The Renegades go wild!

They may have recently learned how to fight fires at Crawley fire station, but this month the Renegades Youth Club got a flaming good lesson in how to start them too!

“I was lucky enough to go on safari to Tanzania this summer and spend some time with the incredible Masai people. During a walking safari in the African bush, we were shown how to light a safe fire just using two pieces of wood, a palm frond and elephant dung – who knew! – and it was fascinating,” laughs Group Leader Gareth Miller.

“I wanted to share it with the kids as I knew they would love it. So, we did a magical mystery trip in the minibus and went into woods just outside Petworth. As we were sadly missing some of the key ingredients…elephant dung is a bit harder to come by in deepest West Sussex… we had to resort to a prehistoric form of fire lighting using the bow drill. As the name suggests, it involves ‘drilling’ one piece of wood into another by spinning it, using a ‘bow’, and the fire lights from the friction. We cut spruce branches to double hand size and stripped the bark to make the bows and, like the Masai, we rubbed dirt on our hands to improve control – it worked brilliantly…and I taught them some Swahili while we were working.

“In addition, the Masai taught us about the use of plants for everything from medicine to soap. We have become so dislocated from the natural world and so I really want to teach the children much more about what is growing all around them. Willow bark, for example, can be used to reduce pain, yarrow to help with cuts, while stinging nettles can be an anti-inflammatory, says Gareth.”

While Gareth took the children to look at some badger setts in a nearby field, they dropped into a neighbour who keeps chickens and lovely Mary told them all about how you look after them.

The Renegades has also planned day trips while the children are off school – from Monkey World (inspired by Tanzania!) to the beach – so it continues to be a busy summer.

The Renegades is a charity for all children aged 7 – 18. If you would like a taster session, visit www.renegadesyc.org or ring Gareth on 07801 862550.