CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF DFS!

A NOTE FROM OUR DIRECTOR:

Dear Friends and Neighbors -

It is hard to believe, but the Driftless Folk School turned 20 this year!

From a humble beginning around the hearth at the home of Dan Peper and Ruth Kittleson near Liberty Pole in 2006, DFS has touched the lives of thousands of people over the past two decades.  Many have discovered new skills and hobbies, cultivated a deeper familiarity with nature and culture here in the Driftless, and built rich networks of relationships and community.  DFS has helped some of our talented artisans, naturalists, and land stewards build livelihoods doing what they love and introduced many people to the area as a prospective new home.  A few people have even found their business partners or future spouses!

All of these are examples of why DFS exists to cultivate personal and community resilience by connecting people and building relationships through shared hands-on learning experiences. 

As DFS turns 20 and looks forward to the next 20 years, we are reaching out to build stronger connections between the many people who understand and support this work. You can do this by donating to support the Driftless Folk School at a level that feels comfortable to you or simply helping spread the word about our upcoming classes, new group offerings, and monthly e-newsletters. In doing this, you will help us look forward to the future with extra confidence and enthusiasm.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this joyous story over the past 20 years! We have so much gratitude for you all.

Yours,

Jacob

EDIBLE MADISON FEATURE:

“A Driftless Folk School Turns Twenty” by Elena Bird -

With the rise of the internet, folk schools have, seemingly paradoxically, risen in parallel. Founded in 2006, the DFS is entering its 20th year. It was born out of conversation amongst friends around a homestead kitchen…

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At the Driftless Folk School, the earliest courses centered on green building, food production and preservation, reflecting the values and cultures of its founders. Today, foraging, herbalism and wildlife-tracking have become core to the curriculum, evolving alongside the interests of instructors and students.

As the community grows and changes, so too will the skills taught, not only mirroring the existing culture but actively shaping and sharing the one they hope to pass on. “It is like sourdough,” says Hundt. When he and his wife taught the first-ever DFS course in 2006, it was sourdough bread-baking. “And the thing I love about teaching sourdough is that [with] sourdough culture, like love, the more you give away the more you have.”

Tune into “Twenty Years!!” - the Folk School Radio Hour episode where Julie Tomaro chats with some of the early founders of the Driftless Folk School as well as the current DFS Registrar about where the folk school is going!

“The Folk School is a place of dual truths: we enable and encourage our students to be rooted in place and community, while largely serving people who come to us from other cities and even other states… This balance between transience and groundedness is sometimes hard to hold, but we do hold it. Whether you’ve come to the Driftless Folk School for an afternoon, a year, or a lifetime, thanks for joining us.”