Our intention in hosting Shepherdess Camp is to co-create an in-person, hands-on, educational weekend for women who are curious about beginning to shepherdess a homestead flock or are interested in developing a flock into a business.
We are collaborating with local shepherdesses to draw on their passion, knowledge, and diverse experiences to present demonstrations, lectures, hands-on learning, and Q&A sessions.
In alignment with Driftless Curiosity’s mission to deepen connection between people and the land through curiosity, experiential education, farming, social justice, and the arts, we would like to highlight the following 4 aspects of working with sheep.
1. Agricultural Aspect: This includes flock care and management.
2. Food: Highlighting the meat and dairy of sheep.
3. Art: This includes fiber arts; knitting, crocheting, etc.
4. Social Justice: This includes discussing animal welfare, “slow fashion”, and ethically sourced fibers, dairy, and meat.
Camp Offerings will include –
Daily Shepherdess Circles
Meet the Driftless Curiosity Flock
Sheep Coating
Ask a Veterinarian
Ewetopia Fiber Mill Tour + Washing & Skirting Class
Pasture Management & Rotational Grazing
Mobile Fencing & Moving the Flock
Parker Hill Century Farmstead Flock Management
Duck in a Row Family Farm Parasite Management
Breeding & Lambing on the Peters Family Farm
What’s In Your Lambing Kit?
Evaluating Sheep for Purchase & Breeding
Hoof Trimming
Raising Meat Sheep
Raising Dairy Sheep with Hidden Springs Creamery
Nightly Bonfire & Knitting Circle
Lambs for Sale
A Robust Resource Table