A woman who has built a doomsday bunker says her bunker door will remain closed to anyone outside her home, including family –saying “hard times call for hard knocks”.
Rowan MacKenzie, who believes it’s necessary to prepare for the end of the world, previously hit the headlines after revealing the hidden bunker within her home.
The 38-year-old began stocking up her cupboards 13 years ago and initially, bought life-long essentials, such as beans and rice, which she taught herself to preserve through trial and error.
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As her stock grew, the homemaker spent over $10,000 (USD) (£8,000) on having the underground space built into the basement of her home, where she keeps food and water, as well as defence weaponry.
Now, with several wars, a strain on the economy, and potential 10ft aliens coming to earth, the “prepper” has taken to new measures to ensure her family is kept safe – and has spent over $90,000 (USD) (£70,000) on her stockpile in total.
“I’m preparing, as a whole, for war, inflation, nuclear disaster, and all out chaos,” Rowan told What’sTheJam.co.uk.
“The price of everything has gone up so much and I need to ready myself, as well as my family, for any disaster situation.
“Our stock should last us a year or more [once used and not replenished] and I’ve had new plans made to build a second bunker in case one is compromised.
“I’ve always said that if you didn’t help build it, then hard decisions will have to be made.
“My door won’t be open to anyone, family or not, as I’ve prepared for my own home.
“I feel bad, but hard times call for hard knocks – and a harsh reality.”
Rowan, who is from the US, claims most of her stockpile won’t expire for another 25 years and it’s all thanks to her “flawless” rotation system to ensure there’s little-to-no wastage.
With the new year in full swing, the mum-of-three has taken new measures to ensure her system is fully up-to-date with all the necessities.
Now, she’s revealing her top tips for anyone looking at getting themselves prepared, too.
She said: “Most essential items to stock up on are water, as sufficient storage of this and ways to filter it is a must.
“Food and medical supplies, which are often overlooked, are needed and that will most certainly end in disaster.
“I never regret any of my purchases and the thing with prepping is that even the most useless items will be a blessing when it’s needed and not accessible.
“It’s better to have more than you need than to need it later and not have it.”
Rowan says that those closest to her understand the importance of what she’s doing, but is often met with confused looks when telling other people.
The mum said: “I have a lot of backlash from people who think that what I’m doing is useless and not essential.
“I’ve been called every name you can think of and the worst of the worst.
“At first, it hurt my feelings, but now, I don’t let it bother me.”
Rowan’s husband, Matt Bradley, 38, said: “I love that we are like-minded when it comes to being prepared, as two heads are better than one.”
Her son, Ashton Varney, 21, added: “I just sit back and watch my parents sometimes go batty trying to find this or that to add to the bunker.
“All I’ve learned about saving a life in hard times is so worth the crazy.”
She added: “I know what I’m doing is important to me and I have over 80,000 people who also agree.
“I feel bad for the people who don’t understand what is actually going on around them right now and I fear that because they choose to ignore it, they may not make it for long when something happens.”
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