Thrive together in times of crisis.
Community Prep is your source for curated emergency preparedness gear you can rely on. No matter the natural hazard or disruption, we’ve done the research so you don’t have to.
We believe the most resilient thing you can build is a neighborhood that knows each other’s names. We’re here to help you thrive, not just survive - with heavily researched and curated preparedness gear, and the hope to connect with your neighbors.
Get ready. Together. (Spam is canned meat - not a marketing strategy!)
Who we are
We provide the gear you need for 2-days to 4 weeks of disruption, and help you build a thriving home and community.
At the intersection of hope, practical resilience, and community building, Community Prep offers high-quality, curated gear to weather disasters and disruptions. But we're doing more; like sharing quality education and resources to empower you and, eventually, help you connect with your neighbors and build purposeful connections. Interdependence for the win every time!
We carefully vet dependable gear (for diverse use cases, quality and values), write honest (practical) reviews of how to use it, and help you bring your neighbors along.
Our team includes educators, builders, entrepreneurs, gift economists, community gardeners, a wilderness EMT, a wildland firefighter, an international risk management expert, an engineer, and a Harvard student focused on climate change, natural hazards, and community-level disaster management, among others. We believe in the goodness of humanity, that community is the future, and that it's possible to thrive in tough situations.
We're also building a Beneficial Corporation because we believe in a better future, together.
Get involved
Prepare for the realities that 97% of scientists say are coming, and build a better future.
Whether you're in a disaster-prone area, are preparing for the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, or are thinking ahead about inevitable disruptions and looking out for your community, you belong here.
Pick your level.
Know when we open
Join the pre-launch family. Get the heads-up before anyone else, plus a welcome perk for being early.
Subscribe to the mission
Welcome to the neighborhood. Get the monthly call to action: hope-forward, always useful, thriving focused. Or send us a message about how you'd like to participate in your local community.
Invest in something meaningful
Want to put your money where your heart is? Join the list of values-aligned folks interested in investing in community resilience. We'd love to have you at the table.
The founding team
Ethan Knight
CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
Known mostly for puns, GSD (getting sh!* did), Carpe-ing all those Diems, and a career leading the national gap year movement. Ethan’s careers have brought him thoroughly into outdoor education, experiential and international education, sustainable nonprofit and for-profit management, global risk management, community organizing, Buddhism, self-awareness and spirituality, and humor. He’s a big-tent person who leads with heart, and launched Community Prep because he kept stagnating in his own disaster preparations, finding them overwhelming, isolating, and the product sites consistently disappointing.
Jenn Sutherland
CCO (Chief Community Officer)
Born off-grid, raised by wolves, and based on an island in Canada, Jenn has spent decades building community while living and working across six continents, pedaled 10,000+ kilometers, lived years in a tent, and still believes hospitality is the ultimate survival skill. She went to Harvard to go deep in climate adaptation, disaster management & response, and sustainability (among other things). She helps people build resilient communities powered by hope, good neighbors, and questionable adventures.
Jamil Grady
COO (Chief Operations Officer)
Jamil has survived a childhood alongside two sisters; the Lord of the Flies-esque anarchy of base housing; the grit of combat sports; the challenge of solo camping retreats in the Sonoran desert and Sandia mountains; and the wild adventures of serial-entrepreneurship. He finds balance with his favorite person, his wife and co-conspirator in all things. A lifelong maker and systems-thinker who is most at home in the fresh air, Jamil can't help but think in terms of "How" - how things work, how to make them better. Jamil is now applying all of his truest self to build the operational heart of Community Prep.
David Wright
CPE (Chief Product Engineer)
David is a constant optimizer, engineer, and connector. In a typical day he moves between digital designs, repairing bikes, breaking out the viola, and cooking dinner for any family or neighbors who drop by unannounced. He gets immense satisfaction from using every bit of the materials available, whether that is the meager sunlight captured on solar panels on a rural farm in Mongolia or building e-bikes out of scrapyard parts. He has a vision for a solarpunk future and each of his new designs takes him one step closer.
What's coming
Honest gear first.
Community preparedness starts with you, and every individual in your community. We're supporting that with a short curation of honestly vetted gear. No warehouse to dig through. Just the dependable things, sized for real households.
Water
Filters, purification, and storage. Clean water for your household — no drama, no dependency.
First Aid & Medical
Kits, re-supplies, medications, & supplements. Plan for yourself and your community.
Power
Solar panels, household and smaller battery backups, wind and other generators. Power when the power goes out.
Air
Purifiers and filters for wildfire season, urban pollution, and allergens. Put your own oxygen mask on first, and share if it's helpful.
Food
Shelf-stable staples that belong in a real kitchen. No doomsday buckets. Just good food, sensibly stored.
Communications
Radios, meshtastic systems, and walkie talkies. Community starts with communication.
The journey
Community begins with the closest circle, so we're starting with you, learning, and expanding.
Phase one
01
Honest gear
Community starts with you, and flows reciprocally to your family and your neighbors. Start with the basics: water, power, food, first aid. We'll help you build a solid foundation without overwhelming you — practical gear, and preparedness rooted in hope, with reminders to help you track anything that expires.
Phase two
02
Knowledge
Knowledge, shared freely, for the sake of knowledge - not profit. We'll do the research and provide content that instills hope. Through blogs, vlogs, guidebooks, articles, and bulletins — Community Prep will provide useful, actionable information that helps illuminate a positive path forward. Educate yourself so you have the wisdom and wherewithal to build bridges when disaster strikes. The future doesn't have to suck.
Phase three
03
Connection
Expansion - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: form the foundation, free your mind, find friends. Local connections with neighbors that share resources, skills, and plans. Connect with local organizations, government CERT Programs (Community Emergency Response Team), mutual aid networks, and community groups. Community Prep understands that resilience scales when people work together.
Common questions
What people ask us.
Who We Are
Because preparing felt exhausting and overwhelming—so we built a simpler, hope-filled way to get ready, together.
Go deeper…We're based in Portland, Oregon, and ship across the US and Canada—while investing in local community resilience wherever we go.
Go deeper…Yes—but we focus on likely, everyday disruptions like outages, storms, smoke, and quakes, not doomsday scenarios.
Go deeper…Most preparedness brands sell fear. We're most interested in hope and community.
Go deeper…Preparedness isn't just about what you own; it's about who you know.
Go deeper…The antidote to fear is growing, learning, and preparing together.
Go deeper…
Getting Prepared
We curate only gear that earns its place—useful every day, invaluable in an emergency.
Go deeper…It turns out that preparing for yourself is one of the best things you can do for everyone around you.
Go deeper…It starts with free steps—knowing your neighbors, storing water, and making a plan—then small, shared purchases over time.
Go deeper…The biggest mistake is letting fear drive your decisions—or letting it paralyze you into inaction.
Go deeper…A good rule of thumb is one gallon per person per day for at least 14 days—but that's just the start.
Go deeper…Focus on the "Big Five": Water, Food, Power, Air, and First Aid.
Go deeper…Treat your pet as a family member in your planning: have a "go-bag" for them just like you have for yourself.
Go deeper…
Ready to take the next step?
Join the launch list and we'll be in touch.