On a bright, sunny day, the Stone Trust Center in Dummerston, Vermont hosted a one-day women’s introductory workshop. Thirteen women came to learn about dry stone walling. They took home know-how to apply to projects at home and professionally. One waller treated herself to the workshop for her birthday!
Most of the women wallers live in the Northeast, but one came all the way from Utah after seeing an article about the Stone Trust women’s workshop in Travel + Leisure. Almost everyone came with little to no experience, but they brought a spirit of motivation to learn a new skill and support each other while doing so. After starting with introductions and hearing each person’s reasons for being present, the group stretched out to warm up before the beginning to lift stone.
With the help of the instructors, participants stripped out the wall. Instructors provided plenty of answers to questions throughout the day, as the women rebuilt the wall. This high level of communicative interaction allowed most of you to express confidence that you left the workshop understanding the fundamentals of dry stone walling. Through your feedback, it is clear that you caught “the bug” and are eager to learn more. One of you is already signed up for a cheek rebuild workshop and steps and stairs in the near future. We hope this is just the start of your dry stone journey.
A special thank you to instructors, Victoria Merriman and Judy Rand. Participants had only positive feedback for you, commenting on how “warm and encouraging” you are, and this was the “best instruction to date.” Thank you for fostering a supportive and welcoming environment for learning.
