The Good Life, Bushcraft and the Recession

[Atellus]

We live in interesting times and households the land over are looking at their monthly consumption and trying to figure out ways to reduce the outgoing. I'm assuming that this includes bushcrafters and that you don't all live under tarps or in badger sets or squat beneath bushes in your hermit loin clothes. I'll take it as read that when I use phrases like dish washer and central heating and tinned food, you'll get the gist! ;-)

So, a simple question: what ways, if any, have you found to utilise your bushcraft skills to help provide for yourself, your home and your family?

I'm not suggesting that in order to save on the heating bill, you moved everyone out into the garden where you now live in lean-to shelters, drinking rain water and subsisting on starlings cooked on an open fire. Just small things, perhaps, or novel ways that you've found to apply your skills in other areas, like making do and mending rather than buying new stuff.

 

[tobes01]

Not sure if I've applied specific bushcraft skills, but I've certainly started trying to live by the philosophy of 'less is more' - have sold, dumped, given away mountains of possessions over the past months, and will soon be able to move into a smaller house as a result. Much the same spirit as recent shift from a 120l bergen to a more modest 75l because I've figured out how to live with less...

 

[swanscot]

Nothing really as we've always been canny with possessions. However in the past couple of years since joining Freecycle we've given away a lot of surplus stuff.

We been running a solid fuel central heating system (Rayburn stove) for years and in the past 3 or 4 years have burnt more wood and less anthracite, but that's because DS3 has his chainsaw certificate and had a few jobs where he got to haul away some of the trees he felled. I get to practise fire lighting every day for 7 months a year as the size of logs we use means the wood rarely keeps going all night!

 

[drewdunnrespect]

this type of thing doesnt really apply to me because i still live with the perants due to only being twenty one. Having said this the last time we had a power cut i got the kelly kettle out and made a brew and also used my swedish army trangia to cook tea admittedly it was precooked sweet and sour just needed warming up but hey it was bush craft that saved the day.

drew

 

[Tengu]

Ive always lived that way. Never had much money.

I have a wood stove now, and do a lot of bottling.

 

[John Fenna]

An awful lot of my foraging is done for year round consumption as part of our "normal" diet.
Wild fruit, nettles etc are not just for bushie camps!
Wood for our fire is also foraged, or grown in our garden hedge.
I write gear reviews for magazines - and most of the gear is tested during bushie activities - so bushcraft is the source of a major part of my income....

 

[welshwhit]

I hunt if that counts, but like tobes01 has said, I've been trying to adopt a the less is more attitude. . . . not very well sometimes. . . . but trying!

I guess I also do [like lots of others on here and elsewhere have for many many years] and 'gather' as much firewood / kindling as I can to save buying it, but I did that before too

Drew

 

[swyn]

Since moving onto a derelict farm site last year and sorting out all those things that need to be done as a priroity, I have spent most of this summer creating the start of a vegetable garden with four raised beds made from railway sleepers and will finish the first phase this week end when the cover is put on our new poly tunnel.
We are reaping the benefits of one raised bed right now with fresh food, and the orchard that we planted in March has supplied us with three apples, one of which was low enough to be eaten by the chickens so are down to two!
The new pond has three feet of water in it which is good and means we can water the veggies without using the tap.

My wife has been raising herbs such as Roux, Basil, Rosemary, etc and we have a little stall at roadside which attracts folks. This has been successful in providing some cash to re invest in more plants.

Swyn.

 

[Peter_t]

when i get my own place (only 18) i am definately gona get a woodburning stove, being a tree suregeon i dont think i will have a shortage of fuel i also hope to have a place with a reasonable sized garden so i can plant some fruit trees and such.
i am always going for wanders around the countryside and oftern find crab apples, black berries, hazel nuts, sweet chestnuts, wild currents (althow only the plant, never found them in fruit), bullaces and damsons. usually if i find some wild food i just snack on them on my way but i gess i could fill some bags to help at home


pete

 

[Tank]

does using para cord and knots as an indoor washing line count?

I live in a flat so short of space, so i rigged up a ceiling laundry drying rack, using some paracord and a broken ikea wooden shoe rack. so saving about £30 to go by one.

If my camera was working i would take a pic, but to give you an idea its one of these.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/ny/11099-10N.jpg

 

[Harmonica]

This year i have grown various vegetables (including sweetcorn which was a surprise sucess!) and got two apple trees in our village orchard so hopefully will have apples next year.

I also make Billberry jam and hope to make Rowan jelly this year. The Mrs has mantioned getting some chickens which is an interesting possibility for the spring. I'll hopefully be building and extra veg bed by then as well. Its actually quite amazing what you can grow in a small-ish space - ours is a terraced house and most of the stuff gets grown in pots in the back yard

P.S if anyone keeps chickens any advice graatefully recieved!

 

[locum76]

I love it, there seems to be loads of people gardening as a response to the recession.

 

[swyn]

Here's one for you Harmonica on chickens!

