An Introduction to Shelter

Picture - debris hut


Let's begin in the wild. I'm wandering on a trail, the sun's out its hot, I find a patch of shade and sit down.
The first thing I've done is look for shelter and that's the first thing we'll cover in our course in solutions to living with a positive impact.
There are few of us today who can say I like that grassy spot there I think that's where I'll build my home without having to consider a large transaction of money, but it was possible once.
I'd like to encourage us to consider this freedom that all of mankind once enjoyed, to roam where we wished, to owe nothing to no man. In fact I will be urging you to explore this freedom in every area of your life. I believe it is one of our most prescious possesions - that freedom to choose.
I have experienced many different homes in my life. It is rare that I've known one place for longer than a year. When I was once working in London I stayed in twenty different places in one six week period, The longest being a weeks stay in a friends flat. I had no time off to look for a flat as I was working in two jobs and discovered myself with only one saturday off in a month.
I am an Advanced Bushcraft teacher and so I know how to build the most primitive of shelters and have a comfortable nights sleep. I have gained much joy from nights spent in my hammock swinging under the trees, looking up through the branches and being lulled to sleep by the sound of the wind through the leaves.
So here we will look at some simple ways that shelters are built throughout the world and in different habitats. Which I will post over the following days.
Not all of us have what I consider to be the luxury of wild camping and some people would consider it to be the burden of poverty to live in such shelter. For many of us in what are termed 'developed' countries we have the options of a room, a bedsit/flat or house. Some of us don't even have those options and must lie in the street in damp sleeping bags on bits of cardboard. Where we live is governed and limited to our means and many of us are feeling the pressure of rising property prices in an uncomfortable way.
There are other options and by the end of this course, if we learn to keep our minds and hearts open perhaps we can create even more options.
I must remind you that this is a journey I am also taking, so we'll see what kind of success I have, using the knowlege I am going to share.

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tags - shelter, freedom, homelessness, debris hut, alternative, property, prices, mortgages, survival, sustainable living