Traditional Himalayan Skills Course
Our Program
This 15-day Traditional Himalayan Earth-Skills Course is a journey back to the basics of life: to understand how we can obtain our basic needs in a way that is harmonious with Nature.
This is an opportunity to learn directly from local artisans and craftspersons, some of the highly valuable traditional skills which sustained village life for thousands of years in the Himalayan Mountains. This course takes place in the charming mountain village of Chanaute, located about 2 hours from Pokhara. You will immerse into village life, living in a local family homestay, and each day will be filled with various hands on lessons from experts in these various skills, such as fiber arts (spinning wool, textile weaving, basket & mat weaving, etc.), regenerative traditional farming techniques (composting, gardening, agro-forestry, etc.), cooking & fermentation, some techniques of natural building, and traditional blacksmithing (previous experience required). Each student will have the opportunity to try various techniques, and get the basics, while also choosing a particular set of skills to focus on throughout the time there. Just remember, patience and dedication through time leads to mastery.
Here is a full list of the main skills which are included in the course curriculum:
Bamboo basket weaving
Tumsay basket weaving
Doko basket weaving
Straw mats and baskets
Natural plant dyes
Forest gardening with small design and installation
Composting and other soil building techniques
Black smithing (previous experience required)
Knife & Axe making (blacksmithing experience required)
Traditional fermentation and Nepali foods
Hike to Gandruk
October 26 - November 9, 2023
Meet the Facilitators
LUCAS TROTMAN
Lucas Trotman is a agricultural enthusiast and professional natural builder. Lucas has been working in organic agriculture and permaculture since 2008 and in Nepal since 2015 helping to rebuild homes for earthquake-affected families via earthbag and other natural building techniques. In 2017 Lucas organized and implemented the planting of hundreds of trees at the Indreni organic farm in Nepal and subsequently founded the Woven Earth Community Agroforestry Carbon Sequestration program, which enables people to purchase credits to offset their footprint and support rural communities in Nepal. Lucas lives in Nepal facilitating natural building and forest gardening workshops. He is a founding board member of Woven Earth and is a driving force in achieving our mission of fostering community resilience and ecological balance worldwide.
JOHN BUSCARINO
John spent 3 years living and working in the mid-hills of Nepal on food security projects with the Peace Corps. During this time he collaborated with Nepali people in rural villages to diversify their farming systems by establishing food forests on abandoned agricultural land and organizing a farm-to-table cooperative to deliver organic vegetables from nepali family farms to restaurants in Lakeside Pokhara. A lifelong horticulturist, his passion for sustainable agriculture began more than 10 years ago with a course in Permaculture Design and took him to organic farm and sustainability projects across the United States. He currently lives in Slovenia where he manages a sustainable urban culinary garden project for a Michelin star restaurant.
BRANDON BODHI DENTON
With an educational background in Botany, Ecology, & Permaculture Design, Bodhi became the co-founder and President of Woven Earth in 2015. He is an active Permaculture Designer, Consultant, & Educator. He lives in Bali and is also the director of True Nature Nusantara, a Bali based Regenerative Design & Consultation company. Since 2014, he has been leading experiential-learning programs in Nepal, Indonesia, and Thailand.
MEENA GURUNG
Meena Gurung is a sustainable fashion educator/ visual artist based in Kathmandu who works with plant-based printing and dyes for the last five years. Meena studied fashion design in Dublin. After returning to her homeland in 2015, she collaborated with multiple indigenous communities from Nepal in order to document the dying crafts while educating the locals about the side effects of using chemical dyes. she also uses pre-loved garments for her botanical printing to create a circular product that has the least impact on the planet. Meena also loves using homegrown textiles like hemp, nettle, and raw silk to create her art pieces.
SHAMA
Bio coming soon.
The Instructors
More information coming soon about the local masters that will be teaching their skills during this program. There will be translation for each activity.