peoples breakdown of prices make it a little easier to understand, though I do think there is some disproportion in the prices, I suspect many of the schools do not wish to undercut each other. You can go for weekends horseriding and group holidays, both cost insurance, accomodation, staff and planning but can be bought for significantly less. However I do see now there is more costs involved than I first thought myself.
Bushcraft course prices??
- Thread starter gunslinger
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this interests the survival community as well. bushcraft courses are generally 50% more expense for less work.
I spoke to one school owner recently who expects the students to spend most of their time making string and whittling a spoon but he could teach more if there was time. I got the impression that most of the money paid for his impressive 4x4. A few instructors I've spoken to and seen often gave the impression that you were paying for what they knew rather than what they taught. one guy did admit to rasing prices here and there just to see what he could get away with. people book woodlore but rarely get a whiff of mr mears despite that being the reason most people booked.
most schools are run part time as a hobby as its hard to get enough trade for year round employment. as to costs well most stuff is tax deductable, pays for itself after a few weekends of charging students so you cant claim hardship except short term. this type of school generally pays a token gesture to the assistant instructors who often just do it for the enjoyment of sharing knowledge and being outdoors with like minded people.
I saw all this back in the 80's with survival schools cashing in on lofty wiseman and in a year or so most of the small 'schools' will have died off or become what they should have stayed - hobby businesses. running your own business can be a right pain especially in times like these when you need the money. a few courses a year which you can take enough time to plan and prep for then go on to enjoy is far preferable. I trained a guy to fit kitchens as his outoor pursuits school was flagging. we booked work around what work he could get which meant I had fun playing canoe, climbing or survival instructor and broke the monoteny of 6 days a week joinery, lectrics and plumbing. scout leaders and other youth group leaders work the same way.
if you want cheaper courses then stop booking and prices will fall or just go to a survival school. same woods unless you want a seashore experience, same kit but cheaper, same techniques, different name and probably not as flashy.
I await the usual delusioned responses
I spoke to one school owner recently who expects the students to spend most of their time making string and whittling a spoon but he could teach more if there was time. I got the impression that most of the money paid for his impressive 4x4. A few instructors I've spoken to and seen often gave the impression that you were paying for what they knew rather than what they taught. one guy did admit to rasing prices here and there just to see what he could get away with. people book woodlore but rarely get a whiff of mr mears despite that being the reason most people booked.
most schools are run part time as a hobby as its hard to get enough trade for year round employment. as to costs well most stuff is tax deductable, pays for itself after a few weekends of charging students so you cant claim hardship except short term. this type of school generally pays a token gesture to the assistant instructors who often just do it for the enjoyment of sharing knowledge and being outdoors with like minded people.
I saw all this back in the 80's with survival schools cashing in on lofty wiseman and in a year or so most of the small 'schools' will have died off or become what they should have stayed - hobby businesses. running your own business can be a right pain especially in times like these when you need the money. a few courses a year which you can take enough time to plan and prep for then go on to enjoy is far preferable. I trained a guy to fit kitchens as his outoor pursuits school was flagging. we booked work around what work he could get which meant I had fun playing canoe, climbing or survival instructor and broke the monoteny of 6 days a week joinery, lectrics and plumbing. scout leaders and other youth group leaders work the same way.
if you want cheaper courses then stop booking and prices will fall or just go to a survival school. same woods unless you want a seashore experience, same kit but cheaper, same techniques, different name and probably not as flashy.
I await the usual delusioned responses
Yes , but thats Ray, how many years ahead are his courses booked up until?
But I doubt his staff are driving round in Porsches!
But I doubt his staff are driving round in Porsches!
BOD
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Actually, I am surprised the gross so so little. RM is very small beer then as a business and if he is the market leader then there is no wonder that others are struggling.
Of course he will have appearance and lecture monies and endorsement contracts but nothing like Tiger Woods or even an average ranked 20 year old Russian tennis player.
The unfairness is not with these gentlemen who pass on to you their knowledge and experience but with the top professionals in law, medicine, finance etc who charge unconscienable amounts just to screw us around.
Wouldn't you think that what RM does or one of the other bushcraft instructors teachs is of more value to the world than some barristers or politicians?
Just my 5p worth
Your "research" I'm sure is very good, but as you said "you do not need to" so I take it you have'nt been an done a course.
I am telling you what I know, from years of experience.
What do you do? do you have an accountant - what do they charge? how much would you get out of bed for? How many years have you studied? How long is your working day?
