Hide Tanning, Grief Tending
TENDERS
A 5-DAY HIDE TANNING AND GRIEF TENDING RETREAT + 6-MONTH COMMUNAL CONTAINER
Held by the beauty of Colorado’s mountains, fifteen grief tenders will gather for five transformative days of deep remembering and fortification. TENDERS is an intimate retreat and ritual for those called to work with grief in their communities. We’ll immerse ourselves in the ancient craft of hide tanning, working the hides while also working with our personal and collective griefs. We’ll be exploring what it means to both be held and to hold others.
Through ritual and shared inquiry, we’ll discover what needs to be witnessed and what needs to soften for us to show up fully for The Long Dark. Together, we’ll craft vessels from the hides we tan, each one infused with our unique medicine. These leather pouches become more than craft—they are holders of our gifts as grief tenders, fortified through ritual to carry back to our communities. This is a convergence of the wild and the sacred, where ancestral wisdom meets present calling.
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SIX MONTH COMMUNAL CONTAINER
Four preparation pre-retreat zoom sessions
5-day in-person retreat in Evergreen, Colorado
Two integration post-retreat zoom sessions
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RETREAT OUTLINE
Arrival Day: Afternoon Arrival ~ Orientation & Ancestor Ritual
Day 2: Communal Hide Tanning, Grief Tending
Day 3: Communal Hide Tanning, Grief Tending
Day 4: Wound & Medicine Ritual with Hide Vessels
Day 5: Blessings, Fortification, Closing ~ End with Lunch
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DETAILS
Retreat Dates: July 15-19th, 2025 in Evergreen, Colorado
Location: Private Ranch in Evergreen, Colorado
Zoom Sessions: March – August, last Thursday of the Month, 6:30-8:00pm MDT
Group Size: Limited to 15 participants
Investment: $2,500 – $4,500 USD (sliding scale + payment plans celebrated)
Application: https://forms.gle/Wangg8VNwhJ8y2D37
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YOUR GUIDES
Holly Truhlar (she/they) is a grief therapist, group facilitator, and community organizer. She earned a Doctorate in Law and Masters in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, though she learns the most from her relationships with the Wild, including the land she inhabits, Ancestors, Hekate, and donkeys. She’s most known for her collaborations with collapse psychology, politicized grief tending, and soul activism. Her body of work is a remembering and revisioning of what it means to be people of potency and culture. She mentors people one-on-one and facilitates groups using ritual, storytelling, imagination, creative practices, and Deep Democracy work. In 2023, she co-facilitated a 5-month grief ritual training alongside Francis Weller with over 700 participants; they will be co-facilitating another cohort with the Centre for Climate Psychology in 2025.
Marissa Sieck (they/them): Marissa’s experience has guided their grief, love, and longing. It has been centered around community, personal relationships, accompaniment, social justice, nature connection, and trauma healing. They live on an urban farm in so-called Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they teach and tan hides, tend to plants, and facilitate ritual and ceremony in their community. Marissa experiences their grief as a guide, they trust the places grief takes them, and honors those places in others. They feel that without being with the personal and collective grief they couldn’t access the sense of aliveness that comes through them. They are grateful to the high desert, to the sheep, to their elders, and to the community for showing them how grief nourishes the land and our peoples.
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We met in 2020 and have been dreaming of weaving our work together for the past two years. We’re delighted to bring this offering into being and see who’s called into this sacred container.
APPLICATION:
https://forms.gle/Wangg8VNwhJ8y2D37
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who is this for?
This is for politicized grief tenders who are facilitating or hoping to facilitate community grief work. We’re calling in soul oriented folks who are village-minded, interested in collective healing spaces, and willing to share in group responsibilities, such as setting up and cleaning up.
This is a good fit for you if you have some meaningful inner and outer resources, particularly beloved people and places you will return to.
We’re calling in people who: are compassionate, kind, courteous, and curious; ready to be in sacred space and take emotional-intimacy risks with new people; have a desire to be witnessed and witness others; want to be collaborative and feel ready to contribute what you have to offer, such as songs, cleaning, meal setup, stories, and knowledge.
This is for people who are physically capable of walking and tanning hides (see what that entails below). And, if interested in camping, people who can bring their own tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag.
What are the dates of all the online and in-person gatherings?
March 27th, 6:30-8:00pm MDT (Zoom)
April 24th, 6:30-8:00pm MDT (Zoom)
May 29, 6:30-8:00pm MDT (Zoom)
June 26, 6:30-8:00pm MDT (Zoom)
July 15-19th, 2025 ~ Retreat in Evergreen, CO
Thursday, July 31st, 6:30-8:00pm MDT (Zoom)
Thursday, August 28th, 6:30-8:00pm MDT (Zoom)
Where is the retreat venue and what is it like?
We’ll be gathering in Evergreen, Colorado at a private ranch named Agua Kodera. It’s a beautiful nature-based setting with a main lodge including a kitchen, large meadow camping area, bunkhouse, yurt, and chapel that is located at the base of a mountain. There’s outdoor and indoor bathrooms, running water, and indoor spaces to gather. There are also ponds and alpacas!
How accessible is the retreat venue and hide tanning?
