Experience: I am 16 and live alone in the wilderness

I have an open fire and spend my evenings tanning animal and fish skins, and carving wood

I live alone on the Isle of Skye in a tipi almost impossible to find without detailed directions. It might seem unusual for someone of 16, but I love my own company and I’m passionate about preserving wild spaces. I grew up with my mum, Ghillie, and older sister, Yazzie, in the wilds of the Cairngorms, in a remote and sometimes inaccessible home, using cross-country skis to haul food and supplies to the house.

Mum, a cookbook writer, taught us about possible dangers and how to cope with them, then let us run wild from an early age. We also travelled abroad regularly, visiting remote tribes and cultures, where we lived for weeks as Mum studied food and recipes to write about. I spent so much time with tribes who rely on the land that this became second nature to me. When I gained a place at the School of Adventure Studies on Skye last year, I decided to live in a tipi, practising what I preach.

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from Health & wellbeing | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1Syqepo
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