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dening moment in history was when we tamed the rst ame,
and re is behind much of what we do in a civilization. Suddenly,
the darkness of night becomes manageable. Tribes gather near, food
can be prepared and items and materials that were previously inaccessible
are now within reach.
And so mankind has learned to harness re’s transformative powers.
is arouses an insatiable desire to subjugate nature’s most powerful forces.
When put in the hands of the people, this balance between creative and
destructive forces will determine the potential splendor and lifespan
of the new world.
BOW METHOD
All you need to make re is a bow.
Don’t have one on hand? Make
a substitute with a exible rod and
a length of string. Sharpen the end
of a hardwood stick and stand it
upright in a hole carved into a plank
of wood. Wrap the bowstring around
the stick and move the bow back and
forth — the stick will begin to rotate.
e more intense the movement,
the faster the stick rotates. is heats
the wooden plank, which will soon
begin to smolder. e easiest types
of wood to ignite are walnut, cedar,
willow, aspen and pine.
TINDER
Place tinder at the contact point between
the wooden plank and the stick to increase friction
and produce ames. Dry moss or tree bark chips
are not the only option. Caails, palm tree husks,
ax bers and coon bolls will quickly ignite.
Gently blowing on the re will also provide
a continuous supply of oxygen, and once
the tinder catches re, you have a few seconds
to feed it with wood chips and underbrush.
Look for pine, which will supply you with dry
branches even in the rain. If there are only palm
trees around, you’ll have to climb — the bark husk
at the base of the crown remains dry.
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TORCH
Wrap dry bark, moss and wood chips tightly around
a large branch using a strip of cloth, then saturate
with resin, which can be obtained from the outer
bark of coniferous trees. If there is no cloth, use
rope (page 18). You’ll be guaranteed several hours
of bright light.
BONFIRE
Rationing your resources wisely is a good habit to develop from the very start.
You can, of course, just pile wood onto your re and it will burn brightly.
But not for long. It’s beer to pile the ends of the logs on top of each other
so that they form an asterix and, as they burn, push the unburnt material
to the center. is re will burn brighter and longer.
A great way to save fuel is to make a log candle. Split a pine log (preferably
pre-dried) into 4 pieces with an ax or a saw almost to the base of the log.
Lay wood chips in the grooves split by the axe and ignite. e re and heat
will last for many hours. e wood burns and leaves behind charcoal, which
also carries large amounts of energy and contains a ton of carbon.
first things Making fire
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ater is one of the most critical natural
resources to secure for yourself.
Without water, you can only survive
a maximum of about seven days. Dehydration
clouds your common sense, quickly depriving you
of the will to live — a compelling reason to start
your search for water as soon as possible.
e most obvious solution is to collect rainwater
or dew. But unless you have a shaman on your side
willing to perform a rain dance every morning,
you'll eventually have to nd a more sustainable
source. Your next move will depend on the local
climate and landscape.
ﺢﯿﺷﺮﺘﻟا ﺮﯿﮭﻄﺘﻟاو
رﻮﺜﻌﻟا ﻰﻠﻋ ءﺎﻤﻟا ﻻ ﻲﻨﻌﯾ نأ ﻚﻠﻛﺎﺸﻣ ﺪﻗ ﺖﮭﺘﻧا .ﺲﯿﻟ ﻞﻛ رﺪﺼﻣ ﺢﻟﺎﺻ بﺮﺸﻠﻟ) ﺢﻟﺎﺻ
كﻼﮭﺘﺳﻼﻟ .(اذإ ﺖﻤﻠﺴﺘﺳا ﺶﻄﻌﻠﻟ ﺖﻌﻠﺘﺑاو لوأ ءﺎﻣ ،ﻚﻓدﺎﺼﯾ ﺪﻘﻓ ﻲﮭﺘﻨﯾ ﻚﺑ ﺮﻣﻷا ﻰﻟإ تﻮﻤﻟا
ﻞﻜﺸﺑ عﺮﺳأ ﻦﻣ فﺎﻔﺠﻟا .جﺎﺘﺤﺘﺳ ﻊﯿﻤﺟ ردﺎﺼﻤﻟا ةدﻮﺟﻮﻤﻟا ﻲﻓ ﺔﻌﯿﺒﻄﻟا ﺎًﺒﯾﺮﻘﺗ ﻰﻟإ ﺔﯿﻔﺼﺘﻟا
،ﺮﯿﮭﻄﺘﻟاو ﺔﺻﺎﺧ اذإ ﺖﻧﺎﻛ ةﺪﻛار وأ ﺔﻀﻣﺎﻏ .