Are you at home with the the family at weekends and evenings?
My break-down was very honest and I was very open, yet you have shared little of your situation, hourly rate, working conditions.
Don't get me wrong - I do it because I love it (all that money - not!), but I like many within the industry enjoy passing knowledge on, seeing folks re-connect with the outdoors.
If I can do my bit and help people connect wit hte outdoors, then I am happy.
Many of the professionals on here do work with young people, not the nice well behaved crowd, but those that society can't cope with. Unseen work, but rewarding.
You keep going back to the "one man band" outfits - Well those are few and far between, because we all have helpers,etc (tho not always advertised).
If you have never been, you must attend the Wilderness Gathering next year, if you like I'll get you a space in the schools parking area - between a couple of Porcshes and a Range Rover Sport - because we all drive those!!!!
Now - if you have sometihng usefull to contribute - go ahead - if you are just trying to stir up trouble - fine go ahead (but your life on here won't last beyond 40 posts).
Neil
I am telling you what I know, from years of experience.
What do you do? do you have an accountant - what do they charge? how much would you get out of bed for? How many years have you studied? How long is your working day?
Are you at home with the the family at weekends and evenings?
My break-down was very honest and I was very open, yet you have shared little of your situation, hourly rate, working conditions.
Don't get me wrong - I do it because I love it (all that money - not!), but I like many within the industry enjoy passing knowledge on, seeing folks re-connect with the outdoors.
If I can do my bit and help people connect wit hte outdoors, then I am happy.
Many of the professionals on here do work with young people, not the nice well behaved crowd, but those that society can't cope with. Unseen work, but rewarding.
You keep going back to the "one man band" outfits - Well those are few and far between, because we all have helpers,etc (tho not always advertised).
If you have never been, you must attend the Wilderness Gathering next year, if you like I'll get you a space in the schools parking area - between a couple of Porcshes and a Range Rover Sport - because we all drive those!!!!
Now - if you have sometihng usefull to contribute - go ahead - if you are just trying to stir up trouble - fine go ahead (but your life on here won't last beyond 40 posts).
Neil
Hi Gunslinger,
In my experience, the work that goes into running a course involves more than just the work on the ground. Each course has it's own paperwork and office based admin (booking land, extra instructors, ordering game, sending out information and joining instructions etc etc). Combine that with other 'not in the woods' work such as advertising, promotional work, website updating etc and you have quite a few hours, sometimes days of course connected jobs that involve a considerable investment of time each week (on top of any other setting up, cleaning kit) that must be factored into any costings.
There may well be schools out there who do minimal pre-course preparation and expect customers to bring their own food and kit but in my opinion, if a course is to run smoothly, with all safety considerations and customer comfort properly taken care of, if all the techniques and skills promised are delivered despite weather conditions or changing seasons and the customer is satisfied to the point of being inspired to return again in the future, then that takes a level of pre-course preparation and attention to detail that is easily worth £80 - £90 per day.
In my experience, the work that goes into running a course involves more than just the work on the ground. Each course has it's own paperwork and office based admin (booking land, extra instructors, ordering game, sending out information and joining instructions etc etc). Combine that with other 'not in the woods' work such as advertising, promotional work, website updating etc and you have quite a few hours, sometimes days of course connected jobs that involve a considerable investment of time each week (on top of any other setting up, cleaning kit) that must be factored into any costings.
There may well be schools out there who do minimal pre-course preparation and expect customers to bring their own food and kit but in my opinion, if a course is to run smoothly, with all safety considerations and customer comfort properly taken care of, if all the techniques and skills promised are delivered despite weather conditions or changing seasons and the customer is satisfied to the point of being inspired to return again in the future, then that takes a level of pre-course preparation and attention to detail that is easily worth £80 - £90 per day.
Gunslinger. Neil is on the button there. Customer service, and teaching the RIGHT stuff has got to be priority. As for making a living I have done two courses this year for single clients paying £120. Thats because I honour my word and if your booked its happening. There are some overpriced (in my opinion) outfits out there. How much is a mechanic or carpenter per hour?????
There is an old and well known saying "Pay peanuts, get monkeys"
It does seem that many people find the idea of people working hard to make a bit of money a little distasteful for some reason.
All I can say as a very small business owner, is that after years of being very poor in pursuit of a business idea that nobody though was worth a bean. Now that I'm finally making some money I get people regularly telling me that I must be earning a fortune for very little work.
