On a fine sunny Saturday, twelve women gathered for our first FIRE WOMAN workshop. Together we sang and laughed! We shared old stories of the women who lit fires and kept their hearths warm with tending and offerings.
We learned the fundamentals of fire making. Marie and Claudelle started the morning with a bow drill demo. We moved into practicing wood chopping with a fixed-blade knife and axes. A story of a bird with an ember orange tail was told. In the afternoon we gathered into groups and started three fires with grasses, fibres, sticks, douglas fir, and cedar. We practiced with bow drill kits and mentored the women along the way.
Finally, we came back to our central fire to tell our tales of the day. The day was smooth and fulfilling. We plan to offer similar workshops in the near future.
Testimonials from the workshop
“Marie Whimsy and Claudelle Charette brought us together for ancestral skills. Deep gratitude for these two dedicated leaders, to the circle of women who heard the call, and to all the women who have tended fire since time immemorial. Gratitude also for the grant that made this possible for us to attend this”
-Celeste Morris
“It was deeply nourishing! Both Marie and Claudelle provided a space where we all felt held and safe to be and explore and play and be curious… The day had such a soft and gentle flow of equal parts of everything – active hard work, storytime, reflecting time, social time, skill learning time, and magical liminal open time. Everyone who attended spoke incredibly highly of these two wonderful women.
I felt I showed up to exactly what I expected from the poster, and their passion, knowledge, and tender open presence still made space for nuance, growth, connection, magic, and more. Everyone in the group wants more and more with these two”
-Maria Robins
“I’m so grateful for the woman who pushed past old narratives and followed the pulse of the ancestral ways. Inspire making Workshop was a treat.”
-Kandra Alaya
