Thriving with the Land Around Us: An Interview with Local Forager Luigi Rausch

Our newsroom runs on more than coffee and craft beer — it runs on you. Support Decorah News' local reporting today. DECORAH — Forager Luigi Rausch recently recounted a weeklong experiment he and a friend conducted in October, during which they carried "no food, no salt, no olive oil, nothing" into the woods and ate only what they could forage and prepare from Raccoon Island at the Lower Dam off River Road. Two things become immediately clear when speaking with Rausch: he is exceptionally passionate about the natural world, and he truly knows his craft. Rausch, who moved to the Decorah area "about three years ago," said his curiosity about "what kind of plant is that? Is it edible?" led him to apprentice with local wild-foods teacher and plant-lore expert Conor Murphy. "I signed up," Rausch recalled, "and once a week from April to October, we'd go out in the woods and he'd teach me to identify plants and how to turn them into a dish." Explaining the rules of the challenge, Rausch said the plan was simple and strict: While equipped with some camping gear, he brought "zero food whatsoever, just water and a water filter." He emphasized that the goal was not mere survival. "I viewed it more as a 'thriving trip,'" he said. "Not just to survive and tough it out, but to really live, to harvest a variety of things, turn them into dishes, not just eat roots and nuts." He listed several wild foods that became staples during the week. "One of the staples that we lived on out there was hopniss," he said. "Hopniss is special because it was a staple for Native Americans. It tastes just like potatoes." The group boiled the tubers, also known as Apios americana, and ate them nightly. Meals often resembled pared-down comfort food. "We were having meat and potatoes," Rausch said. "My friend hunted a squirrel, and then we harvested a bunch of wild grapes. We crushed the grapes, simmered them on the fire for an hour, strained them, and had a hot grape juice—one of the most tangy, sour, and satisfying drinks in my life." He described a series of discoveries and experiments that turned the week into an exercise in culinary creativity. His friend found "false buckwheat," or Fallopia scandens, on the island. The group winnowed "the chaff from the seed," ground the seeds in a mortar and pestle "into a really fine flour," mixed it with water, shaped dough, and baked biscuits in the ashes of their fire. "The ash insulates it, cooks it, and most of it brushes off," Rausch said. "You don't even really taste it, and the ash is high in calcium and potassium." One moment of surprise came when some of the false buckwheat seeds fell into the fire and "popped like popcorn." Rausch laughed as he remembered, "I ate it and it tasted just like it, just half the size." The experiment, he explained, was both a technical test and a message. "I wanted to put my foraging skills to the test," he said. "I wanted to inspire people about what is possible. Humans have been living this way off the land for millennia." For Rausch, the project also argued for local abundance over distant supply chains. "Instead of getting stuff like avocados from Mexico or blueberries from Michigan, what do we have right here?" When asked why foraging matters now, Rausch returned to a simple truth: "The best things in life are free. We're surrounded by all these free, wild, nutritious, and delicious foods all the time. Most people just don't know about it." He pointed to the loss of traditional knowledge as a cultural gap he hopes to help close. "Acorns, for instance, have been one of the oldest known foods humans have eaten forever, and now barely anyone eats them at all," he said. This was not Rausch's first foraging challenge. "This is the second year we've done it," he said, noting that the most recent excursion took place from October 16 through 22. Rausch said he relies heavily on field guides and mentorship, naming Samuel Thayer's "Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants" and his personal favorite, Euell Gibbons' "Stalking the Wild Asparagus," as primary references. Reflecting on what the experience taught him, Rausch said it sharpened his thinking about preparation and variety. After over-harvesting walnuts and "getting sick of them" during the previous year's trip, the group adjusted its approach. "Instead of harvesting massive amounts of things, we trimmed it down and just focused on enough for now and always got more later," he said. Some foods, like hackberries or Celtis occidentalis, require creativity to make them sustainable. "You can only eat so many of them before your teeth start to hurt," so the group ground and simmered them to make a nutrient-dense liquid called "Hot Hackberry Milk," a sweet drink that makes them easier to digest and enjoy. "It forces you to get creative, how you process things, what you make, or allows you to discover something new." Rausch shares his experiments and teachings online through his YouTube channel Lessification, where he demonstrates what he calls a "plant-to-plate" philosophy, showing how to harvest wild foods and turn them into dishes while teaching "how to thrive with less." Asked what he took away from the experience, Rausch returned to the theme of discovery and adaptability. "Every time I go out, I discover something new," he said. "It gets you to experiment." Rausch's story blends practical instruction, deep respect for the land, and a kind of humble wonder. His week in the woods resembled a living field laboratory for esoteric techniques: digging tubers, winnowing seed, grinding flour by hand, simmering fruit into a hot drink, and baking bread in potash. Through it all, he remained anchored by the same belief that fuels his work: "The best things in life are free." Join the community of savvy subscribers (for free)! Get the latest updates, tips, and insider information by subscribing to the free newsletter today.