Heya Bikerdruid! Wellmet !
Sounds like there’s alot you can tell us. Looking forward.
Take care!
Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. I look forward to getting to know you and learn from one another.
Hey everyone:
I haven’t read all of the introductions (I’ve read a fair sample), but I’m guessing I have a little bit of a different story. I’m a 40+ year-old lawyer. I’ve been practicing for more than ten years here in New England. I’m guessing that most people in our culture would consider me to be successful. I don’t expect that most of you would be impressed with my accomplishments though.
Anyway, I’m sorry to say that I saw this economic meltdown coming. Specifically, in 2005-2006 I was closing loans by the boat-load with terms that were absolutely crazy. I knew then that we were in trouble. I began thinking about what I would do when the crash happened, but I didn’t really prepare myself, personally, or financially speaking. I didn’t really trust my instincts, I guess.
When AIG began to implode last September, I began to see things much clearer. I knew in right then, and I know now, that we are in deep, deep trouble. I know that you all probably saw these things before me. I know that I’m a little late to the party.
So, last fall I began to develop all kinds of contingency plans. I have 3-day survival plan. I have a three-month survival plan. I’ve been buying supplies. I’ve been learning survival skills. I’ve been preparing for the potential breakdown of law and order. I have a plan just in case I’m wrong and law and order continues. I also read George Ure’s blog urbansurvival.com every morning over copious amount of coffee.
On the other hand, I’ve been trying to re-focus my law practice on the emerging area of renewable energy. I’ve been amercing myself in technologies like solar, geothermal and wind turbines. I’m hoping to develop a renewable energy installation company here in my community. In other words, I’m not all doom and gloom. I think that human beings have a tremendous ability to overcome adversity. I also know that we enjoy a tremendous abundance of wealth in this country, and we have tremendous resources–both natural and intellectual. We have a lot more infrastructure and human ingenuity than most people imagine. I think that an economic collapse, alone, may just bring out the best in us all.
On a day to day basis, I’m usually pretty cynical. I’m not proud of that. Perhaps I’ve just seen a lot more of the darker side of human nature than most. But, in order to survive, and build a sustainable future, I think that we need to rely more on our better nature and stop the politics of fear and scarcity. We need to cultivate a new spirit of cooperation somehow. I think personal human connections are absolutely key.
From a philosophical standpoint, I think that our very existence does violence to every other living thing on this planet. We are all in competition for resources on an individual level. This is our base nature and instinct, but we do not have to succumb that. We can choose to live sustainably. That choice may be forced upon us.
I don’t know if any of that makes sense. I just thought I’d share.
Wow, fellow New Englanders seem to be coming out of the woodwork! About time!
Welcome, Veritas!
Please check out the link to Rewild New England in my signature if you’re interested in meeting others in the area, or just chatting via email.
Thanks for sharing your story, Veritas. When I read your comment about how philosophically you believe that our very existence renders violence on all living things I was reminded of something Derrick Jensen wrote in Endgame that really struck me. To paraphrase, he says that when people make a claim that humans are inherently destructive and unsustainable they are forgetting about wild (uncivilized) humans who have lived sustainably (as near as we can figure) for thousands upon thousands of years. Whether or not you agree with the premise that wild humans have lived sustainably, it is at least a valid point that we tend to equate humanity with civilized humanity exclusively, forgetting about non-civilized humanity almost entirely.
It reminds me that the world IS NOT a zero sum game, we’ve only completely made them up. I.E. utter competition only lies in the realm of human creation.
I don't expect that most of you would be impressed with my accomplishments though.
Heck, I am! I think it is a real accomplishment that you -survived- the law world enough to be cognizant that something fishy was going on. That is impressive.
I hope you find what you need here.
Greetings to all! I’m Dan, currently residing in the quaint town of Wenatchee Washington. Born into a financially challenged southern family, I grew up with a connection to primitive living due mostly to the need to produce what we needed rather than purchase. It was a life I despised until I struck out on my own and learned the true nature of civilization as most know it. now I find myself drawn back to a simple life.
I, like many youth, enlisted in the armed forces (Air Force) right out of high school, traveled the world, and experienced many interesting ways of life. After too much travel for someone that never traveled much as a child, I decided to settle. Since I am here it should be obvious that I’m still not content.
“Civilized” existence usually translates to sacrificing my life and labor for the profit of others. While life offers some minor comforts in exchange, the growing desire to disengage from civilization is building up within.
