So, whose into anarchism/permaculture/primitive skills/anarchism/fermentation...

[BanMatt]

I know what you mean stank. Like you'd ask "so you see *whatever* movie" and they something like " no man I dont watch movies, its just a way for corporations to get money and the masses to dumb themselves down". Cant make shit for conversation with some of them.

 

[connerR]

What killed it for me? Two words: anarchist bookfair.

 

[Detrivore]

yeah dude. thats totally understandable. Condescending anarchists or neo feral, anti-civ people lecturing you to drink yerba mate instead of coffee or something.

SOCIALLY I have never liked being in anarchist, organic permaculture crowds, or even punks. My friends don't really subscribe to any of these things wholly. But there are a lot of interesting ideas and to find the more sincere people to find is harder.

I think all these life styles reflect trying to find a more authentic way of living outside of capitalism/ mass culture (which is pretty aligned with the ideas of punk, or this board) just the majority of people you first run into are super-idealist trying to write some college thesis or something and are all about being so pure in their ideals. The same people that annoy me usually give up on their ideas and "sell out" in some form in a few years anyway. But I am trying to figure out how a good way to live the rest of my life is, and some of these things make sense.

 

[SparrowW]

I've been getting more and more into all these things. I'm trying so hard to not be put-off by all the "Oh you're just some stupid teen girl poser" I keep running into. It sucks that you see all these people who talk about anarchism especially being this group thing and how it's so family like, but all I find is people telling me to fuck off. Or the elitist ones who are 'all or nothing' and you are either completely devoted to taking everything completely literally or you just suck.

Besides those people though it's all really interesting and has a lot of good stuff to learn.

 

[Shade]

ya im down with almos tthe whole list,ive never gotten a chance to stay on a organic farm im moving around to much , but i did dabble in growing a few fruits and veggies in compost piles and stuff, and most of all the rewilding/primative aspect is my favorite, humans are veering to far off , forgetting old traits and methods of surviving,living in the wilderness , beingself reliant, all we can do is keep it alive

 

[hassysmacker]

amandalynn: right on with the criticism of dumpstering/living on the excess thing. it's great to do given the existence of modern industrial society, but at the end of the day, i'm interested in subverting this way of being, and human relationship to nonhumans. so, yeah you'll find me dumsptering and busking and such while I can, but I'm actively struggling for a different world, and relearning these skills is an important part of that! pretty much everything you said is definitely right on. and i got a gallon strawberry mead brewing as we speak :-D.

stank: while i'm sure there are people like that, there reall are in all subsets of people, that are solely interested in thm and solely their range of opinions/activities. however, rest assured, not all people into the things i listed are! i love drinking and i'll hang out with you under a bridge any time, and theres plenty of other things for me to talk about, but its definitely gotta be primarily not about rollies and booze and flying signs, and how good these things are in so or so town. not directing any of those things at you, just sayin' about a lot of the kids i run into.

detrivore/wayward: yeah fucking fuck purists.

 

[uncivilize]

I think it's alright for folks to be passionate about these things, even to the point of it taking over their lives, after all, these skills ARE all about life, the things that actually allow us to live: hunting, gathering, cultivating, preserving, clothing, shelter, etc. Also, many of these skills are fun, and require skill, and have as many techniques as practitioners, so people into these things like to "talk shop." I tend to find a great deal of people's ideas of "entertainment" to be pointless and uninteresting, to each their own I guess. Fuck elitism though! If someone wants to learn something I know, and aren't a total waste of life, I'm down to share.

 

[AmandaLynn]

I just don't understand where people get the idea that primative skills and lots of dollars go together at all.

Rivercane and falling leaves(earthskills rendezvous) are 210 dollars each.
Firefly gathering is 100-200 dollars(props to them for having a pretty big sliding scale though)
Rabbitstick and Winter Count are 275-300
The list goes on and on.

The only gathering I've found that doesn't care about dollars is The Burdock Gathering in Maine. I've never been, but plan on going this year. Burdock has all the same things going as the bigger expensive gatherings(food, camping, skilshare)I don't understand why we can't just take dollars out of the equation. I know a lot of the people getting into the re-wilding movement from Asheville are still very much a part of mainstream society and therefore dollars. I've also heard rumor of a gathering in the Pisgah Nat. Forest, month long and skillshare, if you know teach, if you don't, learn.

I can't say if the big gatherings show a lot of elitism because I've never been able to afford to go. I don't want to judge without observation. If someone's been I'd really like to hear what you thought/observed etc.

 

[BanMatt]

I just don't understand where people get the idea that primative skills and lots of dollars go together at all.

Rivercane and falling leaves(earthskills rendezvous) are 210 dollars each.
Firefly gathering is 100-200 dollars(props to them for having a pretty big sliding scale though)
Rabbitstick and Winter Count are 275-300
The list goes on and on.

