Learn exciting new Earth-based ancestral skills and crafts that help you reconnect with nature, the many materials you can find there, and your unique local landscape.
For our ancestors, many skills that we now call ‘outdoor-’ or ‘traditional skills’, were everyday activities they performed to sustain their lives. From creating ropes from plant fibers, to storing food in handmade vessels, to working with natural fabrics and dyes; everything they made was in direct relation to the nature around them. They knew the land and all the beings living on it intimately. Their skills were invaluable to them, and were taught to them from an early age.
The lifestyles we live in the ‘modern’ world that we’ve created, are far removed from direct interaction with the nature around us, and many of our activities and skills are linked to being indoors working with computers and other machines. When we practice the nature-based skills of our ancestors, we can revive our lost connection to the Earth and the unique local environment we live in. When we use our hands and senses to practice these skills, we reconnect to those who came before us. We tap into our ancestral muscle memory to remember ourselves as the creative, problem-solving, and resilient beings that we are. Having a practice of working closely with the Earth also offers us glimpses of a path for a future where, like our ancestors, we live in balance and reciprocity with the rest of the life around us.
This page offers a collection of personal endeavors to connect and experiment with various nature based skills and crafts. Some of the articles you’ll find here are easy fun projects you can do in a spare moment. These are less focused on acquiring a true ancestral skill, but are an accessible and enjoyable way to start learning something new and connect with your surroundings! Others are a more in-depth exploration of true ancestral practices.
Let’s go out on a journey of rediscovering all the creative and fun ways we can work with the nature around us. Let’s use our hands and senses to make some beautiful and useful things that enrich our lives, and get to know all the special nature we work with in the process!