Unless you are currently disengaged from civilization(in which case you wouldn’t be reading this), then you are aware of the growing economic meltdown that is occurring. I am all too aware of it since I am one of it’s many (VERY MANY) victims. Unemployed since October 1st of 2008, I have depleted my savings, downsized my life to the minimal point acceptable by civilized society, yet still cannot continue. I currently face a decision… do I attempt to remain within civilized society in a state of complete destitution, living wherever and however I can? Or do I invest my very few hundred remaining dollars to equipping myself, and step out of civilization?
I have the skills to survive quite well on my own, and definitly the desire to. However I also feel that human beings are social creatures by nature, so my greatest fear is the weight of lonlyness.
If I remain in society, whatever public assistance I receive (if any) will simply be assistance that will be denied to another, due to limited availability, and most likely someone who cannot exist outside of society.
I would appreciate you advice and thoughts, but do please hurry. I must make my decision within the next 5 days… No thats not a joke… for to go beyond that 5 days would require me to spend the few hundred dollars I have left…
Hey Dan!
First of all, id advise against rewilding on your own. Like you said we are social animals and do well in tribes. Finding a “real” tribe seems to be the greatest issue for many of us. I personally don’t believe i can just hook up with any group of strangers, having the entire weight of the tribe hanging on a few threads of abstract ideas.
If its at all possible, hook up with people. Craft some deep friendships, invest some in this. Go deep with them. You know don’t say “forget it” come first signs of trouble. This is where to me it all starts.
Friends and family. These are the people that im attuned to. People i could be in a fight with and still do well on a hunt. if you get my drift. Then get ready with them…
take care…
Dan, its great to meet you,
I’m crazed at how outspoken you are on your beliefs, I hope it will lead to some great conversation and information sharings in future 
Dylan
Brangus is kindava joke for all you city slickers who don’t know. It’s a cross between an Angus and a Brahma bovine. I grew up looking at their back ends herding them wherever on the back of a horse. My family never owned a ranch, they just serfed for them. My dad was a ranch hand, which meant he did everything from punching doggies to fixing the hay baler. My mom cooked and cut hay. We lived on maybe 40 or so ranches by the time I graduated high school.
I became convinced that civilization itself is the threat just like most, reading the great bearded ones. (I’m not sure Jensen has a beard). That and seeing for myself what ranching and mining does to the land. (I worked in a gold mine and in the oil fields). Talking with native People solidified my conviction. When I came to these conclusions, I was living in Tennessee on a queer commune, in the woods. I was reading about forest gardening in the tradition of the People there; that more photons are converted to usable calories there in the Southeastern Forest than anywhere else on earth save the Amazon Basin. It really excited me at the time, all sorts of possibilities right? Well, no in fact. First of all, its not a Forest, its some woods that have been clear-cut three, maybe four times. Second a Forest is 1 million contiguous acres at least, not cut up with roads and development which prevents the trees from communicating with each other biochemically. Third and most problematic, private property reigns supreme in the East. Despair set in and I planted a fucking garden.
Then somebody told me about this wild desert thing in Nevada named Finisia Medrano and her quest to plant wildflowers, edible native wildflowers to be exact. Now, I’d been to camp and knew there was a desert potato or some shit growing sparsely out in the sagebrush, but no, this was much more. Breadroot. Literal bread sticks in the ground. I stole a car and headed back home. (Home means Nevada, home means the hills, home means the sage and the pine…) When I met up with her, Finisia and her girlfriend at the time were camped on the side of the road with a full team of horses and a wagon atop Bob Scott summit, Austin Nevada. It was September, into pine nut season, but the nuts were sparse that year. I spent two weeks with her down at some hot springs and she showed me breadroot and bitteroot and a lot more. Then I went off to drive truck for a year, gearing up to head to the Hoop.
Now here I am, in Caliente NV waiting for a package with more stuff than I need already. Fin’s down on the Moapa River Paiute rez fixin’ some genocide. I’m going out to Beaver Dam state park where the roots should be thick, heading North to Idaho and Root Festival.
Well met Brangus! As I mentioned in another thread, I look forward to meeting you at Root Festival, and I really appreciate hearing your story.
Greetings everyone!
I have been lurking on this forum since last year, so I think it’s about time I introduce myself. But first off, I’d like to say that this forum, you people, have had a great influence on how I see the world today, reading thru the topics has been a real eye opener… yeah, I was pretty blind to start off, but getting there.
