- 2 days ago
THIS fearless family of five are rejecting city life to live "off-grid" in the jungle. Parents Thelma and Josiah grew up in the jungle themselves when they were younger and are now teaching their three sons William (9), Brandon (5) and Brian (1) to "survive in the wild". Their boys have never gone to school; instead, they spend their days running through the thick forest and climbing trees barefoot, despite the presence of snakes and spiders lurking in the shadows. As Thelma admitted, the dangers don't end there: "We have heard of people getting eaten [by jaguars], but none of us got eaten!" Instead of shying away from the risks the jungle possesses, Thelma and Josiah are equipping their young sons with survival skills - even teaching their eldest, William, to handle a full-size machete. When the parents started sharing videos of daily family life in the jungle on social media, they quickly developed a huge following - but this also brought scrutiny regarding their parenting choices. Many online have accused the parents of putting their kids "in danger" by allowing them to run barefoot and feeding them "raw cow's milk". But Thelma and Josiah are adamant that "they don't know what they're talking about because they haven't experienced this". And their boys seem quite content with the life their parents have provided for them - with William telling Truly: "In the city I can't run around, I could hardly breathe. I think more people should live in the jungle because you can go exploring whenever you want!"
Follow the family's adventures in the jungle:
https://www.tiktok.com/@crazyjungleadventures
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https://www.facebook.com/p/Crazy-jungle-adventures-61575258235143
https://www.youtube.com/@CrazyJungleAdventure
Follow the family's adventures in the jungle:
https://www.tiktok.com/@crazyjungleadventures
https://www.instagram.com/crazyjungleadventures
https://www.facebook.com/p/Crazy-jungle-adventures-61575258235143
https://www.youtube.com/@CrazyJungleAdventure
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FunTranscript
00:00Our kids run barefoot in the jungle.
00:02So what?
00:03Yes, there are snakes and spiders.
00:05We have heard of people getting eaten.
00:07Do you know what to do if you do see a snake?
00:09We're chatting or I forgot.
00:12We teach our kids to climb trees and use knives
00:15so they can survive in the wild.
00:17I don't let them go to school.
00:18I'd rather do it here.
00:19Don't chop your hands.
00:20People accuse us of putting our kids in danger
00:23every single day.
00:25This is so not safe.
00:27I really worry about your kids.
00:29People are too comfortable in their lives.
00:31How are our sons going to learn if they don't take any risks?
00:34Well, that's a sharp machete.
00:36Hey boys, let's go in the woods and get some breakfast.
00:39Yes, yes.
00:40My name is Josiah.
00:41This is my wife, Thelma.
00:42And we live out here in the jungle off-grid
00:45with our three children.
00:47The oldest, he's very talkative
00:48and loves to engage with people in the middle.
00:51He loves plants.
00:52He's like a botanist, but he's not very much into people.
00:55The youngest is just the baby.
00:57He's very loving and kind.
00:58He likes to hug.
01:00So when you guys are going out for breakfast,
01:01what do you bring with you?
01:02A machete and a vibe.
01:05A lot of times I do get to use the machete.
01:07Most times my daddy uses it.
01:09What do you use it for?
01:12Opening the fruits and stuff.
01:15Alright, you guys ready?
01:16Yeah.
01:17Let's go.
01:21I see the kids nowadays like glued to their phones
01:23and I see it very detrimental.
01:25So that's why we decided to take a different stand against it.
01:29Oh wow, you found some wild berries?
01:32We don't send our kids to public school
01:34because we think it's important to teach them
01:37how to live off-grid and to do stuff for themselves.
01:40Alright, you ready boys?
01:43Woo, yes, let's go gather them.
01:45Alright, pick them up.
01:46I'm okay with them going barefoot
01:48and I'm okay with them running free in the woods.
01:50Look, this is a nice one.
01:52That one's for the baby.
01:53A lot of people are worried if we let children run around barefoot.
01:56They might step on a snake or whatever,
01:58but the more important part is to teach them what to do when there is a snake.
02:03Oh, is that awesome?
02:04Look boys.
02:06This worm.
02:07This is very painful.
02:09You come against this.
02:10Don't touch it.
02:11Don't ever touch it.
02:12You see these in the woods?
02:13Just leave them alone.
02:14Don't try to pet it.
02:16It's not a nice fuzzy animal or something.
