Survival: Cooking With The Hay Box

A hay box, is a box filled with hay in which you can let a soup, stew or other simple dishes simmer for hours with only the foods own heat to end the cooking process. That is thanks to the hay`s great insulation qualities. Or in this case: Shredded paper.

You can prepare a meal by boiling it for some minutes (or bring to boiling point) and then put it in the haybox. Now just leave it for as much time as you like: Your food won`t get burned no matter how long it stays in the haybox.

This method of cooking clearly has its benefits in a SHTF/camping situation or where fuel is very limited. Or at least practical during hikes/camping as you can prepare your meal at the beginning of the day and enjoy it when you return to camp.

And hey presto: It`s awesome for your CO2 footprint! :-)

In this case I want to make rice pudding in an improvised "haybox" using: A simple cardboard box and shredded paper



I just took the first/best cardboard box at hand and filled it with...

...paper from the shredder

I am using my HoboStove from @KellyKettle because it can support larger pots too.

I boil some water with 500 g of risotto rice for a few minutes.

I`m adding 2 L of milk.

Get the milk to boiling point.

And in the box the pot goes. Make sure no embers are on the bottom of the pot!

Cover with paper.

And wait.

This is 5 hours later: Steaming hot rice pudding :-)

Survival: The Improvised Water Filter

There a literally a million instructions on how to improvise a water filter. Usually with a tin or bottle as container, these are great. But for this project I chose a cone made out of birch bark.

I`m peelin a nice, square piece of birch bark off a tree.

Be careful not to poke any holes.

I roll it into a cone and secure it with a single constrictor knot.

I place one large and several small pebbles at the bottom to prevent everything falling out.

Add sand or very small pebbles, you don't have to add a lot as the sand 

mostly serves to...

...keep thecharcoal from running out together with the water.

 I pulverize it conveniently inside of the cone with a stick.

The charcoal with take care of most toxins and germs.

More sand. This time for particle filtration

I have a lot of leftover charcoal, so I add more just for the hell of it.

A nice clean pond....

...and the fun starts.

Looks good!

And we have clean drinking water!

Survival: The Transpiration Bag

Given you have enough time, a lot of plastic bags and some trees: This method of getting drinkable water is idiot proof and has a near perfect effort/result ratio.

Take a larger plastic bag and put it over a leafy branch which will be exposed to sun for most of the day (pointing South) and close it with cord, zip tie or whatever is at hand.

The important thing is that the bag is sealed tightly around the branch.

It is a very good idea to shake the branch before that so you will get rid of most bugs, dead leaves and debris.

If the only plastic bags you have are smaller or not clear: Use them anyway! This method will work no matter what! And if you only have a bunch of smaller bags....you know what to do right? (RIGHT?!)

Shake the branch to get rid of the worst debris, bugs and dead leaves and put over your plastic bag.
Seal the plastic bag around the branch with cord, a zip tie or by tying the corners of the bag together.
It is 1030 in the morning when I made this picture.

This is after 5-6 hours of waiting. I`d say we are looking at 120-150 ml of clean water.
The debris in the corner is just bits and pieces of the branch: Adds taste:-)

Survival: The Club - "Stick and stone will break your bones...."

There can come a time in your life, when you need to pick up a stick to solve a conflict (to your advantage)....
Tie a stone to your stick and the person on the receiving end can not help to get a what we in danish call: "Et indtryk i tilværelsen" ("Getting a profound, life changing experience").

But of course you can also use it to kill smaller animals or to whack branches of a tree (by hitting hard on the base of the branch)

 Here`s how it`s done:

Take a branch and split it, to prevent the branch to split more than desired you need to tie a cord around the spot you want the split to end. A constrictor knot is the best for the job!

A fresh branch is best, but you can also pick a not-so-fresh branch a
nd soak it in water for some hours: Same effect.

This should be enough......

See how the crack stops at the Constrictor Knot ?

Take a flat, oblong stone....

...and wedge it between the branches halves.

The stone will cause the branch to split further,
but the constrictor knot prevents that.

Wrap a length of paracord around the branch from the point where the crack ends and up:
This will prevent further cracks and press the two halves of the branch closer together:
Tighter fit for the stone!

Just  a standard cross lashing.

Figure eight lashing at the end/top...

Figure eight lashing at the end/top...

The stone is secured and it will take some effort to knock it out.

But just in case that happens: I sharpen one end, so the stick I`ll stand with is a pointy one..

Survival: Tuna Oil Cooking Stove

I like to take a can of tuna with me on our hikes: It can be eaten cold, the cans have a comfortable size,  it tastes awesome with yogurt and Sambal Oelek on knäcke or rye bread.....and: It makes an awesome stove!

Tuna eaten but still a lot of oil left.

The wick: A 2-3 cm wide strip of cardboard. You can also use toilet
paper rolled into a "rope".

Roll the wick in to a spiral and let it soak in oil for some minutes.

Set the wick on fire. I put the tuna can into the fire base of my Kelly Kettle.

 

Set the wick on fire. I put the tuna can into the fire base of my Kelly Kettle.

It smells fishy...

The stove burns hot and soon the water in the Kelly Kettle boils.

DO NOT extinguish the fire with water. Simply put a/the lid over and it
will go out after a few seconds. You will be surprised how much oil is left
and how many times you can use the same "stove".