FISH, FUR AND TRAPS

Join Joe Flowers from Bushcraft Global and Dr Theresa Emmerich Kamper for an unforgettable chance to train, explore, and reconnect with the outdoors!

As an exciting new experiment, Joe Flowers is offering a collaboration course at his home in the Appalachian terrain of Virginia, where participants will learn the process from raw skin to finished leather for tanning fish skins and coyote furs using natural methods the resources for which can be gathered from the environment around you. Alongside the tanning Joe will be teaching time-tested primitive fishing techniques such as twitch-ups, along with modern bushcraft approaches and fire-cooking trout.

This 4-day course is all about adventure! Joe’s instruction may even include frog-spearing demonstrations. Surprise guest instructors may also join to add more depth and variety. :)

And as a bonus, you can sign up for an optional canoe trip on April 27th :)

Extend the experience with a full-day guided canoe and kayak expedition led by Joe and Theresa. Starting with pick-up at the campsite, participants will paddle through quiet forests, long river bends, and historic stretches of the New River before returning to camp. Wild meats, local cheeses, and curated snacks will be provided. If you're seeking an even deeper Appalachian adventure, add this trip to your itinerary.

Price for additional canoe trip:

$150 (sign up at check-out)

What to Expect During the Fur Tanning Module:

During this 4-day course, you will learn how to process raw skin and turn it into warm, beautiful, and biodegradable finished fur. We will be using Lecithin and oil as the dressing agent while covering the following:

• Rehydrating dried fur

• Removing the meat and fat from the inner skin surface (flesh side) of the fur

• Applying the tanning agents, and then

• Softening of the skin

• Smoking the Coyote fur to increase their washability

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

What to Expect During the Fish Skin Module:

Fish skins are easy to acquire, small enough to fit in a jar, and come in an incredible variety of patterns and textures. This makes them a great entry into the world of tanning, as they are easy to tan almost anywhere, from your garden to your kitchen counter!

This course will cover the basics of vegetable and fat tanning fish skins to produce surprisingly soft, strong, and durable leather.

• Sourcing skins

• Scraping and scaling,

• Making and timing the tan baths,

• Tanning stages,

• The importance of pH,

• Testing tanned-ness, and

• Lots of time for questions and answers!

  
  

In addition to enthusiastic instruction, we will 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 your own knowledge of tanning!

Join Joe and me for a course that will contain plenty of memorable moments, lots of practical information, hands-on learning, and an adventure you won't forget!

About our host Joe Flowers:

Joe lives on over 300 acres of private mountain property in the New River Valley in Virginia with rivers, cliffs, historic sites, sweeping vistas, and miles of Appalachian forest.

He is widely known in the outdoor world for his influential knife designs, his global expeditions, and his honest, down-to-earth teaching style.

Through Bushcraft Global, he has spent years leading groups into remote regions around the world, learning from indigenous experts and sharing those experiences with others. The demand for Joe to teach more courses in the United States has been steady and persistent, driven by his approachable personality and real-world field experience.

As a knife designer, Joe’s work appears across the industry, with blades created for Condor Tool & Knife, TOPS Knives, WorkTuff Gear, Demko Knives, CJRB/Artisan, BPS Knives, and many others.

His jungle expertise was also featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Expedition from Hell,” which highlighted the challenges of an Amazon expedition.

For the first time - and as a new experiment - Joe is offering a collaboration course at his home in the Appalachian terrain, turning this Fish, Fur and Traps event into an immersive, nature-driven experience.

Joe first met Dr. Theresa Emmerich Kamper while serving on the board of the International Bushcraft Symposium in Alberta, where her depth of knowledge immediately stood out. And at the ’25 Bushcraft Show in the UK, Theresa and Joe worked up the idea for this collaboration.

Additional Information:

During this course, you can expect to learn a lot and gain life experiences, such as real-world survival methods that blend tradition, improvisation, and fieldcraft, as well as hands-on experience with the essentials of mountain trout preparation. You will be able to try your luck in a private, stocked trout pond as Joe Flowers walks you through the subtle nuances of catching fish, and possibly how to spear frogs quickly and efficiently.

Duration: 4 days (Thursday, April 23rd, 09:00 am - Sunday, April 26th, 4:00 pm). The canoeing expedition will set off April 27th.

Max number of participants: 12

Prerequisites: This workshop is suitable for ages 18+, and a reasonable amount of fitness is required.

Food: Info is coming.

Location: Galax, Virginia, USA

Payment: You can pay by credit card, use one of our gift cards, or pay over time with PayPal Pay Later (choose PayPal option) at checkout.

Venue:

Nestled deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the Lodge property rests where the New River and Little River meet. Built in 1947, the Lodge carries the character of its era, having stood through storms, including Hurricane Helene, and is now being restored stronger than ever.

The land surrounding it opens into sweeping mountain views, forested trails, rocky riverbanks, and hidden pockets of wilderness. The property highlights the New River's rich riparian ecosystem, with opportunities for snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, exploring a stocked trout pond, or simply wandering the woods during downtime.

Accommodation:

Camping is available on site for both tents and vehicles, with potable water, porta-potties, an outdoor shower, and an old-school indoor shower in the Lodge. Guests have access to limited kitchen amenities, including a microwave, basic refrigeration, and simple prep space.

Electricity is available for charging, though cell service is limited, adding to the place's quiet, unplugged charm.

For those seeking more comfort, hotels and mountain Airbnbs are just 15 minutes away, and RV boondocking may be available upon request. This stretch of riverfront acreage offers not only a practical basecamp, but a setting that feels like stepping into the slower, grounded rhythm of Appalachian life.

Included: All course materials.

Not included: Off-site Accommodation.

Instructors: Theresa Emmerich Kamper and Joe Flowers

Schedule:

1^st morning = fish skin prep, then into the tannin. 1^st afternoon = fish traps 

2^nd morning = Fish traps (fish @ 24h in tan). 2^nd afternoon = scraping furs, washing and dressing. 

3^rd day = Softening furs

4^th morning = Smoking furs (Fish@72h in tan). 4th afternoon = Wash/dress/soften the fish skins.

A bit about Dr. Theresa Emmerich Kamper:

I'm an avid practitioner of traditional living skills and of all kinds 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.