HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS
Sourdough Workshop with Jane Clarke
Jane has been baking her whole life, but found sourdough as an adult and fell in love. Sourdough can be overwhelming and intimidating, and she wants to support and empower people to discover how accessible and versatile it can actually be. Jane lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and two children whom she homeschools. She teaches nature education classes for pre-schoolers through Nashville Nature Explorers, as well as mending classes and sourdough baking classes. In her free time she loves to hike, read, knit, and bake!
Herbal Workshop with Leslie Gossett
Leslie is an herbalist, naturalist, forager, and educator. Her mission is to support people in finding their way back to the wisdom of our ancestors. She started the School of Earth and Awe to teach people how to recognize that natural food and medicine are abundantly available all around us. She offers classes, workshops, and consultations.
You can find her teaching schedule at www.schoolofearthandawe.com/events
PROTECTION AND WORKING DOG TRAINNG ALONG WITH K9 FIRST AID (TCCC)
Jennifer Sparkman is the owner and operator of Our Shepherds Shepherds, a premier kennel specializing in Set Apart Dutch Shepherds and K9 training. Since founding the company in 2016 with her husband, Michael Sparkman, Jennifer has established herself as a professional Master K9 Trainer with a reputation for excellence.
During this demonstration, Jennifer and her team simulate various real-life situations, such as home defense, family protection, and search and rescue operations.Jennifer is now including with her team “TCCC K9 to her owners and clients with family protection dogs, home defense dogs, and working dogs.
Composting Workshop with William Bond
Composting is one of the most integral parts of food sovereignty. William has had extensive training in compost from the master himself, Geoff Lawton. He will be sharing the 18-day composting method and the Chick Tractor on Steroids method perfected by him and his dad, Billy Bond of Permapastures Farm. Bring your notebooks and your questions, he will have the answers!
Chicken Processing Workshop with Matt Wilkinson
Matt Wilkinson owns and operates Wilkinson Poultry Processing in rural Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Matt, a retired high school teacher, now travels the United States demonstrating how to humanely and professionally process all things agriculture, including: beef, hogs, sheep and poultry. In addition, Matt has launched his own Youtube channel on homesteading called “Homesteading Italian." The show educates and entertains the viewer on all aspects of modern homesteading, while leaning into Matt’s Italian heritage.
BASIC KNIFE USE AND BUSHCRAFT WITH JACOB PETERSON
Basics of Knife Use & Bushcraft is a class that begins with teaching the foundation of knife use- making and keeping your blade sharp, and moves into the basic skills a person can use with that sharp knife to make the tools needed to be successful while in the wilderness
Learn Traditional Sausage And Bacon Methods
Cast Iron Cooking & Care Workshop with Greg Skeen
Canning with Lawrence McCoy
Over the years, Lawrence has cultivated his canning skills to one end...becoming self sufficient. He has made providing for his family, in any circumstance, a top priority. Food preservation is what he is most passionate about and he'd love to share his canning skills with you.
Bruce DeVriesThe Importance of Biochar on the Homestead
Bruce grew up in Colorado, skiing, and working ranches. He moved to the oil fields of west Texas at the age of 22 and realized he was lost and in need of a savior. After accepting Jesus as his savior and he was baptized a few weeks later. The following Fall he headed to LA for Bible college to pursue a new calling as a minister of the Gospel. Five years later, and the day after graduation, he married my wonderful wife, Darla and moved to Houston, TX to work as an associate Pastor. The next few years they moved to various places in Texas and Colorado, then, in 1992, landed in Nashville TN.
Over the last 40 years Bruce worked as a school teacher, principal, farrier, contractor, and leather shop owner/farmer. He opened his own leather shop north of Nashville. He is constantly improving his skills and expanding his leather working craftsmanship. Bruce and his wife wants to make genuine leather products that will last a lifetime and beyond.
At DeVries Custom Leather we strongly believe "if you can dream it, we can build it."
INTRO TO LAND NAVIGATION WITH MIKE ADKINS
Charlie Mike Adkins, a native West Virginian, retired from
the U.S. Army Special Forces in 2013 after 23 years of service. He served as an infantry paratrooper in the 509th
Parachute Infantry Regiment (Fort Polk, LA) and the 3/505th
Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division (Fort
Bragg, NC) before being selected for Special Forces and being assigned to the 7th
Special Forces Group (Fort Bragg, NC and Eglin AFB, FL).
