Tracking and Awareness: Family17thDecember
One day I sat down with Jon Young, a tracking mentor of mine, to watch a documentary called The Great Dance. Its the tale of a family of San Bushmen simply living their life, gathering and hunting the Kalarhari desert of Africa.
What was remarkable about this tale is what Tracking and Awareness meant to this village of people. While they Track to hunt and gather food for their family, its also a celebration of life. "Tracking is like dancing. You are talking with God when you are doing these things." says !Nqate, a San hunter.
In one scene !Nqate talked about his view on hunting with dogs. He said when you use dogs you don't use your "own ideas" you use the "dog's nose". To the San, though their survival depends on what they harvest, its critical to have a personal relationship with the kudu or grasshopper that keeps them alive.
Because having your "own ideas" require such an intimate level of knowing, Tracking and Awareness imbue these understandings with complex and beautiful family relationships. Its not new age, its only practical when the hunter-gatherer says a cougar or fox is their brother or sister. Knowing in this way takes on a life of its own, it becomes a trail of deep care and empathy where learning is real.
Featured programs...
Track with the San Bushmen and Jon Young Travel to the Kalahari with world-renowned tracker Jon Young and lion researcher and Trackers International lead Nicole Apelian. With them you join Xigao and his family of San Bushmen, wandering the Kalahari while they track, hunt and gather. Learn more about this tracking safari at Trackers International
Wilderness Immersion: Spring Term April 5-14, 2010 Join our 1 year Wilderness Immersion Program or simply take a 3-month term. The Spring focus is herbal medicines, permaculture and nature awareness. We study both tracking and bird language behavior. Bird language is when the robin in the trees tells you exactly where and when the fox passes by. Bird language is letting the birds teach you how to not set off their alarms, minimizing your own disturbance and discovering a gateway to invisibility.
We also have one more space in our Winter Term and room left in our 1 Year Course.
Local program calendar…
Winter Ecology & Sign Tracking Jan 12
Shampoo from Native Plants Jan 24
Wilderness First Responder Jan 27-Feb 5
Boat Building & Folkcraft Skills Share Jan 4-8
Wilderness Survival Basics Jan 30-31
