There was some heavy flooding caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in my hometown in New Zealand this week.
I was in the city, but went back to help with the flood recovery at my family home in a rural area.
I got dropped off and stayed for 4 days. Power and communication were cut, and the nearest shops were a 40-minute drive away (and our local vehicle was not operational).
Many people were hit a lot worse than us in other areas. We were lucky to get through it and saved the house and most of the possessions. I also learned a few things along the way.
First Learning: Proof of Work
Once the waters retreated we had to immediately get to work. We had no time to wait around for some kind of help or directive, and instead had to go self-sovereign. We pulled the carpet, dredged out mud and silt, and got stuff out to dry where possible.
I went from podcast editing at my computer on Wednesday night, to shovel in hand clearing debris and hauling generators around on Thursday afternoon.
If we had waited the mud would have hardened and it would have been a lot more challenging to recover anything or even make the house habitable again.
Second Learning: Self-custody and the way rural people understand value
The question of 'What is Money' often comes up in Bitcoin, and it is very much a theoretical discussion. But when there is no power and the roads are blocked no amount of paper money is worth as much as a portable generator and a tin of petrol.
There is no such thing as "hoarding" or "mess" in the countryside. Country people often have a lot of stuff in their shed or lying around. It is either valuable now, or it will be valuable later. The one time something is needed, it is really needed.
People in the countryside are able to see the immediate tactile value of things both large and small in a way that city people do not. Because the use of a particular item is so obviously clear there is no doubt about whether it is valuable or not.
This means a chainsaw might be worth an air compressor, and a load of firewood might be worth half a butchered cattlebeast.
It is simply an exchange of value.
It makes sense for both parties and does not involve any trusted third party or even a financial system.
In addition, the ability to immediately redeem this value proved itself in our situation. Having self-custody of generators, tools, and equipment onsite meant we could get up and running with power. Having a freezer of meat, and other items meant we could stay onsite and work around the clock to salvage the house, having wood meant we could use the fireplace in the house.
Third Learning: The value of goodwill and community
Over the few days I was there we did not (and could not) make any financial transactions. There were no 'shops' and no internet or power and no way to even spend money. Instead everyone in the community did their part, based on favours received and given, general goodwill, and a sense of community.
It is hard to appreciate this in the self-facing digital bubbles of modern cities that many of us live in, but when times are tough you need community. The work that you put into investing into a community and your neighbours can come back out to you with a high ROI.
In the end we got the house to a decent condition where we had power and water running locally, and the mud was out, debris was cleared, and the floors were drying out! By day 2 we could actually use the kitchen to cook and were able to start bringing things inside again. The house will still require a great deal of work and some new flooring but the bones of it are there.
There are a lot of people who were hit harder than us and I am thankful that my family got through it all safely. I have been prompted to look more deeply into my own personal skillset and abilities so that I can help out others again in the future if needed when something like this comes up again.
Thank you.
ENDS
ā CE
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