If you were to ask my colleagues and friends the type of people I tend to idolise, there will probably be an even split in responses between organic farmers and Ray Mears.

I have become quite adept at stalking organic farmers at various markets up and down the country; however tracking down Ray Mears has been more of a challenge.  A couple of weeks ago I found the king of bushcraft at the Outdoors Show and attended one of his lectures.

The lecture was, for me, fascinating.  However one thing that really stuck in my mind was one of Ray’s trips to the Arctic where, despite still retaining their hunter/gather skills, the indigenous people had access to a high-speed Wi-Fi network, Playstations and other technology you wouldn’t necessarily associate with living in the Arctic wilderness.

There were of course gasps and shaking of heads in the lecture theatre. Especially as the Wi-Fi was provided by an oil company that had set up shop nearby. While this was undoubtedly a bit of CSR by the oil company, it has had a profound effect on the local community.

Vital supplies can now be ordered over the internet, emergency services can be accessed but perhaps more interestingly a world of information can be found. While these are positives, I imagine the gasps and disapproving whispers upon hearing this news was due to the belief that the key skills used by the local population for centuries, would be lost in a sea of World of Warcraft and tweeting.

Or will they? As the local community becomes more proficient in finding and perhaps adding to information on the web, will we see those that retain the ancient skills post Wikis for all to learn from? Could a geo location map be uploaded highlighting the key hunting areas for other local communities? Perhaps an online charter of how to make sustainable use of the land and its resources could be drafted and adhered to.

Personally, I do get a warm feeling when hearing about the more traditional way of handing down knowledge from father/mother (no Andy Gray here) to son/daughter. However, access to the online world could help those living the more ‘pure’ life cement their legacy and teachings online. And perhaps teach the rest of the world something in the process. I’d love to learn from them and I’m sure others would too.