The current situation in Venezuela, with the present induced scarcity, made me analyze what could be done by a prepper to provide a proper DIY supply of those goodies that suddenly disappear from the shelves.

Venezuela had industries that produced a lot of goods: toothpaste, shampoo, all kind of hygiene products, food, drinks, fuel. Just like every country. The raw materials needed for some stuff, if not produced in the country, were bulk imported, much cheaper. Items in a wide range of prices were available. If someone could not afford the toilet paper with perfume, no problem, there was a cheaper brand available, nationally produced. Everyone could enjoy a decent life quality. That was one of the main attractions of the country. Until the commies arrived, of course.

Under this light, I realized we had, until the mid-nineties at least, a similar economy to those of the most developed countries. As a matter of fact, our industry was one of the strongest in all of Latin America: the free market allowed a wonderful (perhaps not always so healthy because of the occasional mafia) competition. I remember some exercises in college about choosing the company with the best performance in the Caracas stock exchange, in a financial engineering work course I took for optional credits.

You need to learn to make these 5 items

After a careful study I could detect that these five items could be significant to be stockpiled, or even better, homemade:

• Vegetable oil

• Vinegar

• Biodiesel

• Soap and toothpaste

• Alcohol

Let´s see why I have identified these as important.

Vegetable Oil

Vegetable oil can be extracted by the proper processing of the corn and other seeds of your choice. It is useful . This was one of the first staples that disappeared from the market. Most of the oil producing companies were seized and nationalized. Now their production is a small fraction of what it was when they were private, and the military controls the supply and sales in the black market.