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Communities of Rewilding
#1

Not sure if this is the right thread but here it goes…

I am studying in a wilderness guide course. The reason why I applied was to learn more about wilderness. Previously I had thought about going to Teaching Drum, but lord almighty it is expensive! So, this is the poorwomans solution. While the emphasis is completely different from that in TD, I have learned alot during the past year. Now I am even comfortable sleeping in a quinzhee when it’s -36 degrees celcius outside. While we have had a lot great expeditions, the gore of the education has been on customer service.

So to the next topic, we have to do pratical training (free labour slave work) as part of our education. I have been in contact with some wilderness companies, but they are all about pampering tourist, which of course is their main income, but I dont think I want to do that for a very long period of time. I would like to go do my training in a place where I could be outside most of the time learning wilderness skills, maybe its too much to ask but I have to try it anyway ;D So if anybody on this forum knows anybody or anything (anywhere!) of a place that could have an enthusiastic learner for a few months or more, I would appreciate the info. Otherwise I guess I will just have to go work on another husky farm. (Not to complain, but imagine the bark!)

#2

i can’t help with a job, but i am interested in the wilderness guide program that you are studying. i’m currently comparing schools and programs. thanks!

#3

The place where the course is held is Kuru, a very small town of 3000 people, some 50 kms north from Tampere. There are many wilderness guide programs in Finland, but this is the only one held in English, so there are people all over the world, I heard that on the next course there are some from Tasmania and Belgium atleast.
Application ends in april I think, the duration of the course will be 10 months. It is 15 months now, but they decided to make it shorter because not enough people were applying. It was only 10 months long before too, and ex students have said that they have been really busy in the spring with all the tests and assingments but if you are hard working you can make it.
If you want to live in a dorm, the rent will 85 euros per month. For us it is only 80, I dont know why they raised it. A couple of guys on the course 10 years ago lived in a yurt the whole duration of the course, so if you want to save in rent, anythings is possible. But note that the winters here get really cold and snowy so a good shelter is a must.
There used to be website for this course, but then the IT guys started to make a new one, so now there is none. The course fee for the year is 350 euros.
I would not recommend this course, as I cant recommend anything I wouldnt do again, but if your wilderness skills are of basic levels, you will learn new things. You will also get a foothold in the industry, if that is what you want. And oh yeah, the expeditions are really great! Of course it all depends what kind of people there are, there has been fistfights before, but not on my class. We only lost 2 students and the rest are gold.
The teachers can be a bit weird, especially the other one, who is a kind of a closed book kind of guy, but they have been working as wilderness guides so they know stuff. Again, how much you learn depends totally on you.
If you want more info, I can give you the email address of my teacher.

I hope this helps you making a choise :wink: