China Folk House creates a place for experiential learning, people-to-people exchange, environmental stewardship, and community engagement.
Our Vision
People-To-People Exchange
Connecting communities at the grassroots through people-to-people exchanges and meaningful cultural encounters during a time of rising political tensions.
Deep Appreciation of China’s Diversity
Exploring the rich diversity of cultural traditions inscribed in the China Folk House to promote a deeper understanding of “many Chinas” during a time of growing misinformation and mistrust.
Preservation of Rural Folkways
Valuing and giving voice to the cultural heritage rooted in rural life—in both China and the U.S.—during a time of spreading homogenization and the loss of local knowledge.
Programs We Offer
Botany, Agriculture, and Food Workshops
Hands-on workshops using the China Folk House gardens to learn about ethnobotany of northwest Yunnan; herbal medicine; Chinese garden crops and traditional agricultural practices, and Chinese cooking using the Folk House woks and kitchen tools. Spring programs would include learning about native plants and local biodiversity.
Sustainable Building Presentations
Drawing on our expertise developed in the rebuilding of the China Folk House, we offer workshops on building traditional rammed earth and hempcrete walls to enclose the courtyard; using traditional joinery techniques to build garden structures, gatehouses, and camp buildings.
Retreats, Symposia, and Interfaith Dialogue
The China Folk House is an ideal site for hosting all kinds of retreats, from intimate academic seminars to spiritual retreats fostering dialogue between religious traditions (Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, including Quakers, Catholicism, and other Christian sects).
Chinese Culture Programming
The China Folk House can sponsor day-long weekend workshops on different aspects of Chinese culture, from cooking jiu da wan (“nine big bowls”) dinners in the courtyard followed by an outdoor screening of a Chinese film, to taiji quan and martial arts classes, to programs on tea, calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, fengshui, gardening, festivals—all aspects of culture.
Support China Folk House
Many dedicated donors have made possible the China Folk House Retreat
We are grateful to the Daofeng and Angela Foundation, the Bedrock Foundation, and Dalio Philanthropies, as well as Kurt Campbell and Lael Brainard, for their outstanding generosity as leading supporters.
Read more about our generous donors and their impact here.
