Self-Reliance & Traditional Living
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Acorn Processing
Yes, Acorn does taste good! In fact, when properly prepared, it tastes DELICIOUS. Plus, it is a highly nutritious and extremely versatile food that can be incorporated into a whole list of everyday baked goods. Acorn has long been a staple food for tribes all over North America, and is definitely worth the time it takes to make. You'll learn to identify and harvest the best acorns for your purpose, how to store and preserve them, and most importantly, how to remove the tannins that cause that bitter taste so often associated with Acorn. We will process and prepare our Acorn to create an incredibly nutritious and protein-rich flour, which we will use to make a variety of tasty treats, including griddle cakes, dumplings, and our favorite Acorn bread.
›› This workshop is not currently on the schedule, but we'll let you know the next time it's offered.‹‹
Medicinal Plants
Begin your journey into unlocking the powerful medicines that the plant kingdom has to offer as you prepare your own tinctures, salves, decoctions and infusions to take home with you. We'll cover all the basics, including where to find your ingredients (both in nature and online), the materials you'll need for your preparations, and some of the indispensable resources that will assist you as you continue on this new and exciting path. Open yourself up to a whole new world as you develop a deeper understanding of the ways in which we all can learn the language of our plant brothers and sisters.
›› CHECK
THIS OUT!
The
Photos: Our Medicinal Plants workshop in Texas
this past June was a great day of discovery and fun! Everyone
left with the beginnings of their own "natural medicinals
kit", and the knowledge to keep adding to it! Check out some
of the photos to see for yourself.
Skill
of the Month: Our September '08 newsletter profiled one
of the easiest (and tastiest) natural cold remedies around. Pine
Needle Tea is super-high in vitamin C and the expectorant and
decongestant qualities can be very helpful when fighting a cough and cold.
See these step-by-step instructions to try it for yourself.
| April 3 | Toms River, NJ | $95 | ›› Sorry, this workshop is now full ‹‹ |
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Natural Dyes
Goldenrod, Red Osier Dogwood, Osage Orange, Black Walnut, Indigo, Cochineal Beetle... The art and alchemy of using natural materials to dye fibers will be fully explored in this workshop. You will process a variety of plants and other sourses and use them to produce several dyes of various colors.
In addition, you will learn the secrets, tips and tricks to using natural dyes on plant-based fibers like cotton and linen, with spectacular and vibrant results.
All materials are provided, but participants are welcome to bring their own material samples to dye.
›› CHECK
THIS OUT!
Student Comments: Read
what past students of this workshop have to say.
Skill
of the Month: Black Walnuts make one of the strongest
and most color-fast brown natural dyes available, and we featured
it in our Ocotber '08 issue of our monthly e-newsletter, Practically
Speaking.
›› This workshop is not currently on the schedule, but we'll let you know the next time it's offered.‹‹
Soap Making
With all of the additives, chemicals and allergies that plague our world today, natural soaps have begun popping up in more and more mainstream stores. But why pay a premium to have a soap that contains ingredients that you can actually pronounce when you can make your own? Forget the idea of a harsh, rough, sandpaper soap — the creamy, soap you'll make today will make lots of lather that will leave your skin soft and smooth, never dry.
In this one-day workhsop you will participate in making a batch of cold-process soap, using all-natural, vegetable materials. You will also learn how to incorporate essential oils and natural botanicals that will allow you to personalize your soaps, based on your own preferences or allergies. In addition, you will be introduced to the hot-process method of soap making, and ways of making primitive soap in primitive conditions.
Workshop price includes the cost of mailing your soap home once it's free from the mold.
| January 31 | Clifton, TX | $95 | ››The dates for this workshop have passed, but we'll let you know next time it's offered ‹‹ |
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Felt Making
Hats, shoes, rugs, placemats, clothing, shelter, decorative objects…
All of these and much, much more can be made using the ancient
art of Felt Making. "Wet Felting" is the process of binding
fibers together with water, heat and soap — a simple and extremely
effective way in which to create strong, usable material for a multitude
of purposes. In this workshop you'll have the chance to choose from several
different projects to felt and take home with you, including a hat, mittens,
a bag, or even a Christmas stocking!
