Purchase Natalie’s Hide Tanning Masterclass here.
Natalie Bogwalker has a passion for primitive outdoor skills which led her to create the Wild Abundance school. Not only is she the founder and director of Wild Abundance, but she also teaches natural building, permaculture, foraging, and other ancestral skills. We recently teamed up with Natalie for an online hide tanning masterclass on Anchored Outdoors. On this episode of Anchored, you’ll learn about Natalie’s experience living in community, tanning hides, permaculture design, and natural building. You’ll even learn why she received death threats soon after the birth of her daughter! Make sure to listen to the end to see how you can take your outdoor skills to the next level with Natalie.
Outline of This Episode
- [3:15] Why a bike crash was the best thing that ever happened to her
- [8:30] What is it like living in ‘community’?
- [13:40] How did she earn money over these years?
- [19:18] When did she start Wild Abundance?
- [28:44] The tiny house and natural building class
- [34:34] Why did she receive death threats?
- [41:51] Why take an online gardening class?
Country living led to Natalie’s love of the outdoors
Natalie Bogwalker was born in Vancouver, Washington and grew up in the countryside of Washington state. Even though her parents weren’t very outdoorsy, as a kid in the country, she was able to spend much of her time outdoors. She loved everything about being outside, and the physical aspects of being in nature led her to develop a passion for the outdoors.
A bike accident changed the course of her life
When the time came for her to go to university, Natalie decided to study genetic engineering without really understanding what that entailed. However, a bike crash changed the course of her life. That accident led her to reevaluate her life and her goals. She stopped going to school and decided to travel; this led her to learn lessons that she wouldn’t have received in the university classroom. When she decided to return to university she studied ecological agriculture.
Natalie doesn’t just teach skills, she has lived them
Upon finishing university, Natalie fell in love with the southeastern U.S. and decided to make that region her home. It was important for her to live in community, so when she discovered a wild group of people who lived off the land, she joined them. For 5 years, Natalie learned to forage, build fires using friction, drink water from springs, and she learned to build a bark longhouse. This experience taught her so many of the skills that she teaches today at Wild Abundance. Listen in to learn how living in community shaped Natalie’s life.
How Natalie started the Wild Abundance school
After a wrist injury prevented Natalie from doing many of the carpentry and crafting tasks that she used to support herself, she decided to teach those skills to others. That’s when she created the Wild Abundance school. The school started with just her but has grown bigger over the years as she has hired more teachers and administrators. Wild Abundance offers classes in tiny house building, wildcrafting, permaculture design, carpentry, and rewilding.
Are you ready to start living closer to the land?
Natalie’s extensive knowledge and experience are why we are so excited to partner with her in Anchored Outdoors’ very own Hide Tanning Masterclass. In addition to sewing deerskin, this masterclass will teach you how to turn a deer hide into a beautiful buckskin that you can fashion into a skirt or bag. Learn to utilize the entirety of the animal that you hunt with Natalie’s tips and tricks. By transforming your deer hide, you’ll also be empowering yourself.
Resources mentioned on this episode
- Federation of Intentional Communities
- Federation of Egalitarian Communities
- Twin Oaks Community
- Breitenbush Hot Springs, Oregon
- Firefly Gathering
Connect with Natalie Bogwalker
Connect With Anchored
- AnchoredOutdoors.com
- On Instagram: @Anchored_Outdoors
- On Facebook: @AnchoredOutdoorsOfficial
- On YouTube: Anchored with April Vokey
