The Driftless Region
The Driftless Folk School is rooted in rural Southwest Wisconsin, in the heart of the Driftless Region of the upper Midwest. This unique bio-region was left untouched by the great Pleistocene glaciers that leveled most of the Midwest, preserving a rich landscape of ridges and valleys traversed by countless small streams and rivers, as well as by the upper Mississippi River. The Folk School, in lieu of having a physical campus with an address and mailbox, views the entire Driftless region as our extended campus.
This landscape of lush hardwood forests and small dairy farms is home to a high level of biodiversity, as well as a diversity of human cultures and agricultures. For thousands of years, the area has been home to the Ho-Chunk Nation and other indigenous peoples. Today, the Driftless Region is also home to the descendants of Norwegian and German immigrants, a thriving Amish community, and many others. It is also a major center of the organic and sustainable agriculture movement in the United States, anchored by Organic Valley, now one of the world’s largest organic farmers’ cooperatives.
Map by Joshua Wachuta
For more about the region and what’s going on, here are some articles:
A thriving food culture is making Viroqua the place to be – Wisconsin State Journal
A Solution for Struggling small towns: Organic food? – Ozymandias (‘OZY‘)
Twenty-five years later ” the town that beat Walmart” is back on the map – The New Food Economy
Three top restaurants for the hungry on Wisconsin’s western edge – StarTribune
Kickapoo Coffee Roasters Opens Viroqua Cafe – La Crosse Tribune
Viroqua chef nominated for highest honor in restaurant industry – News8000.com
Viroq-Landia: Five Reasons We Love Viroqua, WI – The Odyssey
‘Mysteries of the Driftless’ – The Quad-City Times
