Ex- Experimental Archaeologist/Survival Instructor

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cavemansailor

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Hey,
I worked for 7 years at an archaeological school teaching foraging skills of the archaic Chihuahuan Desert hunters and historic Coahuilteco. I never made much money doing this, so in between programs I travelled a lot (Mexico, Texas, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Wisconsin, British Columbia) and actually used the skills that I taught to keep myself alive. I also landed a pretty cool gig with Discovery Channel as a consultant and trainer for "I, Caveman."

In between these programs, I survived (I like to say THRIVED) by collecting high-yield wild plants, hunting, fishing and trapping both for food and furs and skulls to sell (which payed for gas and bus tickets). I wrote a book called "Subsistence: A Guide for The Modern Hunter Gatherer" last year focusing on the cornucopia of food available in Central and west Texas.

Last year I lost my job due to lack of funding for the education department at the school, sold my truck and bought an old sailboat to give me a free little place to live and means to fish and hop between the hundreds of little islands between Padre and Mustang Islands and the mainland of Texas.

Basically, if anyone has any questions about foraging for a living, I've got a huge amount of knowledge and experience doing this long-term and would love to share it, no charge! I've lost almost all my friends (various psychologists have said I have paranoid personality disorder, aspergers, or some unspecified mood disorder) who are more mainstream zombies anyway, and would give anything to have some real-life friends who don't give a crap about money, school, careers, politics and all that other virtual, artificial BS.

So ASK AWAY!
 
Considering that I need friends more than money, I've decided to give y'all my book for free in hopes that maybe I can meet some other nomadic foragers one day. As of right now, all my acquaintances are flipping burgers for beer, chasing careers, college, graduate school and the great American delusion. My lack of friends has sent me involuntarily to the psychiatric hospital and I never intend to go back there!

Here is the pdf version. Its large (8.6 MB) so be patient:

http://www.walkingontheland.com/subsistencesmallpdf.pdf
 
Thanks! I just ordered your book. I'll be able to read this until it gets here.
 
Cool stuff man. So when you talk about hi yield plants what are you talking about exactly. I take it there are items that are more worthwhile going after as far as energy goes?
 
High yield plants are packed with calories. Think agave hearts, mesquite, acorns, pecans, sunflower seeds, wild persimmons. Plants that are high in carbs and lipids, as opposed to greens. They also produce large crops that can be harvested en masse, as opposed to ones like wild strawberries.

With high yield plants, you earn hundreds or thousands of calories per hour. Low yield earns you tens of calories per hour (you spend more than that just being awake though.) Do the math. Trying to survive o low yield plants will result in prolonged death by starvation.
 
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