Natural Tinder Campfire
"The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in Summer or Winter." - Henry David Thoreau
So after months of planning and two cancellations it finally happened!
Fire is a subject we're especially passionate about at Fara Kanna, it's our special skill as humans and one to be nurtured & cherished.
The weather over the past couple of weeks had left the woodlands soaked (having experienced the wettest May in years) so a couple of changes had to be made to the itinerary but the events soul remained.
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The weather on the day was favourable thankfully, so when our participants arrived they each took a short walk around the site to forage for dandelions (this is going to be important later).
With that out of the way we discussed the science of fire lighting before creating our own char materials from punk wood, found here at Fox Covert, inside everyone's new char tin... Us Northerners love owt for nowt after all. We then discussed how the char materials would be used to produce a flame from an ember. With all the theory out of the way the guys were under way...
Following this we scoured the site looking for materials to create a birds nest to hold the ember and processed firewood using a variety of hand tools and techniques.
Taking their knowledge all our participants were able to use their char materials and tinder bundle to create fire. Our favourite thing about this event was that all materials used were sourced on site at Fara Kanna and no foreign materials were introduced to the woodland.
With the participants fires established we discussed various fire lays and their individual benefits before discovering what the dandelions were for. From here the guys prepared and cooked their own Beer Battered Deep Fried Dandelions. A huge shout out to Dan Wowak at Coalcracker Bushcraft for this awesome recipe.
Sorry to the couple of guys who couldn't make it on the day but we'll see you next time.
Another huge thank you for choosing to spend your weekend with us at Fara Kanna. We know you'll be able to put your new knowledge & char tins to good use come our Overnight Camp and until next time keep safe everyone and #goexplore