Foresters Workshop

November 12, 2022

Today we attended our first foresters workshop, hosted by Sylvan Thorncraft in Scarborough, Maine. We worried about rainy weather left over from a hurricane moving up the coast, but by noon the skies were clear, if windy. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at the workshop, but it was lovely. A small, intimate gathering, relaxed, and focused on skill building.

Several folks practices primitive fire making with flint and steel. There are several details to pay attention to, first of which is the type of char you use to catch a spark. Based on today’s experience, charred cotton terry cloth or charred punk wood work best. Charred linen or cotton was too thin to hold a spark for long. Ground chaga took time to nurture to build a flame. Amadou (a layer carved from from tinder fungus, boiled in water, and pounded thin) only took a super-hot spark from a ferro rod; the flint-and-steel spark wasn’t hot enough to take. Also important is the size and quality of your tinder bundle: super light and dry, and more is better. In addition, have your wood set up in place, small to larger, with more ready to add. With guidance from experienced foresters, along with equal measures of patience and perseverance, several folks were able to get fires started with flint and steel.

Others did campfire cooking, including bannock, stew, venison, and carrots. On my list of things to master is managing a steady supply of coals for cooking, but I wasn’t inspired to work on that today. Next time I’ll bring my own fire pit to work on it.

We held a short Foresters Court, where three of us took the Foresters Oath. We also brainstormed more ideas for skill building, including: tying knots, setting up tarps in different configurations, managing cooking coals, and making cordage and baskets. So much to learn and master! I look forward to future workshops.