ﺮﻄﺨﻟا ﻲﺴﯿﺋﺮﻟا ﻲﻓ ردﺎﺼﻣ هﺎﯿﻤﻟا ﺔﯿﻌﯿﺒﻄﻟا ﻮھ تاﺪﯾﺪﮭﺘﻟا ،ﺔﯿﺟﻮﻟﻮﯿﺒﻟا ﻦﻣ ﺎﯾﺮﯿﺘﻜﺒﻟا ﺎﮭﻏاﻮﺑأو ﻰﻟإ
تﺎﻗﺮﯿﻟا ﺔﯿﻠﯿﻔﻄﻟا .ﻦﻜﻤﯾ ﺔﯿﻔﺼﺗ تﺎﯿﻠﯿﻔﻄﻟا ﺮﺒﻛﻷا ﺎًﻤﺠﺣ ﻦﻋ ﻖﯾﺮط ﻒﯾﺮﺼﺗ هﺎﯿﻤﻟا ﻦﻣ لﻼﺧ
ﻞﻣﺮﻟا وأ ﻢﺤﻓ ﺐﺸﺨﻟا وأ ﻰﺼﺤﻟا ﻢﻋﺎﻨﻟا .
اذإ كﺪﺟو رﺪﻘﻟا ﻲﻓ ﻖطﺎﻨﻤﻟا ﺔﯿﺋاﻮﺘﺳﻻا نﺎﻛو ﻚﯾﺪﻟ نوﺰﺨﻣ ﺖﺑﺎﺛ ﻦﻣ ،زﻮﻤﻟا مﺪﺨﺘﺳا ةﺮﺸﻘﻟا
ﺔﯿﻣﺎﺴﻤﻟا
ًﻼﯿﻠﻗ
ًﻻﺪﺑ ﻦﻣ ﺢﺷﺮﻣ ﻢﺤﻔﻟا .ﻰﺘﺣ ﻮﻟ ﻢﻟ ﻦﻜﯾ ﻚﯾﺪﻟ ءﺎﻋو ﻢﻜﺤﻣ ﻖﻠﻐﻟا ﻦﻜﻤﯾ ﮫﻌﺿو قﻮﻓ
،رﺎﻨﻟا ﻼﻓ لاﺰﯾ ﻚﻧﺎﻜﻣﺈﺑ ﻲﻠﻏ ءﺎﻤﻟا ماﺪﺨﺘﺳﺎﺑ داﻮﻤﻟا ةدﻮﺟﻮﻤﻟا ﻚﻟﻮﺣ .ﻢﻗ ءﺎﻨﺒﺑ ﺔﯾوﺎﺣ ﻦﻣ ءﺎﺤﻟ
ﻻﻮﺘﺒﻟا ﺎھﻸﻣاو رﻮﺨﺼﻟﺎﺑ ﺔﻨﺧﺎﺴﻟا وأ ﻰﺘﺣ ﻞﻀﻓﻷا ﻰﺼﺤﺑ ﺮﮭﻨﻟا .ﻚﻨﻜﻤﯾ ﺎًﻀﯾأ ﺔﺑﺮﺠﺗ ﺔﻤﻈﻧأ ﺮﺜﻛأ
اًﺪﯿﻘﻌﺗ ﺔﯿﻘﻨﺘﻟ ،هﺎﯿﻤﻟا ﻞﺜﻣ زﺎﮭﺟ ﺮﯿﻄﻘﺘﻟا) ﺔﺤﻔﺻ 118(، ﻦﻜﻟو ﻦﯿﻌﺘﯿﺳ ﻚﯿﻠﻋ ﺮﯾﻮﻄﺗ ﻚﻌﻤﺘﺠﻣ ﻊﻀﺑ
تاﻮﻄﺧ مﺎﻣﻸﻟ
ًﻻوأ .
