LIVING OFF THE LAND - SURVIVING in NATURE

As a kid I've been fascinated about making fire without matches. I believed it to be a kind of mystery how people could do that and I just wanted to work that out for myself. It's not that hard, you just have to know how. 35 years of my now 41 years I've been living in a city. I come from modern culture and I'm transitioning into something much simpler. I just need a few good tools, a few good clothes and that's all. I wouldn't say I'm in a midlife crisis. If I wouldn't do what I'm doing I might be in a midlife crisis because my life would feel a bit dull. Rewilding for me means reversing our domestication. It means getting out of the house, getting comfortable in all sorts of weather, getting comfortable moving with our own bodies. It means becoming vital, strong, healthy again. And it means simply connecting with nature. I find it incredibly hard not to be out there for most of my time. I could just go bush and live there and if I didn't have a family that's what I would do. But because I want to be with them and they need money, because they don't live like I do, I have to earn money. Optimal performance, optimale performance, optimal performance characteristics in a very small package. I'm a voice actor so I record scripts. It's mostly corporate narration. I sit in front of computers and I'm in a tiny booth completely cut off from nature. I am making use of modern technology. At the same time I don't want to miss the other world so I'm moving in between. At the moment this is the place that's the right place for me in the middle of these worlds and kind of almost trying to mediate between the two. Two years ago I started hunting, I started gathering. I really get to know the plants, I get to know them when they grow, where they grow, in which part of the year I'll find what. A big staple is what we call weeds. They've got a lot more nutrients than anything you can get in the supermarket. And I can really feel it in my body. After a few months of eating weeds there is a vitality that I haven't recognized before. People have difficulties relating to what I'm doing. My boy especially is, he's not keen on being outside too much. He likes being inside and I just have to respect that. I'm not at all trying to kind of force my kids into my footsteps. They have to go their own way and everyone else have to find their ways. I just need to live the life that feels best for me and is my life. Being out here now feels like a really big relief. When I'm in the middle of the nowhere on my own I recognize I'm tiny, I'm fragile and I am part of this amazingly beautiful and connected web of other beings. I would completely miss it if I stopped. My life has found purpose and there's amazing freedom in that. To all of you who have contributed, for those of you who've shared our films, for those of you who have written our comments, this journey is just beginning. And we've put a Patreon link below our films so if you would like to continue to support us we'd love for you to donate below. Thanks so much.