So, I am Ketahko, a Finn (the only one here?) Not much rewilding going on around here, atleast as far as I can tell, but things always take their time coming to my part of the world. I was quite at loss a few years back, so started to question the system, and that eventually led me here. I lead a pretty stressfull life, not much time to learn any skills, so my progress is slow, but I am hoping I will be able to start to do some serious work regarding primitive skills this summer. I have always been a forest dweller, so starting should be pretty easy. I hope I will be able to contribute to this forum, but I am pretty allergic to computers at the moment, so we shall see. And I do hope you will forgive my grammar, English is not my first languageX)
Hauska tutustua Ketahko! Puhun tosi vähän suomea 
!
I have lived in Rovaniemi a couple of years ago. I miss the land with its trees and lakes. Say would you help me learn some more finnish again? It’s been a while…and its such a very interesting language !
welcome and take care!
Hi! My name is Joe, I’m 46 & I live in Massachusetts. I’ve come to primitivism & rewilding after a lifetime of searching for answers to a lot of questions & problems in my life. I’ve done a ton of research on these topics & (I think) very closely related ones, & I think I have some very important things to contribute to the rewilding movement.
When I first discovered anarcho-primitivism, it seemed very much like a political movement, & a rather militant one at that. But the deeper I went into this stuff, & especially after reading the work of Jean Liedloff & E. Richard Sorenson, my view of rewilding has changed. I now believe that the essence of rewilding is not primarily political or technological; it’s primarily psychological & emotional. Basically, I believe that the essence of the civilized state is that we have lost touch with our animal instincts, & the essence of rewilding is getting back in touch with those instincts.
I’m also feeling very frustrated, angry, depressed & desperate. It’s getting harder & harder for me to live in civilized society, & I feel like I really need to find some refuge from it & some new friends who really understand what I’ve been going through & share my thoughts & feelings about it.
I’m looking forward to making some new friends here & having some stimulating & enlightening discussions.
I’m telling you, something here in New England is turning everyone primitivist (or maybe just bringing them all out!).
Welcome, Joe! If you’re interested, some of us from the Rewild New England list (see link in my signature) are going to be getting together in Boston this Friday.
You pretty much said it. Once your eyes are opened to what civilization really is you wonder how you ever saw it for anything other than the oppressive prison that it is. And I’d say anger and desperation are probably appropriate responses. At least I hope they are appropriate responses. I feel pretty angry and desperate myself about the civilization issue. The good news (for me, at least) is that the flip side of the coin is that once you realize that civilization is the problem then you start to see that there is actually something outside of civilization. And my hope is that this community, virtual though it may be, can help and support us all in returning to our wild birthright.
Hello, my name is Roy, I’m 23. Ehh, I’v grown up in the mountains and on the sea here in Norway, and decided that I’m simply not interested in civilization when I was 15-16 or so. Still live in it though, currently trying to find a way of dropping out without alienating my friends and family.
Spend most of my time collecting knowlegde and digesting it.
Whew, I just went through 42 pages of intoductions, looking hard for people from Europe… found around 10! Most of you seem to be from Portland. Sometimes I wonder if I should get my ass to USA, so much more going on there…
Anyway, I’m Ronja from Finland, been into rewilding for about a year. I’m thinking about going to study in Bäckedal in Sweden next fall, it’s the most primitive school in Europe I guess.
I ache for a real family, a tribe. It’s a basis for life I feel empty without. Having people to love you and to love makes life so beautiful instead of just mundane work. I’m looking for rewilders to get to know, anywhere in Europe.
Everyone from Europe, I’d like to contact with you and organize stuff. One project I’m intrested about is creating a Teaching Drum-style school to Europe, that would also be a community.
I’m organizing Rikkaruoho, an ecoanarchist gathering in Helsinki in May, more about it in the events section, come there!
I blog www.savagemeetskeypad.blogspot.com
and artsy around www.tendertentacles.deviantart.com
I often find myself thinking about humans’ need of love and close relationships, about honesty, tenderness and sexuality. I feel I need a lot of love and attention. I also feel love and lust for almost everyone I meet, which has sometimes led to difficult situations. I’m polyamorous, trying to become more respectful towards others in being that.
Well there are some people from up north (scandinavian countries) here and i have the feeling there are even much more out there not on this forum.
Im from the Netherlands myself but have lived a little north of Rovaniemi for almost 1 1/2 years. I miss the forests.
I think taking care and creating of community is the most important rewilding skill and the most difficult one at that. Here lies peraps our biggest challenge.
Organizing stuff in europe sounds way cool. Its hard for me to really get out and “dirty” because i live in the middle of the urban jungle and it really does seem all the rewilders are in portland. Having places to go in europe is good. I missed poland last year which sucks.
Sounds like you know yourself pretty well, thats good, it helps finding a place where you fit in.