Tan a Sheepskin Rug

May 7-9, 2027 | North Saanich, Vancouver Island, BC

Turn a sheep hide into your own sheepskin rug.

Be changed by the process of hide tanning.

You will work hard. You will be on the land at a quiet rural farm. And you’ll go home with your own sheepskin rug - tanned by your hands.

Our multi-day hide courses are for anyone who wants to challenge themselves, be outdoors, learn a new skill, and get immediate reward. That’s your sheepskin rug - and it’s also every micro-skill you learn along the way, from tying knots to learning tensioning.

Hide tanning is needed now more than ever. We need moments to get off screens, to be outside, and to be unreachable, even just for a few hours.

Investment: $464 CAD

Payable in 1 or 3 payments. Contact us for longer payment plans.

GET YOUR SPOT

Hide Tanning is a Land-Based skill

It’s also an embodiment practice.

Mara Cur and Mark Santmaraia are your co-facilitators for this hide tanning course - affectionately known as a hide camp - where you’ll receive a fresh + prepared hide from us and turn it into natural, sustainable leather yourself.

Even as a beginner, you’ll be the one to make it happen. You’ll leave hide camp with your own sheepskin rug, the knowledge to tan more hides, and unique lessons that three days of ancient movement + hard work brought to you.

The Details

📍 Location: North Saanich, W̱SÁNEĆ Peninsula, BC


📅 Dates: May 7-9, 2027


⏰ Schedule: 11am–4pm each day


💰 Investment: $464 CAD

⛺ Camping available book your spot here

  • All our hides are ethically sourced, salvaged from agricultural waste

  • We (and you!) re-route waste back into the textiles stream to co-create a resilient fibreshed.

  • All materials, tools, and equipment are provided by us

  • $10 of your course investment goes toward the W̱SÁNEĆ Lands Trust to support Indigenous land-back. This donation is made during thier annual holiday fundraising drive.

What You’ll Gain from this hide tanning course:


✔️ Transform a local farm-raised sheep hide into a plush + functional, leather sheepskin rug


✔️ Learn the time-honoured, land-based skill of hide tanning


✔️ Build physical strength + endurance


✔️ Leave with a finished sheepskin - made ethically by your hands

The Hide Tanning Process

11am to 4pm daily

.Day One:‍ ‍11am to 4pm

  • Choose your sheepskin. Find the one that calls to you.

  • Learn to work with a traditional hide frame; weave the hide into the frame

  • Use scrapers + dowels to begin drying the leather

Day Two: 11am to 4pm

  • Learn the science of mineral-tanning (alum-tawing)

  • Soften your sheepskin leather with softening + dry-scraping tools

Day Three: 11am to 4pm

  • Clean + comb the wool of your sheepskin

  • Add the finishing work of pumicing + sanding your dried sheepskin leather

 FAQs

  • Anneth Farm in North Saanich, BC can be reach by:

    Ferry

    • BC Ferries, Tsawassen to Swartz Bay

    • Mill Bay ferry, Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay

    • BlackBall ferry, Port Angeles to Victoria

    • Clipper ferry, Seattle to Victoria

    Plane

    • Commercial jet to YYJ

    • Float plane to Patricia Bay or downtown Victoria (Inner Harbour)

  • We are 35 minutes north of Victoria, BC

  • Yes, we welcome everyone to camp at Anneth Farm. It is $24/night.

    In addition, we have indoor accommodations available that change by season. For this course, you are welcome to book a private Farmhouse room for $150/night. Email us to enquire.

  • 11am to 4:00pm

Transform a Sheep Hide into Sheepskin Leather

With everyday ingredients

With simple equipment

And learn how close you already are

to the natural world, within and around you