Olson - Unlearn, Rewild: Earth Skills, Ideas and Inspiration for the Future Primitive

Praise for Unlearn, Rewild

Miles Olson is a true radical; that is, he gets to the root of the problemwhich is that we have cut ourselves off from our own innate wildness and are busily trying to domesticate a planet that has a will of its own. The only real solution is to return to a wilder and simpler existence. Olsons pure, clear voice helps us get grounded and get started.

Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, and author of The End of Growth

Unlearn, Rewild is an extraordinary and unconventional survival guide. Olson provides a hands-on manual to break free from enslavement to jobs, bills, and the trap of civilization to rediscover ones true nature.

Thomas J. Elpel, author of Participating in Nature

Miles Olson has asked the all-important but often ignored question about sustainability: what kind of world do we wish to sustain? He then tears up some popular delusions about getting there.

Samuel Thayer, author of The Foragers Harvest

Do the terms human monoculture, technology trap or ecocide resonate with you? Are you going broke but want to live well? Does living outside the system appeal to you? Take this book, written by a professional dropout/escape artist, as you make your own escape. Along with philosophy (for attitude adjustment) it covers scavenging road kill, which grubs are good to eat and most everything else you need to know to go feral safely and in style.

Dmitry Orlov, author of Reinventing Collapse and The Five Stages of Collapse, ClubOrlov.com

Unlearn, Rewild

Miles Olson

Copyright 2012 by Miles Olson. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh. Images: iStock

First printing July 2012.

New Society Publishers acknowledges the support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86571-721-3

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-55092-517-3

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Unlearn, Rewild should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.

To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada

(250) 247-9737

This book is intended to be educational and informative. It is not intended to serve as a guide. The author and publisher disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk that may be associated with the application of any of the contents of the book.

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Olson, Miles

Unlearn, rewild / Miles Olson.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-86571-721-3

1. Wilderness survival. 2. Subsistence hunting. 3. Wild foods. 4. Sustainable living. 5. Self-reliance.

I. Title.

GV200.5.047 2012613.6'9C2012-903703-6

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. The interior pages of our bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council-registered acid-free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine free, and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC-registered stock. New Society also works to reduce its carbon footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com

This book would not exist had I not been the incredibly fortunate member of a community of rewilding humans over the past seven years. To all of the amazing people that make up this scattered clan of orphans, thank you.

My deepest gratitude to all of the friends and family that have supported me as a dropout and neer-do-well. In particular, Milota, an amazing comrade with whom I realized some of my wildest dreams. Lonnie and Levon, my brothers, thank you both for being there. My parents, for teaching me to live with integrity and think for myself, though not realizing where that might lead. A special thanks to Kevin Hodgson, for reminding me who I am and blowing the ember that became this book into flame. To Daniel, for getting Miles into the woods as you say, and being a friend through the ages. A thousand golden sun salutations to Jessi Junkin, whose care, love and comradery kept me warm and inspired while writing this. To the countless others that have shared love, pain, honesty, laughter and inspiration with me, thank you.

To the bats of Maurelle Island, the porcupines of Tagish, the countless blacktail deer, the Pentlatch River, the red alders, the cougars and many others who share ancient wisdom and make this world alive, thank you.

This book is part philosophical treatise, part survival guide, part post-industrial living manual, part invitation to connect in a deep, meaningful way with the land. An invitation to heal ourselves and the Earth and bridge the gap between wildness and human existence. It is the result of many years spent living in the woods, at the edge of a small city with a group of friends in cabins that we built from scavenged materials on land we squatted. Years spent learning how to live intimately on the land, coming from a time and place where weve had to start from scratch, with no roots, no elders, no intact culture or teachers to guide us. Many hard lessons have been learned through trial and error.

This is a distillation of the most pertinent skills and ideas that have blossomed as a result, written largely by the warmth of fire and the glow of lamplight, in a homey squat that allowed us to bring some of our wildest dreams alive.

It takes for granted that humans want to live meaningful lives, that we want to live with integrity and that we dont want to kill the planet. That for the human animal to be sane, we need to have deep connections to the Earth. It is about action. More than just food for thought, these pages offer strategies, skills and ideas for changing our lives.

I have divided it into two parts, the first, Ideas, and the second, Endangered Skills.

The reason for this is that without a healthy context to practice them in, these skills are at best pointless, at worst destructive. Likewise, if philosophy doesnt translate into action, it is useless. You cant have one without the other.

This book presents a challenge. It asks us to look at hard truths. To look at how deep our collective problems really are. To not be distracted or dissuaded by industrial societys sad attempts to fake a transition to green energy and a seamless march towards a sustainable new world. To grapple with the problem of civilization at its roots, and our place within that problem. It also extends an invitation to rewildto become part of the dance of this living land. To build independence and autonomy from the system, stepping into interconnectedness with non-humans and humans alike. To look at ourselves, our relationships and all of life through undomesticated eyes. To heal broken land, minds and hearts.