2.Weave and fill the walls. At this point, you’re ready to start weaving flexible materials through the stakes to hold the debris you will add later in place. Refer to page 34 for more details about the weaving. You might want to give careful consideration to what materials you use for weaving the inside wall and how tight you create the inside weave, as you may be resting against this wall later. If you are short on materials but still want to rest against the wall without debris raining down your back, consider planning ahead to create a tight weave in the places you expect to be sitting against the wall, and a loose weave everywhere else.

Once the weaving has been completed, you can fill in the walls with tightly packed debris, ensuring that no gaps are left.

Build the Roof

1.Gather materials. For the next step, you will need to gather four extremely sturdy forked logs. Assuming that your wall is about 5 feet high, the length of these poles (above ground) should be about 6 feet. You will also need four strong branches, each about 5 feet in length.

2.Create the roof supports. In the center of your shelter, measure out a 4 x 4-foot square. This is to become the fireplace. On each of these corners, dig a foot-deep hole in order to place the four forked branches securely upright. Connect these four uprights by laying the four strong branches across them so they form a square. Often, by puzzling carefully, you can create the square in such a way that the branches lock themselves into place. Standing back, it will appear that the roof you’re going to place over the shelter will hardly have any pitch at all. This is true initially. However, over time, the heavy roof will compress the debris walls somewhat, making the pitch more acceptable.

3.Create the fireplace. At this point, I like to create a formal fireplace by making a ring out of stones. Place the stones 6 inches to 1 foot high within the four poles and fill the ring with sandy soil, leaving a shallow bowl. You’ll want to make sure that the fire pit stays well away from the four supports. I would suggest trying to limit the diameter of the pit itself to 1-1/2 feet. It is possible to build an advanced fireplace at this time, providing more air to the fire, if you wish. See page 54 for instructions.

4.Build the roof. Now is the time to place a sturdy stick (the lintel) across the two forked branches at the entrance and to start laying sturdy poles across the roof from the square in the center to the top of the wall or beyond. Ensure that the poles overlap the square by a good 6 inches, but not much more, to allow for the sagging walls later. In the images on the right, in fact, you may notice that some roof poles are going all the way to the ground, which is not a bad idea, as it adds some stability. You want to start laying poles so that they are equally spaced out, like the rays on a child’s drawing of the sun. Obviously, there’s only so much space at the square, so when the space fills up, lay poles with the bottoms on the wall, and the top over already placed poles. Continue this process until the top of your entire structure is “roofed” with poles. If you do it right, you should still have a 3 x 3 feet square hole in the center, which will be needed for smoke to escape.

5.Cover the roof with debris. When you’re finished with the poles, you can start throwing debris over the top. Place a good 1 to 1-1/2 feet of debris on top. Ensure that the debris is thickest at the smoke hole and gently slopes down toward the walls, creating a gentle dome. On windy days, you can add branches to help hold the debris down.

6.Cover the entrance. With the roof and the walls now finished, you’ll need to come up with a way to close over the entrance. There’s really no convenient “bare hands” way to do it. In the past I’ve used hides, clothes or even some old sacking I had found.

There is a lot you can do with the empty space inside. In “Bedding” (page 56) we will talk about ways in which to create bedding and other “furniture” for shelters such as these.

Even though creating a shelter such as this is an incredible amount of work, it is immensely comfortable and gratifying to stay in. These structures can last for many years and be enjoyed again and again. If I had to choose a long-term primitive shelter to build in my backyard, this would be the one.

FIRE SAFETY

As this shelter will have a fire inside, a word of warning is appropriate here. You should ensure you have the means to extinguish any fire immediately. You’re creating fire inside a wood and leaf building. Any sparks flying up can easily land in the debris that forms the roof. It is vital to be vigilant at all times! In my own experience living in such shelters, I have extinguished smoldering leaves in the roof, right at the edge of the smoke hole and have seen roof supports getting charred a third of the way through. Apart from vigilance, regular application of damp clay mixed with a small amount of chopped-up grass to at-risk areas of the shelter can be a real help. It is also important to keep a tidy shelter with equipment stored out of the way so in case of emergency, the exit can easily be reached. In such shelters, I also keep the floor scrupulously clean of debris for fear of a spark landing in it. When possible, I like to have a container of water or damp sand available too. Finally, creating your fire using broadleaf wood only and keeping it small will minimize sparks.

BENT SAPLING SHELTER

Even though the bent sapling shelter is constructed in an entirely different way, it still uses a number of the principles discussed in the round debris wall shelter. This shelter is circular and can be built using surprisingly few resources. For this example, I’ll describe the construction of a shelter large enough for two people to shelter in, though with no room for a fire. Once you build one of these, you’ll realize that the shape resembles that of a roomy tent. As the saplings are bent over to meet each other, they create a fairly high space with a lot of room to move about in.