Underground Railroad for Survivalists

The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad

• Most survivalists live on continents
• Some potential disasters affect climate – think super-volcano or nuclear war
• Others are local and your only option is to leave

In which case you might find your survival spot is no longer fit for purpose, and you need to leave. For sudden climate change, that might mean heading to the other end of the country or continent.

It crossed my mind that something akin to the Underground Railroad used by slaves could work the same way. Like-minded survivalists letting you stay at waypoints, share supplies and information, and so on.

To reduce the risk of infiltration, many people associated with the Underground Railroad knew only their part of the operation and not of the whole scheme. “Conductors” led or transported the fugitives from station to station.

That is a tactic also used by drug-dealers, and it is worth sticking to. No published route!

But how do you meet and recruit people across a continent? How can you get it going?

This is kind of a long-winded approach, but it serves many other purposes as well.

Civilian Action Groups

Or Collectives. Think organizations that use volunteers, like the Ballarat show (regional fair in Australia), fire brigade, St John’s, Salvos, op shops, scouts. 

Form an umbrella group for sharing some resources and helping each other out when needed. There are meta-volunteer organizations, but they are all about the management side. I’m thinking something for the workers.

Have government funded training festivals for sharing of ideas and celebrating and thanking volunteers. Within this, form a militia of sorts in each town, ready to respond to disasters and threats and disease.

Within that, meeting points and survival supplies, bunkers and fire shelters. 

Within that, find like minded survivalists to form a secret society that networks towns up and down the coast and inland. An underground railway for survivalists to travel along. Each nodule only knows if those one and two connections away. Few have the full map. All are sworn to secrecy. 

Yes, a secret society. Ready for anything that the future throws at us. A wide-spread secret militia of sorts.