This year we will mainly offer week-long intensive classes packed full with hands-on activities and skills. Our goal is always to build up our skill level in order to be able to live in the wilderness sustainably and without motorized technology. I hope you'll join us for these exciting classes. People from all skill levels are welcome, as we thrive on cultivating a tribe-like atmosphere where people learn from each other. All classes are $500* plus material fees ($20 per deer hide for the tanning class, $50 for the bow stave in the bow class, and a yet unknown amount to help us purchase the animal for the animal processing class). As we want to make it easy for people who are committed to learn a wide spectrum of skills with us, you can pick four classes of your choice for only $1,500; that's a $500 discount!! September 13-19: Come and join us at Rabbitstick, the primitive skills gathering in Idaho. We'd love to meet you in person, talk to you about our new classes for this year, and share our experiences as we'll just be getting out of our month-long stone age project!  September 25 - October 1: Wild foods class. We will learn to identify, sustainably harvest, cook, eat, and preserve the wild plants of the mountain Northwest. Both food and medicinal uses will be covered. In this class we will mainly focus on berries, seeds, and nuts.  October 3-4: Working horses in harness. In this special weekend class, Rico will share his knowledge of working with horses to perform multiple tasks. We will learn both single and team driving techniques for plowing the ground for garden areas, logging a forest in a gentle and sustainable manner without machinery, and of course just for the sheer enjoyment of working with these wonderful animals! The cost for this class is $150. October 10-16: Basic primitive skills class. In this class we will cover a wide range of skills necessary for basic survival in the wilderness. Participants will learn how to make friction fires with materials found on the landscape; we will also learn how to maintain and carry a fire over a long distance. We will also make cordage out of local plants and animal materials, pitch glue and hide glue. We will learn how to process small animals and how to cook them primitively. Basic stone and bone working skills will also be practiced to produce simple blades. Around the campfire we will also make burn bowls and spoons and cover basic shelter building. This class is a must if you're new at the skills and more seasoned participants will also learn lots of new information and techniques!      November 20-26: Bow and Arrow class. In this class we will make a self-bow and an arrow. One bow stave will be provided for a material cost of $50.   February 8-11: Basic skills class in New Mexico. Join us for this special class in a wonderful Southwest setting just before Winter Count! Learn the basics of survival, including friction fire, cordage, glues, and stone tools. Please inquire for details about price and location. February 14-20: Come and join us at Winter Count, the primitive skills gathering in Arizona. We'd love to meet you there and talk to you in person! March 2-8: Basic skills class in Sweden. Lynx will teach a special class in Sweden that will cover a lot of basic primitive living skills like fire, cordage, glues, and stone tools. Please inquire for details if interested. April 2-8: Basic primitive skills class. For those of you who missed the Fall class or who want to experience similar skills in different weather conditions, we will again cover a wide range of skills necessary for basic survival in the wilderness. Participants will learn how to make friction fires with materials found on the landscape; we will also learn how to maintain and carry a fire over a long distance. We will also make cordage out of local plants and animal materials, pitch glue and hide glue. We will learn how to process small animals and how to cook them primitively. Basic stone and bone working skills will also be practiced to produce simple blades. Around the campfire we will also make burn bowls and spoons and cover basic shelter building. This class is a must if you're new at the skills and more seasoned participants will also learn lots of new information and techniques!    April 2-8: Arctic skills in Norway. Join Lynx and Rico near the Arctic Circle for this unique class on how to survive in arctic regions. Skills will cover fire and staying warm, simple shelters, stone tools, and more. Please inquire for details.  April 16-22: Hide tanning class. In this class, each participant will prepare one full hide with the wet-scrape method, one full hide with the dry-scrape method, and one rawhide. That's three whole hides completed in one class! Techniques for bark and fur tanning will also be covered and we will use both modern and primitive tools to give you a full experience of the possibilities.  April 30 - May 6: Large animal processing. In this exciting class we'll learn how to humanely kill and process a large animal (it will likely be a goat or a buffalo). We will gut the animal, skin it, and butcher it to make jerky or ground meat. Preservation methods will be covered. The organs will also be used either as food (heart, liver, lungs, kidneys) or containers (stomach, intestine). Both novices and expert butchers will learn amazing things about how to use all parts of an animal and thus honor it to the fullest.  May 14-20: Wild foods class. We will learn to identify, sustainably harvest, cook, eat, and preserve the wild plants of the mountain Northwest. Both food and medicinal uses will be covered. In this class we will mainly focus on roots, bulbs, and greens. June 1-7: Containers class. Various containers will be made in this class. We will use clay to make pots that can be cooked in, make rawhide containers to store and carry all kinds of things, and do some basketry using local plants.     June 15-21: Hunting, fishing, and trapping skills class. Learn both modern and primitive techniques to obtain those needed proteins! (for legal reasons, no animal will actually be harvested   June 29 - July 5: Primitive clothing and footwear class. We will learn how to use buckskin to make 1 article of clothing and a pair of moccasins, using awls, buckskin thongs, and sinew. We will also make a pair of rawhide sandals.  July 13-17: Blankets and felt. Using premium-quality felting wool we will make the necessary items to keep warm during the cool mountain nights. We will make a felted blanket as well as a felted hat.  July 25-29: Wild foods class. Once again we will hit the trail to gather the plant foods that will sustain us in our summer project. We will learn to identify, sustainably harvest, cook, eat, and preserve the wild plants of the mountain Northwest. Both food and medicinal uses will be covered. In this class we will mainly focus on berries and cattail to obtain some much needed starch. Stone age project. We will head up into the mountains to live 100% sustainably at the stone age level for a whole month! This project is completely free but all participants must have taken the required classes with Four Seasons Prehistoric Projects and/or have been specially invited. Please inquire for details to know how to be best prepared to take this intensive experience.  * The prices for the classes are on a suggested donation basis. We really appreciate your support as we strive to live sustainably and nurture the Earth for the benefit of the future generations. |
