Our focus is to provide top quality primitive skills classes instructed by experienced professional primitive technologists. It could be said that primitive skills are not primitive at all and that to master even one skill is a lifetime goal for most people. Our ancestors practiced these skills in order to survive and did so from a very early age. However, if there are indeed any skills that could be considered truly "primitive" they would be the ability to make fire, twist fiber and shape flint. It is largely the essence of these skills which are combined to produce all others and are essential ingredients to life from the paleolithic. This is why time is taken at the very beginning of an Earthskills Rendezvous event to address these core skills, and they are offered as the foundation for many classes throughout the week. Each evening there is a chance to experience ancestral life ways by attending the council fire where the ancient art of storytelling is revived or dancing to the rhythm of drum, didgeridoo, and other primal instruments played by top quality musicians. This list is representative of some of the skills you can expect to study at Earthskills Rendezvous.
- Fire making
- Open Hearth Cooking
- Pottery
- Blacksmithing
- Flintknapping
- Bone and Antler Tools
- Stone Tools
- Weaving and Textiles
- Cordage and Twining
- Netting
- Basketry
- Knots
- Knife Sharpening
- Nature Awareness
- Edible and Medicinal Plant Harvesting
- Slings
- Bolas
- Rabbit-sticks
- Bows and Arrows
- Atl-atls and Darts
- Treen
- Traps and Snares
- Spears
- Primitive Cookery
- Soap making
- Natural Dyes
- Useful Wild Plants
- Pitch Sticks
- Primitive Shelters/Structures
- Blowguns
- Indigenous Musical Instruments
- Hide Tanning
- Clothing and Adornments
- Moccasin making
- Tribal Life
- Tribal Games and Sports
- Tracking and Stalking
- Sustainability