Venue: We’re gathering at a mountain ranch with varied terrain, including hills.
The property is not ADA accessible for wheelchairs, and does require short distances of walking on well-maintained, uneven dirt and gravel paths to get to different locations. Most spaces are connected via maintained dirt roads or flat natural ground. Most of the land has a gentle slope, though the slope is slightly steeper between the Main Lodge and the Chapel (20-25 degree slope estimated). Most buildings are around 500 feet apart, with flat areas near the entrance of each space and parking areas. Some of the buildings have a few stairs at their entrance.
There is running water on site. There are bathrooms both indoors and outdoors. One compost toilet is at ground level and easily accessible for many, while the other two have a set of 5 stairs to climb up to the stall. The Meadow, where much of this event will take place is a natural wildflower and grass covered meadow with generally flat, though varied, unaltered ground.
Hide Tanning: engages your whole body. Part of the work will be being on hands and knees, using needles and twine, working with sharp objects, standing or sitting in a chair for 5+ hours, and using repetitive use of arm motions and your hands and full body to soften and work the hide.
With that being said, we will be tending to the hides in small groups, we will rotate, we will rest, and if for whatever reason your body is resisting the tasks at hand, we will adapt and we will take care of each other. There are creative adaptations and solutions available. Please reach out about any questions or access needs.
What do I need to bring or know about hide tanning?
We will provide all materials for tanning hides. Please check the weather and pack accordingly. Layered clothes will help you be prepared for front range weather shifts. We will be outside for our hide time in an open meadow with some shade available. Bring sunhat + cold weather hat, warm clothes, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Wear close toed shoes for at least the first day.
This is a messy process. You will be getting intimate with a fresh hide. Wear clothes you do not mind getting wet/messy/skin/meat/fat on you +/or bring an apron.
What hides will we be working with? Where do you get them?
We will choose as a group to either work with sheep and/or deer hides. The hides are diverted from the waste stream, they are salvaged hides that are considered byproducts of the wild game and meat industries and are either thrown away or sold overseas to be chemically tanned.
Note: 3-4 people will be co-tending each hide. We will then ceremoniously cut the hide and offer each hide-tender a portion to create their medicine vessel with.
Are you providing food and lodging?
Yes. All meals are included during your stay—simple breakfast options like oatmeal, yogurt, and bagels are available each morning, while lunch and dinner will be delivered by our retreat caterer. For sleeping arrangements, you can either camp with your own tent and sleeping bag, or choose to stay in our simple bunkhouse with an indoor bathroom and bunkbeds (for an additional $25 per night).
I have dietary restrictions. How do you work with that?
We will take note of each person’s dietary restrictions and make sure the food menu reflects those needs. If there is something that we cannot accommodate, we will connect with you personally and make a plan.
What is the weather like in Evergreen, Colorado in July?
Typically there are averages of Low – Mid 80’s during the day, afternoon rains, and lows in the 50’s at night. We advise you to check the weather the week of travel.
What is the altitude like in Evergreen, Colorado?
Evergreen, Colorado is 7,200 feet above sea level. While you’re here DRINK PLENTY OF WATER (about twice your normal intake), avoid alcohol, and ease into strenuous exercise. If you have a hard time with higher altitudes, it’s best to gradually acclimate by arriving a day early, staying in Denver, and taking it easy for the first 24-48 hours. Watch for symptoms of altitude sickness, which typically appear within 6-24 hours of arrival and include headache, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. If you notice these symptoms, rest, hydrate, and consider descending to a lower elevation if they worsen.
What are your health, safety, and pandemic protocols?
This event will be held predominantly outside, unless extreme weather arises. Meals will be served inside the Lodge, and seating will be available for outdoor eating.
We will request testing the day of travel and the first few days of our in-person time together. We highly suggest traveling via car and/or masking when traveling.
If anyone tests positive while together, we will establish a space for quarantining, and help take care of their needs, and possibly implement masking if community spread is of concern.
We will discuss and adapt any protocols in order to create a covid/flu conscious time together. See this document for more about Health and Safety Protocols: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KSXcUf2jIbNYQ_QJb4ZUN8AG2NJvdIfKv0LlzQNhtjA/edit?usp=sharing
What is your Cancellation Policy?
Here is our cancellation policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KSXcUf2jIbNYQ_QJb4ZUN8AG2NJvdIfKv0LlzQNhtjA/edit?usp=sharing
How do I prepare for our retreat and ritual time?
We will have four 90-minute preparation zoom sessions prior to the in-person retreat (see dates above). This will be a time to build relationships, set group expectations, practice, and prepare.
What do I need to bring?
journal + pen
altar items
water bottle
headlamp/flashlight
rain coat + warm layers
close toed shoes, sandals
clothes you don’t mind getting messy while hide tanning
day clothes, lounge clothes, pajamas
personal items (toiletries, books, art supplies, etc)
swimsuit (if wanted)
if camping: tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad
Any other questions? Please email us at HollyTruhlar@gmail.com.
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More than just a retreat, TENDERS is a six-month intimate container centered around a five-day in-person gathering where we’ll weave together the ancestral practice of hide tanning with the sacred work of tending our personal and collective sorrows.