The Spring and Summer 2012 Driftless Folk School Catalogue of Classes is available now. Download the catalogue here

This is a compressed version. For a hard copy with, please email the Registrar.

Immerse yourself into the world of folk skills and farm life!

Each summer work/study’s come from all over to be immersed into the world of folk skills and farm life. Work/study’s have the opportunity to participate in Driftless Folk School classes as well as concentrate on skills that interest them— in connection with a vast network of local farmers, builders, artists, and educators. Throughout the season with us each work/study also learns a great deal about running a small non-profit organization

Know anyone that might be interested? Send them our way! The deadline to apply for the 2012 work/study program is March 1, 2012. Check out our newly updated work/study page for more information, the application, and a list of frequently asked questions.

The Fall-Winter 2011-2012 Driftless Folk School Catalogue of Classes is available now. Download the catalogue here

This is a compressed version. For a hard copy with, please email the Registrar.

Thanks to a generous grant from Organic Valley, the Driftless Folk School is now offering scholarships to cover the costs of classes for local residents who would otherwise be discouraged from participating. If you live in the Driftless Region and if the course fees for a class would be an obstacle to you registering, you are eligible to request a discount of up to $120 for one class per catalogue season (September –March or March –September). Limited to $240 per household. Supply fees not included.

To Apply, submit a short written request explaining your reasons for wanting to take the class you have selected and send it, along with the completed paper registration form included in the printed catalogue (downloadable here), to the Registrar of the Driftless Folk School at:

Driftless Folk School
PO Box 405
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665

Please enclose payment for any course fees over $120 along with your registration and payment for any supply fees. Additional scholarship funds for more that $120 or for more than one class may be granted at the request of the instructor.

Applications must be received at least 1 month prior to the class.

Article by Dena Harris, published in the Vernon County Broadcaster on April 1, 2011

The traditional skills of blacksmithing, soap-making and wool spinning are being revived in Southwest Wisconsin with day-long courses provided by the Driftless Folk School in Vernon County.

The school was created to teach skills that aren’t readily taught in other schools in Southwest Wisconsin. A wide range of topics available from the folk school include alternative energy, arts and crafts, blacksmithing, building and woodworking, cooking and food preservation, farms and gardens, music and dance, natural world, and children’s classes.

After a group of 20-30 people showed interest in starting a folk school, a core group of six, which eventually became the school’s board, put a plan in action to start the skill-based school in January 2006 with the first classes held in June 2006. Vernon County was selected as the prime location because the area contains people who are artists and are focused on an organic culture.

The current board includes Jacob Hundt, Dan Peper, Joli Dace, Jon Howe and Robert Schulz.

DFS Registrar Robert Schulz. Photo courtesy Sofya Blyum-Hundt

“A good folk school approach is to be in tune to what the area is about,” Schulz, one of the founding board members, said. “Here that would include the high skill of craft and art, sustainable living, organic agriculture and cooking.”

Schulz said people are feeling the need to build a community and learn different skills than those that are taught in conventional schools. People are concerned with lost skills, the economy and the future when they decide to take classes at the Driftless Folk School.

The school started with only local instructors, but as word spread after a couple of years, the board started receiving inquiries from other instructors around the Midwest interested in teaching in southwest Wisconsin.

“We’ve made great strides,” Schulz said. “This brings new knowledge to the area.”

The key components of the Driftless Folk School are:

hands-on learning,
inter-generational courses: children and adults of all ages are able to participate,
it’s open to the public: it is not a private school,
it’s non-competitive: there are no grades or degrees are given and students are encouraged to work at their own pace and skill level.

“It’s about experiencing the skill and process instead of worrying about the final outcome,” Schulz said.

The Driftless Folk School differs from other folk schools.

“Most folk schools teach arts and crafts,” Schulz said. “Vernon County is an organic Mecca. A strong influence and big part of the goal of the school is to enhance, educate and promote organic skills.”

The school offers a “work study” program as an alternative or supplement to traditional college. The position is a 3-6 month stay at a host farm in the area. The student works on the farm to learn about organic farming and participates in weekend classes.

“It’s becoming very popular,” Schulz said. “It’s a great experience on an alternate lifestyle.”

The work study program has been established for four years and usually has students age 18-30. The program has attracted students from across the nation.

Sometimes a class is created when an instructor asks if a topic would fit in the area and other times student requests create the course list. Most of the classes are only one day or a half-day, but the board is looking into more intensive learning with multiple-day classes.

“We don’t have to worry about creating a big budget,” Schulz said. “The school is run by volunteers and all of the classes are strictly supported by the student tuition, course fees and membership donations.”

The board didn’t wait for the development of a site for the school, which would have been costly, before starting classes. The group created a network of teachers to hold the classes, including food classes in a certified kitchen in Viroqua, woodworking in Viroqua, blacksmithing in Hillsboro and organic farming classes at farms throughout the Driftless Area. A permanent central campus for the classes is in the future plans for the folk school.