Introductions

**READ HERE FIRST**
#641

my name is joel. my lover (25) and i (31) have held anti-civ/green anarchy ideas for about five years now. we both came to them on our own (before coming together) and in different ways.

my own story is: i grew up in the mountains of northern california (outside redding), was homeschooled, anarchist rural punk, and traveled lots by hopping trains and hitching pretty young. my family and i did a lot of rendezvous/primitive camping/fur trade reenactment while i was growing up. i moved to seattle in 96 and lived in downtown for two years. moved to arcata and then to redding, got divorced and then religion of the christian variety…albeit very anitauthoritarian and generally ecologically inclined.

i moved to a little chicken town in sw missouri around 99 and started teaching at a public school. taught all sorts of cool classes to the kids (circus, world music, stop motion animation, primitive skills) and built an off-grid strawbale house. gradually started to question some pretty basic assumptions about christianity, got more and more fed up trying to define what i believed and having answers about all the fucked up shit in the bible.

i met my lover when her gypsy anarcho-christian band www.psalters.com came to my land so my friends and i could convert their bus to run on vegetable oil. after a couple years letter writing and talking about things, she left the band and came to live with me in missouri. we’ve been together for a couple years and have a beautiful child named lively (she was born at our friend’s home in michigan and the birth was wonderful…my lover was strong and the child was born perfectly.)

we quit our jobs a year ago and live as free as possible (trying to get more free every day), spending most of our time doing what we want: rewilding, hunting, basketmaking, knifemaking, loving and nurturing our daughter, learning edible and medicinal plants, living with our goats, and learning to be.

here’s where we are right now: we have been invited to live on some land in central western west virginia and look forward to being less disconnected from our friends…some of whom may be moving to the land in the future.

we are looking forward to meeting folks practicing rewilding and primitive skills in the pennsylvania, west virginia, ohio, virginia area. my partner is also a musician (i play, but not too well) and so is looking for venues to play in the area and folks to play with.

one more recent development for us is that we are not christians anymore…this is tough because, without a tribe, in america personal faith makes up most of people’s (trumped up) community. so we’re still friends with most of our anarcho-christian friends (they are supportive, for the most part)…but probably would describe ourselves as bioregional animist. we don’t actually care to call it anything…we really just want place and nativity.

man, that was a ton of writing…we don’t actually take ourselves that seriously, you know?

#642

Hey everybody, I thought I’d shed my ‘lurker’ skins and introduce myself to the community :]

My name’s Matthew. I’m 17 years old, a senior at a high school in Massachusetts, and I’ve been deeply interested in living a truly meaningful life since I was very young. Rewilding and the countless categories that travel with it, have been at the forefront of my mind. I want to enter the community on a level that transcends reading text.

Some information about me…hmmm…this is always difficult :stuck_out_tongue:

I am an aspiring musician of sorts. I’m a percussionist (Piano, drumset, marimba, and a few instruments crafted in Bali (Didjeridoo, Karimba). During the summer when my friends in college come back home, we play shows weekly at some local coffee-shops, but otherwise I do most of my work solo.

I love my bike, it’s a 10-speed from Britain, and I use it to get everywhere (which isn’t easy, I live in the rural half of the biggest town in MA). Being open to the environment around you, and not having a roof over your head while you travel is always a gift, never an inconvenience. On top of that, I go mountain biking in places I’ve never been, and always manage to find something…thought-provoking, I go free-running in the local woods. Going hiking, and exploring, is how I spend most of my free time, and I love taking friends and family out with me who end up enraptured and humbled with what we’ve done :smiley:

I’m vegetarian. I always have a book to read, and a poem in my head to write. I dream of reckless adventures, and only hope to fulfill them. I have my own portable copy of Jason Godesky’s The Thirty Theses (printed from the library, it’s a tome in all regards).

I started creating compost today for an organic garden I’ll be planting this summer.

My dream beyond dreams is to live in Iceland, and I am currently learning the Icelandic language.

And now I’m glad that my introduction is coming to an end, thank’s everyone for your time and patience, and I hope to share in the wonders of a true community with all of you.