02:18So you both kind of grew up in this.
02:20I grew up here.
02:21We didn't even have electricity.
02:24My parents, they raised us completely off-grid
02:26without any like modern convenience.
02:28Not even lights.
02:29Not a light.
02:30And that was all my childhood.
02:32And I knew him since I was like four.
02:34He lived six days down the river.
02:36We had to like plan a trip months ahead.
02:38There's no cell phone service.
02:39No internet, no roads.
02:40A radio.
02:46Everything that flows from this side is clean.
02:49Here.
02:51Ooh, a large now?
02:53It doesn't bother you to drink water where a snail is living?
02:56No.
02:57He's thirsty.
02:59Okay.
03:00You good?
03:04Sometimes there's places in the woods where there isn't fresh water like that.
03:07And then if you find one of these uña de gato vines, they always have fresh water inside of them.
03:12Let's hold it up.
03:12It'll drip out.
03:14Okay.
03:14Stick your mouth under.
03:16There's water.
03:17Open your mouth.
03:19Yummy.
03:21That's good for you water.
03:23The main reason we're here is because we love like the jungle.
03:26We like the woods here.
03:27And it's tropical year round.
03:29I love acai.
03:32Ripe acai.
03:33Should we get them?
03:35I love to know that I can provide for my own meat.
03:38We like to know where our food comes from.
03:40We like, yeah.
03:42We have 36 hectares and the rest of it is just natural forest.
03:48We harvest wild fruits as well as raisins, our garden.
03:54All right.
03:58Woo-hoo!
04:06Okay.
04:07And?
04:08Tired?
04:09Yes, I'm tired.
04:10Good job.
04:11But it feels good.
04:12Wow, look at all that.
04:13I see.
04:14Even the baby's getting into it.
04:16How often do you climb trees?
04:18Pretty often.
04:20Like every other day.
04:22Lots of times actually just for fun.
04:24I remember I taught him how to climb the first tree.
04:28Yeah.
04:30When they're a young age, they have no idea.
04:31They want to climb as high as they want to go.
04:33So you have to sort of monitor them and watch them.
04:35But then when you can see that they're ready,
04:38we let them climb higher trees.
04:40Further out on the hang, not up against the trunk.
04:42Yeah, like that.
04:43Maybe you can pull it like that.
04:45There you go.
04:46All right.
04:47Can I sit down?
04:48I always stand underneath them still just to make sure
04:51that they won't fall.
04:52And if they do fall, I can catch them.
04:54Has that happened?
04:56With the little one, yeah.
04:57That has happened before.
04:58Just like a little slide, a little fall, like nothing big.
05:02This is the berry.
05:04And there's the flesh.
05:08And right there is the nut.
05:11When you chop, you do just a little bit of an angle like that.
05:14And then another notch here.
05:16Like that.
05:18And give it a shot.
05:20Okay, I'm going to stand back out of your way a little bit.
05:25Your older son can use a knife.
05:27Yeah, well a knife is just like anything can be dangerous,
05:31but the most dangerous thing is if you don't know how to use it.
05:34The benefit to living like this is teaching them how to survive,
05:38how to fend for themselves, how to work.
05:40I know that it's very good for them to go barefoot,
05:42for them to eat the wild fruit, for their immune system to get strong,
05:45for them to get stung by wasps.
05:47Boys, are you guys ever worried about snakes or bugs or anything?
05:51Not really.
05:52But do you know what to do if you do see a snake?
05:54What do you do?
05:55Do you play with it?
05:57Do you play with it?
05:59The nearest hospital is three hours away from us.
06:02And sometimes I am worried like if something major were to happen,
06:05there's no emergency room.
06:07But we're very careful and we take many precautions.
06:10If you don't know if a berry is poisonous or not, what do you do?
06:13Well, you can take a tiny bite.
06:16Take a tiny bite so you can get sick or nothing.
06:19Eat a little bit more, a little bit more.
06:22It's not so much dangerous stuff.
06:24I mean, we've had trouble with jaguars eating the cows.
06:28That could be something, you know?
06:29All right, let's gather up our harvest.
06:32Are you scared about jaguars and your children or not necessarily?
06:35I'm not really because I feel like we're very connected to nature and we can like,
06:42feel like, I think the jaguar respects us.
06:45We have heard of people getting eaten further down the road.
06:49Yeah, there was a person but none of us got eaten.