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first things how to find water
WHERE TO LOOK FOR WATER
e easiest place to nd water is where the soil is loose. Closest to the surface
is groundwater, which you can sometimes see gathering in the deepest parts
of a valley, at the boom of a steep incline or in places covered in verdant plant
life. If you're in the mountains, seek out sources in ssures at the base of clis
and near areas of lush vegetation. Try digging under dry river beds; there may
be water under the layer of gravel. In the desert, midges and mosquitoes tend
to swarm around groundwater. To stave o thirst until your search is successful,
drink the juices of trees or plants. Just make sure you know which ones are
poisonous (page 16).
NATURE’S HINTS
Take note of large colonies of insects (especially bees and ants), locations with
thick, juicy plant life, the ight path of birds and localized fog — these are all
signs that water is nearby. If you're near a cli face or rock wall, look for cracks
near a large accumulation of bird droppings. is could mean a hidden source
that's easily reachable with a straw.
DEEP GROUNDWATER
If you can't manage to nd a natural water source, your best option is drilling
a well. e hole should be suciently deep (around 10–15 meters), and with
some luck, you'll be provided with clean drinking water for some time
to come. When nding a suitable location, look for alder, birch, spruce
and pine trees. If there are no trees around but a lot of sedges, this is
also a good sign. A large clay pot will help determine the exact
location of your well. Dry it in the sun and set it upside down.
If aer a while the boom of the pot begins to "sweat," this is a good spot
to start digging.
1. Clay
2. Sand
3. Surface water
4. Groundwater
5. Interstratal unconned aquifer
6. Interstratal conned aquifer
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hile hunger may stimulate creativity,
it takes strength to bring your plans
to fruition. e answer: plants.
Although cooking helps release nutrients, many
plants can be eaten raw, so there's no need to waste
energy cooking.
But to make sure your rst bite won't be your last,
you'll need to be able to identify edible
and poisonous plants.
SAFE PLANTS
In forest, river or swampy environments with a cool climate,
you can eat the bast — a thin layer underneath the bark — of many
trees. It is beer to look for berries in peat bogs. Blue ones
are more likely to be edible than red, yellow or white ones.
But don't confuse blueberries with Raven's Eye (Paris quadrifolia),
which causes paralysis of the heart muscles.
Sweet herbs are safe. Plant tubers are nutritious, as they contain
starch. Cereals are a good source of protein and are beer when
crushed and mixed with water. You can eat pollen and chew
the needles of conifers.
In arid regions, the best place to look for edible plants
is near water. e esh of sugarcane stalks will satiate your
hunger. And cacti will save you from extreme thirst if you
wring out the liquid from the pulp.
Water can also be found within the fruits and petals
of the prickly pear and saxaul bark. Just make
an incision in the lower branch of the date palm
and liquid will begin to ow out of it. Experiment
in the same way with other deciduous trees.
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THE 5–15 RULE
1. Rub a small amount of the plant between your ngers
and wait 15 minutes. If this causes no adverse reaction, then:
2. Rub the plant on the inside of your elbow. If this causes no reaction, then:
3. Hold a piece of the plant between your lips. If there is no irritation,
burning or numbness, then:
4. Chew on a small part of the plant (do not swallow). Wait 15 minutes.
If there is no burning sensation or bier taste, then:
5. Swallow this small piece. Wait 15 minutes. If you experience no nausea,
dizziness or other symptoms of poisoning, you can eat a small quantity
of the plant. If your condition hasn’t worsened the next day, the plant
is safe to use in food.
DANGEROUS PLANTS
Umbrella plants, which thrive in damp and overgrown areas, are oen inedible.
Do not touch the umbrella fronds with your bare hands — this is the most
poisonous part.
Even plants that are predominantly edible may pack a poisonous punch.
Apple seeds, leaves and pits of the cherry, peach, plum, almond and apricot
trees contain cyanogenic glycosides, while green potato tubers and leaves
contain the alkaloid solanine.
But beware of burning poisonous plants in an aempt to destroy them,
as inhaling the smoke can be just as poisonous. If you do end up poisoning
yourself, ush out your stomach by drinking at least 2 liters of water and
inducing vomiting.
edible & inedible Plants
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ope can oen make a good substitute in a pinch, but it’s hard to nd
a good substitute for rope itself. e ability to braid a rope greatly
increases your survival prospects.
