10/12/2023
Bit of a tangential posting.
Take a look at the picture. Its not any old shelter...its a metaphor and portal to personal and group development.
Physically it’s a simple open fronted arctic ‘lean-to’ shelter, widely used in the arboreal frigid North. It’s entirely open on one side, which might not make immediate sense. However, when built properly a group of people can sleep in it safely, well below freezing, often in just their t-shirts. I know. This is one we built and slept in. But to survive that night it took knowledge, co-operation, collaboration, mutualism, respect….and TRUST. Making and using such a shelter, in such circumstances, brings forth and embodies these qualities in the most immediate and necessary way. Providing the perfect anvil to forge interpersonal development.
Most of us have done the ‘trust catch’ in team building. Where you stand, arms crossed, eyes shut and fall backwards into the arms of your team mates. However, this takes it to a more fundamental, even existential, level.
Although simple in design it take a surprisingly high level of knowledge to site it and build it. It needs to shelter from the prevailing wind and snow, but not fill with fire-smoke from the backdraft of wind over the shelter if facing directly away from the wind. It needs to be not situated in a cold dip or facing directly up hill so the descending cold evening air fills it with deadly chill. The angle of the back wall needs to be steep enough to shed rain or snow but shallow enough to provide sheltered space. It needs to be at an angle that reflects heat from the fire back down onto those within it. Even the thatching needs to be laid in a way that allows water to track down and out rather than in and on the residents. There is a real science to this. Skill & knowledge are key. Getting one element wrong can have serious consequences for those sheltering underneath.
Such a shelter is hard work and takes considerable energy and time to build. Many hands make lighter work. Energy preservation/optimization is a key to survival in these circumstances. Co-operation is therefore also critical.
The two critical elements to this shelter is the fire-reflector: a wall of logs for instance. That reflects the lost heat radiated from the back of the fire back and onto those in the shelter. In this way you get maximum heat values.
The special fire you build is called a 'long-log fire'. These are long timbers or even trunk sections that are the length of the shelter. When they burn, long and slow, they provide heat along the entire length of the shelter and kick out it's energy not from the ends of the fire but along it's face into the shelter. Combining this with a fire reflector at the back you get a powerful radiator. But it needs to burn all night and to do this team-mates need to rotate their sleep with fire-watching…..taking turns to put more long logs on the fire to ensure the safety of those sleeping. If the fire is neglected then there is a real danger to life and limb from the cold. Place trust in your team. It counts.
When done right - it gets so warm that sitting in a t-shirt can feel like overkill.
Having taken various groups out over the years to build and sleep in these shelters its amazing to see a group face a real, possibly existential challenge, and through situational awareness, co-production of the shelter and trusting each other to keep each other warm through the night they can exist, even flourish even in a hostile environment. I can’t tell you the transformation I have seen in groups that have done this. In the morning they are different people – individually and as a group.
