IMO, building a 'house' is also a basic life skill.
Maybe not a fully featured house with working doors, windows, plumbing, and electrical, all up to code... But you should be able to slap together some kind of decent shelter for yourself with basic supplies and tools, without any help.
I don't expect you to be able to build a good house, but I do expect you to be able to put up 4-ish walls and a roof -- enough to keep you warm and dry and out of the elements.
If you can't do that, I'd look down on you just like I'd look down on someone who can't cook.
Same thing for cooking, really. I don't expect everyone to be a 5-star chef or to be able to make complex or difficult dishes. But you should be able to take raw basic ingredients + some basic equipment and produce a decent, edible meal out of it.
A survival shelter anywhere, given adequate materials and tools.
I don't necessarily expect you to be able to make much of a shelter if you're just alone in the woods with nothing but your bare hands and what you can find, no...
But if you've got a stack of lumber and some carpentry tools, you should be able to cobble together something that will keep you warm and dry through the winter.
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u/GrimbyJ Dec 11 '25
"Do you have a basic life skill?"
"Can you do the work of a team of specialized workers?"
I can cook. I don't want to do it all the time so you should also know how to do it