Course Photos
Most of our courses are located in Castlewellan Forestpark, Castlewellan, Co.Down. The scenery and views are absolutely stunning. When you enter the forestpark, you are greeted by this castle. The castle is built right beside a big lake.
Although we change sites within the forestpark, the picture on the left is taken from the site we generally use. In the foreground the Mongolian Gher Anthonio built to accomodate his courses, next to the Wild-Live Landrover. The view is of the Mourne Mountains. Isn't it stunning?
During the evenings (And sometimes during part of the night) we have a fire lit inside the Gher. Though it can be smoky if the firewood is not properly selected. It is generally nice and homely inside. This view also shows you the way the walls of the gher are built.
During some of the courses, a deer (cull-victim) is skinned and butchered. All parts of the deer are used during the course. We roast part of the venison, stew more of it, and make jerkey (dried meat) out of the rest. The jaws are turned into saws, and the bones etc. used for various implements.
As mentioned before, We use every part of the deer or wild-life we butcher. In this image you can see thin strips of venison, drying around the fire. This will then become "Jerkey"
In this image, the hide is prepared for the process of "braintanning". Holes are punctured, so the fleshed hide can be strung within a frame to facilitate easy scraping.
A lot of other skills are tought not least of them pottery. In this instance, the students produced a number of clay pots and bowls, which were fired in a pit with the help of sawdust and a LOT of wood.
You will also learn how to make various glues and adhesives from the materials around us. The picture on the left shows Pine-resin being melted in a clay bowl. This will then be filtered and mixed with finely ground charcoal.
You will also learn how to make traps and various hunting tools. Pictured on the left is a "Father-Son" bow. It is carved out of green wood, but has a lot of power nonetheless
In Primitive Living 2, no modern tools or equipment are allowed. This means we have to burn a large bowl out of wood in order to boil water using hot rocks.
