🔥 Fire

Make fire, keep it alive, and put it to work — the single biggest branch point in the whole tree.

Gather tinder and firewood Collect the fluffy dry stuff that catches a spark, and sort wood from thin sticks to thick logs. easyan hour Make a safe fire pit and lay a fire Clear the ground, ring it with stone or bare earth, stack tinder and sticks so a tiny flame can grow, and know how you will put it out. easyan hour Start a fire with sparks Strike sparks from hard stone and steel into your tinder and blow the glow gently into flame. takes patiencea day Make fire with a bow drill Spin a wooden stick with a small bow until the rubbing makes a glowing ember, then breathe it into flame. harda few days of practice Keep a fire day and night Bank the coals at night, wake them in the morning, and carry a wrapped ember to a new camp so you never start from zero. easya day Cook food over fire Roast food on sticks and hot stones so it is safe to eat and tastes good. easyan hour Cook in a pit oven Bury food with fire-hot stones and let the ground bake it slow and even while you work. takes patiencehalf a day Make charcoal Cook wood slowly with almost no air so it becomes light black fuel that burns far hotter than wood — the key to lime, glass, and metal. takes patiencetwo days