Not your grandaddy's homestead event!
This is three days packed with regeneratively grown food, learning homesteading skills, business, and connecting with people you did not know you need to know.
We use regenerative growing practices and share how we do it. We cover microbiology and how in impacts the soil, your food and your microbiome.
But also? If you live on a homestead or small farm, you want to design with profit in mind so that you don't have to work a full time job to work your farm as a second full time job!
Come join Nicole Sauce, Jack Spirko, Alan Booker, Opalyn Brenger, Kerry Brown and many more great instructors for this one-of-a kind event.
Space is very limited.
Tickets launch Jan 31 and sell out fast.
Speakers Include
Jack Spirko
Alan Booker
Sandor Katz
Nicole Sauce
Sherri Stickler
Opalyn Brenger
Kerry Brown
John Pugliano
Jenni Hill
Michael Leonido
Patrick Roehrman
Why We Built the LFTN Spring Workshop the Way We Did
The LFTN Spring Workshop is a three-day, in-person gathering focused on homesteading, regenerative health, and building the life you choose.
This is not a conference or a retreat. It’s a working reset.
Sessions are designed to give you clarity, confidence, and momentum by seeing real systems in action and spending time with people who are actually doing the work.
*Registration: $600
*Reserve your spot: $200 deposit
Format: Classroom sessions, demonstrations, land walks, tours, shared meals, and open conversations
Physical Demands: Not physically demanding; hands-on activities are optional
Food: Three meals per day included
Lodging: On-site tent camping (With a marvelous, private outdoor shower) + nearby Airbnbs and campgrounds with hookups for my rv-ers
The workshop takes place on my working homestead. Most of the food you’ll eat is grown or raised here, or sourced through our local network. Very little comes from the commercial food system.
Why Get Together?
A lot of capable people feel stuck.
They know something is shifting in the economy, in technology, in how much of what we see online is even real, but they’re unsure where to focus next.
After years of podcast conversations about heritage skills and self-reliance, it became clear that people needed more than information. They needed time in person, on real land, seeing real systems: what’s working, what’s not, and how to adjust.
Three Pillars
The weekend is structured around three connected areas. None stand alone.
1. Working Homestead Systems
You’ll see how real systems function in daily life, including:
Biochar cookstove build — Opalyn Brenger
Soil microbiology (hands-on with microscopes) — Alan Booker
Rehabilitating pasture through grazing — Kerry Brown
Natural fibers: finding them and caring for them — Opelyn Brenger
Wild edible walk — Kerry Brown
Bio-reactor compost check-in
Tours of the food forest, gardens, mushroom systems, humanure setup, and solar system
This is not a fake "showpiece" homestead. You’ll see systems that are working, evolving, and still being figured out.
2. Regenerative Health & Biology
If your health is off, everything else gets harder.
This section connects soil biology, human biology, fermentation, herbalism, and nervous system regulation: focused on understanding systems well enough to make better decisions.
Sessions include:
Microbiome for regenerative health — Alan Booker
Wild fermentation & hands-on sauerkraut — Sandor Katz
Herbal Remedies, Infusions and salves — Sherri Stickler
Nervous system regulation and abundance — Jenni Hill
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s competence.
3. Build the Life You Choose
This is where abundance and momentum comes from.
We’ll focus on consistency, money, making things that matter, and building community instead of doing everything alone.
LIVING FREE IN TENNESSEE - CELEBRATING TEN YEARS
This spring also marks ten years of the Living Free in Tennessee podcast.
What started as conversations about heritage skills and self-reliance has grown into a real network of people who care about doing things well, taking responsibility, and building something better — together.
It felt right to mark that milestone in person, on the land, with good food and good company.
One day during the workshop we’ll set aside time to celebrate with an epic, slow, shared meal — likely a whole roast lamb or pig — and spend the day cooking, tasting, and learning together. Jack Spirko will guide us through building great appetizers and more “cheffy” experiences along the way.
If you’ve been part of this community for years — or if you’re just stepping into it — this feels like the right moment to gather.
What the Weekend Feels Like
This is not a physically demanding weekend, but it is both inside and outside, so bring layers!
There are classroom sessions, demonstrations, walks, and optional hands-on activities. You can participate at the level that makes sense for you.
Much of the value comes from shared meals, open salons, land walks, and long, practical conversations. People typically leave clearer, calmer, and ready to move forward—not hyped up, but grounded.
Draft Agenda
Thursday
9:00–10:00 AM Breakfast
10:00–11:00 AM
Build an Estufa Finca — Opalyn Brenger
Starting with two five-gallon buckets, Opelyn will build an Estufa Finca designed by Art Donnelly (SeaChar.org).
11:15 AM–12:15 PM
Rehabilitating Pasture Through Grazing — Kerry Brown
12:15–1:15 PM Lunch
1:30–2:30 PM
Your Home Herbal Apothecary — Sherri Stickler
2:45–3:45 PM
Attracting Abundance Through Nervous System Regulation — Jenni Hill
4:00–4:30 PM
What Is the Holler Hub? — Nicole Sauce
4:30–5:30 PM
Practical Session — Patrick Roehrman
5:30–7:00 PM Open Salons & Tours: Wild edible walk, grazing systems, aquaponics, compost, gardens, mushrooms
7:00–8:00 PM Dinner
8:00 PM–Late Fun
Friday
9:00–10:00 AM Breakfast
10:00 AM –12:15 PM
Microbiome for Regenerative Health — Alan Booker
Many people have become aware of the importance of the gut microbiome for human health, but the gut microbiome exists within the much wider context of the environmental microbiome and the EMF/RF environment in which you live. After a brief tour of the nested environmental microbiomes and the landscape of EMF/RF pollution, we will explore a range of practical steps you can take to make your own environment healthier and safer.
12:15–1:15 PM Lunch
1:30–2:30 PM
Wild Fermentation & Hands-On Sauerkraut — Sandor Katz
2:45–3:45 PM
Being a Maker: Connect Creation and Improvement — Mike Leonido
4:00–5:00 PM
Grifter’s Guide to the Stock Market — John Pugliano
5:00–7:00 PM
From Field to Feast: The Art of the Appetizer — Jack Spirko
7:00–8:00 PM Dinner - A celebration of 10 years of LFTN
8:30 PM Barter Blanket
Saturday
9:00–10:00 AM Breakfast
10:00–11:00 AM
The 5 O’Clock Club: Unstoppable Progress — Jack Spirko
Turn intention into action through consistent daily execution without hustle or hype. Learn how one protected block of time, done first, creates momentum for real progress.
11:15 AM–12:15 PM
Soil Biology and Ecological Cultivation (Presentation)— Alan Booker
Let's pull out the microscopes and take a deep-dive into the world of soil microbiology and how it is the key to growing nutrient-dense real food. We will explore the differences between ecological and chemical cultivation, the importance of the soil microbiome in seed saving, the dynamics of multi-species quorum sensing, and why even anaerobic organisms can sometimes end up being helpful.
12:15–1:15 PM Lunch
1:30–2:30 PM
Soil Biology and Ecological Cultivation (Microscope and hands On) — Alan Booker
2:45–3:45 PM
Natural Fibers — Opalyn Brenger
4:00–5:00 PM
The Holler Hub: From Homestead to Community — Nicole Sauce
5:00–7:00 PM Open Salons & Tours: Bio reactor compost check in
7:00–8:00 PM Dinner
8:00 PM–Late Fun
Also check out other Workshops in Lancaster, Health & Wellness events in Lancaster, Business events in Lancaster.
