A British graduate who swapped conventional bricks and mortar for a tent in
the woods has decided to branch out to the Amazon jungle.  35-year-old Hugh
Sawyer will leave the woods in Oxfordshire, England where he has been living
for the past 3 years, for the Amazon jungle.  He will spend a year camping on
six different altitudes, from beaches to the snow-capped Andes to raise money
for the charity Rain Forest Concern.

 OXFORD, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 10, 2008) REUTERS -
  During the day Hugh Sawyer works as a chef at a cafe in Oxford,
England.  Home however is less conventional.  His house is whatever the
Oxfordshire woods can provide.  Sawyer has been living in the woods for almost
3 years.  At first it was a way of raising money for charity and drawing
attention to the threat posed to British woodland,  then he realised how much
he enjoyed living as one with nature and has been there since 2005.
    For the first year Sawyer kept his city job as a bids clerk at a London
auction house, but decided to give up the long commute and find a job
locally.
    "There's something almost primal about living out in the woods, it
really sort of attaches almost to your soul.  It feels good being here,
whereas being in the City doesn't, well not for me anyway," Sawyer
explained.
    Sawyer graduated Oxford university with a degree in law, but decided
law wasn't for him.  He says he's always dreamed of living in the woods and
has tried to keep his life as authentic as possible.  He did have a petrol
stove for cooking but gave it up and now makes his own fire.
    He's even built an earth oven underneath his camp fire which he used to
cook Christmas dinner.  "I roasted venison in an oven under the ground. 
I had pretty much a full Christmas, Christmas pudding, Christmas
pies."
    Giving up life's luxuries doesn't seem bother Sawyer, but there's one
basic commodity he does miss.
    "What do I miss the most.  (LAUGHS) I try not to think about that
too much.  Umm running water I think, hot running water or any running water. 
Because I have to carry it all in, umm a washing machine would be nice as
well", told Reuters.
    In September Sawyer will decamp to begin survival training with the
British army.
    "The plan is, this is all a bit of a warm up, build up session if
you will to an expedition across South America to walk coast-to-coast from
Brazil to Equador following the line of the equator as far as is feasibly
possible to raise money for a charity called Rain Forest Concern, who protect
areas of rain forest from destruction," he said.
    He'll need all the help he can get before entering the jungle.  The
Amazon is home to more than 500,000 species of insects and spiders, some
deadly, a far cry from the safety of the Oxfordshire woods.