What is the Coyote Village?

As we have been working with young people and observed their passions, struggles, desires and longings, a common denominator at the heart of their becoming is a deep need for healthy wild spaces in their lives where they can explore, roam and connect with others. This is something many of us “elder folk” realized we had growing up. We remember coming home from school. dropping our backpacks down and heading out until we heard the dinner bell ringing near dark. Now—sadly—this pericope and space for learning has all but vanished for most adolescents. And it has left young people with a nature deficit and a lack of a natural rite of passage where personal identity is tested through experiential character development and communal collaboration.

So the goal in our conversation became to create something that opens up that wild space again.

We believe Open Wild Learning Spaces (OWLS) create containers where personal problem solving, risk assessment, collaboration, resilience and curiosity are tried and tested—leading to intrinsic wisdom, trust, and a community of emotional intelligence..

Following this need, we met in a council of elders and designed the “Coyote Village.”

It is a village of young people and various elders in our community who want to pour skill, creativity, compassion and guidance into the lives of the young who are entering through the rite of passage of becoming an adult, starting at age 12.

What do we do at Coyote Village?

At coyote village, we offer hands on skill based training—centered around three tracks of learning:

NATURALIST TRAINING (Inquiry based learning about the natural world—including botany, herpetology, mycology, ornithology, herbology, dendrology and mammalogy)
APPALACHIAN FOLK CRAFT (Reviving traditional folk craft that have passed down through generations—including textiles, woodworking, instrumentation, basket weaving, blacksmithing, painting, jewelry and ceramics)
SURTHRIVAL SKILLS (taking the art of survival skills and adding an element of wonder, including—fire building and tending, shelter construction, wild tool making, wild foraging, and water cleaning methods)

We take these three areas of learning and wrap them yup in a sacred container where ceremony and community are experienced and celebrated, as well as the growth of each of the young people who take part.

The Importance of Elders, Mentorship and Sacred Ceremony in Coyote Village

In Coyote Village, young people don’t just experience a class where they learn skills. They are wrapped in a sacred container of elders who guide them into rites of passage, offering personal challenges, encourage them through struggles and model nature and community connection. The elders allow space for growth and struggle. And throughout the day, they weave learning, play, rest, and ceremony into the community.

The day ends with a fire ceremony that involves drumming, singing, dancing, and sharing. A show and tell of sorts, but not focused on a product, rather the process we are going through and the lessons we are picking up on. Young people learning to use their intuition is vitally impoertant! Ceremony is a container for them to voice this. And to also encourage others in their community. To celebrate their journey!

Each group of learners will have two elders guiding them. Guiding them includes emotional and life support, conversatoion, and care. Elders celebrate their journey along the way and offer wisdom, guidance and listening skills and individualized learning paths. Our hope is that along their journey, an apprentice will grow into an elder themselves and spread the joy of acquired skills, connection and community care to others.