Mr Sansone’s survival kit.

A teacher with a passion for adventure is attempting to spend a week in the north Sicilian mountains living on just a litre of water and natural resources.

Graham Sansone, 30, left Malta early yesterday morning for the survival trip, which will see him eating whatever he can find and sleeping rough for six nights in the Nebrodi range.

Armed with a survival multi-purpose knife, two sets of ropes and a torch, Mr Sansone is bracing himself for bad weather affecting Sicily and the erupting Mount Etna.

A similar challenge in Malta in November was a success and this time Mr Sansone has taken the challenge abroad and will do it for a noble cause.

He aims to collect funds for the Dar Mamma Margherita youth hostel, which the Salesians of Don Bosco are doing up in Sliema.

Speaking to The Times before his departure, Mr Sansone said he was planning to spend seven days trekking in the forest around Mount Etna, eating whatever comes along.

“Hopefully I’ll be finding small animals like squirrels or rabbits to cook and eat. Otherwise I’ll turn to plants and insects as I had in November when I spent three days in Mellieħa eating Maltese indigenous plants.

“In the forest it’s a whole different story because of snakes and wolves and tarantulas, which are my main concern,” he said.

Mr Sansone, who is married and has a three-year-old daughter, said the climate is forecast to have temperatures of seven degrees Celsius during the day, going down to minus four at night.

“I will have no tents or sleeping bags and will be relying on what I find there to build shelters for the nights. I will be wearing thick, thermal clothes and jackets but hypothermia can still kick in,” he said.

Hopefully I’ll be finding small animals like squirrels or rabbits to cook and eat

Besides his knife, rope and torch, his survival kit includes a one-litre water bottle, flares, a sat nav, a first aid kit, a digital camera and a video camera with which he will be documenting his week-long adventure.

The survival expedition will take him across 100 kilometres, from San Fratello, crossing Il Parco Del Nebrodi and reaching the summit of Mount Etna.

He said his relatives, including his wife and parents, were not keen on his adventure overseas and were concerned for his safety but still supported him as he was preparing for the trip.

The fact that he is doing it for charity gives Mr Sansone an extra boost.

The Salesians are renovating the Mamma Margherita home for homeless youths in Mrabat Street in Sliema and they need a lot of help, he said.

Donations can be made to the Osanna Pia Salesian Youth Hostel via HSBC account number 0080 3184 1001.