7- DAY ANIMAL USE INTENSIVE SCOTLAND

Join this hands‑on course in Scotland and learn about animal processing, deer‑skin tanning and soft‑leather sewing

Have you ever wondered what happens to the parts of an animal that don’t make it onto your grocery store shelves? Or how you can take a raw skin and transform it into leather?

This 7-day course will give you the knowledge you need to process an animal in an efficient way, using as much of that animal as possible! You will then have the opportunity to turn a raw skin into soft, chamois-like leather and learn the sewing techniques best suited to making this type of leather into beautiful, usable products.

Animal Processing:

This part of the course will introduce you to what parts of an animal are useful for what products and how to preserve those parts until they can be used. We will cover all basic butchery for both food and utilitarian items, as well as those parts not often seen as useful.

Learn to use a range of materials during the course. Some examples of what will be covered include:

• Organs: Removing, sorting, and cleaning the edible organs as well as the utilitarian ones, such as brains for tanning the skin, the bladder for water bags, and intestines for thread.

• Skin: Removing the skin, de-fleshing, and preserving the skin for later use and the making of hide glue.

• Meat: Removing the meat, what cuts are best suited to different uses. How to debone, make roasts, jerky, and soup meat—basic meat preservation.

• Fat: How to render fat to preserve it.

• Bones: How to separate joints, bones as food, how to make tools from bones, such as skin processing tools, awls and needles, fishhooks, harpoon and arrow points, and jewellery.

• Sinew: How to remove, clean, and preserve both backstrap and leg sinew, and how to later process it for fibre for sewing, bowstrings, hafting, bow backing, etc.

• Hooves: How to process the hooves for decorative items or hoof glue.

• Antlers: If antlers are present, how to remove them, and a discussion on how best to work with antlers.

  
  

The length of the course will allow us to cover a wide range of introductory subjects, and will evolve, based on weather and participant interests.

* Multiple levels of technologies, from stone to steel, will be covered.

Deer Skin Tanning:

Before the advent of modern tanning agents, humans were turning raw skin into usable leather products using very basic techniques and materials. Learn to produce incredibly soft, strong, and durable leather from raw animal skin using one of humankind’s earliest tanning technologies! Utilizing materials readily available in the surrounding environment, we will walk through the steps of this transformation. Come learn the progression of this process from raw skin to beautiful, usable, finished leather! 

The tanning section of this course will focus on tanning deer skins with a variety of fat tanning, which uses Lecithin and oil* as the dressing agent. Whilst not for the squeamish, the end product is worth the work! The class will cover removing the meat and fat (de-fleshing), removing the outer grain layer (de-graining), alkalining for ground substance removal, applying the tanning agents (dressing), softening and smoking the skins. 

In addition to enthusiastic instruction, I provide comfortable, easy-to-use tools and detailed handouts covering the tanning process, as well as ethnographic anecdotes and a list of helpful literature for those who wish to further their own knowledge of tanning! The course is sure to contain plenty of memorable moments, lots of practical information, and, provided that you put in the work **, one that will see you heading home with a beautiful, unique and usable piece of traditionally tanned leather!

* The use of brains or egg yolks as an alternative dressing agent will be covered.

** Please be aware that a reasonable amount of fitness is required for this course. I will provide instruction on good technique and timing with the skins, but you will need to be on your feet and active for 6 to 8 hours per day.

Any serious injuries or disabilities need to be discussed with me prior to booking onto the course, please!

Bag Making:

The last section of the course will cover learning to craft one of the most practical, useful, yet underrated items that can be made from leather: a bag. Often not even considered until you need one, a bag is an essential item.

You will learn a variety of stitches suited to soft, oil-tanned leather. We will cover basic patterning concepts and how to choose the correct stitch for the various seams. After making a paper pattern, we will construct a small bag from soft, fat-tanned leather which will incorporate many of the seams and stitches covered earlier in the course. Y

ou will also have the option to use sinew and intestine thread made earlier in the course to sew part of the bag if you choose.

You will have the opportunity to design elements of your bag to make it unique! 

After completing this course, you will have the skills and confidence to process animals, tan skins, and produce functional works of art of your own!

Course Details:

Duration: 7 days (Friday Aug. 6 10 am - Thursday Aug. 12 5 pm).

Max number of participants: 14

Prerequisites: None - This workshop is suitable for ages 18+.

Food: The weekend is fully catered, with main meals prepared using meat from the animals processed during the course.

Location: East Lothian, Scotland - Blinkbonny Wood. Blinkbonny sits on the edge of the Lammermuir Hills - 100 acres of stunning mixed canopy forest. You can find more info here and also download directions: Woodland Ways

Transportation:

• Airport Pick-up:  We can arrange airport pick-up for an extra fee - please contact Woodland Ways directly

• Public Transport: Public transport to the area is easily accessible, with international flights into Edinburgh and Edinburgh Waverley Train Station.

  
  

Host: Woodland Ways - contact them directly for all questions related to accommodations, transport, food, and logistics.

Venue: Blinkbonny Wood sits on the edge of the Lammermuir Hills - 100 acres of stunning mixed canopy forest with a patchwork of birch, hazel and Scots pine, gorse and heather. From the woodland boundaries, there are stunning views of the hills in one direction, and from the other direction you can see the coast and idyllic rolling farmlands.

Located just 20 miles from Edinburgh and 5 miles from Haddington, Blinkbonny Wood is a great spot to see roe deer, badgers, and various owls. Both hills and moors are easily accessible. 

There is plenty of room for tents, tarps, or hammocks where one can relax and enjoy nature. There is a communal fire for cooking and socializing.

Accommodation included: Shared bell tents (2–3 people) are included, but feel free to bring your own camping gear if you'd prefer.

Included: All course materials, coffee/tea, food, and accommodation in bell tents.

Not included: Off-site Accommodation.

Instructor: Theresa Emmerich Kamper

Cancellation Policy:

We put a lot of effort into these courses and travel time, so please read our cancellation terms carefully before booking.

If you change your mind within 21 days (3 weeks) of signing up, you’ll get a full refund. After that grace period, if you cancel more than 8 weeks before the course, you’ll get 75% back. If it’s less than 8 weeks before the start date, we can’t offer a refund.

(If you booked last-minute and have an issue, reach out and we’ll chat about it case-by-case!)

Explore More Courses:

From single‑day introductions to immersive three‑ and four‑day experiences — learn hide tanning, coyote fur preparation, fish‑skin tanning and use, and full animal processing. Each course builds practical skill and deeper understanding of traditional craft.

A bit about me:

I'm an avid practitioner of traditional living skills and various forms of primitive technology. My interest came in part from growing up in the USA's Rocky Mountains, where backpacking, hunting, and fishing are deeply rooted in the culture. This passion led me to the academic field of Experimental Archaeology, where I earned a PhD from the University of Exeter in the UK.

My work has been featured in both documentaries and popular TV shows, including Alone Season 8 and Surviving the Stone Age. I've been tanning skins using traditional methods for over 30 years. Learning to tan was a natural offshoot of my desire to use as much of an animal as possible, and it had the added bonus of producing a beautiful end product.

In my instruction, I share a wide range of information—from the intricate details of skin morphology to helpful tips for dealing with the numerous, frustrating problems often encountered when you're first learning to tan.