Wrong on both counts.
Any niche industry tends to run mostly on enthusiasm rather than money and I'd be very surprised if running bushcraft courses was much different.
If you want skilled, experienced instructors then you should be prepared to pay them for that skill and experience. Why should it cost peanuts?
It does seem that many people find the idea of people working hard to make a bit of money a little distasteful for some reason.
All I can say as a very small business owner, is that after years of being very poor in pursuit of a business idea that nobody though was worth a bean. Now that I'm finally making some money I get people regularly telling me that I must be earning a fortune for very little work.
Wrong on both counts.
Any niche industry tends to run mostly on enthusiasm rather than money and I'd be very surprised if running bushcraft courses was much different.
If you want skilled, experienced instructors then you should be prepared to pay them for that skill and experience. Why should it cost peanuts?
OK I don't normally get involved with these discussions but I feel like I need to say my piece this time. Neil is absolutely right with everything he said. A huge amount of background work goes into organising courses and in our case overseas trips. We have dropped our prices because we felt that folk are struggling financially at the moment but this means that we are making very little profit per course.
In order for our courses to run successfully Angie and I spend a lot of time networking, maintaining the website and associated network groups and marketing our business.
We employ some of the best instructors in the industry and they do not come cheap, but that is our choice because we want our school to only offer the best instruction available in each subject area. Because we run a variety of different courses different equipment is necessary for each one.
I have spent a great deal of time in meetings with landowners and the Woodland Trust. I have written proposals, conducted risk assesments and applied for permits. The hours that I spend 'in the office' are numerous and I have to fit this in around my other work. Often I am up very late at night answering emails and arranging new projects.
Getting insurance for teaching bushcraft and related subjects is not a simple matter of public liability from any old provider. I have spent days on the phone and internet trying to get insurance for what we do and most providers will not take the risk. The insurance we have found is as Neil says, not a cheap deal!
From the outside it may look as though running a bushcraft school is an easy way to make money with very little effort but I assure you I run two other businesses and this one takes the most time and work to be successful.
As Smarty said we will inevitably end up running some courses for very few people, some we probably won't even break even, but we do it because we want to offer what we consider great courses in many different subject areas. We also run free workshops to give everybody the opportunity of at least a 'taster session'. We do this because we love it!
If you feel that you can set up a one man school in an already extremely competitive market and make a fortune by undercutting the other schools go ahead and try it. You may have some success in your local area but I feel that most people would rather pay a little extra for a quality experience with plenty of staff, gifted instructors and a relaxed environment in which to study where the clients are taken care of properly. Why else are the bigger schools who offer such an experience booked up for all their courses??
I agree that maybe some schools could be charging too much for the courses that they run. The price is somewhat set by what the larger schools charge and I am guessing that some schools just base their pricing on these charges without doing the research as to what a course costs them personally to run. This is not the case however with any of the schools that I know personally so I am only guessing!
In the majority of cases though I think that most people will find that £130-£180 for a weekend of excellent tuition in a beautiful environment is money well spent.
In order for our courses to run successfully Angie and I spend a lot of time networking, maintaining the website and associated network groups and marketing our business.
We employ some of the best instructors in the industry and they do not come cheap, but that is our choice because we want our school to only offer the best instruction available in each subject area. Because we run a variety of different courses different equipment is necessary for each one.
I have spent a great deal of time in meetings with landowners and the Woodland Trust. I have written proposals, conducted risk assesments and applied for permits. The hours that I spend 'in the office' are numerous and I have to fit this in around my other work. Often I am up very late at night answering emails and arranging new projects.
Getting insurance for teaching bushcraft and related subjects is not a simple matter of public liability from any old provider. I have spent days on the phone and internet trying to get insurance for what we do and most providers will not take the risk. The insurance we have found is as Neil says, not a cheap deal!
From the outside it may look as though running a bushcraft school is an easy way to make money with very little effort but I assure you I run two other businesses and this one takes the most time and work to be successful.
As Smarty said we will inevitably end up running some courses for very few people, some we probably won't even break even, but we do it because we want to offer what we consider great courses in many different subject areas. We also run free workshops to give everybody the opportunity of at least a 'taster session'. We do this because we love it!
If you feel that you can set up a one man school in an already extremely competitive market and make a fortune by undercutting the other schools go ahead and try it. You may have some success in your local area but I feel that most people would rather pay a little extra for a quality experience with plenty of staff, gifted instructors and a relaxed environment in which to study where the clients are taken care of properly. Why else are the bigger schools who offer such an experience booked up for all their courses??
