52 steps to learning skills.

[HorseGuy]

Or what about erecting a fence with a gate to keep livestock in or building a chicken coop to keep poultry in/foxes out?

 

[slowworm]

Making a hazel hurdle
Inoculating a fungi log
Dehydrating fruit for storage
Making cider
Growing/foraging herb teas
Making candles
Cooking fava beans and choosing a good Chianti...

 

[TeeDee]

How about including some basic home maintenance skills. Things like rewiring a plug or repairing a tap/toilet. That kind of thing?

I maybe out of touch - is rewiring a plug something people can or cannot do in this day and age?

My gut reaction is a No , or the next thing maybe " Put up shelves " or " Unclog sink "

 

[TeeDee]

Or what about erecting a fence with a gate to keep livestock in or building a chicken coop to keep poultry in/foxes out?

I only think that is really practical and doable if one has land to erect a fence / gate - In which case one has probably mastered some sort of fence/gate shenanigans.

I think the target demographic needs to be more despondent suburbanite.

 

[TeeDee]

1) Butcher a Whole chicken into composite cuts.
2) Bake Bread
3) Make Cheese
4) Ferment Veg in brine solution
5) Use pork belly to make Bacon
6) Butcher a Whole rabbit
7) Clean and gut a whole fish.
8) Make Soap
9) Build food smoker
10) Pickle Eggs
11 ) Make fresh pasta
12) catch a fish
13) trap or shoot a rabbit or grey squirrel
14) Start a fire without using a lighter or matches.
15) I like the idea of butchery, perhaps tanning the hide could be another one further down the line.
16) Suturing a wound.
17) Take a basic first aid course.
18) Erect a rain/wind proof shelter using a tarp, some string and home made wooden pegs. Sleep under it
19) learning how to humanely dispatch a chicken (and other poultry) by hand is a valuable skill to learn.
20) Felling trees and processing wood (for firewood and construction).
21 ) Basic leather / sewing skills. - Utilitarian handiwork e.g. Make a simple piece of leathercraft e.g. purse or card holder
22) Make a simple useable camp knife using scrap metal, a saw, a file and a heat source (maybe not PC though)
23) Plant a tree
24) Grow a tomato from seed
25 ) Save your own tomato seed
26) Take a softwood cutting
27) Take a hardwood cutting
28) Load/reload a rifle cartridge
29 )- forage a meal for two in each season (is that 1 or 4 activities?)
30) Choosing and planting hardy herbs
31) Make basic gravity fed water filter
32) Setting up a solar generator
33) Composting basics
34) Seasoning firewood
35) Milking goats (my OH has already done that course).
36) Rabbit butchery
37) make a primitive flat bow or stick bow capable of being used for small game hunting (not allowed in the UK of course).
38) Grow fungi from Kit / Inoculating a fungi log
39) Dehydrating fruit for storage
40 ) Making cider
41) Growing/foraging herb teas
42) Making candles
43) Make Wine
44) Make Beer

 

[Damascus]

As for making candles, all the household scented, that bit at the end, save them all, egg cartons and tumble drier fluff, scent fire starters. Another skill to add to the list, plus recycling to boot!

 

[HorseGuy]

I maybe out of touch - is rewiring a plug something people can or cannot do in this day and age?

I'm not sure but I think most people over 40 could do it but I doubt that most people under 30 could.

 

[slowworm]

39.5) Juicing fruit such as apples and storing juice (freezing, pasteurizing etc).

 

[Broch]

45 - salting and smoking to preserve foods

 

[TeeDee]

Very worthy additions guys.

Thank you.

 

[demented dale]

I've something kicking around in my head , and as ever I'd like ideas and fresh takes.

I like the idea of 52 weekly planned learning objectives to make learning skills bite sized , incremental , varied and enough time to not feel onerous but achievable.

Once a week I think is a good timeframe , enough time elapses to plan an activity and each weekend can have a plan to follow.

This isn't a planned skill list for me per se ( but I'd probably run it ) but more a list of " things " and activities that may make an interesting diversion for the modern westerner wanting to reconnect/learn some more rudimentary skills.

This also isn't aimed at bushcrafty people whom tend to have a lot of these skills in the bag , but more the suburban individual whom wants to learn such things but with stabilisers still on.

I'll list what I've currently come up with and I'm hoping people will see a vibe/trend - it's not strictly homesteading but maybe skills people don't have ?