The only gathering I've found that doesn't care about dollars is The Burdock Gathering in Maine. I've never been, but plan on going this year. Burdock has all the same things going as the bigger expensive gatherings(food, camping, skilshare)I don't understand why we can't just take dollars out of the equation. I know a lot of the people getting into the re-wilding movement from Asheville are still very much a part of mainstream society and therefore dollars. I've also heard rumor of a gathering in the Pisgah Nat. Forest, month long and skillshare, if you know teach, if you don't, learn.

I can't say if the big gatherings show a lot of elitism because I've never been able to afford to go. I don't want to judge without observation. If someone's been I'd really like to hear what you thought/observed etc.

What do you mean gatherings care about money? like really Im asking im ignorant on this.

 

[UrbanNokizaru]

I'm down with these things 'cept fermentation I don't really care about that at all. I'm primarily into anarchy and everything else stems from that, recently I've been doing a lot of feminist reading and analysis of relationships around me (shit is fucked). I try to make changes when I can, they're usually small and only affect people around me but it all helps I feel. I feel the same way about not enough punks trying their hand at this, we bring a totally different vibe that I enjoy a bit more. A lot of people just don't care enough to do anything more than talk about it and whine though which is kinda demoralizing when you wanna start a project and people would rather sit on their asses and watch tv or some shit...

 

[hassysmacker]

(banmatt: she was just talking about how most prim skills gatherings and stuff cost money to get in)

So I understand the sentiment of "why can't we just take money out of the whole equation", and that's why as radicals (if we identify as such), it's our responsibility to attempt to circumvent the money for education model with offerings such as free skools, skillshares, rewild camps, etc. But at the same time, most of the teachers at these places have dedicated their lives to teaching these skills, and really, their prices are not that insane (100-150 for a 2 day intensive, camping, workshop etc.). Within the context of a capitalist economy, you're gonna have to do something for money, and if these people are making fair and decent amounts of money teaching primitive skills, fucking awesome for them that they don't have to have a shitty part time job too. And at these gatherings, theres a bajillion of these teachers, other people interested in these things to network/connect with, lots of supplies, dank fucking food, all for 3-8 days! 3-8 DAYS! (depending on the gathering of course). Of course the food COULD be dumpstered, but for people not necessarily into dumpstering, and also, sometimes with people wanting to guarantee good, organic food, if you've ever done the calculations of feeding lots of people for several days, it really does add up. So 210 dollars or whatever, really isn't that much for the food, and the amount of education that you get.

All this being said, some of these gatherings I havent gone to, and then have probably complained, because at the time, I didn't have the money.

But, ya know what y'all? I know a lot of you have foodstamps, and spange and/or busk from time to time, and while I realize it's hit or miss, I know, and you know, how easy it can be to make money if you're dedicated. So 210 bucks or thereabouts? Really(!) not that bad. How much money have YOU seen people cumulatively go through on beer and cigarettes?

Also, I have never ever EVER run into any sort of elitism in my experience with convergences/gatherings. If you have a genuine curiosity and interest in learning these skills, there is no shortage of people there that want to help turn you on to them!

And Urban, fermentation is really awesome in terms of staying healthy and promoting micro flora and fauna in your stomach. So, it's good shit! And transforming food into more healthful versions of themselves that can be preserved, is fun (to me anyway, hah)! But to each their own.

 

[BigRockCandyMountain]

So, whose really into anarchism/permaculture/primitive skills/fermentation/rewilding/naturalism/environmentalism/rewilding/herbalism/radical analysis of things like gender roles/etc etc etc as well as traveling?

I mean obviously this doesn't preclude you from enjoying getting drunk, or busking, or spanging, or whatever, but who isn't an obnoxious jerkface, and is actually passionate about some or all of the things I just listed (as opposed to just getting drunk allll the time)?

Just curious, as I am one of those people. And that being said, I don't necessarrily have a problem with people who don't fall into this category, as I have plenty of friends who don't, but I figure it's nice to know who shares similar interests.

I am quite into Primitive Skills,Herbalism and Fermentation.I also am into hunting,fishing and wildcrafting as food sources.

I grew up half my life on different farms in the sticks and learning to survive in the woods as well as living off the land was part of growing up for me especially since most of my family is of Native American heritage and still have a strong connection to the land and living off of it.I was also in the boy scouts and it laid the base for my skills.I moved to the city when I was about 14 and its a metro area but its surrounded by woods and wildlife including deer will wander through downtown areas, its a unique place here.If I wander just outside the metro theres nothing but woodlands and farmlands for hours with the occasional small town to break up the monotony.

Even after moving to the city I continued to hone my skills.

I can build many types of traps using natural or found materials for all sorts of animals,catch fish with many methods including with my bare hands, and can start fires uses numerous methods.I always carry a survival knife with a cord wrapped handle on me as well as a fire piston that I wear around my neck on a lanyard.I have always lived off the land and will always do so, its in my blood.

As for herbalism I am quite skilled in it and am able to make a wide variety of medicines using herbs native to many area but since I grew up in the midwest my skills are best here.I know all major medicinal plants as well as their dosages, effects and method of delivery.