Yours,
Matthew

#643

Hello my brothers and sisters of the natural world! The names Noah, I just turned 21 and soon starting a new chapter in my life. Im ridding myself of city life for the sweet mountains and lakes of the Adirondacks. I intend to discount from this techno crazed society and start networking with nature.
Ive come to a point in my life where the things that mainstream society offer no long make sense or appeal to me. Im happy I found this forum to help learn how to become more independent from the system. and start really LIVING!. anyone who lives in upstate new york give me a shoot, im trying to connect with like minded people up there when i move in a couple weeks

#644

I think this is where I make my introduction.
Anyway, I’m Æthelbera(which means noble bear in Old English) and I live in Canada. I have also felt close to the idea of rewilding and indeed, it’s something thata follows me through everyday life.
Currently, I am working on a degree in archaeology and in linguistics in university in Newfoundland and preparing myself whole-heartedly for the day I decide to rewild.
I am keen on learning about the world and have a deep interest in upper palaeolithic europe. I am an avid slinger and a craftsperson of sorts and plan to travel the world when I have all the “loose ends” tied up securely.
My current hobby is wildcrafting(ethically) and drying/preparing the herbs for teas and medications.
I hope to get a job with green working this summer and pick up archery when I have the money and time to join an archery club nearby.

#645

Welcome Joel, Matthew, Noah, and Æthelbera!

Sorry for the delay in saying hello - this forum has reached its final weeks as a community, and so us moderators have busied ourselves with preparing the next forum that will focus on helping folks start rewild camps and havens.

In the meanwhile, make yourself at home.

#646

Hello, folks, I’m Robb. I’m 33 and I live in what I call “Tacomaaqatsi,” hehe… I guess I was mainly introduced to these ideas when I read Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael novels over 10 years ago, which stirred up a lot within me but I didn’t know what to do with it since no one I knew was thinking along those lines at all (it also didn’t help that I was stoned and drunk all the time). Then, in September of 2008, while casually perusing a local bookstore, I picked up a copy of Endgame, and since then, well, what has happened since then differs depending on which of my loved ones you talk to. Some would say I suffered a near-nervous breakdown, others would say I finally woke up and pulled my head outta my ass. Truthfully, though, I’ve done very little other than read voraciously, harvest a few nettles, hazelnuts, and berries, and build a functioning bowdrill. Oh, and I also talk. A lot. I still struggle with alcoholism and the common depression (I’m sure no one here knows what that’s like, hehe) but I am focused on getting to know the place I live based on its life and living beings, rather than as a grid of dead streets, and I would like to make my life a weapon to help fight for, protect, and restore this place as a web of community. Three times over the last year-and-a-half I’ve almost quit my corporate wage-slave job (I drive dead people to dead funeral homes in a dead van on a dead freeway), but I’ve decided to keep the job for now, although I do not identify myself around it. I often feel paralyzed. I look at my job and my drinking problem in the same light. So, all that being said, I swear I’m not as bleak as it probably sounds, hehe. I am ready to to take this learning beyond speculative theory, and at least try to find a new way to live and identify with the living. So, uh… HI!

#647

Hey Robb,

Welcome to the forum!

#648

Hi Robb nice to meet you! There’s been some threads on alcoholism here in the past you might wanna look them up and see if there’s anything useful for you to take with, or perhaps to add something from yourself to. Im always intersted in this kindof thing because i have/am struggling with that as well even though i have found a much better balance as of late.

take care and have fun here !

#649

Hi Robb, welcome!

#650

Welcome Robb :smiley:

#651

Garth here, read Tom Brown Jr at 19 and fell in love with tracking and survival through my 20’s. Helped raise 2 teenagers in my 30’s . In my 20’s when i just took care of myself i could always look at the western life style and see all the things that i felt destroyed the earth and wilding. In my 30’s i didn’t know a way or felt unable to raise others and not be a part of the western lifestyle i dreaded so much. This caused great pain and at some points depression. The people i love so i didn’t give up.
I felt like a tree standing in the city. i provided shelter, food and tried to filter out the pollution but many storms loosened my roots and to stay rooted sometimes my roots reached for unhealthy sources. I feel my roots are healing more now knowing that all the people i hung out with in my 20’s are still strong and working on changing things. My roots have hit more healthy sources of life lately.
Your friend Garth

#652

Nice to have you here Garth! Nice to have you back. :slight_smile:

#653

Greetings from Michigan!

