A SKIP pathway based around ancestral skills & community?

Something I’ve been working on is something like a PEX which is focused on ancestral skills. My goals differ somewhat significantly from SKIP so I am not sure, but I think that the work I’ve done so far could be applicable to other things too. It could turn out as a booklet of sorts, or a curriculum for education in self sufficiency. Nevertheless, it’s something I’ve worked on a bit. Though I’ve hit a bit of a lull in progress. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I’ve been more focused on other things for the winter, or maybe that I need to push myself to learn these things more thoroughly.

Anyway, I am creating this thread for getting some feedback on what’s already written, what I could add, remove, etc.


Here is what it looks like so far, to the exclusion of some more detailed descriptions of badges:

Philosophical underpinnings:

—Human power
—emphasis on wildness
—traditional skills

Focused more on wild plants and wild beings, emphasizing the local wildness as much as possible, with domesticated species being a more minor role.

I also feel a pull towards minimalism: focusing on fewer aspects, but making them especially thorough so that they (theoretically) can cover all or most of one’s needs.  

Another element philosophically is to do whatever works, allowing a lot of leeway for diversity based on climate and situation. Not everyone will benefit from X,Y, and Z medicinal plants, but usually people can benefit from harvesting some of three medicinal plants, whatever kind they are.

A few current ideas for badges:

—Foraging (learning the land’s staple and non staple foods, and how to cook them)
—Kitchen (cooking by wood fire, using, cleaning cookware & dishes)
—Gardening, for a closer relationship with the natural landscape—sowing, transplanting, weeding, dealing with waste, etc.
—Medicine. Learning a good variety of medicines from the land.
—Fiber & clothing (learning to process fibers, especially focused on wild ones)
—Earthworks (swales, clamps, terraces, you know)
—Natural building (incl. various traditional architectures)
—Woodworking
—Tool care
—Nest (firemaking, cleaning, organization, maybe food storage, etc.)
—Transportation (human & possibly animal powered. Could involve shoemaking, trail maintenance, etc. maybe merge with earthworks and clothing? Also packing a rucksack for a journey, etc.)
—Community (as it has its own difficulties
—Woodland
—Pottery & basketry

Some of the above list may be merged, eliminated, or added to depending on what I can fit.

Some things I’m thinking about:

1. I would like this to be more privacy conscious than PEP, which in a lot of areas, doesn’t meet my particular standards. It might be that the community badge has to go; I haven’t come up with anything for it yet, as I am not sure how it could work. Maybe there are ways to meet these standards (no faces, etc.) in a way that’s more comfortable for me and others.

2. The person I imagine benefitting from this is not exactly Gert, but another personality, someone who’s interested less in inheriting large tracts of land, more in being able to contribute, benefit from, and bring together people in community. They are interested in a community-oriented, humble life, even if this doesn’t mean owning a lot or even any land. They might therefore have little to prove to any Otis figure, but such a relationship may form naturally along the way.

So maybe it isn’t SKIP at all, but something adjacent?

Anyway, it would be nice to discuss.

Okay—no comments, but it seems a few people like the idea.

Here is what I have so far for Nest. Considering the emphasis on privacy a few things are different. These are techniques I think are very basic and useful and could potentially constitute a sand badge:

-Make a mattress (from scratch. Can be stuffed cloth, or a neat pile of cattails, so long as it works!)
-Build a fire
—From a flame (matches, lighters)
—From a coal (from last night’s burn, flint and steel, or friction fire)
(Using only natural kindling & firewood materials)
-Gather at least 1 gallon of water from a spring or collect/boil at least 1 gallon of water from snow or rain. May also use sap from trees or vines
-Make a natural toothbrush from a twig
-Wash five-ish natural fiber garments by hand
-Dry clothes indoors with fire, house heat, or other passive methods
-Make a mat for sitting or sleeping on
-Wash 6-ish dishes by hand with natural cleaners

Im always happy to see more ancestral skills stuff but i want to raise 2 concerns:

1) maybe its PEP based but its definitely not SKIP based because as you said SKiP is entirely about inheriting property while this is more just an achievement set.

2) doing this is going to mean a lot of admin effort maintianing it for years to come. Are you volunteering to do all the tedious management?