( I'm not saying the following is the optimal order to follow , I'm just listing things. Ideally basic skills should be built upon and combined if possible )


1) Butcher a Whole chicken into composite cuts.
2) Bake Bread
3) Make Cheese
4) Ferment Veg in brine solution
5) Use pork belly to make Bacon
6) Butcher a Whole rabbit
7) Clean and gut a whole fish.
8) Make Soap
9) Build food smoker
10) Pickle Eggs
11 ) Make fresh pasta
12) catch a fish
13) trap or shoot a rabbit or grey squirrel
14) Start a fire without using a lighter or matches.
15) I like the idea of butchery, perhaps tanning the hide could be another one further down the line.
16) Suturing a wound.
17) Take a basic first aid course.
18) Erect a rain/wind proof shelter using a tarp, some string and home made wooden pegs. Sleep under it
19) learning how to humanely dispatch a chicken (and other poultry) by hand is a valuable skill to learn.
20) Felling trees and processing wood (for firewood and construction).
21 ) Basic leather / sewing skills. - Utilitarian handiwork e.g. Make a simple piece of leathercraft e.g. purse or card holder
22) Make a simple useable camp knife using scrap metal, a saw, a file and a heat source (maybe not PC though)
23) Plant a tree
24) Grow a tomato from seed
25 ) Save your own tomato seed
26) Take a softwood cutting
27) Take a hardwood cutting
28) Load/reload a rifle cartridge
29 )- forage a meal for two in each season (is that 1 or 4 activities?)
30) Choosing and planting hardy herbs
31) Make basic gravity fed water filter
32) Setting up a solar generator
33) Composting basics
34) Seasoning firewood
35) Milking goats (my OH has already done that course).
36) Rabbit butchery
37) make a primitive flat bow or stick bow capable of being used for small game hunting (not allowed in the UK of course).





Etc.

It will be interesting to what people suggest.

I guess as general guidelines it needs to be a skill or thing that isn't too costly to execute , can be done in a weekend and can have some simple easy to follow process steps written

I think the weekly thing is a good discipline no matter what it is. When I was learning to juggle I would learn and practice one new trick each week. It was too overwhelming and felt unachieveable to learn everything I wanted so I broke it down. That was 52 tricks a year and I got pretty good in no time. x.

 

[TeeDee]

I think the weekly thing is a good discipline no matter what it is. When I was learning to juggle I would learn and practice one new trick each week. It was too overwhelming and felt unachieveable to learn everything I wanted so I broke it down. That was 52 tricks a year and I got pretty good in no time. x.

I like the idea of 52 as weekly it builds up incremental but not onerous goals and objects and allows one the necessary time and budget to order or obtain materials.

One relatively small ( but new ) task seems achievable , helps the year pass in an enjoyable manner and doesn't ( or shouldn't ) eat into the limited time we all have available between work and family commitments. It can of course also incorporate children and possible little similar minded study groups of mums and dads in a community. (?)

So of the activities would definitely require planning and Instruction but hopefully most should also become the sort of " tech tree " where one learns one skill in January and then finds that they are using that same skill in February but building atop of it to learn and execute a greater skill.

Baby steps to learning if you will.

 

[Sooty22]

-Master water-bath canning, learn what can be safely canned that way and learn how to sterilise and reuse old jars/lids
-Make jam out of fresh fruit
-Learn to use a dutch oven with embers to cook and bake bread with

 

[TeeDee]

Water canning is something I'm aware of but no actual experience so would be good to learn myself.

 

[Chris]

I like the idea. Though loading a rifle cartridge requires an FAC, perhaps there could be an alternative option for those who don’t have the means.

 

[slowworm]

I like the idea. Though loading a rifle cartridge requires an FAC, perhaps there could be an alternative option for those who don’t have the means.

I don't currently have a wound to suture...

I agree though, I assumed there would be more than 52 suggestions and they could be whittled down. Although I'd guess there's quite a few an individual might struggle with, milking goats, or a vegetarian doing anything meat related.

 

[slowworm]

48) Drop spinning (make a drop spindle and spin some yarn).
49) Natural dyeing
50) Knit a small scarf

 

[Chris]

I don't currently have a wound to suture...

I agree though, I assumed there would be more than 52 suggestions and they could be whittled down. Although I'd guess there's quite a few an individual might struggle with, milking goats, or a vegetarian doing anything meat related.

Fair point! Just the legal obstacles to an FAC might make it complicated for some. I like the idea, just wondering if there could be an a or b sort of option, like making an arrow or a slingshot or something if FAC is out of reach.

 

[TeeDee]

I like the idea. Though loading a rifle cartridge requires an FAC, perhaps there could be an alternative option for those who don’t have the means.

Agreed. Some suggested items although useful would be technically and legally difficult to access.

 

[Sooty22]

Agreed. Some suggested items although useful would be technically and legally difficult to access.

Reloading is pretty basic in terms of actually putting it together. Very basic. The problem is putting together a safe load, and also one that is accurate, so the skill is really 'load development' rather than reloading. That is well beyond a week's work and involves a lot of testing, tools, chronographs, software and probably hundreds of pounds.
Otherwise, for a bog standard cartridge that will fire safely, it is just a case of following some pretty basic instructions, putting 4 components together following a safe load recipe, and developing some confidence.
It is entirely legal to do it under the supervision/direction of someone with an FAC and they keep the cartridges, or you can fire them with them. Although, without an FAC, one would question the reason for having that skill
I've always wondered if one can learn to suture wounds on a freshly shot animal. Rabbits have rather delicate skin. If one shaved them in one spot, then made an incision, trying to suture it would like be good practice.
My brother in law is a surgeon, and told me they actually used to practice on very thin socks.
+1 on suturing anyway; very useful skill.