Fed Up Golf Instructor Who Quit His Job To Survive In Woods Shows Off Cozy Forest Dwelling

Oct 07, 2021 by apost team

Many people dream of a long vacation or escape from the grind of their daily lives. One man took that dream and ran with it. Marc Freukes is from Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, and he used to be a golf instructor before he quit to live a life in the forest. Freukes has been called a hermit, but he actually spends most of his time with other people as he educates them on how to live off the land. 

Freukes prides himself on not relying on benefits and instead uses the money he earns from his courses and books to sustain his lifestyle. He decided to live this way because his previous life had become stifling, and he grew depressed. Eager to get back to nature, Freukes took up residence in the forest and became the “Odenwald Tipian.” He lived in a tent at first but has now built himself a more substantial yurt.

His yurt home is built on a foundation of wood and features an inground “refrigerator” that is really a hole where he keeps his perishable food, so it doesn’t go bad. He uses fire to keep warm in the winter, often facing freezing temperatures. The man gets wood nearby for his heating but still shops at the store for groceries. He uses a basin to wash as he does not have plumbing. 

This rugged lifestyle has brought Freukes a lot of peace and happiness, and now he wants to share it with the rest of the world. Keep reading to learn more about this fascinating forest dwelling.

Moving out to the forest has been life-changing for Freukes. In German, he told Prisma, "I had existential fears beforehand. The question of where and how I want to live — was completely unanswered beforehand. And it has crystallized out here very strongly." The man feels he has found his calling in life.

Before quitting his job, the golf instructor was not in a good place mentally. "The forest saved me. I quickly realized that there were no longer the many ifs and buts that I usually had in my life," Freukes explained.

On his personal website, Freukes summed up his business in Germany by writing: “I've learned to live with very little, I write about it and show you how to do it.” He offers guides written in his books, courses and visits to his yurt so others can learn from his experiences. 

Freukes elaborates by writing, “More than half a decade in the forest has taught me what counts if you want to be at home in the forest: on the one hand, to let nature guide you and, on the other, to bring order to processes. I will show you fly fishing, fire making, natural history and much more … You can experience my everyday life outdoors — up close and authentic.”

It doesn’t cost much to go visit Freukes’ forest-dwelling, but the man has made a great business for himself off of his way of life. His site explains, “For a small fee, I offer free visitor appointments in which you can get all questions answered in 2 hours and have a look at everything. Several people are likely to come together for this.” 

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Would you ever visit Freukes’s forest-dwelling? Could you ever live off the grid like this? Let us know, and feel free to pass this along to your loved ones.