The Debris Bag
25th September Posted by Tony Deis on Sep 25, 2009 in Bushcraft & Survival I spent the past two weeks teaching fire by friction and survival shelters to our fall-term, full time immersion program. They relied on these new skills for the 3-day shelter overnight they just completed (to great success I may add). While they've done other grand things, I'm particularly proud that in their first 3-weeks in the program, everyone has now slept in a handmade survival shelter with no sleeping bag. I find it relevant because these are the basics. For wilderness skills program they should be covered right correctly and promptly. Yet this vital knowledge is often taught by people with little experience. I'm not going to name names and I definitely won't point to just one school or survival book. This particular blog is not meant to be critical, I want it to be a call to action. I hope to tackle the systemic issue that very poor habits are commonly taught. The bow drill can be an example. You may see bows far to large, people balanced precariously in awkward positions or cordage stung in convoluted ways. Some of the worse memetic errors are found in the debris (sticks and leaves) shelter. Even though very good references and classes frequently offer an explanation of how this really is not a debris "hut", its more like a debris "sleeping bag", when disseminated through various teachers, schools and outdoor education organizations, its form, principles and purpose have fallen victim to a bad game of telephone. You see, in building a shelter where you can sleep warmly (relative) with no fire (fires can be challenging to tend to when sleeping), you must have the debris as close as you can to your body. More like a "debris bag" than a "debris hut". The entrance to all my "debris bags" are ridiculously small. Though I am a tiny man, you would look my hut and say, "You'll never fit in there." Yet I do, functionally forced to squirm my way in, flexing the debris along my sides. Unfortunately, you'll see "debris huts" with ridge poles and entrances nearly twice or three times the size of the builder's shoulder width. And I've seen it taught this way to both kids and adults by many outdoor education and self-proclaimed wilderness schools. Now folks may think I'm quibbling because the debris shelter is only a "basic skill". They may rally to discuss the finer points of bow making or cultural development. Yet these are skills where your savvy and intelligence can not only keep you alive but progressively comfortable (notice I say progressively). The time and attention you offer them shapes great art and elegance out of some of the most fundamental needs: shelter, water, fire and food. Basic doesn't mean simplistic, it means vital. Neglect isn't the greatest reason we see these fundamental skills poorly taught. Its more insidious than that. The simple answer is that the teachers in question may have never actually slept in a debris shelter. The more complex answer is that they didn't question for themselves what they were being taught (if and when they were learning bad information). Whether it be a model for community organization, a soft-awareness skill of tracking or a hard-craft skill where folks earn callouses and cuts, too often the one quality that is most absent is the ability to ask "why". Why am doing this? Is it going to work? Can I listen well and later develop my own way? Can I encourage others to do the same? The problem with teachers is that everyone has to demonstrate themselves as the authority in order to keep their clout. When people vomit out what they "think" they heard, we simply get progressively worse and worse ideas. We need more intelligent instruction, learning and most of all, experimentation. A conversation that not only encourages fidelity of knowledge, but also an evolution of it. We all should've slept in our debris bags before we go about teaching them. Program roll...
Taster: Umiak Boat Ride on the River Oct 25
Epic: Take the immersion program for a 1-year Start anytime
Focus: Take the 3-month term studying what want, when you want
Apprentice, no master
9th September Posted by Tony Deis on Sep 09, 2009 in Bushcraft & Survival Very rarely do we visit with masters of any craft in our world. They may be famous, oft quoted in magazines, featured in documentaries or authors of categorical tomes. Yet they're no longer our neighbors, let alone our uncles and aunties, our mothers and fathers. Our culture often has people moving from place to place, job to job, learning hobbies or ways to earn cash. While self-branded artists are phenomenal they suggest a form of more personal expression. Masters are those who labor to animate, bring alive their craft and materials into new forms of usefulness and grace for the full village (usefulness and grace are not mutually exclusive). True mastery requires more then simply a professional accord, more then simply diligence and patience, it requires great love. How is what I offer a service? How does it protect and care for my family? How does it inspire? How does it feed the people around me? To often we see primitive skills as the cartoon of what our culture expects survival to be. When true bushcraft is synonymous with fine folk craft. Natural craft is sinuous, powerful and highly functional. This bow pierces food for the village as its an eloquent extension of my arm. This boat hunts while its lines express my love and passion for the fish that feeds my family. This basket is fashioned of resiliency and color, reminding all of us of the bounty it carries home. It is time to take back mastery for our village where eloquence, sweat and blood become the vital ingredients for artful livelihood that enriches us all. Rebuilding the village with fine craft...
