Hunter-Gatherer Apprenticeship
This apprenticeship program is for beginners of a rewilding lifestyle and those beginners who are interested in living at Wilder Waters Community one day.
You will learn practical skills of a hunter-gatherer life-way, including but not limited to: botany, foraging, bowhunting, fishing, hide-tanning, friction fire, flint-knapping, bow-making, primitive cooking, animal processing, herbal medicine, natural history, fiber arts, tracking, and nature observation.
Botany will be a major focus for all apprentices because it is a foundational skill for many other skills; you must be able to identify plants to craft a bow-drill, to forage food or medicine, to create cordage, etc.
We will also be learning and discussing the ‘softer’ skills of communal living, awareness, village-mindedness, and ancestral child-rearing among others.
seasonality
Your specialized program will be tailored to the time of year and the seasonal activities of the community.
This is the ultimate place-based instruction so you will be learning and doing what is important for each season of the year. This requires flexibility, determination, an open mind, and a lot of philosophical discussion over our shared meals. Please see below for some example moons and its corresponding activities.
your instructor
Arthur Haines
Registered Maine Recreation, Fishing, & Hunting Guide.
M.S. Botany & Plant Pathology.
Skills include: foraging, bow-making, fiber arts, friction fire, hide-tanning, flint-knapping, fishing, hunting, primitive cooking, herbal medicine, tracking.
Cost
MINI-SEMESTER (28 DAYS OR ONE MOON)
$2,300—includes instruction, camp site, compost toilet outhouse, shower, kitchen & laundry access.
SEMESTER (84 DAYS OR THREE MOONS)
$6,300—includes instruction, camp site, compost toilet outhouse, shower, kitchen & laundry access.
Optional add-ons:
$400/moon—bedroom rental in communal house
$300/moon—cabin rental
$1,000/moon—for each additional adult family member
Children are encouraged to join and are free of cost!
Although we will all be foraging, hunting, and fishing frequently and sharing in the harvest of such activities, which will supplement your diet (more or less depending on the time of year), you will be expected to provide your own food during the program.