Survival Skills Weekends
Learn basic survival skills with Harem Nights as a unusual and engaging team building activity. With experienced instructors and a base in the middle of a forest with no electricity or running water, you will be encouraged to step beyond your boundaries.

You will be provided with instruction on basic survival skills and wild craft.This can be in the form of a scenario based approach or a more relaxed approach. With the scenario approach the group are challenged to accomplish the skills while role playing a post traumatic survival event adding drama and helping to engage the whole group. It creates an atmosphere of working together with some competition between the groups. However with the relaxed approach the skills would be shared in a way that would generate interest and excitement in the skills and allows for group dynamics to be observed with less cohesion.

Some of the activities to expect…

Shelter:

We will construct several group shelters from available materials, encouraging any one brave enough to sleep out in their shelters. This demands a high level of co operation and will bring to the surface any current issues. This exposes the current group dynamics and helps us to work with what emerges to notice patterns of behaviour and then allow them to be addressed by the group.

The quest for fire:

We will demonstrate the legendary method of fire by friction, rubbing two sticks together, encouraging the teams to make a fire either by this means or with a fire steel. The skill of fire making as a group develops group cohesion and shows us our modalities of learning. This skill demands attention to detail and continuous learning from mistakes. “If we learn from a mistake it is learning and not a mistake.

Nature Awareness:

Sharing aspects of silent movement and nature awareness of the Apache Scout masters of survival, stalking and awareness. We will be moving in a native way and able to experience a closer connection with nature. These skills have a transformational capacity that helps us to experience a deep relaxed concentration that develops awareness. The exercises help us tap in to high Beta and Alpha states recognised to be beneficial to enhanced creativity, memory, overcoming physical challenges, and increased levels of health.

Edible and medicinal plant use:

Exploring the local flora trees and plants to discover all our needs can be met by what we find growing around us. Crafting a spoon, using both our main survival tool our knife and the hot embers from the fire to make a usable if not beautiful spoon.

Nature awareness games:
Fire stalk; Drum stalk; Meet a tree; Balance beam work; Story telling and confidence building games round the fire.

Menu:
On arrival tea and coffee and sweet treats will be available. Tea and coffee will be available at all times with tea breaks offering light snacks as well.

Lunch:
will be a buffet style with salads, humus, babaganush, taboule etc

Dinner:
Paella, with meze style dips and an opportunity to make your own pita bread on the fire.

Breakfast:
Vegetarian bacon, (you will have trouble telling the difference), tofu based ‘scrambled egg’, fried mushrooms, bread or toast, hot drinks.

We have no shower facilities but for an extra cost we can provide a woodland sauna. The accommodation will be in yurts and tent tipis. There will also be a communal space which will be decorated.