The Long Way Homestead (LWH) Field School provides learning and mentorship in the field of regenerative fibre farming, sustainable textile production, natural dye systems and hands-on textile education. The field school opened in the Spring of 2021 at Long Way Homestead, Treaty 1 territory.

We acknowledge both the historical and present day context of settler colonialism and the impact that it has on indigenous communities across Canada. We acknowledge the impact of agriculture and land theft on indigenous communities, and believe that reconciliation must be at the forefront of any project or movement of regenerative and sustainable textile systems.

Vision

At Long Way Homestead we work to create a space that fosters learning, and further exploration of sustainable textile production. LWH Field School is a long-term, tangible fulfillment of that desire. We envision the field school will provide the following:

• Year round learning and mentorship with a whole systems approach to textile production

• hands on / experiential / mentor based pedagogy

• innovative and practical alternatives to exploitative textile systems with a focus on climate justice

• commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous people, focusing on resources and land

• increased connection between producers and end users

• to work as a demonstration farm/mill encouraging public access and education of textile systems

We have scholarship opportunities for members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity. To read more about the bursary check it out here.

Upcoming Workshops

We have finalized our 2024 calendar of field school in-person workshops. Please check out the full list below. We also have a full list of live and recorded on-line workshops. To see the full list check it out here.

Field School RECORDED Workshops

If you missed any of our in-person workshops, then you can check out these recorded versions of our workshops. They include the video of the workshop and the full manual. Once you have purchased the workshop a link will be sent to you within 24hrs with the information.

Have you seen our new mutual aid bursary fund - to help us create more access to our training and workshops for our community. Check it out here and consider contributing.

We are now offering a Sheep & Wool Field School Membership. Get access to all our recorded workshops 24/7 including extra information, templates and business plan options for your sheep and farm wool based business. As more workshops are created, they will be added to the field school membership space.

Accessibility to Field School

Physical Accessibility: We are working to make our facilities more accessible, here is what can be expected at the field school:

• The driveway, walkways, dye studio and outdoor workshops spaces are a mix of grass and gravel with some bumpy terrain and accessible by wheelchair.

• The outhouse, indoor studio space and wool mill all have one step access and not wheelchair accessible. We are working to build wheelchair accessibility into the entire farm, mill and field school.

Financial Accessibility: We will be offering our courses and workshops on a sliding scale. A sliding scale is a tool used to increase economic justice and create broader accessibility to education and services. More details about our sliding scale can be found here.

Safe Space: A core value of Long Way Homestead is to provide a safe(r) space for our communities. We resist sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism, transphobia, colonization and all other forms of oppression. We are dedicated to addressing overt and subtle oppression in our business and farm and look to our broader communities to keep us accountable in our work.

Our 2024 apprenticeship position has been filled. Please check back for future apprenticeship options or for more details email us at info@longwayhomestead.com