Kudzu Basket Weaving w/ Carleigh Fairchild
April 11, 2026 @ 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
About the Workshop: Kudzu Basket Weaving
Learn how to transform a nuisance into a source of beauty with a purpose! Discover the usefulness hidden in one of Appalachia’s most abundant wild plants—kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata). In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to transform this often misunderstood vine into something both functional and beautiful: a useful basket crafted with invasive materials by your own two hands.
Guided by experienced basketmaker and Earthskills instructor Carleigh Fairchild, participants will explore the full journey of wild weaving—from identifying and harvesting kudzu, to splitting, storing, and preparing the vines for weaving. You’ll learn foundational techniques for beginning, shaping, and finishing a basket, while gaining confidence in working with wild materials so you can take this craft out into the wilds with you!
This class welcomes all skill levels. While some previous basketry experience is helpful, curiosity and willingness to learn are what matter most. As we weave, we’ll reflect on the ways basketmaking can mirror our own inner rhythms, inviting patience, creativity and connection.
You’ll head home with:
- Your own handmade kudzu basket
- The skills to continue weaving with wild vines
- A renewed sense of empowerment, creativity, and connection to the natural world
- A new perspective on what we consider / label foreign or invasive
More than a craft class, this is an invitation to reimagine your relationship with the land, to see beauty where others see problems, and to weave deeper connection into your daily life.
This class will be held indoors on Saturday, April 11th, 2026, from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm in Asheville, NC.
The minimum age is 18, although 12 and ups are welcome if they are making a basket with an adult. Moderate hand strength is recommended for this workshop.
About the Instructor: Carleigh Fairchild
Carleigh (she/her) has a deep love for the Earth. She gardens, keeps bees, wild harvests, processes animals, tans hides, weaves baskets, and finds joy in time spent around the fire.
As the founder of Human Nature Connection LLC, Carleigh feels called to help others remember that we can live in a collaborative and respectful relationship with the Earth. She joined the survival show ALONE to share that message with a wider audience and to explore the depth of her own connection to the land. Over 86 days in the wilds of Patagonia, she relied on her skills, intuition, and connection with the Earth—emerging with a deeper understanding of what it means to truly belong to the natural world.
Carleigh first learned survival and earth skills as a teenager through kids’ camps at the Tracker School, founded by Tom Brown Jr. Over the last 25 years, basket weaving has become one of the skills she’s most deeply developed. It is more than a craft—it’s a practice of connection, a quiet dialogue with the nervous system, and in a chaotic world, a path back to self and stillness.
Living and teaching in Western North Carolina, Carleigh offers both online and in-person classes, often working with families, friends, and community groups. She loves weaving not just materials, but relationships—believing that a basket is never just a basket, but a symbol of creating containers that connect us to ourselves, each other, and the Earth.
Carleigh is also a NIASZIIH bodywork healer and a teacher at WildernessFusion, with a practice based in Asheville, NC, where her work continues to weave together body, earth, and spirit.
You can learn more about her offerings at humannatureconnection.com.
Equitable Pricing Model $75 – $155
* Please click here to learn about your pricing options before you register for your first Perennial Workshop. The pricing options are the same for all events, so you only need to do it once!
In order to make our workshops more accessible, we offer two price options for each class, with an additional Equity Discount for qualifying individuals. Please consider these options and select your price at checkout.
- Sponsor Price $155: For those who have enough to share, thank you for being a Sponsor. This is an opportunity to contribute towards the cost of the class for someone else.
- Standard Price $115: The Standard reflects one person’s share of what it costs to produce the class and cover basic expenses.
- Equity Discount $75: We offer an additional Equity Discount for those from the following communities who support reparations and/or an equitable redistribution of wealth and would not have access to this workshop without this discount:
- Indigenous or Native American, Black, Latino/a/x
- Other peoples of the global majority, or racialized communities
- Ethnicities underrepresented in the Southeastern earthskills community
Thank you for helping transform the world into a culture of abundance, resilience, and opportunity for all.
Which Price Option is Right for You?*
*Please check your pricing options before you register for your first Perennial Workshop. The pricing options are the same for all events, so you only need to do it once!
Class Price includes all Materials for the Class
Registration closes at 8am on April 10th
