On clear days, Da would go out at first light and then come back for us. We would take bags made from thin skins sewed tightly together. We each carried a light frame of wood with shoulder harness. Da taught us where to find berries, which were good and which were poisonous.
We collected plants and herbs that would dry, for food and for medicine. From these, Da showed us how to ferment potions and store them in tight skin bags in a woven wicker frame. Sometimes we would make clay pots and bury them under hot coals to harden. These were brittle and didn’t last long. One trick we learned was to make and place dried wattle bricks, lining a hole in the ground, caulking their cracks with tallow, and then burn a hot fire in the hole. We then made a wicker top, wattled to shed water and just wid
