The basic survival course is designed to teach you the skills you need to survive for the first few weeks of a survival situation. In this course students learn how to make a shelter that will keep you warm and dry in even the coldest environments--a simple and effective method that may one day save your and your loved ones lives! Then learn and practice numerous methods of fire-by-friction by carving your own Bow-Drill and Hand-Drill . Learn to make primitive containers and purify water for drinking and cooking, make primitive traps and learn effective primitive hunting techniques.
After this course you will have the knowledge to keep you and your loved ones alive in nearly any wilderness situation.
Set your child's sense of wonder and adventure for the natural world ablaze! Each class is designed to instruct unique survival skills that are woven together to inspire a love of challenges and adventures in your children in a way they have never seen before. These courses are hands-on learning experiences and a great way to get your kids away from screens and into a more empowering connection with nature. There are 6 levels of kids course that can be taken in any order. Register for any that you like.
This class takes the student way beyond the bow-drill taught in the basic class. This course is designed to give the students the ability to make a fire in mountains, jungles and deserts. We'll focus on all primitive fire (no knife, no rope) and I'll teach you, step by step, dozens of tricks that will allow you to consistently get natural cordage fires, hand drill, bamboo fire-saw, rattan fire-thong, fire plow, flint and steel on Chaga and pump-drill. By the end of the day students will be making fires with materials straight off the landscape.
Come spend a day learning to weave a willow pack-basket. We will cover how and where to gather willow, how to dry willow shoots as well as numerous weaving techniques, such as the French Rand, twined and Double English-rand. Each student will leave with their own basket and the knowledge and ability to make as many baskets as you need in the future. Anyone is welcome and you don't need any experience to participate and make a phenomenal basket. Instruction and supplies included.
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Make your own basket out of the bark of a Tulip Poplar tree. These baskets are incredibly easy to make, sturdy and look as amazing as they are unique--also probably the fastest basket you can make in survival. Come spend a day peeling bark and shaping it into one of numerous styles of baskets. Primitive bark bowls and canteens will also be demonstrated. This course is only run in the Northeast USA during May or June.
In this course we will create hunting bows out of a single piece of wood. The bow-stave wood will be Osage Orange tree--the most prized and effective wood for bow-making. Come spend 3 days making a traditional hunting bow that will take down any animal on this continent.
This is a two-part class where we will cover every step from digging clay from the ground, purifying, creating temper, shaping, construction, and firing. The class will be broken into two days, one day to dig, purify and shape the clay, the second day will be weeks later, after drying, where we will create a firing-pit and primitively fire our pottery (there is an option for pots to be fired without you present if return travel is too far). This class covers everyone from the beginner to the more experienced potter. Techniques taught will be beyond the normal 'coiled' or 'pinch' pot to show much more successful methods of making primitive pottery.
Harvesting fish in survival is one of the easiest and most reliable ways of continually putting food on the fire. In this class we will be creating numerous projects and discussing strategies that truly work in primitive fishing.
This class is very hands on. We will be learning fish traps, weaving fish baskets, carving fish spears, steam-bending Halibut hooks, twining fishing line, weaving fishing nets, discussing fish poison, lures and drying fish meat.
