Page 21 - The Lost Ways

is we have never been so disconnected from life, from the world, from the soil, from the
trees and other animals, and from our souls.

We have lost the power to look after our loved ones and ourselves. We are so reliant on
others, often faceless corporations, to address our every waking need that many of us can
barely cook a decent meal—we resort to take-out and frozen meals. Our health, both
mental and physical, is suffering too because of our child-like dependence on others.

Humans need to connect again—connect to each other and connect to our world. We

need to learn the skills of our grandparents, skills that allowed them and their children to
survive wars and famines.

One of the most noticeable changes between our grandparents and us is that of our
attitudes and expectations. Our grandparents’ generation did not have the luxuries we all
indulge ourselves in—luxuries that have a finite life as we take more and more from the
planet.

My nana did not go out and buy wardrobes full of clothes. She would make her own
clothes. She would buy the fabric, often creating her own pattern from existing clothes,
cut the material, and sew the outfit. She was an amazing knitter and crocheted for the
extended family.

If an item of clothing became worn or ripped or a hole opened in a sock, it would be
mended, not thrown out. This was long before recycling and upcycling were seen as “on
trend.” This wasn’t recycling; this was an expected way of doing things.

My granddad grew fruit and vegetables and fished in the river; without those home-
produced foods, my mother and her siblings would not have eaten so well. He’d also
barter and swap various items for meat, which was a treat for the family rather than a
daily expectation as meat is now.

Home medicine was common. You simply couldn’t afford to see the doctor, and so various
“folk medicine” recipes were used for general illnesses and injuries. Medicines like
poultices and various teas were used to treat everything from minor cuts to stomach
pains. As our antibiotics stop working, we may find these home remedies useful again.

These skills were passed down. My mother, in turn, was taught from early childhood to
sew and knit, making it her living as she grew into adulthood. The recipes for folk
medicines and which berries were okay to eat were learned from childhood, and children

really could fend for themselves.

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