As for fermentation my skills are basic, I can make different types of alcohol, I can distill it into strong spirits and it's usually fairly good but Im not an expert winemaker or anything like that.Ive made beer,wine and spirits in the past.I dont drink much these days.

Ive always been an earthy kind of person and have always been more inclined to the wilderness.

 

[ayron]

arrrr i be one of these people down for such thingssss arrrg

 

[hassysmacker]

bigrockcandymountain: awesome awesome awesome! but, just so you know theres all types of fermnetation for foods, ranging from sauerkraut to miso to sourdough to much much wierder things! i highly recommend the book WIld Fermentation by Sandor Katz.

 

[BigRockCandyMountain]

Ive never tried to ferment food other than making yogurt. Its interesting as a preservation technique. I've certainly eaten my share of fermented foods. Kimchi and sauerkraut are among my favorite foods but I always imagined it'd bee quite complex and difficult so I never even looked into fermenting foods. I'll certainly check out wild fermentation, when I get the chance.

So since you say much much weirder things, I have ask, How weird does it get at the weirdest when it comes to fermented foods youve seen or heard of?

 

[hassysmacker]

dude! fermnetation can be soo easy! do nopt think its difficult. for sauerkaruat you slice cabbage, add salt, massage it till a brine comes out, and weight cabbage down so it stays submerged in brine, and let sit for 3 day+. That simple!

Get that book, but its so simple.

And well, I've heard about burying a whole rabbit in a hole and letting it ferment over the course of a month and then eat it? Theres making beer by chewing corn and adding saliva corn balls to water. Lots of wierd stuff!

Fermentation often makes foods MORE healthful then in its original state due to lactobacilli bacteria (hence lactofermnation)

 

[AmandaLynn]

hahaha Wild Fermentation is a fucking awesome book!!!! I got to meet Sandor at Short Mountain Sanctuary this spring, really really really really inspiring to drink a glass of his boucha and a bowl of his kraut. It's all absurdly simple to do. Even on the road you can carry around a mason jar of sprouts. My favorite are lentils and mung beans, they make a fucking tasty , cheap, power snack and they're super cheap. And they only take about three days to sprout.(I know this isn't exactly fermentation but it's the closest I've gotten to it while leather tramppin)

I was on a communities tour on an RV earlier this summer, and the apple cider dumpster gods were smiling down on us. We found a gallon(in the fancy glass jar) or organic apple juice in the dumpster our first week of the tour. Three weeks later we had hard cider and three and a half weeks later we found 2 more gallons in the dumpster. This little cycle kept up for the whole two months, and we always had a suppy of dumpster booze. We made a gallon of strawberry mead with wild yeast from apples and tupelo honey from the sevenanda dumpster in Atlanta.

I hear what yer sayin about why it costs so many dollars to go to those gatherings, and I'm also really glad to hear that you haven't seen any elitism at them. I guess if I really really really wanted to go to one I could rage up the funds, but the other problem is traveling with people who only kind of want to go and don't feel like raising funds. I mean I guess at that point you could just peace out but that situation hasn't worked out for me quite yet. I want to go to the mead circles at earthskills pretty freakin bad. Also at national rainbow gatherings all the Asheville folks who run earthskills set up Green Paths/Wild and Alive kitchen, pretty awesome vibes there.

 

[hassysmacker]

yeah wild fermentation is one of my favorites ever. i am currently making:
starwberry mead, ginger beer, sourdough starter for bread and other things, andean chewed corn beer, bouza (ancient egyptian sourdough based beer. soon to make more lactofermented soda, possibly apple cider mead (cyser), and more stuff, presumably.

And yeah sprouts on the road....awesome idea! super healthy not all that filling though! My newest idea for road food is pemmican!

yeah theres lots of awesome stuff out there in the asheville area, i'm not gonna be there till next spring or so though, gonna be in the NW and SW till late winter...

but yeah, about the one could just travel with people who are more than a little interested in these things notion, is sort of why I'm posting this! My ulterior motive is I'm hitting the road again in weeks, and want to figure out whose into similar things as me, haha. So anyone whose interested in meeting up (gonna be leaving the bay area heading north) feel free to PM me!

 

[Kalalau]

When I get back to kalalau.. I might keep some goats for milk... how hard is it to make kefir with raw goat milk?.. I recently made saurkraut.. it was pretty good, and been doing fermented mung daal dosha for quite awhile.. it's pretty simple... My sister's a naturopathic doctor and has been selling me on fermenting stuff for awhile now.... anyone got a gingerbeer plant? I have a friend up here that wants one.

 

[pigeon]

i love this thread! i have no real need for fermenting because i don't drink but me and my boyfriend are super into the rest of your list! we're in tucson and have had a pretty hard time finding people that are also into similar things like the stuff you listed. glad to here its out there and that people still care! i never even thought to look around on here for other kids into primitive skills and rewilding (duh).