06:56Okay, why did we get for breakfast?
06:58Do you have the phone?
06:59Yeah, I have it.
07:00Let's make a video about it.
07:01This morning we went in the woods and we found all this fruit.
07:04Look, we found maho, we found acai, and palm heart.
07:07And now we're going to make breakfast.
07:09Give it a good whack, but don't chop your hand.
07:11Yeah, just like that.
07:13I'm teaching him how to use the machete safely.
07:16From a young age, I try to teach my kids how to use a machete and a knife
07:21and bigger machetes to defend themselves, to gather wild fruit.
07:24Why did you decide to start making these videos?
07:27One, two, three, go!
07:28We just decided maybe to inspire people to, you know, go do things for themselves.
07:33Welcome to my outdoor kitchen.
07:35It's Lonely Day in the Creek today.
07:37And part of the reason, of course, was just to, you know, earn some money here,
07:41so we can finish our house and do that.
07:43In April, we'll be celebrating one year of reading Facebook,
07:46and we already have one million followers.
07:51Mmm, yummy!
07:52Right in the middle.
07:54Yeah, he's very strong.
07:56I'm just going to throw this out.
07:58This is the edible part right here.
08:00All right, let's drink acai.
08:06We're not going to be cursed, huh?
08:08Did the kids previously go to a regular school?
08:11They've never gone to a regular school.
08:13I can teach them just exactly what they can teach them,
08:16so I'd rather do it here.
08:19My oldest son wants to be a scientist when he grows up,
08:21and we told him it's totally, he can go do whatever he wants when he grows up.
08:25We're just giving him the basic education.
08:27Does it concern you in any way that they're not socializing with other children?
08:31It doesn't concern me that much.
08:34We take them to town occasionally, and they learn how to socialize with people.
08:38If they were completely isolated, then yeah, but...
08:40Yes, they would hide when people come.
08:42Then I would be concerned, but they don't do that.
08:44They're friendly, so...
08:45Do you like eating in restaurants in the city, or not so much?
08:48Not so much. It's nicer here.
08:50When we're traveling and stuff, and we have to eat street food and stuff,
08:52it's like, we get very sick.
08:54Our stomachs are not used to eating it.
08:57Well, what about Coke?
08:58You've already missed Coke, don't you?
08:59No.
09:00Beer.
09:01Would you rather have Coke or acai?
09:03Acai.
09:04Way better.
09:06Our land provides us with more food than we can even eat.
09:09As far as animals for food, we have cows, milk, cheese, butter, meat.
09:14Yogurt.
09:15Yogurt.
09:16And I have a garden.
09:17I raise tomatoes, green beans, yucca.
09:21But then, I do go to town to buy diapers for my son, and we buy salt, we buy some
09:27rice,
09:29and...
09:29Gasoline.
09:30Gasoline.
09:31We do buy gasoline.
09:32We hope, eventually, not to have to almost buy anything.
09:37We started building our house about two years ago, and it's still a work in progress.
09:40We have a lot of stuff that's unfinished, but we'll show you around.
09:45So, this is the kitchen area and the living room area where we eat.
09:48My husband built all of this by himself.
09:50In fact, we mostly built the house all by ourselves.
09:53This is my bedroom here, and the baby is asleep.
09:56We painted all of this by ourselves, installed the fans, installed the lights.
10:01We definitely live off-grid.
10:03There's no cell phone service out here.
10:05There's no city power.
10:07So, everything that we have out here is from solar or a backup generator.
10:12There's seven solar panels on the roof.
10:14These are the controllers that regulate the power to the batteries to make sure they get the right voltage.
10:20The main thing is to not be entirely dependent on power, so that if it goes down, we can always
10:27cook with fire.
10:28We can wash clothes by hand.
10:30The creek's down there, we can haul water.
10:31This is the boys' room.
10:34We want to make them bunk beds, but for now, they like it, and I'm very comfortable with it because
10:39there's no falling off the bed, right?
10:43And this is the balcony.
10:44We get up, like, at 5.30 before any of the animals are up, right?
10:47And then the monkeys slowly start passing through, and the birds, they start flying overhead, and it's so cool.
10:53It's so fun.
10:54Like, it's so peaceful.
10:55I just lay out here on the hammock with my tablet and my other thing out here.
10:59I guess it's my office.
11:00How do you fund the lifestyle here?