I agree that maybe some schools could be charging too much for the courses that they run. The price is somewhat set by what the larger schools charge and I am guessing that some schools just base their pricing on these charges without doing the research as to what a course costs them personally to run. This is not the case however with any of the schools that I know personally so I am only guessing!
In the majority of cases though I think that most people will find that £130-£180 for a weekend of excellent tuition in a beautiful environment is money well spent.
Another wee thought about prices.
How many folk realise that most of our big high street stores work on a 400% mark up.
Rather puts the bushcraft course fees into perspective.
How many folk realise that most of our big high street stores work on a 400% mark up.
Rather puts the bushcraft course fees into perspective.
Im pretty sure that by the time youve factored in all the running cost, the insurance, the staffing costs, tax and the like, the first aid courses, and health and safety courses, the replacement costs of kit that get damaged, lost, stolen. the costs of insuring your vehicles to carry members of the public, the cost of maintaining storing and transporting the equipment, the wages, the employment side of the NI, the bank factoring cost, the accountancy costs, the public liability insurance
the stock side of a bushcraft shop, so people can buy the tools that they have been using, The list is almost endless.
I think it is highly unlikely that the owner of the average bushcrafting school takes home as much, as say, a schoolteacher or a person working in a factory making potato crisps.
If was an easy fortune to be made on the courses, everyone would be doing it. the fact that they are not must tell you something.
I think it is highly unlikely that the owner of the average bushcrafting school takes home as much, as say, a schoolteacher or a person working in a factory making potato crisps.
On the course that I went on, knife and axe sharpening was part of the weekend, and from the look of my effort and that of several others, it would take more than a few minutes to resurrect the knife after I had finished with it, talk about secondary bevels mine had tertiary quaternary, and in some places quinary bevels. The knives were to be used by the next group, and had to be re-ground/sharpened by the staff over night (our course finished on the Sunday, and the next one started on the Monday a couple of hundred miles away). Im sure the life expectancy of a Mora on one of the Basic introductory bushcraft courses was less than a season.
If was an easy fortune to be made on the courses, everyone would be doing it. the fact that they are not must tell you something.
I agree with you there Gary. At The Wilderness Gathering this year I listened to two gents at the beer tent clothed in 'bushcraft brand' Fjallraven, Swazi etc. and festooned with knives and gadgets bitching about the price of doing a weekends course. Literally 'all the gear and no idea' as they obviously felt that it was more important to spend their dollars looking the part than actually learning anything. If someone has spent the time and effort accumulating knowledge and experience to a point where they can teach it to others then they have every right to try and earn a decent wage for doing it - you cannot expect people to pass on their knowledge for peanuts and for those professional instructors like SMARTY and Jed Yarnold who do so on at events like the bushmoot and Cornwall meets I think that it is very admirable as they are giving their time and knowledge for free (or very little) when they could quite easily charge sensible prices for it, however such goodwill should not be expected as the norm by others.
Very succinctly put Wayland! My rather long rant was in fact I think just trying to make that very point!
Reminds me of a very old joke.
Chaps calls in a TV repairman to fix his telly. Repairman gives the TV a smack on the top left corner and the set springs to life.
"That'll be £30 and sixpence" ( I said it was an old joke) said the repairman.
The punter was furious, "£30 and sixpence??? All you did was thump the bleeder, how come you're charging me so much?"
" Well, it's sixpence for the thump, and £30 for knowing where to thump it "
Ta da!
I think it does raise an interesting point about how training for leisure pursuits is carried out.
For some leisure pursuits training and coaching is generally provided on a commercial basis, and for others training is provided on a non-profit making basis by clubs. Sometimes there is a mixture of both.
For example, my son recently did a Foundation Amateur Radio course and examination, which was run by a club. The course and exam took two weekends, and there were two instructors plus an invigilator, plus exam fees to be paid to the examining body. It was run in a community centre where room rental would be payable, and with only five candidates you would expect the course fee to be pretty high.
In fact it cost £25. But the instructors did it for love of the art rather than money.
Archery clubs also do introductory courses at modest cost, for much the same reason.
I think the issue here is that many people are inspired by Ray Mears et al on the TV, and want to do it too. so there is a demand and I don't blame entrepreneurs for satisfying that demand for profit. But I think we should not forget that a lot of bushcraft is not rocket science and it is perfectly feasible to learn it for free.