Winter's Nature of the Village: Umiak Building and Folk Craft skill share
Also you can attend... 4-Seasons Permaculture Design Certification Immerse yourself in the study for Permaculture: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall
Winter Term: The Water Village for the full or part-time immersion program. Learn all the above skills in depth and in sync with the seasons...
Plus...
Spring Term: The Earth Village Permculture, wild plants and tracking
Never gone fishing
21st April Posted by Tony Deis on Apr 21, 2009 in Bushcraft & Survival I've met dozens of folks that have never gone fishing. If you did go fishing, count yourself lucky and please understand, its still important to empathize with those who lacked the opportunity. If you're one of those who never went fishing, of course its not your fault. What are you going to do if dad or mom never took you out the river and showed you how to bait a hook? Who's going to learn you the ropes (or the knots)? Answer: You go out and do it. Get a license and CHEAP pole (G.I. Joe's is going out of business). Convince a friend to go with you. Sit there. Make mistakes and don't catch anything. Enjoy the riverbank and the birds. Then, with the same friend, go to the fishing section at Powells or to the internet and read up on what you can do differently. And how do you get there? Fish on the banks of Willamette. Ride your bike down the Springwater Corridor in this nice weather. Put your pole and tackle in your hip basket. Plenty of people are doing it. And what if you catch something? Gutting A Rainbow Trout in under 30 secs (you can find anything on youtube). It won't be pretty your first time, or second, or third. Someday you'll just wake up and know how to eloquently gut a fish. And what if your sad about killing a fish? Taking a life? That's good. Because we need to be sad. Its imperative in today's cold world. We're so disconnected from what feeds us. Whether its potatoes grown by the agro-industry in Idaho or some wine grown in California. If that fish feeds you, then you will want more fish in the water. You took a life, now your responsible for putting 50 back in its place. And what if during summer Trackers replaced our "taster days" with "Gone fishing days"? Meaning we just go fishing together. Meet early on Saturday morning with our bikes and poles. Someone buys doughnuts. We do whatever the moment asks us to. We can have people teaching each other. All you lucky ones that went fishing as a kid will get to share what you learned. Help people out. I guarantee we'll get varying levels of experience and that collaborative learning is what truly builds community. Send your answer to this question to tony@trackersnw.com
One last free taster day May 16
One last blast for Alumni of Taster Days May 17
1 year permaculture course
Wilderness Survival Awareness Part 1
25th February Posted by Trackers Teams on Feb 25, 2009 in Bushcraft & Survival What does real survival require? Both in the long term and when everything hits the fan. It might not be what you think. How many of us have been humbled by the cold and wet? How many of us have learned about our true mettle by weathering impossible situations. I'm not referring to the contrived "edge" experiences of wilderness skills education. Instead this is about honoring how often "impossible" is a fact of life. Sometimes everything won't be perfect and you'll find yourself up a shit creek without a paddle. While you may teach a student to build a shelter in the middle of the summer, you will not always be there to set them up for this success. Giving skills is only one facet of survival training. One day, people may find themselves out in the real cold. Those are the moments when you learn how critical a positive attitude can be. Do we always need a teacher holding our hand and telling us its okay? At the best that is a crutch, at the worst it is a trap. Do we need more skill to simply riddle our way out of a tight spot? It could be helpful, but how we use knowledge relies more on moderation of character than on learning new tricks. Should you power through and show your bravado? While often convenient, machismo can blind people to reality. What is needed is a sage verse found in the poem "If" by Ruyard Kipling...