11:02Originally, we used to make cheese to sell, and lately we've also been earning some from social media.
11:08Hey, why don't you check the video that we posted earlier today, see if it got any comments.
11:12Let's see what they said.
11:14Swinging a blade above your other hand is not teaching him safety.
11:17One slip and he could cut his finger.
11:19I don't think I would ever cut my children's finger.
11:23I never have, and I've been doing it all their lives and all my life.
11:27Sometimes I do feel, like, down when people write, like, really negative things, like, you're permanently damaging your kids.
11:33Or even, like, putting them on camera, they don't want to be on camera.
11:37Or letting them go barefoot, or feeding them cows milk.
11:40So many people like to comment on our videos and say, your kids are going barefoot, and you're wearing boots.
11:45But I can't make them wear shoes.
11:47As soon as they could walk, they were going barefoot.
11:49And when we went to town, I tried to put shoes on them, but they refused to let me.
11:53Please take care of crocodile safety first.
11:55I really worry about your kids.
11:57Crocodiles.
11:58Crocodiles.
11:59Oh, there's no crocodiles here.
12:01Cow raw milk is the worst thing.
12:04This is so not safe.
12:06When people comment and say that I'm putting my kids in danger,
12:09I feel like they don't know what they're talking about because they haven't experienced this.
12:13When we first started posting content, we were more concerned about what the people would think or say.
12:18But now we see a comment like that, it doesn't bother us anymore.
12:21A lot of people comment very positive things like, I'm inspiring them to go outdoors,
12:26which I feel like it makes me very happy and it makes me feel very accomplished.
12:30This is what rich looks like.
12:32These kids are having such a good childhood.
12:35The kids must be so happy to live like that.
12:38Can you adopt me please?
12:40I was more concerned that people would come and maybe try to take the kids away and say we're not
12:45safe parents.
12:46But then again, we do live way back out here.
12:48So who's going to come?
12:50All right.
12:51Come.
12:52I'm going to give you fresh cow milk.
12:58Look at that.
12:59Delicious.
13:01The youngest is all excited about cows.
13:03Every day when I go up to milk, he goes there with his cup.
13:06And he'll even drink straight from the teat.
13:09On the video of the children drinking milk straight from the cow, we got a lot of comments.
13:14Wow.
13:15Can you do it by yourself?
13:17Probably 50% of them were people saying you cannot give children raw cow's milk.
13:23It's poisonous to them and they're not meant to drink it.
13:26Next.
13:26We know our cows.
13:28We know our cows are healthy and we know the milk is good.
13:30I feel like when they pasteurize it, it kills like most of the good nutrients.
13:35So I think fresh cow milk straight from the udder is the best thing you can give your child.
13:39Cheers.
13:40Cheers.
13:41I like it a lot.
13:43It tastes very good.
13:44It's good for you and it makes you very strong.
13:47It's my favorite thing to drink.
13:53What would you say about the people who do judge you in your way of life?
13:57I feel that they're just ignorant.
13:59We're not neglecting our children, but we're intentionally raising them this way.
14:03In the city, you might get hit by a car.
14:06In the jungle, a snake might bite you.
14:08With proper precautions, it can be safe anywhere.
14:13We're together most of the time.
14:14We live off what we produce from the ground.
14:17For me, this is a more positive environment to raise your children and lifestyle.
14:23Do you ever wish you could live in the city instead of the jungle?
14:26No.
14:27In the city, I can't run around.
14:31I can hardly breathe.
14:33I think more people should live in the jungle because there's a lot of fruits to eat
14:39and you can go exploring in the woods whenever you want.
14:43How would you feel if your kids decide the jungle life isn't for them?
14:46They want to do something else.
14:47If they decide to do something different when they're older, that's totally fine with me.
14:50It's their decision once they grow up.
14:52Whatever their passion is, that's what I want them to do, yeah?
14:56Do you think you could ever go back to the normal life?
14:59I feel like I could fit in, but I wouldn't want to fit in.
15:02We could do something else.
15:03This is what we're doing right now and I'm content with it.
15:07What do you see in the next five, ten years for your family?
15:10I hope we can still be blessed and do the exact same thing we're doing
15:13and maybe even get more independent than we are already.
15:17I'm totally excited.
15:18I'm super excited about doing this, keeping on doing this forever.
15:23I'm super excited.
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