PADDLER 14
PADDLER 14
timber to make inwales, outwales, masiks and thwarts. We think it’ s this balance of traditional work and contemporary materials which makes our courses special. Not only do you get a beautiful boat which will stand the test of time, but you also learn real woodwork skills along the way. Throughout the week, we occasionally stop to learn about related topics, such as sharpening tools or understanding how the cellular structure of wood influences its bending and moisture response.
THE FOLKSCHOOL
Archipelago Folkschool is a social enterprise, founded in 2017 to connect people with craft. Our courses take place in our purpose-built teaching workshop on our croft on the Isle of Mull.
We are also a mobile organisation, and work across Scotland on diverse projects, from community boatbuilds to bespoke sessions for disadvantaged groups. Over the last eight years, we have run courses with disabled people in an old warehouse in Glasgow, and a course for someone’ s 50th birthday party in Torridon; we’ ve taught fathers connecting with their kids in a community garden in Musselborough, and an LGBTQ youth group in a canal boat shed in Kirkintilloch.
Alongside our community projects, we’ ve developed our public courses, fine-tuning and honing the boatbuilding process to make it as easy yet rewarding as possible. We aim to find the sweet spot where everyone learns valuable skills and has a great time in the process. We’ re proud to say that every single person has managed to build their boat and get it on the water. We’ ve lost count, but we must have built more than 100 boats across Scotland. Many have travelled far afield: at least two are in Switzerland, two in Holland, and one went on an expedition to Svalbard!
THE GROUP
One of the things we love to see is the way a group comes together. Through the process of building a boat, genuine friendships are forged. It’ s a social activity: we spend all day together in the workshop helping each other, and most people camp on the croft or stay in one of our cosy yurts. Once the work
The canoe at sea. Photo: Tony Lucas
day is finished, people relax. Often this includes a beer at the kitchen table, but the intrepid head off to climb hills, swim in the sea or sample the local pubs.
We encourage our participants to come in pairs, and one of the magical things we see is relationships reforged through mutual working- old friends rebuilding a friendship, or parents reconnecting with their children. New friendships form, and people who began as strangers often keep in touch long after the course has ended.
FINISHING THE BOATS
By the end of the course week, the boats are strong, watertight, and ready to float, but not quite finished. We recommend that every participant take their boats home and varnish or paint them to a high standard. This protects the epoxy from UV damage, which makes the boats last while looking really good. We love to see photos of people’ s creativity after the courses. Some people put on enough varnish to get on the water as quickly as possible, while others spend hours developing complex paint schemes which show off their new creation.
IT’ S PERHAPS BEST TO FINISH WITH SOME OF THE COMMENTS FROM THIS YEAR’ S PARTICIPANTS
Tori came to build a canoe, and told us,“ The experience was immersive, mindful and full of achievement, the kind that can only be achieved when you use your hands and your body to craft something. … working on our canoe, looking out across the Ross of Mull, we could see the rewards of our effort unfolding day by day as the boat grew, changed and took its final form … Building our own canoe is just the start of the adventure.”
We can’ t say more than that!
Photo: Amanda Travis
Photo: Amanda Travis