If you are weaponless, rope makes it possible to obtain food through weaving
sh nets and wild game traps. You can build a dwelling without tools, drag
heavy loads without wheels and even staunch bleeding without medication.
MATERIALS
Rope can be made of wool, animal sinew, hair, silk or whatever you can nd
underfoot. Plants are the best rope-making materials. Nele, hemp, jute, ax
and willow will do just ne. But don’t gather them in an open area — dry plant
ber is less elastic. Remove the leaves from the stems. Mash them until you
are le with long, strong bers. By the way, a rolling mill makes the process
much easier.
1. First, take a bundle of bers and fold it into a loop. Don’t fold
exactly in the middle or you’ll run out of material on both ends
at the same time, and you’ll have to add new bers to both
sides. is will create a weak spot at the connection, which
is where your rope will start to fray. Press the bers against
any at surface with your palm and slide your hand forward
to twist the bers together.
2. Repeat the process and twist several
bundles into a rope.
3. en twist several smaller ropes together
to create an even thicker rope.
BRAIDING
Now to show you the ropes of rope
braiding: e secret to strong rope
is twisting the bers.
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PROCESSING WILLOW BARK
Willow bark is a good material to produce extra strong rope.
e elemental forces of re and water will help you along the way.
Heat the wood, bark side down, over the re until you hear a faint
hissing sound. At this point, the bark will separate easily from the
wood. e only part you need is the stringy, leather-like inner layer.
Boil it in a mixture of wood ash and water until it turns red. Hang
the bark out to dry. Split the strips down into ner strings of ber.
KNOTS
Believe it or not, tying a knot
will actually loosen the rope. Here's why:
In a knot, the bers on the outer and inner
curve of the rope are under dierent
amounts of tension and the bers
deform unevenly. e strongest knots
are those with alternating le
and right bends.
If you’re having problems untying a tight knot, roll it on a at surface
with your palm. You can also wet the rope to make the bers more exible.
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omeday, you will construct massive skyscrapers and drill deep into
the bowels of the earth. But rst you need to master the basics.
Make simple tools rst to act as a foundation for more complicated
instruments. You already have everything you need to get started: sticks,
stones, ropes, bones and animal sinew.
PROCESSING STONE
Stones that you nd in nature rarely come pre-sharpened, so you’ll have
to create cuing utensils yourself by spliing a large rock into thin shards.
Flint works best and will produce a glassy shard with a razor-sharp edge.
Larger shards become knives while others may serve as cuers, scrapers,
pokers or arrowheads.
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SPEAR
Hunting spears require hardwood shas such as oak, ash or walnut. To make
the wood even harder, smoke it over a re. As the water inside evaporates,
the structure of the wood becomes denser. Fishing spears for shallow waters
are best made from bamboo. But skewering a sh on a single point is a skill
few can master. Increase your chances of catching dinner by adding two more
prongs to create a trident tip.
KNIFE
Flint makes for a sharp and durable knife, while obsidian, or volcanic glass,
is more suitable for scalpels. However, instruments made from these materials
are quite fragile. at’s why you shouldn’t be using them to hack away
at an animal carcass. Set them aside for tasks that require a ner, more
meticulous touch.
first things siMPle tools
AXE
To fell and turn trees, you need a tool with a working surface made from heavy,
sharp stone and a transverse handle. Find a straight, thick, broad branch. Wrap
rope (page 18) around the branch 15–20 cm from one end and split this section
down the middle until you reach the rope. Insert a stone between the split halves
and cross the rope around it many times to secure it, connecting the two ends
of the branch and xing the stone inside as tightly as possible.
DRILL AND SAW
One of the hardest tasks to accomplish is drilling a neat hole. You need a solid
tool. But where can you nd a sturdy material if you haven’t yet discovered iron?
Pour quartz sand into your drill hole. e coarse grains will cover your drilling
instrument (a sharp piece of stone honed to a point), creating an abrasive
coating. is will help you drill a hole in a hollow bone to produce
a needle or hook. When the only thing separating the rich from
the poor is a few animal pelts and a warm meal on the table,
gemstones lose some of their value. But this
doesn’t mean they’re completely useless.
