Click here to register  //  Instructor: Zac Fittipaldi

  >  This basketry technique is an open weave that takes shape from the interlocking of flat strips of black ash. The whole basket is made with a under, over design that creates five and six pointed stars! This weave is wide spread around the world and is used for walls in Thailand, snowshoes in North America, and gathering baskets in the Amazon! We will be making a “Quaker cheese basket” – useful as a cheese mold, and it also looks beautiful in your kitchen filled with fruit!

Click Here to Register  //  Instructor: Nicholas WazeeGale

  >  The Driftless region is full of rich, robust, and nutritious foods come the cool end of the wild growing season. While it may seem the countryside is withering, the trees and herbaceous plants have produced flavorful roots, seeds, nuts, and fruits around those seeds, as part of their everlasting cycles. And in addition to these mainstays of fall foraging, there are mushrooms of the late season, and some greens that regenerate for good harvesting. Instead of covering a plethora of edible plants as are available in Spring, we will be busy gathering, gaining knowledge of search methods, and learning harvesting, processing, and storage techniques. Focusing on this reasonable amount of productive species will give participants the gift of familiarity that can result in bountiful harvests for years to come. Participants should bring baskets or bags for collection, a good spade, gloves if they wish, and wear pants, shoes, and whatever gear for a day out in the fall weather.

Click here to register  //  Instructors: Martha Buche

  >  Learn to weave grain straw to create a “corn dolly”. These straw figures and decorative shapes were used traditionally to honor, thank, and protect the spirit of the grain from harvest time until the grain was again planted in springtime. A tradition of elaborate weaving patterns and constructions grew up from these ancient beginnings. Learn some of these techniques and make your own straw form to honor the spirit of the harvest in your home.

Click here to register  //  Instructor: Martha Buche

  >  Cornhusk dolls have been played with by generations of children and still decorate wreaths and tables, anywhere that maize or corn is grown. Learn to make cornhusk people in skirts and pants, add hats and baskets, and learn several hair treatment options.

Click here to register  //  Instructor: Laura Poe

  >  Fermenting vegetables and other foods is a great way to add nutrition, flavor and variety to your meals, as well as sustainably put up your harvest. In this class you will learn how to ferment various vegetables and make sauerkraut, pickles, fermented condiments and more. We will also go over the health benefits of ferments and how to incorporate them into your daily life. Students are asked to bring a 1 quart glass jar.

Viroqua Food Co-op Owners receive a $10 discount on this course! Please enter your VFC owner number in “other information” when registering to get discount.

Click here to register  //  Instructor: Martha Buche

  >  What better time to make a custom-shaped copper cookie cutter than this season of home baked cookies? Bring a personal design or select from traditional shapes and bend a copper strip into your specially shaped cookie cutter. What you create is sure to become a family heirloom! Ages 12 and up.

Click here to register  //  Instructor: Kristen Martinek

  >  Learn the basics of crafting your own vegetable-based soap in this hands-on course that will yield a batch of soap for each student to take home. Now is the perfect time of year to learn how to make soap, as it always makes the perfect gift for the holidays! Students will have access to some essential oils, but are encouraged to bring their own from home if they desire something specific.

Viroqua Food Co-op Owners receive a $10 discount on this course! Please enter your VFC owner number in “other information” when registering to get discount.

Click here to register  //  Instructor: Martha Buche

  >  Make simple, hand-dipped beeswax tapers, then try your hand at some more complicated variations. Spend a few meditative hours making several candles.

Click Here to Register  //  Instructor: Jon Passi

  >  Are you curious about alternative energy or photovoltaics and want to know more? Would you like to put solar panels on your house or property? Are you curious about conserving energy, and the costs of alternatives? This course will give you practical, real-­world, and background information on solar panels, solar electricity, and various PV systems. Each class participant models their own solar project, and collects all the information they need to finance, construct, or manage their own solar project. The class comes with a take­-home DIY manual that can be used with any solar set­up, and also includes lists of resources. There will be a tour of existing working systems, installation basics for roofs and racks, and a means for estimating costs of parts and installations on all systems. Class includes a fifty-page DIY PV booklet.

Click Here to Register  //  Instructor: Janet Rowe

  >  Have you, like me, boomeranged back to the land at mid-life? Or are you the reverse – a city kid who somehow stumbled on the rewards of the rural life? Or are you a treasured “lifer” – someone who has known all along that “farm livin’ is the life for me”? Please join me for a day of writing exercises and prompts, sharing and listening, as we explore the multiple paths that have led us to the Driftless.

Click here to register  //  Instructors: Heidi Krattiger and Bjorn Bergman 

  >  Hot sauce, garlic paste, coriander, and lemons can be preserved with fermentation, as well as many other herbs, vegetables, and fruit. This class will inspire new and experienced fermenters! Basic techniques will be taught and applied to cabbage and non-cabbage recipes. Participants will have a hands-on opportunity to work with produce that is seasonally available and take home a ferment. A variety of fermented goods will be available for participants to sample.

Viroqua Food Co-op Owners receive a $10 discount on this course! Please enter your VFC owner number in “other information” when registering to get discount.

Click here to register  //  Instructor: Linda Conroy

  >  Class description coming soon!  Stay tuned!