Speakup and backups

Hi everyone,

I must be getting old, because I have become backup-obssessed.

In addition to a backup of my home folder, I would like to use the ARCH 
pacman off-line alternate process, where one keeps a list of packages 
and the actual packages on disk, just in case Internet access is not 
available or is too slow.

In that context, do Kernel changes like Speakup appear in the list of 
installed packages?  I imagine not, is this correct?

Also, what is the best source of instructions on how to install Speakup?

Thanks,

Fernando