I chugged a weight gain shake and forced down a half pound of bacon while flipping through hand drawn flashcards of summer wild edibles in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia. It was February in Washington and I was preparing to go onto Naked and Afraid on the far side of the world.
I had Googled “Namibia survival tips” and found little specific information except a few cursory episodes from Les Stroud and Ray Mears. I found it very ironic that a 45 minute survival TV show could provide me so little information on survival in Namibia when I was preparing to go and take part in exactly that.
As I memorized plant morphology, I realized I was getting into position to provide the others just what I really wanted: an effective, quick and dirty guide to this seldom traveled corner of the Earth.
After my 23 days on the show I found out what worked from my notes and due to the graciousness of Renegade 83 Productions and Discovery Channel I was able to stay in Namibia and embed myself for 21 days into a village of Bushmen(Ju/wasi), the last few hunter gatherers of Southern Africa. With my IPhone and handycam I documented their amazing skills to thrive in this truly barren environment.
Please enjoy this trailer of We Do It Outside’s Kalahari Survival Guide. There is much more soon to come.
-Don Nguyen
