The Course
Are you interested how traditional skills can shape a better future?
Building on our super popular: Making the Most of Your Deer Course - this is day 2! You can book both days together, or take this as a stand alone day.
Join us at our off-grid heritage craft centre, in the heart of the Forest of Dean to learn the traditional skill of processing whole deer including hide tanning.
Following on from day 1 , where we honoured a whole intact deer, then learned skinning and butchering techniques - we will dive deeper into the items you can craft with the skin, organs, sinews and bones - as well as learning some outdoor cooking techniques.
You can take this day as a stand alone, whether you have previously taken ‘Making the Most of your Deer’ or not - although it helps to have done this.
Some of the crafts we will look at are: Working with the skin - different methods for preservation of skins - raw hide, bark and brain tanning; you will learn how to flesh the hide and prepare a bark tanning solution using bark from the sweet chestnut coppice we manage locally; leather craft, how to find sinew and skin to sew with, bone tools.
Cooking and meat preservation: Smoking and drying - tips and tricks.
Leading this day is our skilled and experienced tanner and company Co-Director Scott Baine. Scott has travelled the world extensively learning and developing his skills and knowledge in ancestral wisdom.
About Scott
Scott has travelled across the world to learn earth and survival skills. He has learnt in the wilds of Scotland, Canada, USA, Sweden and Norway. Being in contact with First Nations and Sami brought him a realisation spiritual and physically. He joined a collective and formed a tribe living in the wilderness in Scandinavia from here they organised DIY wilderness gatherings to create a environment for learning to happen. His main focus on traditional tanning at a renowned handicraft folk school in Sweden taught him to be resourceful with animal skins and set up a ethical organic Tannery to teach people how to make use of waste from road kill, hunting and the food system
The Venue
This course is set at our off-grid woodland craft centre, Kensley Sheds, right in the heart of the beautiful Forest of Dean, situated on the famous Sculpture Trail, close to the Stained Glass Window and Wildlife Trust reserve ‘Woorgreen Lake’
Kensley Sheds is the home of our Social Forestry Project ‘New Leaf’. Here, local adults who are struggling with social issues come learn & practice new skills. We follow regenerative woodland management practices, to extract and process wood from disused Forestry England coppiced woodland. Here the wood is turned it into functional items, firewood and charcoal, giving people access to new careers and a sense of real community.
Kensley sheds has running water, a flushing disabled access toilet, onsite parking and is heated by wood-burner. You will be able to peruse our extensive library of eco / craft / alternative living books throughout the day
Profits
The Rewild Project is a Not for Profit, Community Interest Company, and Social Enterprise. It is our mission to support local craftspeople and promote heritage craft skills. We Rewild People by teaching these skills of self reliance and resilience for an uncertain future.
After the craftspeople are paid, and costs are covered we put any profits back in to the community with our ‘weekday sessions for disadvantaged groups’ a lifeline for many local people who we pick up each day and bring to Kensley Sheds and others sites to build community, skills, and share nutritious hot, locally produced food.
Families & Children
You are welcome to bring well behaved children to this workshops, although we cannot guarantee you will have the same experience we will do our best to accomodate you all.
Children aged 9-12 will need a half price child’s ticket (add below) and will need to be accompanied by a full paying adult. 13 and over will need a full priced ticket, and will also nee to be accompanied by a full paying adult.