Bushcraft Workshop in the Netherlands: Learning Survival Skills with Wild Hike

Most people spend their days indoors. Screens, offices, apartments, cars. The natural 
world exists somewhere in the background, something to look at through a window or 
visit briefly on a weekend walk.

A bushcraft workshop is a direct interruption of that pattern.

For a few hours, you step out of the familiar and into something older and more 
demanding. You make fire without a lighter. You build a shelter from what the forest 
provides. You filter water from a stream. You navigate without a phone. You cook over 
open flame.

These are not skills that most people in the modern world ever learn. But they are 
skills that connect you to something fundamental, to your own capability, to the 
natural environment, and to a kind of focused presence that is increasingly rare.

Wild Hike offers bushcraft workshops in the Netherlands led by Finn Tiebout, a 
certified wilderness guide and survival instructor who has spent years developing 
a teaching approach that makes these skills accessible to complete beginners while 
remaining genuinely challenging and rewarding.

WHO IS FINN TIEBOUT

Finn Tiebout is a certified wilderness guide holding qualifications that include the 
Canadian Survival and Woodstravel Instructor certification, the Hike and Survival 
Instructor certification, and Wilderness and Remote First Aid training.

In 2024, he spent three weeks in the wilderness of Western Canada putting his 
knowledge into practice in genuinely remote conditions. In the summer of 2025, 
he delivered 14 weekends of bushcraft training, building a track record of teaching 
people with no outdoor experience how to move confidently in natural environments.

His approach is practical, calm, and focused on learning by doing. There are no 
lengthy lectures. You learn each skill by practicing it, making mistakes, and 
trying again until it works.

WHAT YOU LEARN

The Wild Hike bushcraft workshop runs for four hours, from 13:00 to 17:00, and 
covers a core set of practical outdoor skills.

Safe knife and axe handling

The knife is the most important tool in a bushcraft kit. Learning to use it safely 
and efficiently, how to grip it, how to carve with it, how to maintain it is 
the foundation of everything else. The axe extends those skills to heavier work. 
Finn teaches both with an emphasis on safety first and confidence second.

Fire making with limited tools

Making fire without matches or a lighter is one of the most satisfying skills in 
bushcraft. The workshop covers several methods, focusing on understanding the 
relationship between fuel, oxygen, and heat, and on the patience and technique 
that reliable fire making requires.

Water purification

In a survival situation, water is the first priority. The workshop covers how to 
identify water sources, how to assess water quality, and how to make water safe 
to drink using practical field methods.

Introduction to edible plants

The Dutch countryside contains more edible plants than most people realise. 
Finn introduces participants to the most useful and identifiable species — 
plants that can supplement nutrition in the field and that change the way you 
look at the landscape around you.

Bushcraft challenge

The workshop includes a practical challenge that brings the skills together,
a task that requires participants to apply what they've learned under mild 
time pressure, in a format that encourages teamwork and problem solving.

OPTIONAL ADD-ON: FISH FILLETING

For groups interested in extending the workshop, Wild Hike offers a fish 
filleting session as an optional add-on. Learning to clean and prepare a 
fish using basic tools is both a practical skill and a satisfying connection 
to the idea of living from what the land and water provide.

THE SETTING

Wild Hike workshops take place in natural outdoor locations in the Netherlands. 
The exact location is shared after booking and is chosen to provide genuine 
forest and natural terrain rather than a manicured park or recreational area.

Being in a real natural environment is part of the experience. The workshop 
works best when participants are genuinely surrounded by the materials and 
conditions that the skills are designed for.

WHO THIS IS FOR

The Wild Hike bushcraft workshop is designed for beginners. No prior outdoor 
experience is required. The skills taught are fundamental and the teaching 
approach is patient and accessible.

It works well for:

People who have always been curious about bushcraft and survival skills but 
have never had a structured way to learn them. Groups of friends looking for 
an unusual and genuinely memorable shared experience. Anyone who spends a lot 
of time indoors and wants to spend a few hours doing something physical, 
focused, and completely different. People interested in self-reliance, 
sustainability, and reconnecting with natural environments.

The workshop is for adults. Comfortable outdoor clothing and footwear are 
required, dress for the weather and expect to get your hands dirty.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

- Full guided bushcraft workshop
- Safe knife and axe handling
- Fire making with limited tools
- Water purification techniques
- Introduction to edible plants
- Bushcraft team challenge
- All equipment and materials provided
- Coffee, tea, and a small outdoor snack

Optional add-on:
- Fish filleting workshop (€7.50 per person)

Duration: 4 hours (13:00 – 17:00)
Group size: Minimum 6, maximum 15 participants
Languages: Dutch and English
Location: Outdoor location in the Netherlands (confirmed after booking)

PRACTICAL NOTES

Wear clothing you don't mind getting dirty. Sturdy footwear, boots or 
trail shoes, is strongly recommended. The workshop runs in most weather 
conditions, so dress appropriately for the season. There are no indoor 
facilities at the workshop location.

HOW TO BOOK

The Wild Hike bushcraft workshop is available through Farmiyo, a platform 
connecting travelers with authentic outdoor and farm experiences across Europe.

Book the bushcraft workshop in the Netherlands → farmiyo.com