GIRL SCOUT AND BUSHCRAFT | SACRED HEART SCHOOL-ATENEO DE CEBU

DAYS AFTER GUIDING ADVENTURE bloggers on one major segment of the Cebu Highlands Trail, I am invited before a Girl Scout gathering at Camp Marina, Capitol Site, Cebu City on March 3, 2018. It is organized by the Senior Planning Board of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu GSP Council. I will be talking about Introduction to Bushcraft to both junior high and senior high students.

SHS-Ateneo is one of the premier schools in Cebu. I know some people who have graduated from this school and they had created an impact on the fields where they focused their energies on. It is a fact that many of them became somebody in business and society, became great entrepreneurs and innovators, and some became captains of their industries.

I am fortunate enough to mentor a few of their alumni in my yearly Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp and am most happy to have them embrace the forgotten art of bushcraft which rural guys excel at. These few seek challenges outside of their usual realms. They are prepared, to a certain extent, any SHTF scenario and I have confidence in their abilities to survive and overcome adversities and disasters.

It is really an honor for me to be invited to talk before the SHS-Ateneo GSP Council and I thank Ms. Ann Castañares for this. I came fully prepared so I could leave an impact upon our youths. Coming with me is one of my underlings, Jenmar de Leon. He has just taken a board examination for teachers. This would be a good exposure for him once he passes that exam and gets his teaching license.

But what really is bushcraft? For starters, bushcraft is a term coined by an Australian, presumably, to describe his activity which really is similar to the ones done in other places and it is known there as woodcraft, fieldcraft, woodlore or primitive-living skills. It is a lifestyle and it is a hobby, depending on which side of the place you are. Actually, it is a way of life for the indigenous people so they could survive on their harsh environments.

What was a way of life for natives was adopted by outsiders (foreigners) in order for them also to survive and make a living in the same environments. These are the hunters, explorers, travellers and homesteaders. Civilization improved the way of life for all people through the years yet there are still spots of wilderness left which bushcraft is still useful. In fact, it is still useful in modern day-to-day living, even in urban areas. 

Modern native peoples here, now collectively known as Filipinos, forgot about bushcraft because living now is not that challenging anymore. These are the people who lived in urban centers and those who populate most of the coastlines and where roads exist. The frontcountry. These are the places where people mostly travel, make a living and engage in recreational activities.

The backcountry are the places where people practice bushcraft in all their lives. On these places, solitary houses exist, so far away from their next neighbors. Many of these are homesteads. They carved the wilderness into farms for their main source of food and to hunt the forests for protein and herbs. They have adapted with their environment well and learned primitive living skills by studying the habits of nature closely.

The only tool that they relied so much for their survival is the blade. They took care of this vital equipment and, from this same equipment, they manufacture other tools sourced from nature designed to do other tasks and chop wood for firewood. They have mastered the making of fire with just one matchstick to light a tinder bundle. To save matches, they keep the embers always burning.

Because they are closer to nature, they know the qualities of all plants found in forests and jungles and that made a big difference in how they treat themselves when ill. Plant identification and foraging is the most important of all skills in bushcraft. You cannot move your way around harsh environments without knowledge of plants. These same plants lead them to their best food: meat from animals.

It was an opportunity for me to demonstrate knife safety to the Girl Scout without the necessity of them holding one. These are sheltered kids who grew up in a politically-correct home environment. Their parents always has the last say on what to watch and surf in the internet and what company of friends or individuals that they should be with. Knives are the last things they would touch unless it is used to harness cooking skills.

With adult supervision. Maybe. But they are just too many and I only have Jenmar and me to look after them if we go through a knife dexterity session. The demonstration would suffice, repeating it twice or thrice for emphasis and memory retention. With the same knife, I let them crowd around me in a circle and showed them how to make an improvised pot made from a bamboo pole.

I also showed them how a thick stick could accomplish the task of making a bamboo pot easier for the knife. I am showing to them another tool to pair with my knife. What it lacked now is something to cook and a fire. Fire is another thing that is off-limits to these kids at home. It needed close adult supervision when striking a match and a lighter or turning the knob of a gas stove in kitchen or home premises.

But, today, they do not need any. They would ignite fire from a ferrocerium rod. It is the first time that they see one and everyone’s attention where now on me when they saw sparks of flame streaking down the ground when I scratched steel on a rod that got caught by a downy material which burst into a flame. Slowly repeating my demonstration, sparks get caught by the same material.

Distributing four sets of ferro rod and the downy material among the girls, the covered stage soon became a workshop of sparks and smoke. For a full 20 minutes, the ferro rod sets changed hands in tight circles, providing the girls a personal experience of non-conventional way of making a fire. Gaining knowledge from this, the girls appreciate better how fire works and how it is done safely.

 

Since it is an afternoon affair, my presentation ended at 15:00. Jenmar and I were recognized by the SHS-Ateneo GSP Council with certificates of appreciation for our wholehearted commitment and judicious efforts to introduce their wards towards bushcraft. It was a very productive afternoon and, for my part, it warmed my heart to be closer with these future leaders. I just wish that we have more time.

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