About SkyEarth

Read on to fall in love with the SkyEarth Gathering and make plans to join us in October 2021.  Follow along on the adventure by Liking us on Facebook and Instagram and share us with your friends.

Classes will take place October 8 - 11, 2021, but camp orientation begins the day before on October 7. 

Teachers and artisans in primitive technology are invited to attend these gatherings to share ideas and methods as well as spread the arts through hands-on workshops. You can expect skills instruction from some of the nation's top primitive technologists and artisans.

Classes are held from roughly 9am to 4pm daily. Lecture/Discussion Sessions are information-oriented and each covers a broad subject. Demonstrations are how-to presentations with some practical instruction. Hands-On classes provide you with the instruction needed to actually complete a project or practice a new skill.

How it starts...We encourage attendees to arrive no later than 12pm on Thursday, October 7, 2021 for orientation and opening circle. Check-in will take place at the gate when you arrive. The gate opens at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, the 6th, and 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, the 7th. Check-in closes at 7:00 p.m. on both days. Classes will begin Friday morning at 9am.

Thursday afternoon the instructors set up with a blanket or a table to tell you about their classes and answer any questions you might have. This is the Circle of Instructors. Some classes may have size limits so this will be where you sign up for those.  Some classes may have materials fees and the instructors may collect those at this time (see below for additional information). Many classes you will just be able to show up for on the day of the class.  And of course, the weather may change at any point so flexibility is the name of the game when we're outdoors.  ​Class schedules will be posted on kiosks around main camp with dates, times, size limits, materials fees, etc.  

​Next will be the opening circle where we welcome you, help you orient to camp and have instructors introduce themselves. This is a great time to get to know the instructors and other campers around our SkyEarth fire pit.

Every morning we will start with Morning Announcements around the fire pit. We will remind you of the classes that are being taught and of any changes to the scheduling or class openings.     

See our Classes and Instructors page for the skills available to learned from our instructors as well as a list of classes being taught at SkyEarth.

You may be asked to pay a materials fee for the materials used in your class. 

Some instructors may simply ask for a donation to cover their costs. The materials fee should be just that and should not include any expense for teaching the class, however, instructors may charge for the time that it took to collect the materials. 

​How much can you expect to pay for materials? 

A bow stave could cost over $100. A willow basket might cost between $15 and $50 in materials, depending on the size of the basket. Felt for a hat might cost $35. A hide for tanning, $15-$35. It is impossible to say how much you should bring for materials fees but $150 should be sufficient and you may not spend even a third of that. Materials fees will be posted upfront and on the schedule so you know what to expect in advance.

Bring cash as there will be no ATM's on site... or even close. Instructors don't take credit cards or checks.

Additional Costs

In 2020 we initiated our first SkyEarth Mercantile in which registrants and instructors brought goods they were interested in selling on consignment. Items ranged from $2-5 bars of handmade soap and used clothing (in excellent condition) to survival knives, handcrafted jewelry, cast iron cookware to $250 tanned deer hides. The kids even participated by putting in pieces of flint they had knapped and their ball caps.