Campbell Folk School - North Carolina

[Guest guest]

John C. Campbell Folk School

Brasstown, North Carolina

 

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Hare Krsna dasi

 

Recently Harakanta prabhu sent me a catalogue from the Campbell Folk School in

North Carolina.

 

In light of our recent discussions on the importance of producing flax in

Northern climates, I was interested to note that on Feb 25-27, 2000, the school

will be offering a class called: *Flax: From Seed to Linen* by Dale Liles. “We

will use the actual tools involved: flax break, scutching board & knife, and

hackles. Class material is designed to be of interest to historical re-enactors

and docents for historical sites, as well as those interested in the many uses

of this plant besides its thread-making qualities. Other bast fibers will be

discussed and spun as time permits.”

 

But, beyond that, I was quite surprised what an extensive range of courses they

offer (450 classes) and that they have been in existence since 1920.

 

This raises several points for consideration:

 

1. This school could well be one of the models (like Tillers International ox

power school) we might want to investigate for developing our own Varnasrama

Colleges.

 

2. The Campbell Folk School is based on the Skandinavian Folk school model -

so

European devotees could visit those schools as models.

 

3. The vast range of courses (450) and the length of time they have been in

existence (70 years!) shows how much the public can be attracted by this type

of

training, and how successful it can be if craftspersons of top skill can be

engaged to present courses. This seems to be an exact confirmation of

Prabhupada’s plans to spread Krsna consciousness by developing varnasrama

self-sufficiency colleges (14 March 1974, 14 Feb 1977). It also supports his

statement in Mauritius 1975 to the effect that “They will be attracted by your

training power.”

 

Below is a list of the subject areas (there may be as many as 24 courses within

1 subject area) and some contact information, for those of you who do not have

web access.

 

Naturally, it would be nice to visit the school - but even for those of us who

cannot visit, this give a clue of some subjects which could be taught at a

varnasrama college. One idea is to offer courses on self-sufficiency which

will

be of interest to the general public. When they visit for a week or so to take

the courses, we have the opportunity to teach them about Krsna consciousness.

Below is the information.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

 

[i am also sending a blind copy of this post to topical.discussions.]

 

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http://www.folkschool.com/

 

On our 372 acre farm-campus in the mountains of western North Carolina we offer

more than 450 week long and weekend classes for adults year round covering a

wide variety of traditional and contemporary crafts, folk music, folk dance,

photography, nature studies, cooking, gardening, writing, and storytelling.

 

For more information phone us weekdays from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm eastern time

at 1-800-FOLK-SCH (1-800-365-5724) or 837-2775 for local callers. Our fax

number

is 828-837-8637. Our postal address is One Folk School Road, Brasstown, NC

28902. We're sorry that at this time our e-mail capability is limited to

catalog

requests only.

 

About The Folk School

 

The Folk School was founded in 1925, a collaboration between two progressive

educators and an Appalachian community. Olive Dame Campbell, Marguerite Butler

and the people of Brasstown created a unique institution that seeks to bring

people toward two kinds of development: inner growth as creative, thoughtful

individuals, and social development as tolerant, caring members of a community.

Throughout its history, the Folk School has worked toward these goals through

performing arts, agriculture and crafts rooted in the traditions of Southern

Appalachia and other cultures of the world. Lifestyles and relationships to

tradition have changed since 1925. Rural life, no longer isolated, is part of a

global life that is increasingly interdependent. The individual

expression and social interaction that are encouraged through music, crafts,

gardening and dance are still meaningful to people today, regardless of where

they live. Materials, tools and motivations for these traditional arts have

changed, but the satisfactions of developing skills in a noncompetitive,

supportive environment are useful correctives to the hard-driven, often

dehumanizing regimentation of much of today's world.

 

Modeled on the Danish "folkehøjskole,"instruction at our Folk School is

non-competitive: there are no credits, no grades, no degrees, no pitting of one

individual against another. The method of teaching is what the Danes called

"The

Living Word." Discussion and conversation, rather than reading and writing, are

emphasized, and most instruction is "hands-on." The Folk School Experience is a

unique combination of rich history, beautiful mountain surroundings, and the

experience of living and learning together.

 

Information about the history and development of the Danish Folk Schools may be

found (in English!) on the web pages of the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign

Affairs.

 

A Unique History

 

 

John C. Campbell, born in Indiana and reared in Wisconsin, studied education

and

theology in New England. Like many other idealistic young people of his

generation, he felt a calling to humanitarian work. At the turn of the century,

the Southern Appalachian region was viewed as a fertile field for educational

and social missions. With his new bride, Olive Dame of Massachusetts, he

undertook a fact-finding survey of social conditions in the mountains in

1908-1909.

 

The Campbells outfitted a wagon as a travelling home and studied mountain life

from Georgia to West Virginia. While John interviewed farmers about their

agricultural practices, Olive collected the ancient ballads and studied the

handicrafts of the mountain people. Both were hopeful that the quality of life

could be improved by education.

 

The "folkehøjskole" (folk school) had long been a force in the rural life of

Denmark. These "schools for life" had helped transform the Danish countryside

into a vibrant, creative force in national life. The Campbells talked of such a

school in the rural South as an alternative to education that drew intelligent

young people away from their family farms to the cities. After John died in

1919, Olive Campbell and her friend Marguerite Butler studied folk schools in

Denmark, Sweden, and other countries. They returned to the U.S. full of

purposeful energy and a determination to start such a school in Appalachia. But

they realized, more than many reformers of the day, that they could not impose

their ideas on the mountain people, but would need to develop a genuine

collaboration with the people. Several locations were under consideration for

the experimental school. On an exploratory trip to Brasstown, Miss Butler

explained the idea to Fred O. Scroggs, the local storekeeper, and said she

would

be back in a few weeks to see if any interest had been shown. When she

returned,

it was to a meeting of over 200 people at the local church. The people of

Cherokee and Clay Counties pledged labor, building materials and other support,

and the Scroggs family gave 75 acres of land. In 1925, the Folk School began

its

work.

 

A Beautiful Place

 

Now designated an "Historical District" by the National Register of Historic

Places, the Folk School's twenty-seven buildings are the scene of many services

to the community, a variety of special events, and an internationally-known

instructional program. The 372-acre campus has fully-equipped craft studios, a

saw mill, meeting rooms, a covered outdoor dance pavilion, a nature trail, a

craft shop, a vegetable garden, rustic lodgings, and The Community Room, which

has one of the best dance floors in America.

 

The School is located more than 1600 feet above sea level, in the rolling

farmland of a mountain valley. Some of the School's buildings were designed by

a

Belgian architect in a Romantic European style, while others are more typical

of

Appalachian farm houses.

 

The Craft Shop, open daily, sells the work of over 200 mountain craftspeople,

including the famous Brasstown Carvers.

 

Basketry

Bead Work

Blacksmithing

Book Arts

Broom Making

 

Calligraphy

Chair seats

Clay

Cooking

Crochet

 

Dance

Dolls

Drawing

Dyeing

 

Embroidery

Enameling

Felting

 

Gardening

Geneaology

Glass

 

Jewelry

Kaleidoscopes

Knitting

Lace

 

Marbling

Metalwork

Music

 

Nature Studies

Painting

Paper art

Photography

Printmaking

 

Quilting

Recreation

Rugs

 

Spinning

Soapmaking

Stonecarving

Storytelling

 

Thread art

Tinsmithing

 

Weaving

Woodcarving

Woodturning

Woodworking

Writing

 

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