Homesteading Training
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” ― Theodore Roosevelt
Homesteading Off the Grid Skills
Introduction
Northwestern Outdoor Leadership Institute has great pride in our dedication to full circle and balanced production. Our cattle, goats, and sheep not only provide meat, milk, leather, and wool for our community but provide needed amino acids for the pigs and poultry and all provide regeneration of the soil for our pastures, food forest, and wood lot. Even the insects in the compost are provided protein for the gamebirds.
In our kitchen, you will learn food preservation, sausage, and cheese making all from the ranch and farm. In our studios learn the arts and crafts of making candles from wax from our bees, soap from tallow from the pigs, and ash from our fires, thread, yarn, cloth from sheep, goats, lamas, and from plants, pottery clay from the creeks glazes from bones, beads blown glass from sand, baskets from local plants, leather goods from hides and skins harvested from the ranch and hunted.
In our shops learn tool making, woodturning, welding, blacksmithing, millwork, carpentry, tanning, mechanics, wiring, plumbing, wireless communication… Learn how to live comfortably off the grid to heat your house, power your tools, and communicate with the outside world. With over 50-weekend workshops offered.
The companion text for these workshops Deviating From 68 Degrees: A Hand-Book for Homesteading Off The Grid by Brian King
Blocks of Classes
Production Agriculture
The focus of this block of classes producing food for your kitchen, feed for your barn, wood for your shop and stove, and fiber for the weaver and seamstress. The companion text for this block is Deviating From 68 Degrees: A Hand-Book For Homesteading Off the Grid– Volume 1: Production Agriculture. The some session in the Essentials Block are also offered as women only. We start with Introduction to Full Circle Production Food, fuel, and Fiber, see how we make waste a resource, how we raise poultry, livestock, woodlot, fruit, and vegetables in the most natural, humane, healthy, and off the grid manner. Nothing is wasted and little is brought in. When you sit at the dining table all on your plate come from our farm, the home is heated with cordwood, your sweater from yarn from the sheep, the roof over your head from the timber you grew, the game you will hunt tomorrow in the habitat you managed. Read More
The Homestead Kitchen
The Homestead Apothecary and Infirmary
Equine
The focus of this block of classes is learning to workhorses on the ranch, farm, and backcountry. The companion text for this block is Deviating From 68 Degrees: A Hand-Book For Homesteading Off the Grid– Volume 2: Equine Production and Training for Saddle, Draft, Packing, and Therapy. Read more
Canine
The focus of this block of classes is learning to work dogs on the ranch, farm, service, therapy hospital, and hospice. The companion text for this block is Deviating From 68 Degrees: A Hand-Book For Homesteading Off the Grid– Volume 3: K9 Production and Training for Work, Service, Therapy. Coming Soon
Homestead Arts and Crafts
The focus of this block of classes is learning to work dogs on the ranch, farm, service, therapy hospital, and hospice. The companion text for this block is Deviating From 68 Degrees: A Hand-Book For Homesteading Off the Grid– Volume 4: The Homesteading Arts That Make a House a Home. Coming Soon
Farm Shop
The focus of this block of classes is learning the art of fabricating, building, and repairing buildings, equipment, and systems on the farm. The companion text for this block is Deviating From 68 Degrees: A Hand-Book For Homesteading Off the Grid– Volume 5: The Agriculture Shop. Coming Soon