Self-Sufficiency Skills Training

TRAINING

Our Self-Sufficiency SKills COurse

In our Self-Sufficiency Skills Course, you’ll learn skills through demonstrations, hands-on training, and real-life scenarios. By immersing you in a wilderness setting as you learn, our wilderness self-sufficiency skills course provides a deeper level of training that allows you to fully appreciate and utilize the rich resources nature provides, as well as respond to nature’s unexpected challenges, teaching you to think outside the box.

We don’t teach you flashy tricks, but the real useful skills that you need and can apply to other environments, including in your own home. After completing this training program, you’ll be armed with the self-sufficiency skills, working knowledge and solution-orientated mindset to experience nature and everyday life in a more authentic way, along with the confidence and competence to put these skills into practice at home.

All students pay a fee for participating in the training program. If you are a non-Canadian, you will only need an eTA to enter Canada.

Skills that may be covered in the Self-Sufficiency Skills Course include, but are not limited to:

• Navigation in the wilderness without GPS
• Edible plant identification and harvesting
• Fishing
• Carpentry
• Gardening and raising animals
• Canning and food preparation
• Cooking healthy, homemade meals
• Leather work
• Equipment maintenance and mechanics
• Alternative energy such as generators, wood heat, propane
• Outhouse construction and placement
• Living without cell service and internet connection
• Choosing a wilderness shelter – “nature’s bedroom”
• Cooking in the wild with wood heat
• How to build a fire
• Tracking and identifying wildlife including how to handle encounters
• Utilizing beneficial properties of plants and trees
• Safe and effective knife and axe use
• Wildlife behaviour

Specific activities will depend on the time of year of the program, as well as the interests and abilities of the group.

Choose the level that’s right for you

We have different skill levels so you can pick the course that suits your current level of self-sufficiency skills and interest for skill development.

Guest ranch-based self-sufficiency skills course:

At our ranch, you will learn skills such as gardening, animal care, canning, healthy home cooking, equipment repairs, sleeping in a tent, wood splitting and fire making. Foraging wild edibles, maintenance of our gravity-fed water system and wildlife tracking outside of the ranch property are also part of this experience. With more of the comforts of home, this course is ideal for people who are just starting their self-sufficiency journey, who want to focus on home-related self-sufficiency and those with limited wilderness experience.

Back country camp-based self-sufficiency skills course:

At one of our remote back country mountain camps, we take your skills to the next level where nature’s challenges give you greater opportunities to develop your skills. Here, splitting firewood and making a fire is what will keep you warm. Foraging wild edibles or fishing for trout becomes a great addition to meals. Being prepared with the right clothing and equipment is more important here as you will learn that in the bush, you only have what you have brought with you and what you can procure from the land. Drinking water from pure mountain creeks, finding wild edibles and cooking over the campfire are key parts of self-sufficiency in a wilderness setting. This course is ideal for people who feel comfortable in the wilderness, want to develop their existing self-sufficiency skills and want to focus more on the wilderness aspects of self-sufficiency.

Back country spike-camping self-sufficiency skills course:

With our spike-camping option, you will learn how to make a simple camp from what nature provides, setting up your sleeping area under a tree. Your campfire now becomes a crucial source of warmth and the only way to cook your dinner, as well as a way to connect and share knowledge with your fellow students. Now your resources are even more limited, forcing you to problem-solve and think outside the box to make the most of your time in the wilderness. This course is ideal for people who already have some wilderness experience, want to take their self-sufficiency skills one step further and experience an even deeper connection to the wilderness.

Family self-sufficiency skills course:

Interested in taking this course as a family? Depending on your family’s age, experience and interests, we can tailor a course to your self-sufficiency goals. Let us know your interests when enquiring and we can build the course your family is looking for.

Want to spend more time developing your self-sufficiency skills?

Are you looking for a longer course where you have more time to put your skills into practice? Do you want to spend time at both the ranch and at a mountain camp? Take a look at our Wilderness Lifestyle Experience where you can stay for a minimum of six weeks, learning and developing skills in all areas of ranch and wilderness self-sufficiency.