Primitive Survival: Emergency Water From Agave, Dakota Fire Hole Pottery And Sealing With Agave

Not all deserts are barren. Plants specifically adapted to this arid environment like jojoba produce useful nuts that can even be eaten. Even cholla's cactus can be used for food. Mojave yucca produces an edible stalk, flowers, fruit, and fibers for rope. Ocotillo plants produce edible flowers and the woody stems are used for light construction projects. But today I'm directing my attention to the desert agave. These succulent plants armed with brutally sharp thorns are an important source of fiber, food, and water for indigenous desert communities. A good knife like this serrated rib bone is an indispensable tool to cut through the tough fibrous leaves. At my temporary camp I have some pottery I recently made. I dug a Dakota fire hole to use as a simple kiln in the firing process. Not all tinders are equal. Some materials work well in just a small bundle while others need a lot more mass. The extra grass I added was key to success with this fire. Once the fire is going it's important to preheat the pottery to force out moisture. Even though the pots look and feel dry, the humidity they collect from the air can be enough to cause breakage during the firing process. When the fire burns down to a thick layer of hot coals, I place a few rocks which will serve as an elevated platform for the pottery. This will ensure there is adequate airflow all around and under the pieces while they burn. I'll leave the pots here to continue heating and drying for about one hour. Meanwhile I will gather more wood for the burn. There is an abundance of dry mesquite wood all over this area. Mesquite burns really well and is often used to make charcoal. The Dakota fire hole is a much safer option for a fire in windy conditions. The thicket of mesquite trees all around me also reduces the wind at ground level. After the pots have preheated for an hour, I begin to load the pit with lots of wood and the hot coals will slowly ignite it. The fire is extremely hot and this dry grass that is downwind of the flames is a potential fire hazard, so I'm going to wet the area with water to reduce the risk of an ember causing the fire to spread out of control. When the pit is fully engulfed in flames, I blow air in it to help the pottery reach a higher temperature. High heat is needed to solidify earth and pottery. The design of the Dakota fire hole is ideal for firing pottery for that reason. The walls reflect the heat of flames while the air tunnel feeds oxygen to the base of the flames. I also add more fuel. My goal is to keep the flames burning hot for about half an hour. Then I let the flames slowly burn out and the pottery cool. An hour later, the pottery has survived the fire and looks really good. I'll let the pit cool down a little more and take the pieces out at night. Last night it was too dark to record when I took the pots out of the fire, but they turned out good except for a couple of pieces that exploded off. Just a small piece about two inches long on this one. This little bowl turned out perfect. I'm really happy with that. And the main bowl that I fired has a small piece that blew off right here. There was probably a small stone in there and it expanded and it exploded or perhaps there was a little bit of moisture. I don't know, but it is still intact. The break that occurred did not go all the way through so that is very good. It's still going to be usable. Nice ring to it, so I'm very happy how these turned out. What I'm going to do now is a water test. None of this cookware is going to be useful if it can't hold water, right? So I'm going to put it in the water, let it soak for a little while, and then take it out and dry it. So far so good. While the pottery soaks, I just couldn't resist the refreshing cool water and decided to let myself soak too. It turned out perfect. After a couple hours in the water, it's all still completely solid. What can happen if it's not fired properly is that it can absorb water, soften, and basically start to erode and turn into mud. But these clearly are perfectly fired. They're extremely hard and they will work as cookware, no doubt in my mind. This is going to all work very well. I'll be able to seal these and they'll be watertight. They'll hold water without leaking, without water seeping through the pores. It's going to be perfect. Now I just need to let these dry. Once they fully dry, I will be able to seal them. After the pottery fully dries in the sun, I can then seal it. There are several different methods to seal pottery, but for this pot I'm going to use jojoba. Jojoba is a nut that contains an indigestible wax. Many high-quality hair and skin products contain jojoba oil in them. They're used to seal pottery too. Fired pottery is actually quite porous and will usually seep water. The idea of sealing is to essentially clog these pores with minerals, oils, starch, mucilage, whatever, so that it holds water without leaking. Despite having an indigestible wax, jojoba nuts can be eaten. I've eaten them many times in small quantities and they actually taste good. Water will be added to this ground jojoba and then it will be heated. Desert agave leaves contain a significant amount of water in the lower part of the leaves. First it has to be cooked to neutralize the saponins and toxins. Then it can be eaten or the water squeezed out. A good knife is needed to cut through the tough fibers. I'm going to cook the agave leaves in a shallow pit oven. I've never done this in my new hut, so we'll see how it turns out. The idea is to protect the leaves from direct contact with the hot coals. A better method is to dig a pit and burn a good quantity of wood in it until there's a thick layer of hot coals. Then the pit can be lined with stones and the food wrapped in leaves and placed on the stones. Then another layer of stones can be added over the food and finally a layer of earth. For a longer cooking time a new fire can be burned on top. I cook agave leaves for about one hour. I have a seemingly endless supply of firewood here. Most of this material is soft wood that burns relatively fast. After about an hour it's time to remove the agave leaves from the coals and place the pot of ground jojoba paste in their place. After the desert agave leaves cool down a they can be peeled and chewed to extract the water. They contain a lot of tough fibers that should not be swallowed. The best way to eat cooked desert agave leaves is to chew them to extract the juicy pulp and then spit out the fibers. It is summer now and the leaves are less juicy and lack sweetness at this time of year. Springtime, especially after a rainy winter, is the best time to consume desert agave. At this time of year each of these leaves contain only about four ounces of water, but they can have double that amount in the spring. I haven't eaten other species of agave so always be sure to accurately identify a plant and determine if it is edible before trying this. An alternative method to extract the juice is to simply squeeze out the juice into a container or directly into the mouth. In an emergency survival situation the agave leaf could be the best option for acquiring water in deserts where they grow. I use two large clamshells as hot pot holders. This liquid contains the natural oils or wax of the jojoba nuts I crushed. By applying it generously both inside and outside the pot I am sealing the pores. One application may not be enough, but if I use this pot for cooking foods rich in fat and starch then as a direct consequence of the cooking process I will be sealing the pot. A simple and effective method to seal earthen pottery at home is to cover both the inside and exterior of the pot with coconut oil and then fill the pot with boiling hot rice water. The pot is then allowed to sit for about eight hours and then slowly heated over a small fire. Both the oil and starch will effectively seal the pores. The contents can then be removed and the pot washed and placed in the sun to dry. I've also successfully sealed my pottery with the gelatinous mucilage of the root of small flower soap plant and palo verde beans. If you have any questions about this process please ask me in the comments below.