KINDLING

A 7 month Ancestral Skills immersion

one weekend a month:
April - October 2026

This is your invitation to reconnect, remember, and rewild

We gather to cultivate the skills that our ancestors have carried for thousands of years - together, around the fire, one weekend a month.

Kindling is about developing these ancestral skills of learning to live on and with the land, not just for their practicality, but as pathways for deepening our relationships with both our external and internal landscapes.

Our sessions will include the following:

friction fire
hide tanning
fiber arts
animal tracking
bird language
wild harvest for food & medicine
acorn processing
shelter building
nature connection & mindfullness
and much more!

“To care for the world you must first feel part of it.”

— David Attenborough

DETAILS:

The program is held one weekend a month over nine months, from March through November 2026, on a land base in Occidental, California. Formal teaching runs from Saturday at 10am through Sunday at 3pm. Saturday programming typically continues into the evening, so participants are invited and encouraged to camp overnight on Saturday.

This is a closed cohort of adult participants committed to the full nine-month journey, fostering a joyful and intentional community container. Each month centers on a different ancestral skill, supported by ongoing practices in nature connection and mindfulness. While new skills are introduced each month, core practices are revisited and deepened throughout our time together. Sessions are primarily led by the program facilitators, with select weekends featuring experienced guest instructors.

Please read through the FAQ for more important detailed information.

Sessions:
Saturday 10am - Sunday 3pm

April 18 - 19
May 16 - 17
June 12 - 14
July 18 - 19
August 22 - 23
September 19 - 20
October 17 - 18

Tuition: $1,970

This fee includes facilitators, guest educators, craft materials and resources, camping, and communal camp set up over nine weekends. This fee does NOT include food.

More payment details and financial support options can be found in our FAQ and registration form

Who is this program for?

adults of all genders
Individuals eager to develop their ancestral skills and land-based knowledge
Anyone seeking to deepen their relationship with the natural world through intentional and playful practices of nature connection and awareness
those craving a supportive and welcoming community around a shared joy and passion
People comfortable camping and spending extended time outside (or hoping to grow in this area)
professional development related to outdoor education and other similar fields
an opportunity to step away from the daily grind into a more grounded, slow, and alive way of being

If any or all of this resonates - we welcome you!

Register Here

Facilitators

Rachel (Ra-hel) Ruach Golden trained in deep nature connection, cultural regeneration, and rites of passage, she is seen & known as a cultural midwife; helping us individually and collectively come back into remembrance and alignment with the earth and spirit around us.

Having a BS in Astrophysics and a BA in Religious Studies in 2001, she continued on to train with the Regenerative Design Institute, Institute for Nature Awareness, Rites of Passage Vision Quest Guide Training & Red Tent Training. She went on to lead vision quests and overnight solos and lent her visionary, ceremonial, and cultural regenerative guidance to Wilderness Torah for 13 years, currently curating a Ritual Team to breathe life back into an ancient Hebrew Rain Dance.

Currently, she has the honor of raising her three children with her husband, Zelig Golden, in the land that she was born and raised, the coastal forests of Occidental, California. In acknowledgement that these are unceded lands of the Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok, Rachel continually strives to be an ally to the first nations people and to take up her responsibility to the tend the species of the land that she calls home.

She works withgroups and individuals as a spiritual mentor, running earth based ceremonies with the Mari Altar, holding first moon & adulthood initiation rites alongside other ceremonies, while in training to be a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner.

Miri Kaiser brings over a decade of nature-based work centered around cultivating meaningful relationships with and through the wild. Her career weaves together environmental and wilderness education, clinical fieldwork, community leadership, and earth-based creativity, all rooted in a belief that time in nature can be deeply transformative.

For the past four years, Miri designed and directed Mahaz, a farming fellowship that integrated land stewardship, ancestral skill building, community practice and personal development. She received her certification in Adventure Therapy from Wingate Institute and is a certified Wilderness First Responder. She has also served as a lead field guide in wilderness therapy programs in Vermont and Colorado, supporting physical and emotional resilience through immersion in the outdoors. Additionally, she has developed and led curricula focused on leadership training, team building, and environmental engagement for a range of schools, camps, and gap year programs. Her work continues to be guided by a deep trust in the natural world as a powerful space for reflection, healing, and authentic connection.

In her spare time she can be found enjoying slow slips of coffee in the early morning, throwing clay on a wheel, riding her bike or tending to one of her many unfinished craft projects.

As a facilitator of this experience, Miri brings her steadiness, sense of play, and a deep care for supporting presence, relationship, and a grounded sense of belonging in the outdoors.

FAQ’s

We ask that anyone considering this program is willing to fully commit. We understand that folks may need to miss one or two, but beyond that, your absence will impact both yours and the community's experience.
With the importance of making this experience accessible to as many as possible, we also offer a discounted work trade rate of $1500. Recipients of this discounted rate will have work-trade responsibilities throughout the program. (approximately 3 hrs/week of site support and organization that won't interfere with programming) Because these positions are limited, it is not guaranteed for all who request it, so please apply for this option only if it reflects your genuine financial need.
We also have a community-supporter rate of $2400. Your contribution of this amount helps make this experience possible for others.
Payment plans are available of 1/4 the Tuition amount, paid in quarterly increments over the nine months.
Yes! Participants are welcome to arrive Friday evening to get settled in for the weekend. This is a good option for those travelling from further distances or those who just want that extra time to let your mind and body settle before the program starts on Saturday morning. Please note that food will not be provided or arranged for early arrivals.
Participants are invited to camp out on the land and will need to bring their own camping gear. The site is equipped with a compost toilet and running water. We understand this may not be possible for everyone, but we highly encourage this camping option as it allows you to fully sink into the experience and the weekend’s container.
We will provide a fully equipped outdoor kitchen (pots, pans, dishes, serving utensils, silverware, stove, fridge/coolers, icebox) and there will be organized communal meals for (saturday) dinner and (sunday) breakfast. Participants will be responsible for their own lunch and snacks.
1) click the “Register” button, fill out the attached form, and schedule a 20 minute info call
2) Receive your confirmation
3) Reserve your spot with a $300 deposit or payment in Full.
4) Registered participants will receive a welcome packet with more detailed information