FOOD

FOLK

Foodways Fellowship

AUTUMN on HVAR

As the last of the summer sun dries sea salt and tomatoes, figs soften and crates fill with grapes that will be crushed to fill great casks. Wild carob, avocado, love-in-a-mist, and fennel wait to be gathered.

As the days grow shorter, persimmons, pomegranates, and citrus ripen like early Christmas baubles on pewter branches. Hands rake down olives to be milled and pressed into oil the color of new grass.

Hvar’s harvest culture is as rich as any in the Mediterranean — and almost entirely unknown outside Dalmatia.

The Field School's Food Preservation Fellowship invites a practitioner to spend the fall with us on this idyllic island, working alongside our children to bring food folkways to life.

The Fellowship

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    Role

    Field Fellows join our community in a dual role: as a participant — enrolling your own children in the program alongside other Field School families — and as a contributing expert, mentoring our faculty on a food preservation project that draws on your knowledge and practice.

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    Reciprocity

    In return, we offer a full scholarship covering your children's tuition for the term. We aren't able to cover travel or accommodation, so this works best for families who have the flexibility — whether that's a homeschooling lifestyle, a sabbatical year, or simply the appetite for an unconventional fall.

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    Storytelling

    We'd love to be part of your story if this experience moves you, and we ask for one long-form piece (a podcast episode, Substack essay, or video) within 90 days of your residency, provided that it feels like a natural fit.

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    Dates

    The fall session runs September 7 through November 28, 2026. A shorter summer session is available August 8–22 for those who can't commit to the full term.

THE PROJECT

Our fall project on foraging and preservation brings children and adults into the extraordinary locavore heritage of Dalmatia. This fall, our youngest learners will experience the history and ecology of Hvar with their five senses, as they create a collection of "edible island" products — sun-dried tomatoes, herb salts, fermented vegetables, and more, all sourced from Hvar's wild and cultivated landscape.

Older learners will take this further, practicing entrepreneurial strategic and academic skills through the medium of a small social venture.

Adults also get to take part in the fun, primarily through invitations to help local farmers with their harvest, which is vast and labor-intensive, as most orchards and vineyards are still family-owned and harvested by hand.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR

The right fellow is a practitioner first — someone who ferments, preserves, forages, or works deeply with the food traditions of a particular place. You might be a cookbook author, a food educator, a culinary historian, a chef, or someone with a teaching practice built around seasonal and traditional foodways. We're drawn to people who have a passion for food as cultural memory, and a desire to celebrate food artisanship with children as well as with adults.

NOMINATE

If someone comes to mind when you read this, please share this page or send us their name and a line about why you think they'd be a good fit. If this sounds like your kind of autumn, we'd love to hear from you directly.

There's no formal application — just reach out to Field School Director Carolyn or book a call.