From July 10–13, the fields and forests of Tiller’s International in Scotts, Michigan, will fill with tents, tools, workshops, and conversation as the second annual Earthcraft Skillshare brings together educators, artists, and seekers for a weekend of traditional skill-building. Founder Brenna Pixley talks to Cara Lieurance, along with instructors Rob Collins and Michael Kaufman-Schofield. Classes begin Thursday evening, with over 50 workshop sessions offered during the weekend by about 40 instructors. From driving oxen and weaving coffins to flint knapping and fiber arts, each class offers hands-on learning and connection.
“I’ve been involved with Tiller’s for almost 20 years,” says Collins, describing the land as both a working farm and a place of joyful labor. He’ll lead workshops on basic oxen handling, where students learn a “dance” of communication using voice, posture, and stick.
A new theme for 2025 brings focus to death care as ancestral craft. “It’s not spooky or morbid,” Pixley says. “It’s just deeply human.” Through the Michigan Death Care Collaborative, funerary artisan Michael Kaufman-Schofield leads sessions on natural burial and coffin weaving with willow harvested from her own farmstead in Dexter. “We think of things like home funerals and death doulas as new and edgy, but they really are ancient, living traditions,” she says…