ReWilding

ReWilding Fundamentals

ReWilding Fundamentals

Rewilding is a process for creating humans who can live in a healthful, truly sustainable manner, in close connection with their local landscape (i.e., as part of the wild ecology).  It is a trajectory that anyone can follow, regardless of where they live.

Traits of Hunter-Gatherer Diets

Traits of Hunter-Gatherer Diets

Hunter-gatherers serve as wonderful models for examining the food habits of humans.  Not only has hunting and gathering been practiced since long before anatomically modern humans appeared, but the people that practiced this method of food acquisition represented some of the healthiest people on the planet (those that were still consuming their traditional diet and had ample space to practice their diet and lifestyle).

The Zen of Cheap Stuff

The Zen of Cheap Stuff

Most everyone recognizes that there is truth to saying “you get what you pay for”.  For the most part, cheaper products don’t function as well as higher priced goods.  Further, products made with cheaper materials don’t last as long and are more likely to be defective and/or break sooner than the higher priced items.

Domestication and the Concurrent Loss of Responsibility

Domestication and the Concurrent Loss of Responsibility

If people were to examine the lives of wild animals, they would clearly see that these organisms are responsible for every aspect of their lives—acquiring nutrition, keeping warm, avoiding predators, rearing young, and so on.  If we contrast this with farm animals, we see a completely different existence.

Venison, By Any Name, Is A Real Food

Venison, By Any Name, Is A Real Food

Venison, called otuhkey (pronounced uh-doo-KAY) by one indigenous group of Maine, is a red meat that presents a different flavor than beef.  Some describe it as “gamey”, though I would politely argue it simply tastes different.

Why I’m Learning an Indigenous Language

Why I’m Learning an Indigenous Language

Many people who have read any of my posts recently have seen occasional use of a local indigenous language.  This language, Peskotomuhkati-latuwewakon (Passamaquoddy Language), was historically spoken by 20,000 people in eastern Maine and western New Brunswick prior to European contact.

Walking the (Medicine) Talk

Walking the (Medicine) Talk

I found the black-legged tick on my body two days ago.  The problem with all of this, of course, is that this species of tick carries a spirochete (a kind of bacterium) called Borrelia burgdorferi that is responsible for Lyme Disease.

Why Do The Powerful Healing Plants Always Hail From Distant Lands?

Why Do The Powerful Healing Plants Always Hail From Distant Lands?

Briefly, eight people travel to the Amazon rain forest and spend one month with curanderos (similar in many respects to a shaman) to be healed of their ailments (ranging from depression to cancer).