For one thing, you could go to a meet, where people typically give generously of their time and skills. I'm not aware of any commercial courses where you can learn about arrowmaking, natural dyes, suturing, fire by chemicals, canoeing and Viking lore all in one course. But you can at the Scottish meets
Another way is by reading and then getting out to practice. I have learned loads of stuff this way. People say 'you can't learn that from a book' when in fact you can, but you do need to go out and actually do it having read about it. This way might take a bit longer than being shown by someone, and some skills are best learned by one-to-one (J stroke paddling, for example) but you can still do it. In many ways it is rather more satisfying than shelling out a few hundred quid for a course.
For some leisure pursuits training and coaching is generally provided on a commercial basis, and for others training is provided on a non-profit making basis by clubs. Sometimes there is a mixture of both.
For example, my son recently did a Foundation Amateur Radio course and examination, which was run by a club. The course and exam took two weekends, and there were two instructors plus an invigilator, plus exam fees to be paid to the examining body. It was run in a community centre where room rental would be payable, and with only five candidates you would expect the course fee to be pretty high.
In fact it cost £25. But the instructors did it for love of the art rather than money.
Archery clubs also do introductory courses at modest cost, for much the same reason.
I think the issue here is that many people are inspired by Ray Mears et al on the TV, and want to do it too. so there is a demand and I don't blame entrepreneurs for satisfying that demand for profit. But I think we should not forget that a lot of bushcraft is not rocket science and it is perfectly feasible to learn it for free.
For one thing, you could go to a meet, where people typically give generously of their time and skills. I'm not aware of any commercial courses where you can learn about arrowmaking, natural dyes, suturing, fire by chemicals, canoeing and Viking lore all in one course. But you can at the Scottish meets
Another way is by reading and then getting out to practice. I have learned loads of stuff this way. People say 'you can't learn that from a book' when in fact you can, but you do need to go out and actually do it having read about it. This way might take a bit longer than being shown by someone, and some skills are best learned by one-to-one (J stroke paddling, for example) but you can still do it. In many ways it is rather more satisfying than shelling out a few hundred quid for a course.
Whilst its generally true that you get monkeys for peanuts, its not always true...some of us attempting to be self employed have fell on hard times !!!
Also, paying a lot doesnt get rid of the monkeys. Some monkeys are really good at bull****ing people
Also, paying a lot doesnt get rid of the monkeys. Some monkeys are really good at bull****ing people
Hi Folks,
I don't normally take part in forums and make comments on them even less often. A BCUK member has just phoned me with details of this thread. There are times when an industry takes a bit of grief and those old and bold members on here will know that I'm no stranger to controversy. Unfortunately, you can't see a glint in the eye over the internet.
My company is called Survival School as some of you may be aware. Many of the contributors on this thread and others have been on our courses and I have become friends with a great number of you over the years.
The prices mentioned by Neil are accurate(ish) but generally speaking a little conservative. So prices from £160 (I would suggest) are fair and I'll explain why.
For the larger organisations (I would include Survival School in this) there is VAT to pay.
This means that the School gets only £150 per course per person from a £175 course fee. 10% give or take goes to the landowner. Instructors (at least x 2 as it would be in the course attendees' best interests not to draw a course to an abrupt close if someone was taken to hospital etc) normally get 10%. (This means that so far we have taken out 47.5%).
That's nearly 50%. We have also got to take into account advertising, food, fuel, car maintenance, insurance (if there are 2 or more you need employees liability - well over £1000), postage, time taken in paperwork, stationery, electricity (the hamster that powered my computer and lighting is away on holiday at the moment), telephone calls, spare kit, new kit, cleaning products for old kit, That accounts for another 25% - ish and I'm sure I haven't covered everything.
This means that the profit made is maybe 25% of course fees. That's a pretax and pre-NI figure.
Gunslinger is correct about the setting up though. The more you do it, the slicker it becomes - back in 1997 I used to leave at 9am to set the courses up. Now it takes considerably less time.
The schools learn new tricks each time they run courses to make their lives easier and save on time and effort. I think that's fair enough.
What I would say about all this is that may be we (the schools) are not transparent enough. On every course I run I encourage participants to call me if they have any questions and never once has anyone asked me gunslinger's question. I would always welcome a phone call from anyone with a question like that. Incidently, my number is 0871 222 7304 if gunslinger (or anyone else) would like to talk about it. My email is jonny@survivalschool.co.uk - please get in touch.
