Exploring primitive skills invites us to connect more closely with both nature and our human ancestry. On Sundays from 9am to 1pm, the Horn Farm will host primer classes offering a glimpse of distinct skills that echo the resourcefulness, simple ingenuity, and nature-based lifestyles of our past. By attuning our hands and minds to these tactile skills, we learn not only survival strategies, but the values of patience, attention, and respect that come with immersing ourselves in our natural surroundings.

Window to Wild Lands is your doorstep to the world of primitive crafts that humans have been practicing for hundreds of years.

Windows to Wild Lands offerings:

All classes take place on Sundays. 

Weaving Wild Baskets – April 14th, 2024

Making Natural Cordage – May 19th, 2024

Assembling Primitive Traps – June 2nd, 2024

 

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Are you an archer who loves hunting with a bow and arrow? Perhaps you’re a woodworker who would love to learn a new skill. Or maybe you’re someone passionate about learning techniques for survival and self-reliant living. Whatever the reason, this the Horn Farm’s Bow Making Intensive your chance to learn how to make hunting-quality, wooden bow and arrows from scratch with your own two hands. Plus, you will leave with your own finished bow!

Click here to learn more and register for the fall 2023 series

Taking place November 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th from 9am to 4pm at the Horn Farm Center.

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Weekly Workshop Series: 

5 full-day workshops designed to reconnect you to the land and develop essential survival skills. These classes take place each Sunday in October from 9AM to 4PM. Participants can sign up for all 5 classes for a discounted price or register for individual classes.

Topics Include:

October 1 – The Art of Seeing and the Science of Observation: This class contains the building blocks for all other awareness and wilderness skills. Participants will learn to expand their observation skills by using all 5 senses to truly observe the wild. Includes awareness techniques, tracking, and more. If you’re going to take only one of these classes, this is the one we recommend!

October 8 – Shelter Building & Finding Water: Participants will build a shelter out of what nature provides. Using sound shelter principles, learn to craft your own wild home. The class also delves into safely collecting wild water and how to make unsafe water potable using nature’s toolbox.

October 15 – Ancient Art of Fire by Friction: Participants will learn the ancient art of friction fire. Come learn how to be human, for the act of making fire and controlling flames have set humans apart from our animal kin. Aside from learning and practicing fire by friction techniques, this class will also delve into how to make a fire pit, how to maintain a fire overnight, and how to cook over open flames.

October 22 – Foraging, Hunting, Trapping: This class is by far the one that students look forward to. Learn how to identify wild edible plants and create simple-yet-ingenious snares and dead-falls for catching wild meat. Additionally, students will learn how to use simple hunting weapons such as the throwing stick and the field expedient spear thrower.

October 29. – Advanced Primitive Hunting Techniques: Participants will dive into the more technical aspects of hunting and trapping. Topics include survival bows, stalking with a weapon, making a hunting blind, and new deadfalls and snares not previously covered in Wilson’s classes. PREREQUISITE: Students signing up for session 5 must have taken Wilson’s Foraging, Hunting, Trapping class in this or a previous Wild Lands series.