2026 Retreats and Workshops
Save the Date:
Weaving Wild Story in the Blue Ridge Mountains
october 21—25 | faber, virginia
Weaving Wild Story: Finding the Threads of Belonging
June 24 —June 28
Ocamora Retreat Center, Ocate, New Mexico
In ancient stories the world over, women have returned to the loom when chaos descends and the web of life unravels. Could these guiding myths about the nature of creation and creating hold clues about where we might catalyze renewal in our own urgent times through our writing?
From the Greek texto, we know there is a profound connection between stories, weaving, and the web of life. What is the relationship between story and the wellbeing of the land? Might the land be dreaming and storying through each of us? How? … And how can we become available to these unseen possibilities and to these forces—what indigenous author and teacher Martin Prechtel calls the “wild holy in nature”—to reweave our own belonging and renew the world through our stories?
Well beyond the confines of traditional nature writing, we will track the wilder realms of story—attuning to the land and listening for all that may guide us to the beautiful thread we are each carrying within to create new texts.
Key to our explorations is the notion of stepping off the path—both the familiar trails of our writing processes and habits, and the ways we typically encounter the wild by having set destinations and summits to scale. Instead, we will step off the path and wander to discover our primal sources—deeper wells of inspiration and wonder. Rather than a workshop, our time together will be an expansive immersion in story, creative practice, community-building, and the land itself.
Our days will include solo time for writing and reflection along with communal sharing. Sessions will include group and individual practices; sit spots, mindful wanders and deep listening in place; journaling; and responding to the stories we bring with us and the experiences that are arising on the Ocamora site.
You are welcome to bring work-in-progress, and we will offer the opportunity to discuss this one-on-one with a facilitator, but our main focus will be on site-based practices and new writing experiments, oriented more toward process and inspiration than finished product.
We’re also planning a handwork project (no experience required) to bring together the real and metaphorical power of wild weaving—the warp and weft of existence, an invitation to connect to mythologies of creatrices at the loom, bringing new worlds into being.
Through the following modalities and practices, we will aim to cultivate trust in our creative process, and invite a sense of play as we nurture wild story:
Field tellings of several world myths around world-weaving; exploring our place within them
Embodiment, grounding, and listening practices
Somatic / sensory-based immersions on the land
Group sharings of our experiences, stories and insights in circle and small groups
Craft practices
Invitations to many options for creative expression (storytelling, poeting, sounding, movement, spoken word, etc.)
Wild weaving
Collective altar-building on the land
Slow meals and good conversation
Rest and relaxation—nervous system rejuvenation
Who this is for …
Writers in the midst of a book project who’d like to refresh their practice
Those simply wanting to make more space in life for writing
Those wanting space to explore new genres, or to write outside genre altogether
Those interested to connect writing with mindfulness and somatic practices
Writers craving a sense of community support and nourishing solitude
Lovers of the land who feel an urgency to express the connection and grief we feel in our times
Lovers of the land who wish to tend and cultivate their intimacy with the wild
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Erika Howsare is a nonfiction author, poet, and writing mentor based in the Blue Ridge of Virginia. Her book The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors was published in 2024, and she has written essays and reviews for numerous outlets including The Atlantic Monthly and Orion. She loves being in community with other writers, gardening, walking, and art.
More at www.erikahowsare.com.
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Christian Leahy lives and dreams in El Prado, New Mexico. She is a story midwife, developmental editor, facilitator of radical imaginings and healed futures, and the writer of little stories of wonder. Most often, she can be found reverently wandering the high-mountain forests, tracking with all that is wild and holy.
More at christianleahy.com.
This immersive experience will take place in a wild and nourishing environment at the 265-acre Ocamora Retreat Center. Accommodations will be in a private and hand-built section of the property known as the Cloisters, where we’ll gather daily at an outdoor hearth and wander freely through the grounds, where wildlife abounds. The Cloisters is designed for contemplative experience and Ocamora is known as a gem among retreat centers.
The Retreat Price is $2,500 and includes lodging, meals from Wednesday dinner through Sunday breakfast, materials, and program fee.
Those willing and able to pay more are gladly welcome to support and subsidize the participation of others, as well as food costs.
A percentage of the total proceeds raised for the retreat will be donated to Tewa Women United.