The Windward Foundation of Klickitat County</Head>
The University of St. Hildegard

was created in '93 as a collaborative effort
between The Kingdom of An Tir and
The Windward Foundation
with the goal of serving the Current Middle Ages
through the creation of a medieval analog
to the modern land-grant universities.


The Trading Tokens

of the

University
of St. Hildegard
It is the mission of the University of St. Hildegard to focus on ways that the skills and perspectives of the past can serve the needs of the future. In order to better achieve this goal, USH has incorporated itself as a Washington State non-profit corporation. It is currently recognized by the Society for Creative Anachronism as the Household of St. Hildegard, and retains a strong association with Windward.


Each June, USH hosts a 10-day medieval festival. The Festival of St. Hildegard offers a chance to attend entry-level classes in crafts as diverse as blacksmithing and papermaking, lace weaving and wool spinning, cheesemaking and archery. Some classes last only an hour or two, while others, like the pottery class, stretch out over days as students throw plates and mugs on a kick wheel, dry their work in the sun and then fire them in a medieval kiln.

The Festival of St. Hildegard is held at Windwardkeep, which is 106 acres of rolling hills and open forest near the Klickitat River in south, central Washington state, about 80 miles east of Portland, OR. Windwardkeep is the campus of the University of St. Hildegard, and the home of year-round studies in sustainability, intentional community and alternative education.

The Festival also serves as a base from which visitors can explore the scenic and educational attractions of the Columbia River Gorge. The area offers world class windsurfing, fishing, white-water rafting, a full scale reproduction of Stonehenge and a 24 1/2" telescope that's open to the public.

Other USH activities involve winter's The Kidding (the birthing of our goat and sheep herds), spring's Wool Fest (the shearing of our sheep and the processing of the wool) and fall's Harvest Bee (gathering, processing and storage of food).

USH is working to develop programs which lead to modern accreditation. Towards that end, USH is developing a relationship with Washington State University. A number of USH instructors have already been recognized as instructors by the WSU Extension program in the areas of cheesemaking, knitting, food preservation and life-skills.

By taking advantage of WSU's extended degree program, it is possible for students residing at Windward to pursue a program of study which combines academic work leading to a bachelor degree with apprentice work leading to mastery of a craft.


The Windward Foundation
 55 Windward Drive
Klickitat, Washington 98628
USA
windward@gorge.net
(509) 369-2000