot.com/2025/03/20/pro-social-hoarding/">stockpile of food</a> simply buys you time, while a bag of survival equipment is only useful if you know what to do with it. As one prepper adage puts it: “the more you know, the less you carry.”

Practical, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1474474017702514?casa_token=btNDa7PqFHEAAAAA:Jx2fjh40G8RBgGliUQ7SsrWds0OdeIzTq3qDHY8_9VFvdKieT-W9ZZ89Y8ijHYvJXfmgnC5EzsLD">hands-on skills</a> related to securing basic everyday needs are revalued for post-apocalyptic living. If familiar systems fail, it is the gardener, mechanic, home carer or nurse, not the investment banker, who become the highly sought-after member of any survival unit or “MAG” (mutual assistance group). This is one part of the appeal of being a prepper – <a href="https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tran.12362">reimagining your value</a> in contexts other than the present.

But you don’t have to become a fully fledged prepper to take inspiration from the idea of learning practical skills. It’s an opportunity to take up a hobby that brings the satisfaction of making something yourself, getting closer to nature, or finding ways to respond to the pressures of work or eco-anxiety.

<h2>Apocalypse-proof hobbies</h2>

So what new skill could you develop in time for this hypothetical zombie apocalypse?

There is a burgeoning <a href="https://bushcraftmagazine.com/">bushcraft</a> and survival scene in the UK, with many providers offering one-day training courses as a taster. These tend to cover <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213078024001087">fire-starting</a>, water purification, green woodworking and shelter-building. This could come in handy on your next camping trip, let alone during a “grid-down” scenario.

<figure class="align-center "> <img alt="Woman in a forest" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/763364/original/file-20261001-50-axmxmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/763364/original/file-20261001-50-axmxmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/763364/original/file-20261001-50-axmxmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/763364/original/file-20261001-50-axmxmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/763364/original/file-20261001-50-axmxmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/763364/original/file-20261001-50-axmxmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/763364/original/file-20261001-50-axmxmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"> <figcaption> Foraging can be a way to feel connected with nature. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/three-female-friends-having-fun-enjoying-1963795237?trackingId=67b8b818-bb9e-49e0-802a-e8bd16ce6a22&listId=searchResults">Zoran Zeremski/Shutterstock</a> </figcaption> </figure>

Foraging for wild food and medicinal plants is also highly valued, reflected in growing <a href="https://foragers-association.org/">public interest in the UK</a>. The foragers I spoke to in my ongoing research point to the meaning they find in reconnecting with natural, cyclical rhythms, despite <a href="https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111245591-010/html">climate-related disruption to seasonal patterns</a>. Again, there is no shortage of courses and books to consult to begin learning how to forage safely. An important message, however, is to not rely on <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-026-00752-4">AI photo identification</a>: that way you avoid poisoning your friends, as well as future-proofing your skills if the mobile network does go down.

<a href="https://incredibleedible.org.uk/">Food growing</a>, cooking and preservation skills don’t require an allotment or an expensive electric dehydrator. Instead, join a <a href="https://www.goodtogrowuk.org/map/">community garden</a> or <a href="https://gardeningforthezombieapocalypse.com/">grow what you can</a> in whatever small spaces are available. You can learn traditional methods of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/fermented_foods_and_pickles">food preservation</a>, and collect and reuse glass jars and bottles.

Then there is the much caricatured hobby of <a href="https://spoonfest.co.uk/">spoon-carving</a>. Remember: this is not about the need for endless coffee spoons come the apocalypse, but about developing safe and competent knife skills for wider camp craft, such as making <a href="https://paulkirtley.co.uk/2014/lighting-a-fire-with-feathersticks/">feathersticks</a> for fire-lighting, or whittling a replacement tent peg.

<h2>Overlapping benefits</h2>

The advantage of all these hobbies is the multiple benefits they offer in different contexts. If the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2514848618777621">apocalypse never comes</a>, well, you’ve still got home-grown tomatoes, homemade kimchi or a carved wooden spoon to show off to your friends.

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