Rural Skills Workshops
The Green Room provides the ideal off-grid location for learning new skills and meeting like-minded people. Leading out onto Alderfen Marshes conservation area, the Green Room offers a comfortable base with access to wide-open space, aiding creativity and experiential learning.
With solar powered lighting and heat from a wood burning stove, fuelled by wood grown and harvested on Alderfen Marshes, the Green Room is green by name and green by nature.
Courses and workshops are limited to a maximum of eight people; this ensures plenty of opportunity for one-to-one focus from your tutor. Sessions are informal and interactive providing an opportunity to meet, mingle and learn alongside like-minded people.
'Camping and Carving' Weekends
- Friday night wild-camping pitch on Alderfen Marshes conservation area
- “Introduction to Green Woodcarving” spoon-carving workshop on Saturday from 9.30 – 4.30
£99 per person or £150 for two people sharing a tent
Camp, Carve and Canoe … Add Saturday night camping with a Sunday morning Canadian canoe trail:
£35 per person or £50 for two people sharing a tent
2019 'Camping and Carving' Dates
Friday 26th April
Friday 10th May
Friday 7th June
Small group workshops:
Maximum of six people per weekend
Introduction to Green Woodcarving:
Spoon Carving Workshop
Saturdays: 27th April, 11th May, 8th June
9.30am to 4.30pm
£75.00 per person
- Selecting your tree and branch
- Designing your spoon
- Creating a spoon ‘blank’ with an axe
- Carving the detail using a selection of knives
- Tool maintenance
- Finishing and maintaining the spoon
- Suitable for beginners or people with previous carving experience
Available as a ‘Camp, Carve and Canoe’ Weekend
This course is an interactive and enjoyable introduction to green wood carving. Under expert guidance from Monica Cass, let your creative juices flow as you select, cut, split, chop and carve your log into a unique spoon.
Take your new skills (and your spoon) home with you, ready to tackle your next green woodcarving project.
Included in the price:
Tuition
Wood, carving tools and gloves
Tea, coffee and light snacks
You will need to bring:
A packed lunch. Sturdy boots and outdoor clothing suitable for weather conditions on the day.
Introduction to Willow Weaving:
Catalan Hedgerow Tray
Sunday 5th May: 10.00am – 12.00pm
£40.00 per person
- Learn about weaving tools and techniques
- Aquire a life-long skill easily replicated at home
- Make your own unique tray
- Learn how to grow and collect suitable cuttings
- Ideal for beginners
Weave an attractive and useful Catalan Hedgerow Tray from local hedgerow cuttings.
A great introduction to the art of willow weaving under the expert tuition of Jonathon Carrie of Norfolk Hedge Baskets.
Included in the price:
Tuition, materials and tools
Tea, coffee and light snacks
You will need to bring:
Sturdy footwear.
Willow Weaving Workshop:
Garden Obelisk
Sunday 5th May: 1.00pm – 4.00pm
£50.00 per person
- Weaving tools and techniques
- How to and grow and harvest willow whips
- Weave your own garden obelisk
- Small groups for individual tuition time
- Suitable for beginners or more experienced weavers
Construct a Garden Obelisk from locally sourced willow. An attractive natural support for climbing plants such as sweet peas and runner beans
This workshop is a useful application of willow weaving for gardeners and nature lovers, with expert tuition from Jonathon Carrie of Norfolk Hedge Baskets.
Included in the price:
Tuition, materials and tools
Tea, coffee and light snacks
You will need to bring:
Sturdy footwear.
Rush Weaving Workshop:
Rush Sun-Hat
Sunday 12th May: 10.00am – 12.30pm
£45.00 per person
- Rush weaving techniques
- Planning and weaving your hat
- Use natural, locally sourced materials
- Create your own unique hat
- A great introduction to weaving with rushes
Available as a ‘Camp, Craft and Canoe’ Weekend Package (See below)
Weave a sun hat from locally sourced rushes; a natural and practical way to keep the sun at bay this summer
This workshop is an enjoyable way to learn and hone your rush weaving skills, with expert tuition from Jonathon Carrie of Norfolk Hedge Baskets.
Included in the price:
Tuition, materials and tools
Tea, coffee and light snacks
You will need to bring:
Sturdy footwear.
Bushcraft Woodcarving:
Oak Mallet and Willow Pegs
£25.00 per person
- Identifying and selecting suitable wood
- Using a hand-axe for carving
- Carving a camping mallet from a single piece of green wood
- Splitting and carving tent pegs
Try your hand at green wood carving during your stay at Alderfen Marshes. Learn how to use a hand axe to carve a log into a handy camping mallet and make a set of willow guy-rope pegs from a single log
This two-hour workshop is a rewarding and fun way to enhance your wild-camping skills.
Included in the price:
Tuition
Tools, equipment and gloves
Wood for carving
Charcoal Making:
£15.00 per person
- A brief history of charcoal burning
- Equipment and uses
- Wood and fire preparation
- Burning the charcoal
- Cooling times
- Cooking over your charcoal
This course introduces you to the tools and techniques used in charcoal production. From traditional methods dating back to pre-Roman times, to using modern equipment, enjoy the experience of making and using your own charcoal from scratch.
A two-hour workshop during the day gives you the knowledge and skills to turn wood into charcoal, then head back to camp to produce your own.
Included in the price:
Tuition
Tools, equipment and gloves
Firewood
