Last week I attended a ‘Wild Things’ bush craft course and learned how to light a fire correctly. How to light a fire

We also learned some knife / carving skills but I don’t plan to use them with any class I ever teach!!

We also learned how to make cord from raffia

1. take a long and wide piece of raffia

2. dampen it in water

3. fold the strip in half  then adjust the lengths so the narrower end is about 5cm longer than the thicker end.

4. poke a rigid stick – no thicker than your thumb and about 30 cm long- into the sol.

5. sit down and loop your raffia around the stick.

6. hole a piece of raffia in each hand. keep the left hand still but twist the raffia in your right hand.

7. pass the twisted strip over the flat strip and swap hands. continue….

you can use treated nettles for this. Textiles are made using hemp, bamboo, linen, cotton, sisal and barks e.g. redwood bark. You can join in new lengths of raffia by twisting them on.