If you can keep your head when all about you
How do you react to crises? Do you have the ability to laugh as you are being charged by a herd of elephants? When you are falling off a cliff, where are your thoughts? In teaching and training survival skills I have seen the gamut of reactions: giddiness, testiness, paralyzation, befuddlement or rage. The root of these attitudes is often fear. Fear is compelling and can easily overwhelm what you know is the right thing to do. But turn that on its head. Fear also tells us to be more aware, not necessarily to run away, or even how to react with these estranged emotions. Fear can often be an abrupt transition from a comfortable life to the edge of death. In a "survival situation" dwelling on problems is different then acknowledging and accepting challenges. When we "dwell" we lose the awareness of the moment and no longer move with grace or clarity. There is an ancient painting of three men. In the picture they have all dipped their finger in a vat of vinegar to taste it. One had a frown, one was stoic and the third was wearing a smile. These men were meant to represent three philosophies of the Far East. Interestingly enough, the philosophy with the smile holds a tradition and lineage of weathered survivalists. The inability to make a decision because of fear or the assumption that you know what is best in every circumstance are two sides of the same coin. Both often result in a debilitating sense of right and wrong. In survival, you can't afford to be stigmatized when you need to be aware of the moment and flow with a competent path. Notice that I don't say "the most competent path." This is not about the perfect way to accomplish one task. It's about you being in the wilderness while smiling to say, "I'm cold, I'm getting my shelter finished." That's survival awareness part 1. Part 2 is about the reality that you have more to care for then yourself. Facebook removes photo of butchering and homesteading
12th February Posted by Trackers Teams on Feb 12, 2009 in Bushcraft & Survival
The following article is about Facebook removing the above image of skinning and butchering a sheep. It was posted by TrackersNW. This article is NOT intended as a complaint or protest against Facebook, nor an inditement of the individual who reported it without choosing to understand what it meant. Instead it is an account of our culture's failure to develop responsibility, awareness and reverence for what dies to give it life. It is a testimonial to why Trackers and other organizations of like mind continue to hold the line in reclaiming our humanity and connection to life around us. by Tony Deis On February 10, 2009 I received the following message from Facebook about what we believe was the image above... You uploaded a photo that violates our Terms of Use, and this photo has been removed. Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence, or other violations of the Terms of Use. These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for all users, including the many children who use the site. It was disconcerting. I am very conscitenous about what I post in both photos and video. As a educator and a person responsible for the welfare and livelihood of many individuals, I cannot afford unnecessary drama or controversy. I immediately combed through my photographs and looked for the one that might be missing. I came to believe that it was the one above. I soon learned Facebook is not able to tell you what photographs they removed. From Facebook's help center... Unfortunately, for technical and security reasons, users cannot view the removed content. I actually understand Facebook's issues on several points... 1) It is a large website, so it would be difficult to respond to every request to find out which picture was banned 2) they are simply a business and they get to make whatever choices they deem healthy for their organization (they have people that need to take home a paycheck to feed their kids) 3) frankly it is better than MySpace 4) most software developers are pretty cool, they are under a lot of pressure from multiple users (similar to running a wilderness school)So again, I'm not concerned with freedom of speech. They could delete my account tomorrow and that is well within their auspices. There are more important things to pine about than Facebook. I will attest to my right for clean air, free space, healthy local food and place to feed those I love. I will not cry out for the righteousness of social networking online. Gees, how lame could we get. This is what this letter is testimony to: TrackersNW will always err on the side of working with local organic farmers, permaculturists, land owners and ranchers. The Port Orford rancher who sold us the sheep deeply cared about his flock. It was his family's land, he tended to the animals he raised, he showed unique and stoic remorse at their death with a competency and reality that few in our modern and sheltered world understand. How people that live close to land relate to death is invariably