First of all you really need a bit of a garden and second you must be prepared for that bit to be completely TRASHED!!! Chickens are not happy unless they can scratch about. Even in a wire pen you will have to move it about as they eat a surprising amount of grass. Personally we prefer ours to be free range and only pen them at night. A pair will be happy in a small suburban garden and will provide eggs and entertainment factor TEN!
Usual animal husbandry items apply with fresh water grain and grit will keep them happy and healthy for several years. Quite a lot of ours are battery rescue and at £1 each to the relevant rescue organisation these are good value. Others vary from pure breed, chicks that we managed to puyrchase before they went to the battery and gifts from those overwhelmed with the years hatchlings. As you can imagine we are never short on eggs and as such make excellent barter!
No cockies in town unless you want to be in the local press or wish to visit the famous 'Chicken Roundabout'!
Give serious thought to your commitment here but if you do end up with a couple you will not regret your decision. Please remember a small run also costs approx £150- £200 unless you can make one. So there is expensive outlay too.

Good luck from Swyn.

 

[fishfish]

well i was practicing frugality long before this resession,in fact i learned from my mother,she was a bit of a nutter and livedby wartime ration quota,s till the early 1990's.
so since settling down and having a family of 6 i have practiced it all,hunting fishing,foraging,growing veg and fruit,as well as the wartime attitude of 'mend and make do', instead of buying stuff i will allways try and make it first,or find a broken one to fix!
90% of our meat and fish is got by me ,big saving there,we eat venison,boar feral pig and all manner of birds,and allways have a well stoked larder/freezer.we preserve a lot too,trying not to rely on the electric appliances,we make jerky and cure bacons and hams.
we forage masses of free foods,for home consumption and to sell,most is preserved in one way or another,jams,chutneys,jellies,pastes,cheeses,dried etc.
luckily we have 2 allotments too,there we grow 70% of our needs,we sell our surplus to the veg shop,but instead of cash we take credit notes ,that way we have spuds and veg in the winter effectively free.
we also have made many contacts on industrial estates for wood to burn in our wood burner,which i traded on a knife i made,great bit o kit,has a hot plate to kook a good stew on!
another fuel saving idea is making our own candles,wax stubbs are easy to come by,just ask any church and theyll save them for you for a very small contribution to the funds.
our way of life has helped us through some very hard times,last winter we were bringing home £400 a month,bills were £580. we did recieve some help from a local charity called the trussel trust who gave us food parcells once a week from the church. but once back on our feet we carried on planting , hunting etc.
Did you know that egg farms will happily give birds free? yep they replace shed stocks every year - 18 months,they actually have to pay to get the hens took away,theyre good for free eggs for a year or so then they get eaten! a local meat bird grower will part with 4 week old birds for 50p each.....now theres cheap food! they eat scraps and then get eaten when good and fat!
if you arent allready a member i can heartily recomend you join your local freecycle group,tonnes of stuff on there to save a pretty penny.Our local corporation tip has a recycling area where some amazing stuff can be had for next to nowt too!
i guess its hard to say exactly how much we save but in a year it is litterally thousands of pounds.
if i can help in anyway withadvice please ask.

 

[Mikey P]

I have a wood stove now, and do a lot of bottling.

So, you get into a lot of fights, then?

I think for me that bushcraft is more of a philosophy in everyday life than so much as being something I physically do on a daily basis (carving, foraging, firelighting, tracking, camping, etc).

I think it's a state of mind which requires observance and thought, progressing from a start point to a desired finish point via the most efficient and effective way possible, using the resources available. It means you approach problems in a logical and practical manner.

It's hard to explain but I guess that you can apply the bushcraft mindset to daily tasks and problems, without having to get a knife out or start a fire.

 

[John Fenna]

does using para cord and knots as an indoor washing line count?

I live in a flat so short of space, so i rigged up a ceiling laundry drying rack, using some paracord and a broken ikea wooden shoe rack. so saving about £30 to go by one.

If my camera was working i would take a pic, but to give you an idea its one of these.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/ny/11099-10N.jpg

I rigged up something similar using wqood off a skip, paracord and some cup hooks....
I like making things!

 

[wildman695]

I have always been a gardener, prefering fresh fruit and veg to buying in vitamin deficient and additive enhanced food, I hunt the odd bunny mainlt to stop them eating my veg and destroying the headrows, and chuck in a bit of foraging for good measure, any surplus is bottled or frozen. So for bushy read normal country living as our ancestors have done for generations. I run my old bus on veggie oil when I can get it.

 

[demographic]

We got an allotment this year and so far the lettuce x2, and the rhubarb stalks have cost us about £300 Ahem.

Admittedly that's mostly gone into setting up the allotment, putting a fence round it to keep the rabbits out, buying tools and so on so next year its going to be a lot better but there's still a shed to build.

We did start a bit late for most of the season as well and plan on getting a much better start on it all next year.

 

[Walks with dogs]

I'm yet another who has taken to growing a few veggies. Just 5 large pots in the back garden but I've got spuds ( 2 pots), carrots, lettuce and dwarf beans on the go. I've a few small pots with a few onions, tomatoes and cougettes , the tomatoes are taking forever to turn red.

Water buts catch plenty of rain to water the garden.

I've got a chimenea in the back garden and love foraging wood when out on my strolls to burn in it. Splitting the wood etc with my B&Q axe is fun too.Ideally I'd have woodburner to heat my home but at the moment that isn't financially viable.

 

[ESLRaven]

I'm not suggesting that in order to save on the heating bill, you moved everyone out into the garden where you now live in lean-to shelters, drinking rain water and subsisting on starlings cooked on an open fire.

Certainly not - much better eating on Pigeons than Starlings . . . .