Nowadays, no matter which country and irrespective of race or religion, people are feeling more threatened. All around the world violence is increasing. Rioting, looting, strike protest terrorism and intolerance have made it more difficult to survive.

Both people living in cities and in the rural countryside feel threatened and at any time things could boil over and threaten our safety.

In South Africa we have had many blackouts and the power grid could collapse at any time. We are also suffering the effects of a severe drought and we are faced with a shortage of fresh water.

Although, due largely to our warm climate, many of us are avid campers, hikers, cyclists, hunters and love the outdoors, how long can you actually survive out there?

Imagine at short notice the shirt were to hit the fan, and you only had a few minutes to evacuate your house and run to safety, where would you go? What would you take with you? How long will it take to pack a few essentials? We are not talking about a caravan or a weekend box of picnic utensils, we are talking about a minimum few essentials, but sufficient to sustain your family for a few days.

Imagine for a minute that all the things we have come to rely on are taken away. No petrol available, shops closed (or empty) no money in the ATMs, no electricity, no water from the taps, main roads closed or jammed up with traffic, bomb threats, chaos everywhere. Are you ready? Are you prepared?

Assuming you are able to pile into a car and head for the hills, what about shelter, warmth, fire, food, first aid, drinking water, nutrition etc? What will you be able to take with you? Have you a plan?

The Americans are very aware of an impending doomsday and there are many groups who have plans for various emergencies such as tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, terrorism and so on. The British, Australians, New Zealanders and a couple of European countries are also pretty aware of what could happen and a lot of them have prepared.

Typically us South Africans are a pretty apathetic bunch and either think it won’t happen to us, or we are tough and can handle it. When the shirt hits the fan, we will be caught short unless we all have plans, systems and essentials in place.

That is why this business was started. The Survivalist sells the best products available in South Africa. We work with several wholesalers and importers of outdoor/camping/survivalist/prepper products.

The survivalist is a family business, based in Hilton outside Pietermaritzburg. It is a part of the holding company Dersal Contracts, led by Derek Robson. Please rather try contacting us by e-mail or on our website contact form, and not phoning us. We are often out of the office or busy with people. We do not keep any stocks here in the office. All products are sourced from suppliers and warehouse all over South Africa.

Please note that due to diversification and the general downscaling of Dersal Contracts, we de-registered as VAT vendors.

The family has been involved in small business and internet marketing for several years. They run a string of websites and blogs on various topics, under the Dersalsites brand. In earlier days Derek wrote articles for several article directories.

Derek has been involved with many businesses over the years and has experience in engineering, manufacturing, clay technology, plastics technology, building maintenance, sales and marketing, production processes and management, amongst others. After a serious neck injury and subsequent surgery, he was no longer able to pursue these careers and turned to internet marketing instead.

Derek’s wife Sally passed away suddenly in 2020. She had always been a part of Derek’s business and oversaw all receive and dispatch functions and general admin within the business.

Our son Clinton is a qualified personal trainer and gym instructor, but has his own business Dersal Consulting, specialising in pumps, boreholes, back-up water systems, water treatment and purification, and trenching. He helps us in his spare time.

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