SHeepskin HIde Tanning

February 14-16, 2026 | North Saanich, Vancouver Island, BC

Turn a sheep hide into Your own Sheepskin Rug.

Be changed by the process of hide tanning.

Take a moment away from screens and your usual routine. Immerse in a three-day tactile experience. Learn the process of hide tanning, the original textile handicraft.

Come prepared to work hard, be on the land at a quiet rural farm, and sink into hide time. Then take home your very own creation at the end: a hand-tanned, ethical sheepskin leather rug.

Get Your Spot

Hide Tanning is a skill

It’s also an embodiment practice.

I don’t know which I love more: the empowerment in knowing how to tan a hide, this survival skill of sheltering. This way of creating something from almost-nothing, of building strength that makes me more capable for all other hard skills. Or - do I love the embodiment more. The way my chattering brain turns off when I work a hide. The way I reach flow state without trying, or even noticing.

I’m Mara and I will be your lead on 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.

I am thrilled to welcome new tanners into the craft + to see what you’ll make of hide tanning. Whether this will be your only hide that you tan and cherish forever, or whether this will become a craft you pursue, hide tanning is for everyone.

What You’ll Gain from this course:


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


✔️ Learn a time-honoured, land-based skill


✔️ Build physical strength + endurance


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

Special Offer:
Choose your sheepskin fleece colour

We rarely get the chance to offer this!

Choose from a Suffolk white fleece or a Romney brown fleece for your sheepskin.

After sign-up, you’ll have the chance to choose your sheepskin fleece colour. Choose from Classic White or Chocolate Brown, and you you arrive on hide camp day one, your sheepskin will be waiting for you.

Words from our hide tanning students

“I tried tanning on my own and never understood it. After coming to one of the hide courses, I understand the process, and what went wrong with my previous attempts.”

  • Dallas

“Mara’s gentle guidance made me feel at home in hide camp.”

  • Tahlia

“I tanned my first hide with Fern + Roe. I didn’t know how much depth there would be in the course, beyond just the hide tanning itself. I highly recommend if you’re looking for a serious retreat/getaway.”

  • Skylar

The Details

📍 Location: North Saanich, W̱SÁNEĆ Peninsula, BC


📅 Dates: Friday February 14 to Sunday, February 16, 2026


⏰ Schedule: 11am–4pm each day


💰 Investment: $444 CAD (in one or three payments)


🎁 One-time Special: Choose a white or brown sheepskin

Get your Sheepskin Spot Here

  • All our hides are ethically sourced + re-routed from waste streams to co-create a resilient fibreshed.

  • All materials, tools, and equipment are provided.

  • $10 of your course investment goes toward the W̱SÁNEĆ Lands Trust to support Indigenous land-back.

The Hide Tanning Process

11am to 4pm daily

.Day One:

  • 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:

  • Learn the science of mineral-tanning (alum-tawing), our hide tanning method for this course

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

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

Day Three:

  • Clean + comb the wool of your sheepskin

  • Shape + cut the leather rug

 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

Sign me up