The Face of the Weaver

Self-Sufficiency: Basic Survival Skills

Primary Goal 

To teach a core set of self-sufficiency skills that provide an applicant with the ability to walk away.

Pre-Requisite Achievements

  • The Firebird Mask
  • Fire, Flower, and Blade 

Sub Skills

  • Navigation
  • Shelter
  • First-Aid
  • Water
  • Fire
  • Foraging
  • Clothing
  • Tools
  • Hunting
  • Home Building
  • Food Preservation
  • Fishing
  • Pottery
  • Traps and Snares
  • Rope
  • Flint Knapping

The Achievement Requirements

  • Navigation 
    • Explain and/or demonstrate 3 methods of finding north without a compass.
    • Explain and/or demonstrate Line Walking as a method of traveling in a straight line. 
  • Shelter
    • Explain Dead Space heat Theory and the principles of Heat Conductivity and heat loss.
    • Build a Debris hut and spend the night in it. 
  • First-Aid
    • Complete a level One First Aid certification Course 
  • Water
    • Explain two methods of Water Collection and demonstrate one.
    • Explain two methods of Water Purification and demonstrate one.
    • Explain two methods of Water Storage and Demonstrate one. 
  • Fire
    • Explain two methods of starting a fire without matches and demonstrate one.
    • Explain the principles of fire starting and the maintenance of fires.
  • Foraging
    • Explain the Universal Edibility Test
    • Name and identify 10 Common Food Plants of your Region
    • Name and identify 5 Common Poisonous Plants of your Region
    • Name and identify any Dangerous Look A-likes for the 10 common food plants previously identified. 
  • Clothing
    • Craft your own clothing: shirt and pants (or similar)
    • Craft your own footwear
    • Craft your own hat or headgear 
  • Tools
    • List and Explain the 6 Basic Tool Types
    • List and Explain the 6 Simple Machines
    • Plan and Construct something using a minimum of 3 of the Basic Tool Types and 3 of the Simple Machines
    • Build 3 Scavenged Tools 
  • Hunting*
    • Successfully Hunt game with 2 of 5 traditional hunting techniques
      • OR 
    • Successfully Demonstrate 2 of 5 traditional hunting techniques
  • Home Building
    • Explain Ventilation and air flow, Thermal Mass, and Passive Solar Heating 
    • Build or participate in the Building of a Traditional Style Permanent Structure 
    • Build a Midden, a cook Structure, and a drainage ditch 
  • Food Preservation 
    • Explain the 9 traditional methods of Food preservation
    • Demonstrate 3 of the traditional methods of food preservation 
  • Fishing*
    • Catch fish using a Fish Bottle Trap
    • Catch fish using 1 of the 3 active Fishing techniques
    • Build a Fish Weyr
  • Pottery
    • Build a simple Kiln
    • throw and fire a broad bowl and simply cup using your own clay 
  • Traps and Snares*
    • Build and demonstrate the workings of the 5 basic traps and snares 
  • Rope
    • Craft an arm length cordage 
    • Craft a body length rope
    • Demonstrate the 10 basic knots, hitches and bends 
  • Flint Knapping 
    • Craft a hammer Stone
    • Craft a hand axe 
    • Craft a lithic blade
    • Craft a microlith blade 

* Regarding Hunting, Fishing, Traps and Snares: The applicant does not need to actually kill the animals, only demonstrate the skills. Vegans or others with restrictions regarding harming living creatures need not actually kill animals to obtain those badges.