›› This workshop is not currently on the schedule, but we'll let you know the next time it's offered.‹‹
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The "GO" Bag
GO Bag — Bug-out Bag — GOOD Bag (Get Out
Of Dodge) — Emergency Survival Kit — Whatever you choose
to call it, this is the one piece of indespensible equipement that EVERYONE
must have. There is no excuse for being unprepared in an emergency
situation, whatever it may be. The ability to move quickly and easily,
knowing everything you need is ready to be picked up on a moment's notice,
can make all the difference. Self-reliance is about
knowing that you are prepared for virtually any type of emergency situation,
and while a thorough knowledge of survival strategies is indispensable,
a well-prepared emergency kit can make the unexpected far less dangerous,
and increase your odds of safety and survival exponentially.
We each have our own Bug-out Bags that GO everywhere
we do, and so should you and each member of your family (including pets!)
This workshop will teach you how to put together your own emergency
kit, of which the GOOD Bag is the main portable module. You will
learn what to put in your kit, how to use each item in various survival
and emergency scenarios, and methods of packing your bag that will keep
the items inside in a safe and useable condition over the long term.
While
the odds of having to use your GO Bag
are (hopefully!) slim, never forget the old saying: "Failure to Plan is
Planning to Fail."
| February 14 | Toms River, NJ | $85 | ››The dates for this workshop have passed, but we'll let you know next time it's offered ‹‹ |
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Backwoods Hygiene & Improvised First Aid
Good hygiene is even more important when you are out in the woods than it
is when you are at home and the importance of proper
sanitation in a backwoods or survival situation can not be overstated
— more people become sick from a "casual" attitude toward
hygiene and sanitation than from almost anything else!
This new workshop will
teach you how and where to dig a latrine, ways to keep your perishables
safe, plants that can be used as soaps and several other simple rules that
will help you keep your food, your camp and your self in a state
of safe cleanliness.
But what if you're out in the back country and
something DOES go wrong? Learn how to improvise
bandages, deal with cuts and wounds using some "must-know"
medicinal plants, and amazing alternative uses for common bathroom
items that should always be in your backpack or GO Bag.
NOTE: The improvised first aid techniques taught in
this workshop have been used and proven effective
by our good friend Mark Wright throughout his 20 year career as an Independant
Duty Corpsman with the US Navy. As with all of our workshops, we only teach
what we KNOW!
›› CHECK
THIS OUT!
The
Photos: See the pictures that we took during this workshop
at our Texas location in June '09
›› This workshop is not currently on the schedule, but we'll let you know the next time it's offered. ‹‹
Building a Reed Boat
In this workshop we will construct a simple boat using commonly available reeds that are easy to find in any coastal environment. Begining with the freshly harvested materials, the group will work together to make a full-sized reed boat approximately 12-15 feet in length.
You will be a part of the entire boat-building process, and will also learn variations on the building style that originated in several different parts of the world.
At the end of the day we will head to the coast, when you will have the opportunity to climb aboard the newly finished vessel and test the day's handiwork for yourself!
›› This workshop is not currently on the schedule, but we'll let you know the next time it's offered.‹‹
Out of the Darkness: Candles, Lamps & Illumination
The ability to create light is one of the greatest unsung advances of our ancestors. Without artificial illumination the winter nights would have been VERY long indeed, and many necessary tasks would have gone undone. No baskets made, no nets mended, no pottery formed, no cordage processed… just waiting until the sun rose again. There are many ways to bring light and break out of the darkness, and in this workshop you will learn how to make a variety primitive lamps, torches, candles and other forms of illumination. You'll make candles from beeswax, render fat to make lamp oil, discover what you can use for wicks, as well as which materials will last the longest, produce the brightest flames, and the least smoke. Never worry about a blackout again!
| February 26 | Toms River, NJ | $85 | ››The dates for this workshop have passed, but we'll let you know next time it's offered ‹‹ |
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