Folk School

All our ancestors, no matter where they originated, created intimate relationships with their home places, including place-based skill traditions. In the modern world, those skills and relationships are in decline. Groundwork’s folk school is a space to share and learn traditional non-industrial skills as a way to… Preserve and expand ancestral and traditional skills, helping humanity prepare for a less industrial future. Build relationships with place and foster the emergence of more localized culture. Explore values and ways of life the oppose capitalism, industrialism, and […]

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This March, I took a willow basket weaving workshop with Jeff Wagner from Groundwork. Let’s just say, it was a humbling experience! Working with wild materials involves significant preparation. Our willows, harvested by Jeff in early winter, were dried for three months before being rehydrated for weaving. We were learning a European stake and strand style. Jeff is the executive director of Groundwork, a Western Slope non-profit that believes environmental problems stem from cultural issues. Their solution? Place-based education that fosters a shift in perspective […]

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