Primitive Technologies

Learning primitive technologies has never been so easy.   The internet and Youtube connect us instantly to the wisdom keepers and practitioners of  the old ways.Here is a terrific website from a group based on the West coast.  http://www.primitiveways.com/Just scanning their pages you get an idea of all the skills we humans once used to know and can relearn.   There are local primitive teachers here as well, like Mountain Scout Survival School in the Beacon area run by Shane Hobel. http://mtnscoutsurvival.com/He teaches in the Hudson Valley and in Manhattan,and does private and group instruction as well as parties.A great guy!
  

Shane Hobel

 

Why is learning primitive skills important?
As Primitive Ways website says, these ancient skills connect us to our ancestors, remind us of our grandmothers and grandfathers who worked hard to survive and are the reason we are here today.  However, another more basic reason is the practical nature of these skills that can be lifesaving in many different challenging situations.  Oh, and they're fun to learn and practice!  My friends who have learned to start fire from sticks tell me of the elation they felt the first moment that flame came to life successfully.  The flint stones made into knives are also some of the sharpest tools out there and never need sharpening, nor do they rust.  They may chip, but so can a metal blade which has to be sharpened regularly and kept from rusting.

This bloodthirsty hot summer has its own primitive lessons to teach us.  Going lower into a basement is cooler, and a basement is like a cave. Power outages from overuse of air conditioner units tell us another primitive lesson, don't be in a hot room or you will dehydrate.  Staying cool and hydrated are two huge survival lessons Shane teaches, and he shows you how to do it. How to find water, how to stay cool. In his Wilderness Surival 1 course you will learn the basic essentials of survival http://mtnscoutsurvival.com/Wilderness1.html

• "Wilderness Survival Class with instructor Shane Hobel is made up of many skills and is offered throughout the Hudson Valley in both wilderness and urban environments. The first class introduces you to the scope of this subject of study and particularly the Seven Arrows:
• Shelter, Water, Fire & Food, Tracking, Awareness & Movement
• Wilderness 1 will open your eyes to truly appreciate the gifts Mother Earth has to offer. Awaken to how capable you are and how fulfilling it is to be shed the need for today's comforts we are accustomed to. From this experience, choose your Trail of Journey and continue your modern renaissance in primitive and survival skills.

Good luck on your adventure connecting with our ancestors who had to figure these skills out for themselves and use them every day.