Hey all,
Despite tough economic times, I’m probably going to buy Coyote’s Guide when it goes on sale tomorrow. But there are few comments that Urban Scout made awhile back that I’m going to keep in mind as I read it.
http://www.rewild.info/conversations/index.php?topic=1024.15
Rewilding means un-doing domestication, which means dismantling civilization through re-encouraging biodiversity. While these schools can, as you said before, "support" someone-who-rewilds, they are not set in the context of rewilding because they miss the intention. Any civilized asshole can learn bird language, primitive skills, animal tracking (just go to Rabbitstick or the Navy Seals). The context of why changes everything. It has nothing to do with "evangelicalism" is has to do with understanding how and why civilization fundamentally destroys the planet and how living indigenously does not. It has to do with understanding the power-structures of civilization and indigenous societies and how to get more of what we want. You cannot teach sustainability without this context. Wilderness awareness and Primitive skills do not lead to sustainability. [b]The point being; even the first civilizations had primitive tools and wilderness awareness and permaculture and skin on frame boats. [/b] In order to teach sustainability, you have to teach the philosophy and science behind rewilding. That is what defines rewilding. That is why rewilding is different than primitive skills, different than wilderness survival, different than permaculture, different than wilderness awareness, different than "getting back to nature", etc. While those elements have to do with rewilding, rewilding refers to a rather large cultural context for using those skills. Without understanding the difference in context, you make the term rewilding just another buzz word for getting back to nature. It loses all meaning and continues to perpetuate civilized mythology.
These schools do not teach the history of civilization and how/why agriculture is destroying the planet, nor how indigenous horticulture/hunter/gatherers encouraged biodiversity and egalitarianism. This information is paramount to understanding rewilding and understanding stewardship. So what if you know what berries are edible? Do you know when and how to harvest them so there will be more growth the following year? So what if you know that information if civilization is going to bulldoze it all next year.
Rewilding refers to a context of ecological principles that challenge the mythology of civilization. Without that context of ecological principles, the skills take on the dominant cultures mythological context and therefore, have little to do with rewilding. For example, permaculture people don’t practice permaculture to rewild, they practice permaculture to save civilization. As long as people hold on to civilization, the more chance it has to deplete the biodiversity we have left.
And…
By the way, Willem and I teach a Rewilding 101 class if any of you'd ever want to integrate that into your curriculum's.
What would the general outline of a Rewilding 101 look like? Do they touch on a rewilding 101 philosophy in Coyote’s Guide?
Take care,
Curt
