Rabbitstick

Rabbitstick: a primitive weapon used somewhat like a boomerang (also originally a weapon, did you know that?) to kill rabbits.

Rabbitstick: A crazy weeklong gathering of the sort of people who know how to use, well, rabbitsticks. And atlatls. And blowguns, flint knives, etc.  A /school/party/reunion of folks from all over America (and some from abroad too) that delight in wearing animals skins (that they've tanned and sewed themselves, of course) using caveman tools, sharing wild food recipes, making medicine from what the earth gives us, and many other "obsolete" activities. It's hosted in mid-September (coming up soon!) eastern Idaho, and it costs about 300 dollars for a week of food, camping, porta-pottie use, and of course, classes to take.

I've been before- twice, actually. It's an amazing experience. The first time I went, I felt like I had found my tribe- people who seemed so real, so grounded, so skilled in a way most people today are not.  It's almost mind-blowing; I really have NO IDEA how this computer works that I'm typing on right now. And only a vague understanding of the car I drive, and most other complex tools.  But for most of human history, people didn't own ANYTHING they hadn't made themselves, or traded something they made for something someone else made. Nowadays, almost none of us have what it takes to you know, actually survive. Feed ourselves, clothe ourselves, stay warm and dry at night.

These folks DO have that.  Going there, I feel human in a different way than my ordinary technology-rich life, and it's refreshing.  Of course, there are plenty of neophytes in attendance as well, not just experts- I'm more of an expert on some things that many people. But they're all TRYING to be that kind of person, that knows exactly where and how everything he uses was made, and could duplicate it if necessary.

Primitive skills are not "useful" in the modern world- they won't get you a job, make you any money (unless you are slick enough to find acolytes who will pay you to teach classes) and sure doesn't help attract a mate, unless you want the hairy/smelly caveman/woman type (that's not so bad, actually...) but it helps ease the sense of helplessness and disconnection we all face in an increasingly automated world.  And that's never a bad thing.