VILLAGE LIVING SKILLS

SKILLS FOR EVERY DAY LIFE.

   Hello my name is Peter Yencken. I  am  experienced  bowyer and craftsman who is mostly self taught. Some of the main  influences in my learning was growing up on a sheep station in Australia, working as a ski instructor, working as an instructor at the "Tom Brown’s Tracking and Wilderness Survival School" and  getting a degree in chinese medicine.

   I have taught bow making and other crafts to both children and adults in Australia and the United States for more than 15 years.

   I believe that making things by hand that are usable in our everyday life, brings a sense of enjoyment not found in purchased items. (A waldorf teacher Joseph Kecskemeti from Australia said in his experience that a person hand making something left a part of themselves in the object which is why there is such a wonderful feeling around hand made products. 

 My goal is to teach traditional skills in a way that makes the learning and the using  relevant to our modern life. So they are available to anyone inside of a busy modern life

   For example, a knife and boots /shoes have obvious applications in day to day use, but a how does a bow fit. A bow can be used not just as a sport or a tool to hunt for food, but as a discipline, meditation, or spiritual practice ,(as in the popular 1930s book on zen buddhism 'Zen in the Art of Archery'. It’s most celebrated quote is, “In the case of archery, the hitter and the hit are no longer two opposing objects, but are one reality.” It points to the experience others have since described as “flow” or being “in the zone”).

While working in Australia I mostly worked with homeschool families. 

I  live with my wife and daughter in Charlottesville Virginia. I have run classes in continental USA/Hawaii and in Australia.

My classes are designed for all ages. ( the age range has been so far 5 years old to 90 years old). 

THE CLASSES WHICH I TEACH AT THIS TIME.

1:- WOODEN BOW MAKING

2:- ARROW AND QUIVER MAKING

3:- KNIFE MAKING (this class is generally for children where they make the handles and sheaths and blades are supplied,plus put in).

4:- SHOE AND BOOT MAKING

5:- LEATHER BACKPACKS AND BAGS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.

6:- HERBAL FIRST AID KITS MAKING (making the first aid herbal remedies and also making a leather bag to hold it all).

7:- SHELTER

8:- FIRE

9:- FORAGING AND FORAGING TOOLS/BAG

10:- BEGINNING HUNTING (making the bow and arrows and learning the basic skills of hunting)

11:- EVERYDAY MOVEMENT (walking, standing, bending, running etc from a hunter gathers perspective).

12:- FELT MAKING (vests, hats, bags, socks).

TO CONTACT PETER  TO ORGANIZE A CLASS OR FOR A SCHEDULE OF CLASSES ALREADY PLANNED 

EMAIL :- village.living.skills@gmail.com

TELEPHONE :- 1 828 490 1375

 I  WILL TRAVEL TO RUN CLASSES PRETTY MUCH ANYWHERE