Building a Primitive Shelter
Tenting is a magnificent way to spend time outdoors but there is something really satisfying about spending that same time in a primitive shelter. To climb inside of a structure that you made with your own hands with materials you gathered from the woods is like no other experience. When I was a kid, we built many a "tree fort" out of limbs and branches.
Here are instructions for a fine wigwam/wickiup structure. (While all of the cutting of the wood may be done with a hand ax and sheath knife, I've added the "luxuries" of using lopers and a shovel!) Please make sure that you gather your structural materials in a good way and with permission of the land owner. NEVER cut wood from public lands such as parks or preserves!
This is a great, family project! A finished wigwam is a durable structure and may be used throughout the year. It's a terrific place to use as a "camp out" structure, kids' club house, ceremonial house or it could even be used as a tool shed! The care with which you construct the structure will pay off with many hours of enjoyment!
Please read the entire article before you begin.
Tools:
- Saw
- Lopers (to clip off studier little branches)
- Study knife (to trim off branches)
- Ball of sturdy string (such as cotton mason's twine) or artificial sinew
- Shovel
Structural materials:
• To build this you will need about 30 very long and slender saplings. The saplings need to be green and flexible. Willow is an excellent choice because of it's incredible flexibility, however wigwam poles may be made from sassafrass, birch, and even very young maple saplings. Trim off all the little branches and set them aside for later!
• To "shingle" the structure, you'll need spruce or fir branches, sheets of bark or many bundles of grass or reeds. I've included a few photos of these wigwam exteriors. A "modern" alternative is to use a plastic or canvas tarpaulin and or blankets.
(Note: If you are using grasses or reed, you need to gather a LOT of material at least two foot long and tie the reeds or grasses together in bunches about four to six inches in diameter. The bunches then become the "shingles" for the structure.)
Building instructions:
• Start your wigwam project by locating a fairly level area that is cleared of brush. An area about twenty feet in diameter works best.
• Drive a stake into the ground in the center. Tie the end of the twine to the stake and spool off about eight to nine feet of the twine. Tie another stick to the free end of the twine to make a primitive compass. Use the compass to scribe a circle in the dirt to mark the circumference of your wigwam. This is the place where the poles will go.
• Now choose an even number of poles to make the uprights of the structure. 12 - 16 poles is best.
• Now you will need to dig narrow holes around the scribed circle so that the poles will be spaced around the circle evenly. You'll want to bury the ends of the poles about a foot into the ground. Bury the part of the sapling that was closest to the ground--in other words, the fatter end. Tamp down the soil around the poles so that they are firmly anchored.
• Next the poles are bent into the wigwam shape. The trick to this is to work in pairs. Each pole has a "mate" across the circle. Each of the pairs must be bent over and lashed together with the cord to form an arch. Each arch is also lashed to to the others where they cross.
• The next step is to create hoops around the structure. These are made from the remaining saplings and the trimmed branches. The hoops are parallel to the ground and should be spaced about a foot apart. Lash these hoops to the arches at every point where they cross. These hoops make the structure very sturdy and will also eventually hold the "shingles" that will weatherproof your wigwam. Remember to leave an opening for the doorway!
• Now that the "bones" of the shelter are complete, you are ready to start covering the outside. With whatever you have chosen as a "skin" material, begin attaching it to the bottom hoop first. The idea is to overlap the bunches of reeds, fir branches, bark sheets or whatever you have chosen. The overlapping helps to keep the weather out! Go all the way around the structure and remember to leave your doorway clear.
• Keep covering the shelter from the bottom to the top. At the top add several overlapped layers to make sure that it is weatherproof!
• A door may be made from lightweight saplings lashed together with more "skin" attached to its outside or from a blanket attached to the top of the door opening to act as a flap.
Alternative building ideas:
You could leave the structure in the "bones" state and add the "skin" at the time of each use. In this case the tarpaulin or blanket idea would work nicely.
Another idea is to create a "green" skin by planting climbing plants around the outside of the structure. The structure won't be weather proof, but can provide plenty of other charm. The parts of the plants that start to fill the structure's interior can be either trimmed off or woven back into the walls from the inside.
When I was a child, my grandfather and grandmother had a lovely grape arbor that we sat under in the summer time. The last alternative idea made me think about how it felt to sip iced tea in that leafy wonderland! -Editor.
Got outdoor fun ideas? Send them along to us at: editors@spiritliving.org.
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