Rick's Journal

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Skills for the New Earth-Connected Generation: Our Sustainability and Wilderness Apprenticeship

So, you can see the direction our country, our world is heading, and the writing is on the wall. On the rocks. On concrete buildings and tall trees.

No matter which way you slice it, the bubble, as we have come to know the modern world, is beginning to burst. Or pop. Sure, it is a lot of small and medium pops that so far we have been able to weather and handle, but it's getting worse. Slowly, creeping, steadily advancing on us, we know
that it's time to pay the piper. Our debt to the animal world, the Earth Mother, to our future generations, is coming due.

You don't want to use the Ostrich Technique and pretend it isn't coming. On the other hand, building a bunker doesn't feel right either.

What you need, really, are Skills.

Experience.

Learning things that will last, that will have value no matter what the future holds. Things that can feed us, feed our families, our souls.

Skills can sustain us, and remove fear.

Skills let us breathe, to relax and feel good about our lives, our direction, our purpose and path.

Skills last forever, and can be passed down to our friends and family and community.

What to do. What to do.......

Hey! I have an idea!

Join the Hawk Circle Wilderness and Sustainability Apprenticeship. It is a powerful blend of old ways, modern skills and knowledge you can use right now to reconnect
with nature, your deeper self, and grow.

Apprentices learn about gardening, composting, harvesting foods and preserving them. They learn to make baskets and buckskin, take part in workshops and youth trainings. They learn the art of traditional timberframing, as well as practical skills of stacking firewood, basic carpentry skills, cooking and much more.


Apprentices make a four to five month commitment, and provide their own food for the duration of the program.
They participate for five days a week, sometimes part time, sometimes full time, trading their sweat equity for real experience and skills that change how they see the world forever.
The farmhouse is heated by a wood stove, and the shared commercial kitchen allows for fabulous meals, communal gatherings and potlucks. The barn is ready for all kinds of projects both building and native skills. The natural surroundings are perfect for this kind of retreat and intensive, undistracted learning.

We only need five people for the fall and winter, so if you would like to be considered, please contact Ricardo or Trista at 607-264-3910 or HawkCircleOffice@gmail.com.
We'd be happy to see if this program would be a good fit for you.

Remember: Skills Trump Fear. They are the antidote to catharsis, to just going along with the herd, and they are the key to freedom.


Skills you can choose from to learn while in the Apprenticeship:

Tanning Deerskins using Braintanning
Fire by Friction, without matches
Natural Fiber Rope and
String
Bark Baskets and Containers
Basic Stone Tools
Knife Sharpening and Care
Useful Knots for the wilderness
Cutting, Splitting and Stacking Firewood
Bread Baking and Herbal Butters
Campfire Cooking Skills
Wilderness Shelter Building
Traditional Timber Framing Cabins and Barns
Bow Making
Deer Hunting Skills
Organic Gardening
Harvesting, Identifying & Preparing Wild Foods
Tree and Plant Identification
Community Living Skills
Winter Snow Shelters and Survival Strategies
Earth Philosophy and Personal Ceremony
Animal Tracking and Nature Awareness
Working with Youth teaching Native skills and crafts
Raising Cabins and Barns


Okay, there are probably a ton of other skills I am forgetting to list here, but these are the first ones that come to mind that past apprentices have wanted to focus on, so here ya go! If you want to learn some other skills not on this list but that are listed on our website, give us a call and we will see if it can work out!