Marooned in a deserted island?  Trapped in a jungle in the Pacific?  Lost in a seemingly endless desert?

 

Away from the luxuries of urban living, you’re left on your own to find some ways on how to survive.

 

Well, you’re not exactly alone. 

 

Nature’s by your side and all you have to do is to call on her aid.  Indeed, being green is not only essential for long life.  Being green can also save your life in certain situations.

 

Here are some green tips on how to survive with Mother Nature on your side.  Even Bear Grylls will be proud of these lessons.

 

How To Make Potable Water

 

A person can survive for 3 days without eating anything, but he cannot survive that long without drinking something.  Hence, water should be your number one priority.  Not just any kind of water, mind you.  You will need potable water.  Some water sources – like the sea and even rain – can provide lots of water, but such won’t be potable.  Water from these sources contains a variety of substances that are very dangerous for your wellbeing.

 

Get a pair of green leaves that can hold water for a significant period of time.  Leaves from banana trees would be perfect for this.  Get 2 glasses worth of water and hold them using one leaf.  Then transfer the water to the other leaf.  Keep transferring the water from leaf to leaf for 30 minutes to one hour.  The reaction of the green leaves with the “running” water will act as an alternative filtration process that will ultimately make the water drinkable.

 

Alternative Way To Make Potable Water

 

Dig a hole on the ground that is directly under sunlight for most of the day.  A hole that’s 10 inches deep and 15 inches wide would suffice, though a bigger area is always better.  Support the sides of the hole with rocks so that the ground won’t cave in. 

 

Prepare a flat, thin material that can serve as receptacle for the water.  Plastic would be perfect but if none is available, a several pieces of banana leaves would be alright. 

 

Fill the hole with water.  Cover with whatever clean, flat material you can find.  

 

Let the power of the sun do its thing.  After 36 hours, more or less, you’d have solar-cleansed potable water.

 

How To Start A Fire

 

Fire is likewise essential for your survival.  Fire can make fish and veggies edible.  Fire can keep you warm at night.  Fire can inform ships from a distance that you’re in the island and in need of help.  And if you have a portable container, fire can even boil water to make it drinkable.

 

Friction between rocks over highly flammable substances like hay is the most popular way of creating fire in the wilds.  But any boy scout would know that creating fire this way is easier said than done.  TV shows and movies portray the method as if it was easy.  It never is. 

 

An easier way is by using the – you guessed it – greener technique.

 

Find a thin bamboo trunk that is already dead and dry.  Cut a 24 inch stick from the said trunk.  Cut it in half.  Collect some shavings from the exterior of the trunk. 

 

These shavings should be thin and fine because you want them to be very flammable.  Fill up the middle portion of the divided trunk with these shavings.

 

Now, using the other half of the trunk, “saw” the half with the shaving.  Do this until smoke appears.  When you see smoke, take it as your cue to increase your speed.

 

This method is called the bamboo fire saw technique.  The dried bamboo may not be as green as we want it to be, but hey, it is still nature’s way of providing us with an excellent tool to survive the harsh environments of the wild.

 

Water and fire.  With these two things, you can already survive until help arrives – all thanks to the wonders of green.

 

Hippy Green’s Hippy Fact Of The Day:  Did you know that the largest living thing on Earth is not a mammal.  It’s an underground mushroom in Oregon, measuring 3.5 miles wide… and still growing!