I started getting into rewilding a year ago. I was searching online (for readings on permaculture, if I remember) and ran across Anthropik. I switched to eating a non-strict paleo diet and have definitely been enjoying the results. I am at the point where my body lets me know if I stray too far from it.

My other big project has been to rewild my lawn. I loathe grass. Well, I take that back – grass is fine and serves a useful niche in the ecosystem. I loathe how we pave over everything with grass like it is the biological equivalent of asphalt. Fortunately, when we stop putting energy into maintaining the grass, it naturally yields to other plants. I am cheering on the violets, clover, and catmint that are taking over bigger and bigger swaths of my yard. I also have deliberately introduced some plants (gifts from friends, family, and neighbors, or things I found growing in the compost pile) and let some spaces just grow as they will.

The sheer variety of plants that are growing now – many of which I stlil do not recognize – means that almost any time during the summer at least one plant or another is doing something colorful. It also draws a fair variety of animals, mostly insects though I did find a toad the other week.

#654

hello Wildgardener,
the garden sounds good.

#655

Welcome!

I hear ya about lawns… I still occasionally get someone from Scott’s come by and try to sucker me into buying their poison. It boggles my mind what they consider a “healthy lawn”…

#656

Welcome WildGardener! Sounds like a fun project!

#657

Hi everyone, my name is Chris. I live in Rhode Island in the town of West Greenwich. I’m 24 years old and I currently live on my parent’s property. This past February - April I conducted an experiment where I stayed in a tent in a wooded portion of the property. I decided to abandon the effort once I really realized that there was an empty bedroom in the house just down the hill that was going to be much more comfortable than the present situation. I had also began having bouts of depression which I believed would be alleviated with comfort, but I have not yet seen substantial results. I have a passion for exploring and understanding the local biodiversity and have been very excited about edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms. Lately I have been experimenting with my own wildcrafting and I have been very pleased with the results. I have a few friends who have a slight interest in these and other rewilding efforts, but they tend to simply say that they would be interested in it, or maybe they will have a discussion about it but when it comes to study or practice the majority seem to prefer to have a smoke or a drink. And while I enjoy a smoke and a drink I feel that my little “experiments” are putting me at a better advantage and that I may end up being responsible for carrying these others or watching them go… Point being I have not yet met many individuals nearby who are on the same page and that gets frustrating. Im sure some of you know the feeling. I’ve kind of been looking into eco-villages or other intentional communities for when I shed my obligations but they seem to feel a bit strange and alien yet. I’ve also been considering carrying my life on my back and wandering the country a bit, you know, really get out there, see the things unseen, do the things undone… to really feel free, tied to nothing but my stomach and my health. That would be an amazing experience and the ultimate goal, we’ll have to see where the trail of life takes me. I like to read, write, sing and dance, play with plants, observe what others do. I like to ride my bike, look at the stars at night and explore natural and vibrant health too. The few of us who understand get together for meetings on the new and full moons and that is just absolutely amazing. Other than that I go to work and I have to drive there, so i have a car :’( but all in due time, all in due time. One step at a time. Until then I will continue to increase my ever expanding understanding of the world about me and my true place within it.

#658

Welcome Chris! Good to have another Rhode Islander on the list! Make sure to check out Rewild New Engand if you’re interested in meeting up with others in the area; we’re likely meeting this Sunday. ;D

#659

Thought I’d re-introduce myself! Glad to see this forum is back, I never really took to the other one.
I am now a ranger in outback Australia and live in a national park a few hours from the nearest town. Besides all the damn tourists, I regularly work with with Aboriginal-Rangers for whom English can be a second or even fourth language. I’ve learnt a fair bit about bush tucker from them already, they are no longer hunter-gatherers, those of working age grew up in missions or outstations, these are pretty terrible places by western standards, but some of them still have knowledge and skills and enjoy using/sharing this when they can. Their culture and way of thinking is very different, would take while to explain, it makes me think about how little those from cities really know about different peoples and that we are not ‘all the same’ as the mantra goes. Anyway I guess I’m a bit less eurocentric these days, I want to learn a lot more about the nature out here as well as traditional skills. I’d still like to get to the boreal north some day as I feel this is where I was designed to live, but I realise that while my skills as a ranger are transferable between areas, many of the traditional skills and knowledge are not.

#660

Lol. Well, re-welcome!