Hello everyone. I putting this thread here, as I’m not quite sure where to situate it. Moderators feel free to relocate it.
Recently I’ve been doing some musing about Rewilding and our attempts to ‘get there’. To a man/woman. we’ve all been brought up and conditioned by this society we live in. We all struggle to reach a state/condition whereby when this collapse arrives we will be ‘ready’(whatever that may mean to each individual). I feel though that if this collapse were to arrive on our doorsteps tomorrow, it is very likely that to a man/woman we would all die as a result of it. Some(like myself) would be snuffed out rather quickly(I’m a diabetic), others would hang on for quite a while but ultimately perish.
I’m suggesting that we step back for a moment or two and reconsider our ability to Rewild. We will all likely carry to one degree or another some baggage from this civilization. It appears to me now that anything close to ‘pure’ rewilding for our generation is unlikely.
This is why I would like to reconsider my(and maybe your)goals towards Rewilding. I’m conceiving a ‘middle step’ that is attainable presently to us who dwell in this society. Reading lately an article on Ran Prieurs site about salvagable living/society got me thinking that just maybe our immediate goal should be just that. Take what we need from this rotting corpse of a civilization, make use of it, and provide an opportunity for the next generation to build on what we’re starting here. Let us act as facilitators for those who follow.
It is highly unlikely that you and I could immediately jump from the 21st century into the Neo Paleolithic one we strive for without some serious problems. No shame as I see it to ponder this, and who knows, maybe a generation or two down the road…err…forest path, our descendants will talk about us over their camp fires saying we were the brave ones who took the first step…
Just a thought to ponder…
Live Primitive in Peace.
Alex
I think anyone who ‘rewilded’ would just simply be ‘wild’.
Meaning rewilding is a process, a commitment to living in nature. YOu can’t ‘arrive’ at rewilded.
More so than ‘salvaging’ the leftovers of society, many societies are already possible. I don’t think one needs to wait for a city to die before you can start using its parts for new processes.
You can live in nature, and still have an internet connection. I’ve been getting 10-15 percent of my food from foraging over the last year, for me, that’s a huge middle step. I wish I was gardening, because I could really up that percentage. It’s basically be my job over the next year to learn and teach new ways of eating rather than ‘only’ applying for food stamps. I would consider this ‘gathered’ food, rather than ‘raised’ food mostly because I have no intentions of monocropping.
A lot of money is in fact out there, for people spend on such initiatives. That’s my middle way, using ‘free’ money to unlock the food.
I am also very concerned with the diet of civilization. Even the middle class lacks access to high-quality protein, and fresh vegetables. I’m looking at models where I believe a city could feed itself, but we would have to break people of the grain habits. That’s a huge, but very doable challenge, being that paleo diets of all kinds are right in the forefront of the people’s minds.
I find it most constructive to point out to myself, these days, where society resonates with the concepts of ‘wild’ human beings. I used to point out to myself how ‘bad’ things were, but then I realized I was only seeing half the story.
can’t you just drink horse piss to get your insulin? I wish you wouldn’t just be ‘snuffed out’. I’m being silly…
And why, would we ultimately perish? People can walk, and there is food everywhere. There are probably more scouts out there than we realize, certainly there are millions of guide books in print. I think just because people aren’t doing it now, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t aggressively change their tactics in the face of starvation. I also think people would help each other, and in the process of forming a group think, I believe we have at least come to the realization that peace is in our rational best interest.
But, hey, living a zombie movie would be fun, too? Nah, I’d rather go with the positive assumptions, rather than the negative ones. It’s just what I need to survive day-to-day, I guess…
‘can’t you just drink horse piss to get your insulin?’ LOL 
I’ve drunk alot of whacked stuff in my day, never even considered following a horse with a cup…
And TonyZ, you’re right, lots of folks are probably doing just what we’re talking about. There appears to be a fair bit of angst with folks here, and people I’ve talked to ftf with regards to rewilding and how to go about it.
What I feel, is that the first step in rewilding need not be so massive. Everyone should get out there(out of the city, into the wilds), practice their primitive skills as best they can, network with like minded people, and keep an open outlook.
And as usual I’m open to other folks outlooks.
Cheers
Alex
getting over the planning, and the projections, the fears, and losing the sense that there is a right wya to do it and a wrong way to do it is huge, yes GO OUTSIDE would be the two word version if this conversation.