Deep Dive: Natural Leather Tanning (aka Tanning Camp)

The Bushcraft Village is all about working together in community to offer amazing events and experiences to grow the skills and capacity of the collective.

Bringing together the best practitioners and instructors of the Northern Rivers and Mid-North Coast NSW, we are thrilled to present this first deep dive into a singular bushcraft / rewilding skill, that of natural leather tanning.

INTRODUCTION

Join us for this 4 day workshop in the bush, learning and processing hides with others.  Using oft-wasted animal skins, to clothe ourselves is the ultimate in self-sufficiency and sustainability.  Respecting the whole animal and its sacrifice, in the way that our ancestors did, continues the tradition for future generations.  Be a part of rediscovering these skills, as keepers of the ways that speak to a simpler life, connected to nature and the land. 

Doing away with chrome based tanning solutions , we instead harness the alchemical magic of a few simple natural ingredients; fat, smoke and elbow grease.

Leather tanning is not for the faint of heart, but definitely for the courageous, determined and patient. It is also a wonderful community activity.  Taking the skin of an animal and scraping, soaking, softening and smoking it is a huge task and done better and more happily in the company of others.

This program is taught by an all women team, all genders welcome.

We pay our respects to the Yaegl People whose country we will gather.  

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

We will teach the wet-scrape method of brain or egg tan, using these emulsified fats to transform raw sheepskin into a sheepskin rug.  Supple and soft, this material is durable, breathable and versatile, which could also be used for making clothing, bags, coverings and heaps more.

Topics covered

- What is leather and the context of egg tan in natural leather tanning

- Wetscrape vs. dryscrape

- Obtaining and storing skins

- Tools and equipment you need to get started at home

- Materials and chemistry

- Common problems and how to solve them

- Adapting these techniques to other animal skins

Process

• Fleshing

• Racking and drying

• Membraning

• Dressing

• Softening

• Smoking

• Washing

• Storage and Care

YOUR INSTRUCTORS

Ei Yang is an enthusiastic natural leather tanning instructor that first learnt how to braintan buckskin in New Jersey in 2012.  She has since brought her curiousity to tan various local animal skins such as fish, rabbit, goat, sheep and deer.  She runs Backyard Buckskin from her home in Northern NSW.  Instagram: @backyardbuckskin

Vanessa Wilding is a craftswoman of many natural materials, including the skins of animals. She is the cofounder of GreenwingEarthcrafts and co-facilitates nature based programs in NNSW. Her journey into natural tanning started in 2019 with teachers Ei Yang and subsequently Daniel Sainty. She is passionate about supporting people in a journey back to nature by becoming intimately involved in crafting useful and beautiful items with materials collected directly from nature. FB GreenwingEarthcrafts

Melissa Fire Horse is a passionate womens mysteries advocate. She is an accredited teacher of the four seasons journey with the School of Shamanic Womancraft. She is a fasciliatator of women's camps and the rights of passage of menopause. Melissa's teachers of natural tanning are Dan Sainty, Ei Yang and Woniya Dawn Thibeault.

And absolutely loves sharing and learning about this ancestral knowledge of tanning ❤️.

Julian Wild is a lover of life and all things wild. Julian’s tanning journey started with a deep curiosity about the balance between life and death and how to honour a life taken, and a difficult relationship with consumerist society. She brain-tanned her first fur with Daniel Sainty and has continued exploring the process with many different types of animals and methods, passionate about sharing this ancient art and adamant that everyone needs their very own naturally tanned sheepskin.
Instagram: Julian.osteo.wild or website: osteowild.com

ABOUT THE VENUE

Held on Yaegl Country in the North Coast NSW, we are grateful to run gatherings and programs at this beautiful bush location, brimming with wildlife on gentle coastal land. 

Accommodation is camping, please bring a tent, sleeping mat and sleeping pad. All meals provided.

Please do not bring canines and felines as there is much native wildlife at the venue.

COURSE ENQUIRIES

For any questions regarding the program, please email thebushcraftvillagecoop@gmail.com directly, as our responses to your enquiries through Humanitix often end up in your spam folders. If you have already messaged us and have not received a response, please check your spam folder. Thankyou.