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Essex 'Cavewoman' Sleeps In Tent And Eats Roadkill To Survive

Essex 'Cavewoman' Sleeps In Tent And Eats Roadkill To Survive

The self-proclaimed 'professional cavewoman' forages her own food, lives in a tent and creates her own medicine out of herbs and fruit

Tom Sanders

Tom Sanders

Have you ever felt the desire to pack in the ol' 9-5, go off the grid and live like a feral caveperson in the wilderness? Come on, be honest.

Well that's exactly what one woman has done. Sarah Day, 43, from Colchester, Essex, has decided to embrace humanity's hunter-gatherer roots and live life as a cavewoman after becoming fascinated with survival and Stone Age life as a child.

Even though she maintains an 'official' residence in the centre of town, Sarah - who teaches children history and survival skills for a living - vastly prefers to live out in the wilderness, opting to sleep in a tent and live off the land as much as possible.

Caters

And as well as foraging for fruits, vegetables, herbs and medicinal ingredients, like willow bark and resin, Sarah also regularly dines on roadkill.

She said: "I eat roadkill at least once a week although there isn't always an animal on the side of the road.

"My freezer is full of roadkill finds which is handy during the winter as I can defrost the deer or rabbit to make a hearty stew."

Rat, squirrel and pigeon are among the most commonly-used wildlife Sarah uses for her cooking, with the former apparently tasting 'mild and sweet...like chicken, but much nicer'.

Caters

However, despite all this Sarah is strict about only eating roadkill that has been dead for less than 24 hours.

She explained: "Sometimes roadkill is simply too damaged. But if it is still juicy and warm, and largely intact, then it is good to go.

"When I am given an animal or find roadkill, my philosophy is to use as much as possible.

"I can turn the skin into leather and the guts can sometimes be turned into leather or other materials too.

"I use their bones to make tools and weapons."

But despite having a freezer full of roadkill, Sarah admits that she does still shop at a supermarket from time to time, both for essentials and because 'you're not likely to find a roadkill pig'. OK, we'll let her have that one.

Caters

But it's not just roadkill she's interested in either - Sarah's survival skills are top notch.

She said: "I made my very own sleeping bag out of reindeer skin.

"I am also currently soaking salmon skins in 100 old tea bags to make leather."

She also experiments with herbal remedies, managing to concoct a number of medicines out of the local flora.

When asked about the secret to her success, Sarah said: "It is all about working smart - the more you practise the better you become.

"I think survival has become sensationalised, it's not about running around and climbing waterfalls - the better you are, the more chilled you are."

Featured Image Credit: Caters

Topics: Essex