What will you learn?

• Knife and saw safety
• Carving techniques
• Buttons to hang/fasten your tarp, tent or hammock and much more
• Making fire safely in different ways
• Identifying wood types
• Making try-stick and feathersticks
• Tinder from mushrooms (Amadou)
• Rope made from plant fibers/tendon
• Making fire with fire steel
• Food and medicine from nature
• Wool felting
• Knife and cutting skills
• Purify and treat water
• Sleep systems for autumn and winter

Basic Bushcraft Course

The Basic Bushcraft course immerses you in the wondrous world of nature around us, at a location in the Swedish wilderness, near Torsby. For this course, we expect you to have worked with a knife and saw (e.g., a trystick) and to be able to set up your own tent, tarp, hammock, etc. We'll briefly cover basic skills like knife and saw safety, and you'll be introduced to some of the most common carving techniques for wood found in our region.

We'll start preparing the wood for making fire, the feathersticks. We'll go even further with fire by preparing our own tinder from mushrooms. We'll learn how to make fire with flint & steel (fire steel). Given the time of year, it's quite conceivable that we forage some of our food ourselves, such as berries, herbs, and perhaps some mushrooms.

We'll explore one of the most fantastic materials in existence: wool. We'll learn how to process it and the unique properties of this natural product, and we'll create our own seat mat so you can always sit, rest, and even sleep dry and warm. Not only you, but everyone around you will want to take this beautiful piece home with you, and believe me, your pets will love it too.

To practice all our new knife skills, we'll be making one of the oldest and still-used wooden tools, something you'll use for years to come, whether at home or on your trips and adventures in the woods.

We'll be exploring in depth what makes life on Earth possible and its importance to humans: water. How do you treat water before drinking it, whether you're in the middle of nowhere or closer to home?.

The weather conditions this week are unpredictable, but it's almost certain they'll be different from midsummer in the south. Therefore, we'll also briefly discuss sleeping arrangements for other seasons.

Programme

It is impossible to give a detailed programme because we never know exactly how a day goes, what the weather is like and how fast we go through certain topics.

• Monday is arrival day. You'll be welcome from 9:00 AM at the designated reception area. We'll start with a cup of coffee or tea by the fire to get to know each other a bit. This day will focus on using a knife and saw with various techniques, carving our first feathersticks, and starting a real project that we'll finish during the week. We'll also explore sleeping systems for different seasons, such as sleeping bags and sleeping mats. In the evening, we'll swap stories, and there might even be time for an evening walk.
  
• On Tuesday, after breakfast, we'll be working with the fantastic material wool to make a seat mat and we'll be felting! We'll delve deeper into the world of plant fibers to make rope and discuss water filtering in a primitive way, why we filter water, and take an active look at that microscopic world.
  
• On Wednesday, we'll start making our own mushroom tinder, something you'll always carry with you. We'll also continue working on our woodcarving project. Fire will always play a central role in our lives, and this week we'll be working with fire again. Our tinder needs to be lit, and we'll teach you the basics of firemaking using more primitive methods like flint and steel. Our newly acquired carving techniques are also indispensable here!
  
• Thursday is all about plants, and we'll be out and about finding and gathering them. With a bit of luck, the first mushrooms will already be above ground, and we'll gather them for dinner if possible. We'll be making our own medicine for insect bites and burns, for example.
  
• Friday is already the last day of this week. We'll be putting the finishing touches on our projects, giving a glimpse into what else will be covered in the advanced course, and of course, packing up our camp according to the "leave no trace" principle.

We will finish around 4:30 pm so that everyone can start their way back on time.

By arrangement, it is possible to arrive as early as Sunday and leave on Saturday. Please note that you will have to provide your own food on those days.

Practical information

• Dates: 5 consecutive days: July 13 to 17, 2026
• Required prior knowledge: working with a knife and saw, setting up your own shelter (tarp, tent, hammock)
• Stay at the location during the course (bring your own camping equipment)
• Required physical condition: We'll probably be hiking for a few hours over the course of a day. The terrain isn't particularly challenging, but it's also not flat. With a good basic level of fitness, this is easily doable for anyone.
• Number of participants: 8-12
• Cost: €599.99
• A complete packing list will be sent after registration.
• Dogs are allowed, provided they are kept on a leash, are sociable and you always clean up after yourself on the field.

Included

• All (vegetarian) meals from lunch on Monday to lunch on Friday, including water, coffee, tea and fruit. 
• Stay at the location during the course (bring your own camping equipment)
• A personal discount code from bushcraftshop.nl

 Not included in the course

• The journey there and back to the location
• Deviating dietary preferences
• Snacks for the evening or during the day
• If you want extra things such as meat or fish, you must bring them yourself.

Packing list: You'll receive a detailed packing list after booking. You can also count on our comprehensive guidance in selecting your equipment.

Necessary equipment (Minimum basis!)

• Fixed blade knife (e.g. Mora Companion)
• Sharpening stone (e.g. Fallkniven DC4)
• Saw (e.g. Silky Gomboy Outback 240)
• Tent or tarp with sleeping bag and mat that can reach around freezing point (comfort temperature 0°C)
• Headlamp with red light
• Eating utensils such as mug, plate (e.g. BillyCan 2 liter), spoon
• Suitable clothing for every season; preferably wool layers, no jeans!
• Waterproof and windproof jacket and wool or fleece sweater
• Suitable shoes/boots
• Rain gear (jacket and trousers)
• Personal hygiene and medication
• Notebook, pen and pencils
• Phone and power bank
• Any medication you may need. If necessary, please inform the instructors about the use of medication. 

Kurt Peeters

Kurt is your main instructor this week.

Kurt has been fascinated by nature, and especially the forest, since he was a little boy. At eight, he set off alone with his grandparents' dogs through the Kempen forests in Belgium, and at 19, he moved to the Netherlands to study tropical forestry. During his studies, he lived as a shepherd in the Pyrenees and worked on reforestation projects in Ecuador.
 
After many wanderings and experience in the jungle of offices, Kurt has been pursuing his passion and love for years: the forest. Staying there, embracing it, listening, and living. In 2021, he sold his house in Velp to fulfill his dreams and transitioned completely to a life from the "van," living everywhere but always in or around the forest.
 
Even before he'd set foot in Sweden, he knew he had to go there. One day, he and Ronja (his daughter) boarded a bus, traveling through Germany, Denmark, and finally to the bridge to Sweden. A song came to mind (which he didn't even like), and that was "Coming Home" by Dotan, played at the top of the bridge. It stuck with him, and from then on, the search for a place in Sweden began.
 
That spot now exists, on a mountain in Värmland, in the middle of nowhere. A place without human sound, without light pollution, but with moose, wolves, and bears. And a mountain of exciting challenges! Workshops will also be held there in the near future.
 
After several year-long training programs, including Faith in Nature and the bushcraft year-long program, a year of supporting the camp during those programs, and an expedition to Sweden without any modern tools like a knife and only homemade items like deerskin clothing, it was time for the instructor training program. Another year and a half immersed in bushcraft and primitive skills, and especially, how to teach these to others.
 
Kurt talks passionately about everything that comes with living with nature and he has endless patience to take you into that wonderful world.
 
In his endless wanderings through the woods (and offices), Kurt has not only become acquainted with the scientific world but also developed a spiritual connection with the forest. Besides facts and substantiation, you can also count on a genuine connection with the nature around you and the messages it holds for you.

Information
Want to know more or have any questions? Please contact Kurt: kurt@hogda-wilderness-wisdom.com or +46 (0) 767640782.