In-Person Classes
Whole Animal Processing Class
When: August: Arrive at 6pm on the 22nd, End 4pm the 24th
September: Arrive 10am on the 19th, End 4pm on the 21st
October: Arrive 10am on the 18, End 4pm on the 19th
Where: Stannard, Vermont.
In this deeply immersive class, we will give death to a goat wonderfully raised by Kari and Erik. Together we will walk the full circle of transformation.We will skin and butcher the animal, cook the eat over an open fire, tan the hide, preserve the meat with smoke, craft tools from teh bone, eat the organs, ad honor every part.
This class is not only about skill building- it is about witnessing life, death, and transformation. We will camp together on the land, play woods games, and gather around the fire for stories, nourishment, and connection. It is truly one of my favorite ways to spend my time. It feels so human- so wild- so ALIVE. Join us to build this community!
Class Details:
Weekend 1: Harvest and Meat Processing
In this course we will dive deeper into the process of harvesting an animal. We will process a goat, give death, skin, butcher, and proceed to process the meat over the fire in various ways- sausage, smoked jerky, pastrami, head cheese, lung bread, etc…
Weekend 2: Hide Tanning
We will tan the hide of the animal we butchered, along with a few other skins. We will use the brain and smoke tan method to tan these skins. You will go home with half a hide that you tanned yourself.
Weekend 3: Sewing/ Bone Tools/ Tying up loose ends
This final weekend is tying up loose ends. If there is anything to finish by way of processing meat- canning or rendering… we will do that here. If we need to process bones, or learn to sew hides together. That will also be covered.
Dinners are provided!
Dinners include the meat that we will be harvesting over the weekend, wild foods gathered by me, as well as local organic, fruits, and vegetables. And of course, a miss match of whatever yummy things Kari cooks up for us!
Payment for dinners is included in the price of the program.
Woods Games/ Nature Connection:
Throughout this course we will be playing a mismatch of woods games and sensory awareness activities that will encourage you to deepen your relationship with each other, with the woods, and with yourself. We will sing songs to create connection, and share gratitude with each other. Hard skills aside, connection can happen in a multitude of ways. Be ready to be surprised by the challenges we present!
Overnight:
This course is an overnight course. We will be sleeping in tents in the woods. Our accommodations are rustic and woodsy. We designed this course to be out together, under the trees, honoring the animals we will be harvesting, creating connection with each other, and working with our hands.
Instructors/ Hosts/ Cooks:
Land:
We will be located at the base of Stannard Mountain, in a primarily boreal woods, made up of birch, spruce, and hemlock trees.
Cost of the FULL course:
$1,900. Early bird discount: $1,600 before August (extension!) 1st. $300 non-refundable deposit. Payment plans are available. Please reach out if finances are a barrier.
Cost of the Partial course (one weekend):
$650. $250 non- refundable deposit to hold your spot in class.
What you will learn:
1. Giving death
2. Butchering and skinning
3. Preserving meat over a fire
4. Sausage making
5. Pastrami making
6. Head cheese making
7. Lung bread making
8. Sensory awareness
9. Deep nature connection
10. Bone construction
11. Hide Tanning
12. Smoke tanning
13. And much more!
Kari
Kari teaches slaughter classes, as well as nose to tail animal processing classes. She cooks for students, gatherings, and cooks on the coals for backcountry trips. She is passionate about using every part of the animal, and making it truly delicious (even for the skeptics). As a death worker of human and animal alike, she believes in living closely with the lives that we take- and with that closeness comes health, gratitude, wisdom, inspiration, and sanity. Her family keeps animals, hunts, gardens, and puts up a lot of food. They also love tanning and crafting hides. She is excited to share some songs, some prayers, and some ideas about how to craft a culture of earth- belonging once again in our families.
Erik
Erik brings together his skills from many different backgrounds. As a full time actuary, he calculates risks and uses this knowledge to expand into the primitive realm where he communes with nature through hunting, foraging, gardening, and animal husbandry.
Coleen
find my bio on the ‘about’ page.
The full cost of the course is $1,900 with an early bird discount of $1,600 if purchased before July 1st. $300 is the non-refundable deposit to secure your spot in class.
Not available for every class?
Join us for a single immersive weekend of either the first or second weekend.
Your deposit to hold a spot is $250, with the full weekend cost at $650. Camping and dinners are provided.
Individual spots are limited.
SHEEPSKIN Tanning
When: August 1-3rd, 2025. 8am to done.
Where: Stannard, Vermont.
Cost: $250 (The full cost of this class is $550- $650 Sliding Scale, $250 is the non-refundable deposit to hold your spot in the class) * Please reach out if you would like to pay with cash, check, or venmo. All are acceptable.
This is a three day workshop transforming a sheepskin into a soft, beautiful rug. You will learn how to clean a sheepskin, rack a hair- on hide, dry scrape, soften a hair on hide, and smoke tan hides. This is a physically intensive process that requires endurance of body, and spirit. You will leave with your own sheepskin!
Buckskin Tanning
When: September 19-21st, 2025. 10am to done.
Where: Stannard, Vermont.
Cost: $250 (The full cost of this class is $550- $650 Sliding Scale, $250 is the non-refundable deposit to hold your spot in the class) * Please reach out if would like to pay with cash, check, or venmo. All are acceptable.
This is a three-day workshop transforming deerskin into buckskin. Buckskin is a soft, supple, buttery leather that is the most pliable, durable, and sustainable fabric that exists. You will learn the wet scrape method, brain softening, and punk wood smoke tanning. This is a physically intense skill that requires endurance. Woven into this class will be community conversation, ritual, interpersonal connection, and transformation. Due to the physical demand of this process, two participants work on one hide together and then leave with half of a hide!
**photo by Nate Lucas
PELT TANNING
Enrollment closed. Stay tuned for future dates.
When: May 17th and 18th 2025, 9 am to 4pm
Where: Stannard, Vermont.
Cost: $175
This class is a pelt tanning class. If you have your own roadkill bobcat, coyote, or muskrat,-you are welcome to bring that skin to tan. Just note- make sure the animal has been skinned and talk with me if that is what you plan to do. If you do not have a pelt, I will provide rabbit skins to learn on that you will go home with. In this class you will learn the wet scrape method of membraning, as well as dressing and softening. You will also learn the process to smoke the hides.
What People Are Saying
“Your ability to connect the experience to its story influenced the way I think about how I touch the earth.In just two days , you opened a connection to our environment, an animal and each other with tenderness and compassion.”
— Denise
“I have learned that tanning is an art and science and gained invaluable knowledge and resources from the Sheepskin Tanning Class.”
— Tyler
“This weekend was life changing.”
— Anonymous
“Now I am able to convey to my students my knowledge of natural hide tanning and how elements of nature can be used sustainably, encouraging their own ecological stewardship and cultural awareness.”
— Chloe