After retirement, he worked as a security contractor inside
the U.S. and overseas. Additionally, he spent two years teaching Human Behavior
Pattern Recognition & Analysis (Profiling) to various elements of the US
Army conventional forces, US Army Sniper School, Colombian Special Forces, and
the United States Secret Service, but primarily units from United States
Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), including the U.S. Army Special Forces
and U.S Navy SEALs.
Charlie Mike also ran a training company for eight years,
teaching primitive survival & bushcraft, land navigation, Kidnapping
awareness & escape, Children’s survival, and a trauma management course.
Charlie Mike is married with three daughters and two
grandchildren and lives on his own piece of Almost Heaven in West Virginia.
Lock-Picking 101
Restraint Breaching and Escape
Dayton Bournique is a 17 year old Survival and Tactical skills instructor from Central Indiana. He is homeschooled and has a strong thirst for attaining knowledge. Dayton has taught at several conferences throughout the counrty over the last few years. His favorite classes to teach include: Restraint Breaching/Escape, Fire, and Lock-Picking. Dayton is also an aspiring knife-maker and blacksmith. You can connect with Dayton on YouTube/Facebook/Instagram page @Ballistic Mischief.
Suzanne Shires
Fermenting Wild and Domestic Foods for Health and Wellness
Think fermenting is difficult and time consuming? Not at all! Fermenting is fun, healthy, and surprisingly flavorful for otherwise bland survival diets that consist of MREs and poor-quality food. Learn how fermentation can wake up your taste buds and help those in your survival group to thrive. This age-old method of preserving food is a critical skill for maintaining food security. Suzanne will walk you thru the steps of lacto-fermentation (with salt) for vegetables and fruit, as well as touch on other methods of fermentation preservation.
BEE KEEPING WITH GREG NEW
Greg has been involved in farming and sustainable agriculture since the 7th grade and has continued to pursue it throughout his life. He served 25 years in the U.S. Army, including 17 years in Special Forces with 11 combat deployments, and later worked as a military contractor and instructor in human behavior analysis and special operations training. Since settling in Tennessee with his wife in 2007, they've built a diversified homestead featuring bees, heritage hogs, chickens, fruit, and berries. Certified master beekeepers, they manage two bee yards and operate a handcrafted skincare business, Honey B Goodness. They are active in their church, where Greg teaches Sunday school and leads the security team, and they are committed to building a local barter and mutual assistance network.
www.honeybgoodness.com
CHAINSAW 101 WITH ROBERT ONKEN
Robert Onken from Self Reliant Mindset has been an outdoor instructor for 6 years and counting. As a small town homesteader of almost 20 years, he is continuously learning and growing to live off the land, to be self-reliant. Through this he has taught a variety of topics including survival and tactical skills and chainsaw safety; as well as many other assorted skills he has obtained over the years.
MAKING BUTTER AND YOGURT WITH MRS. KATIE
Mrs. Katie, a mom of six and grandma, who grew up on a farm in 1970s/1980s middle Tennessee. Mrs. Katie’s passion since the age of nine has been cooking and food preservation. Mrs. Katie is found teaching homemaking skills at Heritage Ways YouTube and other social platforms, as well as, leading workshops and classes. She is the founder and editor of the homemakers’ popular in-home newspaper, The Journal, mailed nationwide. A cookbook author and former caterer, Mrs. Katie brings a delightful taste of Southern hospitality and comfort food to her home where she continues to homeschool her youngest children. She may be found on many social platforms as @HeritageWaysKatie and at www.HeritageWays.com. For more information about Heritage Ways, to partner or collaborate, or inquire about speaking opportunities, contact Katie at mrskatie@heritageways.com or DM Katie at Instagram @heritagewayskatie
HOMEMADE SAUCES, SEASONINGS, AND JUICES WITH BARBRA-SUE AND MARYBETRH SKEENS
Ready to take control of what’s in your food and make your kitchen a healthier place? In Don’t Buy It, Make It: Healthy Kitchen Swaps Made Easy, you’ll learn how to replace common store-bought items with simple, homemade alternatives that are better for your body—and your budget! From salad dressings and spice blends to pantry staples, we’ll walk through practical swaps that anyone can make with real ingredients.