Dug North

Dug North grew up on a small farm in the hills of Vermont. Being surrounded by forests, he was fascinated by the wilderness survival books of Ellsworth Jaeger, Bradford Angier, and Tom Brown Jr. He spent many hours hunting and fishing with his father in nearby New Hampshire.

Dug went on to earn an undergraduate degree in Anthropology at the University of Vermont, and a graduate degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was most interested in how humans have survived and thrived in diverse environments around the globe and through time. After college, he spent several years working as an archeologist.

Over the years, Dug’s occupations and personal interests have focused on how to make things. He has made everything from swanky restaurant signs to tiny antique clock parts, to giant pumpkin-throwing trebuchets. His hand-cranked mechanical sculptures have found their way into private collections and public museums. Dug spent 5 years operating an antique clock restoration business in which he used antique tools to replicate historical fabrication techniques faithfully.

Dug has written several magazine articles and dozens of blog posts describing how to make objects out of wood and metal. As a primary contributor, his name is featured on the cover of the book titled Big Book of Gizmos & Gadgets (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2016).

In recent years, his love of making things has found expression in the field of ancestral skills. He has learned to make fire, containers, cordage, traps, shelters, hunting weapons, and tools. Dug’s very first anthropology class in college featured a film about the ǃKung people of Southern Africa. He is thrilled to have the chance to have an adventure in the same part of the world — one that is so rich in human history.