
Soap Making and Herbal Medicine
Immersion Weekend
Friday, May 19 - Sunday, May 21, 2017!
$255 per person
(does not include accommodations*)
See our "Just For Locals" Price Below!



Come spend a weekend in the comfort of the Milkweed Mercantile while learning soap making and herbal medicinals with expert Kim Kanney, owner of Artemisia Soaps and Herbals as your guide.
Soap making, with plenty of hands-on experience, will be taught on Saturday. Herbalism and Plant Spirit Medicine (the concoction and use of herbal salves and tinctures) will be presented on Sunday. In between delicious meals and classroom experience you will be able to utilize Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage’s 260 acres as your classroom and laboratory!
All meals, from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch are included, as is all instruction. Both classes will send you home with bountiful samples of what you learned to make, and written directions with which to practice your new skills.
Class size will be kept small for lots of hands-on, individual attention. There will be plenty of time to ask lots of questions. Our goal is for you to be able to go home and make your own soap and herbal medicinals confidently and safely.
THE DETAILS
You'll arrive on Friday, May 19 by 4:00 p.m. and check into your room at the Milkweed Mercantile. That evening you'll meet your instructor and classmates and get to know one another over the Mercantile's dinner.
SOAP MAKING - Saturday, May 20, 2017
Saturday morning after breakfast you'll jump right into the basics of cold-processed soap-making. Kim will demonstrate the preparation of two different batches of soap. After lunch each participant will design his/her own soap, determine the right proportions of ingredients, and make it!
HERBALISM AND PLANT SPIRIT MEDICINE - Sunday, May 21, 2017
After breakfast on Sunday morning we will begin with a brief introduction of herbalism. We will then take a walk where we will explore the beautiful land of Dancing Rabbit and learn to identify wild medicinals. We will delve into "plant spirit medicine" and how to tune into what the plants have to teach us, as well as our relationship with the healing plants around us. In the afternoon (after lunch) we’ll be back in the kitchen. Kim will demonstrate basic medicine-making techniques such as tinctures and salves, and then everyone will make their own samples. There will be ample time to ask questions



You'll not only learn how to make soap, salves and tinctures, you'll go home with samples of each!
Included
-
All meals - dinner on Friday; breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday; breakfast and lunch on Sunday.
-
All instruction - information about soap making, plant medicine, plant identification and medicine-making
-
Hands-on experience
-
Printed handouts
-
Bars of Artemisia soap to take home
-
Natural bug-repellent spray for plant walk, and how-to instructions
-
A sample of salve and tincture to take home (that you make during the class)
​
JUST FOR LOCALS - $175
If you live within (daily) commuting distance of Rutledge, Missouri, we have a special deal for you! Included in our "Just For Locals" Package:
-
Lunch on Saturday and Sunday (commuter students eat breakfast and dinner at home, and eat lunch here with us on Saturday and Sunday during the workshop!)
-
All instruction - information about soap making, plant medicine, plant identification and medicine-making
-
Hands-on experience
-
Printed handouts
-
Bars of Artemisia soap to take home
-
Natural bug-repellent spray for plant walk, and how-to instructions
-
A sample of salve and tincture to take home (that you make during the class)
​
​
ACCOMMODATIONS
Rooms in the Milkweed Mercantile - cost depends upon the room. Room prices are based on double-occupancy; share your room with a friend and cut your cost in half!
-
Aldo Leopold Room - upstairs, king bed, $60 per night/$120 total (Friday and Saturday). Regularly $139 per night.
-
Rachel Carson Room - upstairs, queen bed and two twins in a trundle $60 per night/$120 total (Friday and Saturday). Room for up to four people; preferably reserved for a group - bring your friends! Regularly $129 per night
-
David Brower Room - BOOKED
-
Wallace Stegner Room - downstairs, two twin beds, a very small room, $50per night/$100 total (Friday and Saturday). Regularly $98 per night.
Camping - FULL, no longer available
-
You provide your own tent, sleeping gear and towels
-
We provide a tent platform (Tent must fit on a tent platform that measures approximately 8' x 10')
-
Includes access to the Milkweed Mercantile’s showers and toilets.
Cancellation Fee: One-half of workshop fee and one-half of accommodations charge are due at time of reservation; balance due upon check-in. Full refund (less $20 accounting fee) returned with a full 7 days notice. Less than 7 days notice for a cancellation will result in loss of deposit.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Kim Kanney Kim dabbles in just about anything she can get her hands on. Her gardens are her greatest joy, with apothecary and food processing a close second. In addition to running the business, Kim works part-time at a local non-profit and devotes her spare time to putting back the garden's bounty for the lean months. If it can be fermented, she will get out the salt. If it must be canned, she will pull out the jars. If something can have a use, you best believe it will be used.
Kim first came to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in 2011 to work as an intern. She later spent time at Red Earth Farms, and lived in a tiny house in Rutledge, just down the road from DR for several years. Kim now lives in Ohio where she is plying her wares at local grocery stores, farmers markets and fairs. We're delighted to have her back with us for this weekend!
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Friday, May 19
Arrive Thursday afternoon by 5:30 p.m. to get settled
Dinner: 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 20
7:30 coffee & tea available
8:00 - 8:50 a.m. BREAKFAST
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Intro to Soap-making, complete process
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Break or DR tour for those who are interested
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. LUNCH
1:00 - 1:30 p.m. break
1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Make Your Own Soap! (as a team)
Free time
6:30 p.m. DINNER
Sunday, May 21
8:00 - 8:50 a.m Breakfast
9:00 - 11:50 a.m. Intro to Herbalism, plant walk and ID, plant spirit medicine practice
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.. LUNCH
1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Medicine-making: salves and tinctures.
Class ends