UPCOMING COURSES
Knapp, Trap and Track
Come and experience the sound of dark glossy flint being knapped, tune into the land and learn which animals might be in the area and turn your hand to whittling your own traps that are tried and tested through out the ages. Channel your ancestors’ wisdom!
This course shall cover:
-Flint Knapping Basics
-Trap Making
-Learning Animal Signs
-Plant Identification
-Honouring the Earth!
During this course we shall cover an introduction to flint knapping where the participants will make their own scrapers, and learn how to knock off sharp flakes that can be used as knives. These tools will come into use throughout the day and can be used to help make the traps.
We shall also cover coppicing wood sustainably and draw upon regenerative indigenous land management practices. Participants will then make their own traps including the Mojave scissor trap and the figure of four trap. Safe knife practice will be taught.
We shall also cover cordage making, the laws and ethics of traps, where we would theoretically place one, and set them up to see if we can set them off with sticks!
No animals will be trapped as it's illegal unless in a true survival situation. The day is about learning where you would trap with your own tools that you can make to live off the land under different circumstances.
Sustainability and regenerative practices will be at the forefront of the day and we shall be reciprocal with the lliving world.
Costs and booking:
£70 (have expendable income)
£80 (Finically secure)
Limited concession spaces available, email to enquire
To book on, contact Luke (Kael) on:
kael.ancestralskilss@gmail.com or 07517952182
In Depth Bow Drill Craft
With wood, stone and a bow, embers will be created and made into fires, using what the living natural world provides freely. Fire by friction workshops tap into our ancestral side and honours the elements and earth!
This training session will focus on making Stone Age Bow Drill Kits. The participants will learn how to interact with particular trees that lends themselves and help us with fire by friction. We will explore how to harvest the materials and make your own bow drill kit (from wood already harvested) and how to find the right wood, we shall go over techniques that makes the method more likely to make an ember (and a fire). We will spend time shaping stones for our handle, and make a rawhide string to complete an authentic Stone Age bow drill kit.
We will cover:
Suitable Woods for Bow Drill
Stone Handle and Rawhide String
Posutre and technique for making embers
Birds Nests and Ember Extenders
We will also look at how and where to find natural tinder and how to prepare natural fuel and kindling. During this session, an emphasis will be on the quality of different woods and how to use them to make an efficient, effective fire.
By the end of the training the participants will have an understanding of how and where to find wood that’s suitable to make a bow drill kit and know knots that are suitable for the bow, they will know a reliable technique to operate the bow drill, how to harvest their own tinder’s and fuels and have an understanding of how to start and tend fires in a safe way.
Costs and booking:
£70 (have expendable income)
£80 (Finically secure)
Limited concession spaces available, email to enquire
To book on, contact Luke (Kael) on:
kael.ancestralskilss@gmail.com or 07517952182
Introduction to Flint Knapping and In depth Bow Drill
Saturday: Introduction to Flint Knapping
Come work with the ancient stones. As our hands remember to shape flint, the flint has already shaped us deeply. Who would we be without it?
Come make tools that you can use through out the entire, Way of the Red Squirrel. Come meet You will experience the sound of dark glossy flint being knapped into effective sharp tools.
We will cover:
Basic Flaking
Antler Strikers
Handle Making and Stone Age Glue
Sunday: In depth Bow Drill
This training session will focus on making Stone Age Bow Drill Kits. The participants will learn how to interact with particular trees that lends themselves and help us with fire by friction. We will explore how to harvest the materials and make your own bow drill kit (from wood already harvested) and how to find the right wood, we shall go over techniques that makes the method more likely to make an ember (and a fire). We will spend time shaping stones for our handle, and make a rawhide string to complete an authentic Stone Age bow drill kit.
We will cover:
Suitable Woods for Bow Drill
Stone Handle and Rawhide String
Posutre and technique for making embers
Birds Nests and Ember Extenders
We will also look at how and where to find natural tinder and how to prepare natural fuel and kindling. During this session, an emphasis will be on the quality of different woods and how to use them to make an efficient, effective fire.
By the end of the training the participants will have an understanding of how and where to find wood that’s suitable to make a bow drill kit and know knots that are suitable for the bow, they will know a reliable technique to operate the bow drill, how to harvest their own tinder’s and fuels and have an understanding of how to start and tend fires in a safe way
Costs and booking:
£70 (have expendable income)
£80 (Finically secure)
Limited concession spaces available, email to enquire
To book on, contact Luke (Kael) on:
kael.ancestralskilss@gmail.com or 07517952182.
The Way of the Red Squirrel Immersive
The Way of the Red Squirrel is a deep Ancestral Skills experience which consists of the courses from April the 25th all the way to September 27th. The courses are one weekend a month for 6months. This in depth experience covers:
Flint Knapping
Track and Sign
Bow Drill
Foraging
Cordage and Bark Craft
Whittling
Raw Hide Craft
And many more Earth Based Skills!
If you book onto The Way of the Red Squirrel, you'll save £50 compared to paying for each individual weekend course
Above and Below: Sala Gathering 2025
Bark Craft and Cordage Weekend
Saturday:
What’s strong enough to harpoon a whale? What can you use to make a bridge? What material is strong enough to make a rope strong enough to climb a mountain? ……….Natural cordage!!
We will collect long nettle stems and prepare them for cordage. These can then be used for our bark containers.
Natural cordage was one of the first ancestral skills I saw demonstrated and it was actually life changing. I kid you not. We shall also go into Bark Craft. This will include learning how to select the right trees for bark craft, how to remove the bark and how to make a useful container, just like our mesolithic (and of course paleolthic) ancestors would have.
We will cover:
Different plants that are suitable for cordage
2 ply cordage technique
Selecting wood for bark containers
Making a folded container
Making a bark pot
May: Saturday :bark bag and cordage making class. finish with a forage walk at the end
Sunday
Neanderthals utilized fire for hardening wood, a process that likely involved heating wooden implements to improve their durability and strength
Sunday we shall start with coppicing hazel to make a fire hardened digging stick. We shall also whittle a pot hanger for herbs for a foraged herbal tea. Additionally we shall test out fire hardened digging sticks by digging up some tubers and going on a gathering walk. So come, Chanel your inner Neanderthal and craft and forage!
We will cover:
Coppicing wood
Whittling Projects
Fire hardening
Foraging and plant identification
Costs and booking:
£70 (have expendable income)
£80 (Finically secure)
Limited concession spaces available, email to enquire
To book on, contact Luke (Kael) on:
kael.ancestralskilss@gmail.com or 07517952182