Diamonds are the hardest material
in nature and so can be used for very
durable cuing and sawing tools.
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ew people are ever in a position where they must build their house
from the ground up with their own two hands while understanding all
the technological intricacies necessary for the job. Start with something
simple and master basic construction principles.
Later, you can move on to more complex structures that will help elevate your
civilization to the next level of development. In the beginning, at least, your
environment will dictate the best design and building materials for the job.
HUT
Use the terrain to your advantage. A hillside can easily become the back wall
of your hut. Dig out the center of a log and line it with stones for stability (1).
is will become the main support structure of your roof. Now you need
a cross beam. Aach one end to the central support post and rest the other
end against the slope of the hill. Now you have a T-frame. Lay branches across
the frame to form a sloping roof (2), which simultaneously acts as a ceiling
and two walls of your domicile. e entire frame must be secured with ropes
(page 18) or wire. From above, the roof can be covered with spruce branches,
palm leaves, reeds or just straw mixed with clay (page 136). For your replace,
dig out the main body of the hearth (3), and then dig out a wind box (4)
to one side for stoking the re. If you place your hearth within your dwelling,
make sure that the main body is inlaid in the wall or placed outside of the
walls of the home altogether. e dierence in air temperatures inside and
outside the hut will create a dra, forcing exhaust fumes outside through
the chimney (5).
If the dra is not strong enough, these combustion byproducts will
accumulate in your home, which is dangerous as wood smoke contains
poisonous substances. Insulate your replace with raw brick (page 148).
is material retains and slowly releases heat over a long period of time.
Incidentally, if you’re low on rewood, you can use dried animal dung
instead — it burns well and gives o a lot of heat.
LOCATION AND ORIENTATION
Pay aention to the way the sun moves across the sky. Orienting
your house south to north will save energy on heating and cooling.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the southern side will heat up
quickly; in the Southern Hemisphere, it will be the northern side.
e movement of the sun through the seasons is also an important
factor to consider. An overhang aached to the roof will save your
life during hot summer days without blocking sunlight during
the winter. e best place to put your front door is on the side
best sheltered from the wind.
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IGLOO
e secret of constructing an igloo dome is that the snow blocks are laid in
a spiral. To do this, the boom layer of blocks must be shaved down at an angle
to create the tilt that makes the dome shape possible. Don’t forget to leave a gap
between the blocks at the very top of the dome for ventilation. e inner walls
will melt slightly due to the heat emied by your body, but the cool ambient
temperature outside will prevent the blocks from melting. In fact, this process
of melting and refreezing the inner walls makes the igloo even stronger.
Your body heat will be sucient to heat the igloo, but you must make sure
that the main entrance is a tunnel below oor level. is will allow for carbon
dioxide and oxygen exchange while preventing heat from escaping. Light
enters the igloo directly through the snowy walls, but you can also make
windows and cover them in stretched, dried animal intestines. For a night-time
light source, insert a wick (page 84) into a bowl lled with sh or seal oil
and ignite.
TIPI
Make the poles for the frame from branches
le out in the sun and wind to thoroughly dry.
Damp poles will cause the material covering them
to sag, leading to folds that allow water to leak
in when it rains. Use treated animal hides (page 78)
for your covering. You can even sew all your hides
together into a single canvas using animal sinew.
Soak them in an alkaline solution (page 24),
and then stretch to obtain the desired thickness.
If you’ve already used or goen rid of the animal
sinew, poke holes along the connecting edge
of the animal hide and join the two pieces together
by sticking a strong twig through holes in both
pieces of fabric (1). Create pockets (2) in the top
of your hide canvas to hold the poles (3) in place.
Bind them together at the top with leather straps
or steamed spruce roots. Tie a heavy anchor
belt (4) around the connection point to rmly
secure the structure. Aach it to a peg driven
straight down into the ground. e anchor
will hold the tent in place during strong winds.
Punch holes along the boom of the hide and
drive pegs (5) through them and into the ground
to secure your hide canvas. Make sure to leave
a small gap (6) for air circulation.
first things siMPle housing
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e upper part of the structure should contain
a smoke hole. is consists of two aps (7) that act
as smoke vents. Open and close them using either
straps or poles (8). When it rains, cover the hole
with an “umbrella” — an additional piece
of leather (9).
