Dr. Bill Schindler's Eat Like a Human

It’s not about WHAT we eat, but HOW we eat it.

Bill shooting bow in GHR

Self Bow Making

As a kid everyone tied a string onto a branch and made a makeshift bow and arrow. Now, learn how to do it for real! Register
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Learn all of the steps in how to make a self bow, or a bow made entirely from one piece of wood, from standing tree to finished shooting bow capable of taking down a deer!

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About Bill

Dr. Bill Schindler is a food archaeologist, primitive technologist and chef. He travels the world with his family documenting traditional food ways and works to draw inspiration from the deep archaeological record, rich and diverse ethnographic record and modern culinary world to create food solutions that are relevant, meaningful and accessible in our modern lives. He shares all these stories in his book, Eat Like a Human, and puts the recipes into practice at his family’s Modern Stone Age Kitchen in Chestertown, Maryland.

Student drawing his first homemade bow.

Bow and arrow technology is at least 10,000 years old.  

Bow and arrow technology allowed our ancestors to accurately hunt from a distance and can be easily and quickly reloaded.  People all over the world adapted their local materials to create amazing weapons using the same basic principles.


Students in this workshop will:

  1. Learn the different properties of different types of trees,
  2. How to identify and select trees that possess the best quality for self-bows,
  3. How to fell, split, and store/season staves,
  4. How to make and tiller a bow.  

Depending on individual needs courses can be created to include time for primitive bowstring production.

Complete our Class Request Form

I have been making long-bows for years (actually I made Christina one for our 1st anniversary), but the real challenge came when I was in Mongolia filming the Great Human Race.

I asked my Director for 24 hours to go from start to finish from downing the tree to crafting a long-bow to shooting it and getting my dinner of Hare!

I did it and I can teach you how too!

If he can make a bow in 24 hours in Mongolia, what’s stopping you from learning?

Complete our Class Request Form
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