Hi Baggywrinkle,
On this issue it's easy for me ... I am on an island and I am quite sure there's no other local in this forum.
So starting a community can be done directly I don't need the internet for that.
I happen to know quite a few people that started their own business and among them there are typically some hands on people.
Some of them are in trading business with the US. It was not difficult to wake them up. They realize business may fall back
anytime so they are keen on alternatives ...
The internet for me serves to learn about certain stuff and get to know what's going down at the moment.
So finding the right people is no problem ... the problem will be like Michael StClair said about "one rotten apple in the basket".
I don't mean to look down on people but there are quite a few lazy ignorant types who will panic the day they can't drive their SUV's anymore.
We will probably face other problems like logistics. There is hardly any food production on the island so here's a good point to start.
On the other hand being on an island might be an advantage as well. In case of a pandemic we're more naturally isolated.
And I also agree with you that it's not a black and white thing when making changes. One needs to make the steps gradually.
Although it requires discipline probably. E.g. of course we still have running water from the tap here and I need water for growing my veggies etc.
I already try to go in great lengths of storing as much rainwater as possible to get the hang of this. Learning is a great deal
about doing, failing and adjusting. One should NOT wait until you have to rely on it completely.
So although all the easy stuff is still around you need to keep focusing on being less dependent from it.
And by itself that's a wonderful feeling ....
Fortunately I have great neighbors, they support it completely and tend to follow the example.
There's a small community rising almost by itself just like that ... I even start to feel that it might be a good thing happening to us.
If it not were for the ugly things that may potentially happen as well ...
Cheers