Neighbour Know-How

Learn useful skills from the people down the road.

A free, friendly group for West Norfolk and the Fens. Neighbours teaching neighbours how to grow food, fix things, sort water and keep the house running. Nothing fancy, just good know-how passed on.

Join the group I could teach something

This isn't a prepper thing.

Nobody here is stockpiling tins or waiting for the end of the world. It's just that our grandparents knew how to grow a row of spuds, darn a sock and fix a dripping tap, and a lot of that has been lost.

Knowing this stuff saves money, it's good for you, and it's a nice way to meet the people who live near you. And if the power does go off for a few days, or the water's off after a flood, it's handy that half the street already knows what to do.

  • Free to join, free sessions. Bring a cake if you like
  • All ages welcome, kids with an adult
  • No experience needed, everyone starts somewhere

What we learn

Six areas to start with. If you can teach something that isn't here, tell us.

Grow

Growing food

  • Veg in small gardens and pots
  • Seeds, saving seeds, compost
  • Fruit trees and pruning
  • Keeping chickens
Water

Water

  • How to make dirty water safe
  • Rainwater butts and storage
  • Simple filters you can build
  • Finding and turning off your stopcock
Repair

Fixing things

  • Basic tools and how to use them
  • Plugs, fuses and small appliances
  • Bikes, punctures and chains
  • Sewing and patching clothes
Home

Keeping the house going

  • Dripping taps and blocked drains
  • Bleeding radiators, boiler pressure
  • Draughts and cheap insulation
  • What to do in a power cut
Kitchen

Food and cooking

  • Bread from scratch
  • Jams, pickles and preserving
  • Cooking without mains power
  • Using up leftovers properly
Care

Looking after each other

  • First aid basics
  • Checking on older neighbours
  • Who's got what skills on the street
  • Flood and storm plans for the area

How it works

Come along

Sessions are small and hands-on, in village halls, gardens and workshops around the area. Turn up, have a go, ask questions.

Share what you know

Everyone's good at something. If you can show a few people how to do one thing, you can run a session. We'll help you sort it.

Help each other out

Stuck with a job at home? Ask in the group. Someone nearby has probably done it before and might pop round.

Retired? You've got a lifetime of know-how.

There are loads of retired engineers, farmers, electricians, nurses and mechanics round here. What you know is exactly what people want to learn. One afternoon a month showing a few people what you do would make a real difference.

Offer to teach a session

House rules

Short and simple. This is a friendly group and we'll keep it that way.

  1. Be kind.Treat people like you would at the village hall. Everyone was a beginner once.
  2. No slagging anyone off.Not other members, not the council, not the neighbours. Posts that do get removed.
  3. No politics, no doom.We're here to learn useful stuff, not argue or scare each other.
  4. No selling.Swaps and freebies are fine. Adverts aren't, unless the admins say so.
  5. Safety first.Anything with gas, mains electrics or medical stuff gets pointed to a qualified person.
  6. Admins have the final say.Break the rules and you get one warning. Twice and you're out.

Get involved

Questions

Does it cost anything?

No. Sessions are free. If a session needs materials, like seeds or a filter kit, we'll say up front and keep it cheap.

Is this a prepper group?

No. It's a community group for learning practical skills. Being ready if something happens is a nice side effect, not the point.

I don't know anything useful. Can I still come?

Yes. Most people come to learn. You don't need to teach anything.

Who runs it?

Local volunteers. The admins keep the group friendly, book venues and put the sessions together.

Where are sessions held?

Village halls, community gardens and members' workshops around West Norfolk and the Fens. Each session lists its venue once booked.