"Now kids, never play with fire."

We recently held a traditional fire making class for kids.

It was a cold day, 12 degrees fahrenheit and snowy, yet still th' kids came out. 

What a great day to make fire.

Learning how to make fire with many different methods is a very empowering skill set to have. 

Fire is one of the basic elements, and has been used by mankind through out history. 

Why, i wonder, did we trade fire for electricity.

Techniques covered in this class were the bow-drill method and flint and steel, and each participant had the option of taking home a fire kit to continue their education.

It's hard to take photos when you're teaching a class, but i did have Alex helping me and th' kids, so i managed to get in a few shots. 

We are planning on doing a follow up class, and a more advanced bowdrill class which will be suitable to those already experienced or grown ups- 

Here are a few shots i managed to get, and again, a link to a blog covering th' class.

Cheers friends. 

Here's Jeremy, one of the few parents who braved th' cold, 3 hour class- he made his first coal and you can see it in his eyes...

Here's Alex showing how to hold th' flint and steel, and then how to prepare and hold your tinder bundle

Here's Rosemary, who graciously hosted th' class on her farm, blowing a coal into flame.

Some bow-drill practice

The snow packed down quick and made it really tricky to hold th' fire boards in place, everyone did really well under such challenging circumstances, which is often what you will find in the wilderness.

Thanks to everyone who came out.

We'll be leading more classes and foraging tours this year, if you'd like to be notified, send us an email or comment with your email address and we'll add you to our mailing list. 

(rico and beth at g mail) 

Cheers.