Archipelago Folkschool

Archipelago Folkschool is a collaborative social enterprise based on the Isle of Mull, dedicated to connecting people with craft. Their primary focus is on boatbuilding education, offering intensive, short residential courses where participants, even absolute novices, work together to construct and launch small wooden rowing boats, canoes, and sea kayaks. Founded in 2017, the school draws inspiration from folkschool traditions in Scandinavia and America, aiming to foster community, build self-confidence, and encourage connection with the environment through hands-on making.

The majority of the Folkschool’s activity centers around week-long residential courses held in their purpose-built workshop on the Ross of Mull. These courses allow individuals or pairs (such as a parent and teenager for the canoes) to transform a pile of timber into a stunning, functional craft, like a Peterborough canoe or a Greenland-style sea kayak. The courses teach contemporary wooden boatbuilding techniques, combining traditional skills with modern materials like plywood and epoxy. They also offer a free camping area with full access to a self-catering kitchen and shower rooms at their croft for participants.

As a Community Interest Company (CIC), Archipelago Folkschool operates with a strong social mission. In addition to their commercial public courses, they actively run bespoke projects with community groups, serving people from backgrounds of exclusion or those on low incomes, often traveling across Scotland to deliver mobile workshops. Every course fee contributes to the Archipelago Bursary, a means-tested fund designed to break down financial barriers and ensure craft-based learning is accessible to a wider range of people.