1. Emergency shelter
· The knot connecting to the poncho is a CLOVE HITCH
· The knot tied to the pegs is called ONE ROUND TURN AND TWO HALF HITCHES
· Pegs must be hammered at 45 degrees to the ground and hammered all the way into the ground, leaving only the triangle above the ground surface.
· The twine MUST NOT TOUCH THE GROUND! (because the twine will rot and get dirty) The knot should be tied at the “bend” of the peg.
· When pegging, shelter should neither be too tight (poncho will tear) nor too loose (shelter is saggy).
· Position the gadget poles at the place where it best shows that your shelter is sturdy and tight/ looks neat.
· Always lean the hammer against the pole, with the metal head down to earth.
2. Ladder
· Use either CLOVE HITCH or MARLIN SPIKE
· Clove Hitch--
Advantage: Easy to adjust
Disadvantage: Poles will move down when stepped on, so if many ppl are climbing the ladder, have to adjust from time to time because the gaps between poles get bigger and bigger.
· Marlin Spike--
Advantage: Poles will not move down when stepped on + easy to tie and untie
Disadvantage: Difficult to adjust
· Whichever knot you are using, make sure they are tight!
· Gaps between poles must not be too big. All gaps must be equally wide.
3. Axemanship
· MEMORISE all the names of the different parts of the axe (e.g. bit, cheek, heel, toe, shoulder, etc.)
· Know how to pass the axe safely and properly
· Know how to sharpen the axe
· If you are chopping the wood horizontally (axe is in different direction as the wood fibre), make sure you are chopping in a “V” shape and axe is approaching the wood at 45 degrees. For each side of the “V”, chop 3 times then change side.
4. Firelighting
· The time limit is 20mins, from start to water boil. So don’t take your own sweet time!
· Before you start, make sure you have newspaper, kettle, changkul, logs and all your kindling with you.
· Before you even start turfing, arrange your maomao, twigs and kindling in separate and neat piles. Ensure that they are all broken into suitable lengths to burn (about a little longer than your palm).
· Fill your kettle with water.
· Start turfing. Every time you cut the ground, pull up the area that you want to cut up slightly. The area should come up in a nice piece, like a cake. Put the “cake” on a piece of newspaper (about 4 layers).
· The tiny debris of soil, scoop them up with the changkul and put them on a SEPARATE piece of newspaper.
· THE HOLE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SO BIG! Approximately a square of length of the changkul blade is enough.
· Put A BALL OF MAOMAO in the center of the hole and make a small hole AT THE SIDE of the ball. DO NOT SQUEEZE THE MAOMAO INTO A TIGHT BALL because fire needs oxygen to burn!
· Scatter thin twigs in an “A” shape around the ball. DO NOT LAY THE TWIGS ON THE BALL.
· How to strike a match: Match should slide down the box at 45 degrees.
· Light the maomao from the hole that you made previously. Allow the fire to slowly spread on its own. DO NOT BLOW THE FIRE! (Only blow when you can only see red embers left. Always blow in the same direction as the wind.)
· Scatter more thin twigs around the fire in an “A” shape but DO NOT SCATTER SO MUCH THAT IT DROWNS THE FIRE.
· Once you see the thin twigs catching fire, scatter the thicker twigs.
· Once thicker twigs catch fire, scatter thick branches.
· Once fire steady, put the logs parallel to each other on each side of the fire. Use “Y” shape branch and balance kettle on the logs. Check that kettle does not sit directly on the fire.
· While waiting for water to boil, check the fire from time to time. If fire had fed on all twigs and branches, add more so that fire does not die out. If flames are not seen, blow the fire at ground level lightly until fire relights. Don’t blow at the fire from the top. Don’t blow too hard.
· Use “Y” shape branch to open kettle cap to see if water is boiling. Once water is boiling, call Uncle Ghazali to come!
· After Uncle Ghazali has checked, extinguish the fire if he says so. (If not, just ask if you can put out the fire.)
· Remove kettle. Do not remove logs yet. DO NOT POUR WATER ON THE FIRE. Use hand to sprinkle water on the fire and logs until no white ash or smoke is seen. Do not sprinkle so much until the hole is flooded!
· Remove logs. Use changkul to scoop up ALL ash/match remains and put them on another piece of newspaper. Wrap it up and dispose it.
· Pull the newspaper with the soil debris close to the hole and drag the soil debris into the hole with the changkul. Then, pull the “cake” near to the hole and push the “cake” into the hole. If the “cake” is naughty, just use your hands (:
· Jump on the “cake” to flatten it to same level as ground. Do your best to make the ground look as if it has never been tampered with before at all.
· Lay the changkul (with the sharp part of blade in contact with the ground) on the ground. Empty the kettle into the DRAIN. (Not the field!)
· Yayy! You’re done~
5. Map Reading
· No comments (: …. You’re on your own for this.
~QMs & AQMs ;D
