Resiliency Aptitude Quiz

The following tool is an adaptation of Ben Falk's "The Resilient Farm and Homestead." While assessments are always inherently subjective and incomplete, they serve as valuable tools for gaining insight into our ability to live a resilient lifestyle. This particular assessment aims to identify both strengths, where one might support others most effectively, and weaknesses, where growth opportunities are most accessible. Focusing on our weakest links is often the quickest path to improving the overall function of our personal systems. Given that our time and energy are limited, it is essential to use them wisely.

Please remember that the results of the following assessment are not meant to be taken literally, but rather to reveal patterns. As you work through the test, consider which areas you excel in and where you might need more support. Reflect on how your strengths could benefit those around you—how can you share your skills? And where could you seek learning from others? This assessment emphasizes not just hard skills, but also the aptitude to develop them when needed. It is worth noting that these skills are framed within the context of the author’s lifestyle—a rural, cold-climate homestead. While the tool is applicable in other settings, some modifications may be required. Think of it as a starting point for creating your own customized assessment.

Ranking (Out of a Possible 4,735 Points)

4,000+: Likely adaptable to major change, likely an asset to any community, should likely be facilitating other people’s learning and sharing skills and resources.
3,000–3,999: Probably adaptable to changing conditions, a likely asset to most communities with much to share.
2,000–2,999: Adaptive patterns to work from, positioned to become highly resilient.
1,000–1,999: Some resilient tendencies to build on.
0–999: Average—a liability until major changes are undertaken.

Scoring Your Evaluation

Scoring Your Evaluation:

1. Read the question and reflect on your level of competence in the skill described.

2. Assign a score that matches your competence level. This part is subjective, so use your best judgment. For example, if the skill is "Can you weld?" with a possible 10 points: if you’ve only tried welding once and could manage a basic, albeit rough, weld, score yourself between 3 and 5. If you can weld satisfactorily with basic tools, score a 10. If you are highly skilled and can weld proficiently using a variety of equipment, give yourself a 15.

Social-Economic

I am useful to neighbors—I make or do something they need: (200 points) 0 I can generate a surplus: (50 points) 0 I am well liked: (150 points) 0 I am a long-time resident of this area with many social connections and am well liked here: (50 points) 0 I am financially well off, without debt, can purchase most tools or other resources I need: (200 points) 0 I can organize people well and/or work well within a group setting: (200 points) 0

Personal and Psychological

Aptitude

I can quickly figure out solutions to challenges I have never been trained in and enjoy doing so: (500 points) 0

Attitude

I have a positive outlook in difficult situations and experience in adverse conditions which demand calm, calculated, effective action in the face of emergency: (150 points) 0 I do not give up when encountering difficulty: (100 points) 0 I am patient when it comes to dealing with challenges: (50 points) 0 I enjoy challenging situations: (50 points) 0 I am confident, believe in myself, and act decisively and with poise: (200 points) 0 I know what I do not know: (200 points) 0

Mental Health

I am in sound mental health, stable, and happy; I enjoy my life, like to engage with others: (300 points) 0

Food, Fuel, and Heat

I can do everything needed to heat a home efficiently with minimal wood: (50 points) 0 I can haul wood from woodlot to house with on-site resources: (20 points) 0 I can process firewood with an ax: (20 points) 0 I can make and tend to a fire: (20 points) 0 I can cook on a woodstove: (20 points) 0 I can clean a chimney: (10 points) 0 I can install a woodstove and chimney: (10 points) 0 I can stack and cover wood very well: (10 points) 0 I am able to grow vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts, pulses, and meat: (50 points) 0 I have a two-year supply of food each season: (50 points) 0 I have a one-year supply of food each season: (25 points) 0 I have a three-quarters supply of food each season: (20 points) 0 I have a half-year supply of food each season: (15 points) 0 I have a quarter-year supply of food each season: (10 points) 0 I can lactoferment food: (5 points) 0 I can dry or dehydrate food: (5 points) 0 I can smoke and cure food: (5 points) 0 I can slaughter and butcher animals: (10 points) 0 I can plant a variety of food trees properly: (30 points) 0 I can propagate trees and other plants: (30 points) 0 I can raise seedlings and transplant well: (100 points) 0 I can keep a vegetable garden in good condition all growing season: (100 points) 0 I can save seed in a vegetable garden: (5 points) 0 I can breed animals: (5 points) 0 I can lamb/kid/birth animals: (5 points) 0 I can shear, shoe, and perform various animal maintenance in general: (5 points) 0

Physical Health

I can cook using local and seasonal ingredients: (50 points) 0 I can make a variety of potent medicines: (30 points) 0 I can identify and treat various ailments with local medicine/approaches: (30 points) 0 I can treat someone for emergency/acute trauma if given the right tools, and I know how to use them (e.g., emergency medicine, including CPR): (30 points) 0 I am currently in good physical health: (250 points) 0 I am likely to have a long life ahead of me: (50 points) 0 I am not addicted to any foods or drugs: (250 points) 0 I know how to care holistically for my particular body type and mental habits, and maintain overall health to a high degree—I am healthy and know how to heal when sick: (150 points) 0

Various Skills

Electrical

I know basic wiring of switches, outlets, batteries, fencing, lighting, etc.: (15 points) 0 I know how to use a multimeter and charge vehicle batteries: (15 points) 0 I can set up a gravity-fed domestic water system without freeze problems: (5 points) 0

Plumbing

I can capture and store roof water: (10 points) 0 I know irrigation systems: (5 points) 0 I can sweat copper and do basic indoor plumbing: (5 points) 0 I can work with PEX tubing: (5 points) 0

Crafting

I can make and repair some clothes: (10 points) 0 Ropework: I know basic home and farm knots and rigging (e.g., bowline, clove hitch, trucker’s hitch, fisherman’s knot): (10 points) 0

Vehicles

I can change a wheel: (10 points) 0 I can fix a flat tire: (5 points) 0 I can check and change oil: (5 points) 0 I can check and change other fluids: (5 points) 0

Construction

I can frame a wall efficiently: (15 points) 0 I can frame a house: (20 points) 0 I can use a full woodshop’s array of tools: (25 points) 0 I can design, cut, and raise a timber frame: (15 points) 0 I can do concrete work: forming and pouring: (10 points) 0 I can build a proper dry-stack stonewall of 4 feet in height: (15 points) 0 I can weld: (5 points) 0 I can repair and maintain buildings in general from rot, leakage, and mechanical problems: (50 points) 0

Ecological Awareness

I can identify 10 common medicinal plants in my immediate area and make medicine from them: (25 points) 0 I can identify 10 edible plants in my immediate area and make food from them: (25 points) 0 I can eat from and live in local wild areas for one week: (50 points) 0 I can eat from and live in local wild areas for a year: (100 points) 0 I can eat from and live in local wild areas for a warm season: (25 points) 0 I can stalk, hunt, trap effectively: (30 points) 0

Safety

I am highly aware of my surroundings: (200 points) 0 I can defend myself well from a physical threat: (50 points) 0 I don’t get injured often: (45 points) 0 I am trained to help others in an emergency: (50 points) 0

Your Total Score: 0

Assessing Resiliency: Aptitude Quiz