How to Survive - Solar Still [ Finding Drinkable Water ]

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The Forest : Game Review

The other day my friends were walking in our D&D group chat about a video game, and I asked whats it all about. They told me about this game named The Forest. I immediately bought the game and download it in like 10 minutes. I usually like to play MMORPG games like Elder Scrolls Online, Archlord, Cabal etc. If it wasnt for my friend I wouldnt play this game.

We were 5 players playing this dark survival game and I found myself liking the game. it has a large map and primitive survival elements which I like the most. Maybe primitive design is the thing that impress me the most. Anyway, you came here to learn about survival, and how to find drinkable water in the wild not a game review. I know I know, but let me finish.

In this game you have to eat and drink regularly and have to build a shelter. Protect yourself from wildlings and collect raw materials to build yourself usefull tools. The thing is most people think that Food is the most important thing when its comes to survival, or a shelter to stay at night or a weapon to protect yourself. Neither of theese things are important. Let me explain

In a Survival Situation

I am no expert on this topic, use this information carefully and do your own research. In a real survival situation everything can be dangerous and critical. Minor error might cost your life.

The most important thing when you know you are lost and found yourself in a survival situation is to remain calm. Have sense of direction using sun and stars etc. BUT when its comes to staying alive , WATER is the most precious thing in the world for you. You can stay alive without food for 2 to 3 weeks. You'll die in 3 to 4 days without water. And it'll not be a pleasant feeling the whole time. The first thing you must do is to find a drinkable water. There are lots of water source in the wild depending on where you are but I wanted to show you something you can build almost everywhere if the day is sunny.

in the game The Forest, you can collect rain water by building a turtle shell bowl with sticks. this way when it rains at night, you'll have fresh drinkable water in the morning.

Solar Still

A solar still distills water with substances dissolved in it by using the heat of the Sun to evaporate water so that it may be cooled and collected, thereby purifying it. They are used in areas where drinking water is unavailable, so that clean water is obtained from dirty water or from plants by exposing them to sunlight.

We can have drinkable clean water by using some of our highschool physics knowledge. Remember saying to your teacher "where will I be using this information in real life?!" yes this is where. The technique I am gonna show here uses green plants, pastic sheet and a rock. Simple materials.

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Step One : Dig a hole in the ground
Find a place that receive direct sun light in most of the time of the day. Sun light is the key here. Dig a whole in the ground. You can use a sturdy stick to do this job. Make sure not to tire yourself while doing it, you dont have to rush, dont sweat.

Step Two : Find non-toxic green leafs

By itself the solar still will collect water from the moisture of the ground but it will not produce enough water to drink. Go and find large juicy green leafs and place them in the pit you just dig. The sun will evaporate the moisture from the leaves and the plastic sheet will collect them.

Step Three : Find a container to collect water in

You have to have some kind of container to collect the water in. This can be a coconut shell, plastic bottle etc. it has to be water tight because this process takes time and we dont want to loose water.

Step Three : Plastic sheet
This step is the hardest part but thanks to pollution ( I dont believe I am saying this ) we can easily find plastic bags almost everywhere. Or we have already on our bag. Plastic bags are everywhere. Rip the side of the bag and make sheet and place it on top of the pit. Place large rocks and some dirt over the edges and seal them. it should be closed all around.

Step Four : Little rock
This is what makes this setup work. In order to water to start collecting in our cup which we places in the middle of the pit. We have to put some small rock in the middle to create a lowest point in the plastic sheet. As the water evaporates and collects in the sheet, the gravity will force them to go to the lowest point. You can create more then one solar still to have more water.

Youtube Video

I came across a youtube video last night and watch the whole thing. The Australian guy challenged himself to survive in an island for 3 days without food, water or shelter. He wears a short, t-shirt and have a pocket knife to begin with. He also picks his shoes from the garbage he found.

The Solar still method is used here in ( almost ) a real survival situation. You can see the importance of the water why watching the video. its a 50minutes video but it worth watching if you are interested in survival situations. 15:47 minute mark is the where he prepares the Solar still if you just interested in that.