Equipment

In recreating a 1930’s Woodcraft camp, it soon becomes apparent that certain compromises with modernity must be made. For example, it was not possible to fully kit out people in the attire of the 1930’s. Nor had we budgeted for buying complete sets of blankets required for making blanket sleeping bags. The Venturers baulked at the idea of wearing Woodcraft Folk Jerkins, and how could we replicate 1930’s footwear.

Hence the need for compromise, which allowed room for getting a taste of the essence of a 1930’s camp, whilst providing an enjoyable experience for our project participants. Therefore, we used fire to cook on, but collected water in plastic jerry cans. We slept in tents made from scratch from canvas, but slept in modern sleeping bags.

And of course modernity itself made certain demands upon us in terms of health and safety and risk assessment. As the project evolved it became clearer each day that a rigid purism would kill the project before the camp was even attempted.