The idea this time was to create a natural little village for one mooncycle. A village where all generations come together and we can explore what it’s like to live outdoors as a clan. But sometimes even natural clans don’t spend all their time with children…
Natural Tribe Quarter Moon
For a quarter mooncycle, we actually had several generations in our camp. Thirteen adults (including the team) and seven children (and teenagers).
As soon as children are involved, in addition to the general group tasks such as collecting firewood, making a fire, cooking, fishing, and gathering berries and greens/herbs, there is also the task of playing with and looking after the children.
This can be quite a challenge, especially for parents and children who are not used to living very simply outdoors. That’s why it was all the more wonderful to experience this time what it can be like when both parents and children are already largely “veterans” of outdoor living. We got to see young girls (ages 7-11) get together and find and set up their own place to sleep, separate from their parents. We saw how the kids were bursting with creativity and making the most amazing art. And we saw how, even at a young age, they naturally contributed to the community by picking blueberries for the whole group or serving food.
The parents were also great role models, showing how we as adults can set an example that is naturally adopted by children. When parents are relaxed instead of fearful or stressed, it shows in their children.
Hides, hides, hides
During this Wildmoon, we had the special privilege of not only obtaining deer skins to process into leather or fur, but also beaver hides to preserve. Since hunting beavers is prohibited in German-speaking countries but permitted in Sweden, this was a very special gift.
With so many hides that we had to process quickly, or at least scrape and dry, the whole camp was in an extremely focused bubble for several days. Even though life in camp had to go on. Especially when the storm came….
Stormy weather at camp
A little wind and rain can be quite challenging when you’re living primitively in the forest. When it really starts pouring down, you will see how well you’ve chosen your sleeping spot and set up your tarp. Where is the water dripping down, where are small puddles forming, and where is it seeping into the area that’s supposed to stay dry?
When the large main tarp started to leak into the dry area, it could have dampened the mood in the group. Instead, we worked together to build drainage ditches. At some point, it even turned into a game, with the children—both the little ones and the inner children—floating halfed walnut shells on the drainage ditches like little boats.
But when the wind turns into a storm, finding a safe place is essential. And it was pretty scary when a large tree fell nearby, causing the ground to vibrate slightly. It also reminds us how important it is to check for dead trees in the area before setting up camp.
The rescue operation
When you live outside in the forest for a long time and roam around a bit, you can stumble upon quite a few animals. But most of the time, we only notice them when they run or fly away. It is extremely rare that we literally stumble upon larger animals.
So it was extremely exciting for everyone when a few people came back from collecting firewood with a young osprey that appeared to be injured. She was trembling and looked as if she wouldn’t survive the night. The group had mixed feelings about what we should or shouldn’t do. In the end, we brought her some fish guts, which she actually ate, and over time she seemed to get stronger and even walked around a bit.
At the same time, we contacted a wildlife rescue service, which, after some communication challenges, actually found the place near the camp to pick her up. They promised us they would nurse her back to health and then even climb back up the tree to put her back in her nest, from which she had probably fallen during her first attempts at flying.
We hope that everything went well and that she is now happily soaring through the skies.
The clan is shrinking
After the first quarter mooncycle (one week), it was time for the families to leave us. We spent the rest of the time as a smaller group without children. That meant fewer general tasks, fewer distractions, but also more time to reflect on ourselves and what was actually going on inside each and every one of us.
It also meant more space for emotions and emotional processes. More opportunities to follow our own enthusiasm. And more space for small and larger adventures, such as challenging missions to bring our food to camp or explore the surrounding land.
Traveling
With a smaller group, it was also easier to roam the country, explore new areas, and leave our first home to find new campspots. These new camps bring new challenges, while other things become easier. One camp is closer to water, another has more firewood, and a third has many more blueberries, but no nettles or linden trees.
At each camp, we are faced with the challenge of finding places to sleep and space for the main tarp. But each time, we learn a few more details that we need to pay attention to in order to find the “perfect” campsite, and which things shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Solo time
At the request of several participants, we created the option of spending up to two days alone out there. Everyone was free to choose how they wanted to spend this time. So it wasn’t a typical vision quest, but rather an opportunity to deepen one’s relationship with oneself in a self-determined way. The rest of the clan held down the fort during this time.
Creativity can flow
When there are no children in the clan, attention flows in many other directions. One of these was immersing ourselves in many different crafts. We tanned hides, made bowls from spruce bark, created pottery, made strings, wove baskets from rushes, and even attempted to build drums.
Visitors
During this Wildmoon, we also had a visit from Andris, the bird whisperer, who brought with him lots of stories about encounters with Wolves and birdsong. He even led a twilight mission, hoping to trail Deer, Wild Boar, and Badger.
The path inward
Over the course of an entire mooncycle, the path almost inevitably leads inward. Often, these are processes triggered by others. However, spending uninterrupted time outdoors allows us to recognize the mirrors as such and dive deeper into our own emotions to find the source, or at least get closer to it.
Patterns and fears emerge that are otherwise easy to overlook, as we can pursue our mechanisms of repression. But when there are no cigarettes, no sugar, no alcohol, no television or internet, and not even other people than those we live with out there, we have the special opportunity to really look closer and face our deeper emotional wounds.
Acceptance
When a group of people is brought together seemingly by chance, rather than having freely chosen to walk this path together, it is also a special gift in today’s world. It is not always about loving everyone around me and having deep soul connections—even though these play an important role.
Especially in such a setting, we can also learn how to get along (well) with people we might not otherwise have chosen. Then we can experience how acceptance can also be a form of love. And how important this ability is when we return to civilized life.
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