Permaculture, Stone Tools and Advanced Fire Making Skills

Over the last several weeks of November, the Alderleaf Wilderness Certification Program students have engaged in a variety of classes.  This included stone tools, advanced fire making, knots and another session of permaculture.  Here are some of the photographic highlights

Here is a photo of some of the blades made from basalt collected locally during the stone tools class.  The large stone in the lower right is the anvil, and the rounded stones near the lower center are hammer-stones.

These are the finished primitive stone knives made from the same stones.  They blades were lashed with cordage and attached with pitch glue.

During our advanced fire making day, students worked with all natural materials harvested from the landscape to create bow-and-drill friction fire kits.  Here, student Christine digs for cedar rootlets, which can be used in place of cordage.

Here, student Coley demonstrates a bow with one of these cedar rootlet cords.

On another class day, students Christine, Elan, Riley, Beth, Alyssa, Austin and Rob test out a frame work they lashed together during their knots and lashings class.

Students Yusef, Caitlin and Jeremy work together to can applesauce during a permaculture class at Alderleaf.

Here is a look inside the pot during the process.  You can just see the lids of the jars being heated, in order to seal them.

Here is student Pete, happily displaying the bounty of a good canning session: spiced applesauce!

Keep an eye on our blog for more updates to come very soon!