Theresa Emmerich Kamper: ‘Using the whole Animal workshop’

Have you ever wondered what happens to the parts of an animal which don’t make it onto your grocery store shelves? Well wonder no longer this course covers some options for using those parts!

The course aims to introduce you to what parts are useful for what products and how to preserve those parts until they can be used.

Multiple levels of technologies from stone to steel will be covered and used to take the Deer apart and show reverence to the animal by using it all.

Some examples of what will be covered in the course are as follows:

• Organs: Removing, sorting and cleaning the edible organs as well as the utilitarian ones such as: brains for tanning the skin, the bladder for water bags and intestines for thread.
• Skin: Removing the skin, de-fleshing and preserving the skin for later and the making of hide glue
• Meat: Removing the meat, what cuts are best suited to different uses. How to debone, make roasts, jerky and soup meat. Basic meat preservation.
• Fat: How to render fat to preserve it.
• Bones: How to separate joints, bones as food, how to make tools from bones such as: skin processing tools, awls and needles, fish hooks, harpoon and arrow points, and jewellery.
• Sinew: How to remove, clean and preserve both backstrap and leg sinew and how to later process it for fibre for sewing, bowstrings, hafting, bow backing etc.
• Hooves: How to process the hooves for decorative items or for hoof glue.
• Antlers: If antlers are present how to remove them, and a discussion on how best to work with antler.

The course is three full days which will allow us to cover a wide range of introductory subjects but will not allow for the completion of finished projects. The course content covered will evolve based on time, weather, and participant interests!