I think the prices are fair but not transparent enough and this forum may go someway to addressing that. May be potential customers and participants should also get on the phone or email and ask the school what they get for their money.
Happy Forumming
Jonny Crockett
Survival School
I don't normally take part in forums and make comments on them even less often. A BCUK member has just phoned me with details of this thread. There are times when an industry takes a bit of grief and those old and bold members on here will know that I'm no stranger to controversy. Unfortunately, you can't see a glint in the eye over the internet.
My company is called Survival School as some of you may be aware. Many of the contributors on this thread and others have been on our courses and I have become friends with a great number of you over the years.
The prices mentioned by Neil are accurate(ish) but generally speaking a little conservative. So prices from £160 (I would suggest) are fair and I'll explain why.
For the larger organisations (I would include Survival School in this) there is VAT to pay.
This means that the School gets only £150 per course per person from a £175 course fee. 10% give or take goes to the landowner. Instructors (at least x 2 as it would be in the course attendees' best interests not to draw a course to an abrupt close if someone was taken to hospital etc) normally get 10%. (This means that so far we have taken out 47.5%).
That's nearly 50%. We have also got to take into account advertising, food, fuel, car maintenance, insurance (if there are 2 or more you need employees liability - well over £1000), postage, time taken in paperwork, stationery, electricity (the hamster that powered my computer and lighting is away on holiday at the moment), telephone calls, spare kit, new kit, cleaning products for old kit, That accounts for another 25% - ish and I'm sure I haven't covered everything.
This means that the profit made is maybe 25% of course fees. That's a pretax and pre-NI figure.
Gunslinger is correct about the setting up though. The more you do it, the slicker it becomes - back in 1997 I used to leave at 9am to set the courses up. Now it takes considerably less time.
The schools learn new tricks each time they run courses to make their lives easier and save on time and effort. I think that's fair enough.
What I would say about all this is that may be we (the schools) are not transparent enough. On every course I run I encourage participants to call me if they have any questions and never once has anyone asked me gunslinger's question. I would always welcome a phone call from anyone with a question like that. Incidently, my number is 0871 222 7304 if gunslinger (or anyone else) would like to talk about it. My email is jonny@survivalschool.co.uk - please get in touch.
I think the prices are fair but not transparent enough and this forum may go someway to addressing that. May be potential customers and participants should also get on the phone or email and ask the school what they get for their money.
Happy Forumming
Jonny Crockett
Survival School
Doc, I think that you have hit on the modern phenomenon of wanting "instant gratification".
People these days don't want to put in the effort and time to find out for themselves, they want it all laid out on a plate. That, I think, is why folk are willing to pay a fair bit to be given the skills.
Amateur Radio isn't the current sexy interest and so there are limited numbers of people who want to learn. This allows the club enthusiasts to give their time freely. If the hobby suddenly took off, there would be professional teachers springing up all over the place.
People these days don't want to put in the effort and time to find out for themselves, they want it all laid out on a plate. That, I think, is why folk are willing to pay a fair bit to be given the skills.
Amateur Radio isn't the current sexy interest and so there are limited numbers of people who want to learn. This allows the club enthusiasts to give their time freely. If the hobby suddenly took off, there would be professional teachers springing up all over the place.
Snip>
For one thing, you could go to a meet, where people typically give generously of their time and skills. I'm not aware of any commercial courses where you can learn about arrowmaking, natural dyes, suturing, fire by chemicals, canoeing and Viking lore all in one course. But you can at the Scottish meets
I hope the banana has made a full recovery now Doc..
I agree with you about the value of meets, I've learnt a huge amount that way, but there is still a market for courses and the people who run these courses and preserve some of these skill sets, have every right to try and earn a good living.
I hope the banana has made a full recovery now Doc..
Well, it went a bit black. Hopefully just over-ripe rather than gangrene.
I think the point about demand for courses is important. In the early eighties amateur radio was very popular and there were a number of fairly expensive commercial courses available. Now the courses are volunteer run.
I do wonder if the market for Bushcraft courses is becoming saturated, as there are huge numbers of providers now. I think there are even bushcraft childrens party providers (a great idea, BTW). It may be that if bushcraft declines in popularity there will be a shift towards informal non-commercial training.
But as Wayland says the course providers have every right to meet the demand for their product and I suspect many make fairly modest profits for the effort expended.
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