different than those raised in our modern world of anthropomorphic Disney movies and pre-packaged factory farmed foods. Its not perfect, far from it, yet it feels to us a hell of a lot better than plastic wrapped meat. It definitely trumps soybeans and wheat from midwest monster fields and a razed Amazon rainforest. We say store bought tofu is more violent then butchering your own meat. Our REAL concern is with the values inherent in our culture, not the person that reported the image as a violation or especially the coders and service agents at major internet social networking sites. Instead we take issue with a world that shuns real connection with the land and community in the first place. Trackers supports local relationships and we support real family care to the best of our ability. Do we do it perfectly? Hell no. And anyone that claims they do through a curriculum, philosophy or spiritual path is really "selling something." Let's look at what else is not considered "appropriate" on social networking. The other images constantly banned on Facebook are women breast feeding their children. The value of other women seeing and hearing the story of feeding their babies by natural methods are to important. Lets not dilute the gift of healthfully feeding our children in debates and assertions of free speech on Facebook. While we believe Facebook should let these mothers use their network as form of communication, we also laud this resource, this technology for letting you find us. It is up to us to assert the next steps and take the actual learning elsewhere. In handshakes with real hands and eye with real tears. Anything else is cop out. And it must not stop on this webpage, or even in the limits of our programs (we are just a program after all). This is the conversation and future of our families. It is about how we are connected to the land and one another beyond a world wide web. Some may ask, "Why show butchering on the internet. Are you sensationalizing it?" We are artists and this time we will cry free expression. But not simply for intellectual ideas, instead it is about passions and real visceral experience we hope to share. We don't "teach" in our programs. We feel that is a trap. We are people that have something we passionately and deeply care for. We are storytellers with real experience to express. And we work our butts off at the job we do and we don't get much time to explore our art elsewhere than in our "marketing" (and our marketing is unique in being real). In the world of TrackersNW we are about to make a stand. We won't give into views of either vegetarianism or moderate. We won't incline ourselves as liberal or conservative. We will not be religious, agnostic or even a benign form of spiritual. Instead we choose something invariably more controversial and realistic. A collaborative conversation with one another as intelligent human beings. We eat meat, we eat plants. Our soul gravely and greatly changes when anything alive dies in our stead, with leaves or with legs. We do the best we can to care for our families and we are not here to play politics. We try to lessen the impact of factory farms and work to support local farmers and ranchers. We eat meat, lets all get over it. Does that mean you have to do it when you are with us, of course not. It also means people do not get to judge us. The ideal option would have been for the person who reported the image to not bother looking in our photo albums. They need to look at someone else's Facebook page and take their nosey busy body habits to another place (hopefully the person that reported the image reads this). While we teach some values of permaculture, we are not permaculture designers. Though we stem from the world of environmental education, we are clearly not environmental educators. As we work in the field of sustainability, we do not believe the answers to sustainability are so trite as "green collar" jobs. We are a wilderness school yet we're not simplistic about human relationships to the land and we certainly draw no quarter with the fast and loose cultural co-option so prevalent in many nature school circles. Instead we are people connected to the Earth, torn between doing what we believe and the harsh realities of experience. We are flawed from the eyes of those who think about right and wrong and we are always doing our best to stay competent and honest. Our dialogue is a real and rich conversation with all life around us. Hunter-gatherer is a poor measure born from anthropology. No, instead we are people constantly shaped and reshaped by how we are fed by the wilderness, by our realistic concern for the state of the world, by how how healthy our children live, by how our family thrives beyond today and our value of the many generations of the future. So please, support slow foods and forge real relationships by buying local. And eat animals and plants with a intense regard for the life they give. (then post all the pictures and videos on the internet) |
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