Outdoors and rural skills courses, craft kits and handcrafted gifts

You can make a multi-coloured round basket on this one day course weaving in our warm and comfortable craft studio. Learn ancient weaving techniques and take home your own creation. Jonny and Becky are both qualified teachers and have been teaching basket making for 25 years. Basketiers sit or stand to weave at table top height. We have regular workshops teaching people to make their own coloured willow baskets using locally grown and Somerset willows. If you are a beginner and you want to make a large, strong and durable...

Your tutor will guide you through the process from selecting a log through to a completed spoon. Mark Saich Originally trained as a carpenter/joiner, Mark has worked as an eco-builder, sustainable construction consultant and trainer. He has a degree in Environmental Sciences, obtained a post graduate diploma from the Centre of Alternative Technology. He now owns and lives in 23 acres (the venue) of woodland practicing green woodworking and sustainable woodland management. The session includes: * Tool review - an overview of the various tools available for spoon carving and...

Learn to craft a lip-work straw skep - the most iconic of beehives. Course tutor and master skep maker and beekeeper, Chris Park will guide you through the process and answer all your questions about making and using skeps. You will leave with about half of your skep done, and with all the tools, materials and skills to finish it. Bees for Development staff will also be happy to answer questions about their work and about other woven beehives used around the world. The course runs from 9.30am to 4pm...

These two-day courses in shave horse making teach a wide range of green woodworking techniques whilst making your own traditional green wood shaving horse using timber sourced within the woodland. The topics covered include the properties of green wood, cleaving techniques and the use of traditional hand tools and equipment such as draw-knives and pole lathes. A shave horse is a fundamental piece of kit needed by all green woodworkers and it will be yours to keep at the end of the course, and the course fee is less than...

This is a one-day introduction to spoon carving where we will work together carving a cooking/stirring spoon from a log using carving axes, knives and hook knives. You will start by selecting a suitable log and cleave the timber using traditional tools and techniques. After roughing out the blanks using a carving axe you will learn the safe and effective knife grips needed to carve the outline of your spoon with a woodcarving knife. You will then use a hook knife to hollow the bowl of your spoon. At the...

Our unique, intensive beekeeping course was developed and delivered by the Bees for Development team. The course is suitable for both beginners and experienced beekeepers. The focus is on honey bee biology and how you can create the conditions for bees to thrive. All the sessions are based on robust and up to date scientific evidence, alongside decades of experience keeping and observing bees with minimal stress and no chemical treatments. We present a range of beekeeping systems and help you choose the right one for you. We only run...