School of Traditional Skills

What School of Traditional Skills does

School of Traditional Skills, Inc. is a private, direct-to-consumer online learning platform incorporated in Idaho and operated by co-founders Josh and Carolyn Thomas from a 40-acre homestead in Bonners Ferry, North Idaho. The company delivers structured, video-based courses on homesteading topics — including gardening, food preservation, sourdough and traditional cooking, animal husbandry, cheesemaking, herbalism, and butchery — and serves more than 10,000 enrolled families across all 50 U.S. states and select international markets.

The platform is built on a video learning management system with on-demand streaming classes, printable Skill Sheet companion documents, and a private members-only community (not on Facebook) that supports peer advice and instructor Q&A. Curriculum is delivered through a proprietary Step-by-Step Video Curriculum Framework created by Carolyn Thomas, with 37+ on-demand classes taught by 30+ contracted instructors (including Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms and Sally Fallon Morell of the Weston A. Price Foundation) representing 300+ years of combined homesteading experience. The company is positioned as the structured-education counterpart to the founders' earlier content brand, Homesteading Family.

Revenue is generated primarily through consumer subscriptions — Monthly at $29, Annual at $298, and a Lifetime one-time payment of $2,980 — supplemented by a la carte individual class purchases (e.g., the Traditional Cooking course at $199). Marketing is product-led and content-driven, leveraging the Homesteading Family YouTube channel and organic social, with a 30-day money-back guarantee lowering purchase friction. The company is bootstrapped in culture with stated headcount of 1-10 and operates from a single U.S. location with global digital distribution.

Name

School of Traditional Skills

Legal name

School of Traditional Skills, Inc.

Website

https://schooloftraditionalskills.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

School of Traditional Skills is a subscription-based online learning platform delivering video courses in homesteading, traditional cooking, gardening, and animal husbandry, taught by expert instructors to 10,000+ enrolled families across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Homesteading Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Creator Course Marketplaces (Multi-Instructor Catalogs) (MPACALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Learning Content Bundling & Subscription Passes (All-Access Libraries) (MPACALAL), Digital Learning & Course Subscriptions (CRAFAIAD), Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses (MPACALAD)

Keywords

• Online homesteading education
• Traditional skills courses
• Video learning platform
• Homesteading video classes
• Subscription learning platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonners Ferry

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Monthly Subscription: Recurring monthly subscription at $29/month. Members get full access to all classes, community, and new content as released.
2. Annual Subscription: Recurring annual subscription at $298/year (equivalent to ~$24.83/month). Most popular plan option, saving $62 compared to monthly.
3. Lifetime Membership: One-time payment of $2,980 for lifetime access to all current and future content. No recurring billing,ever.
4. Individual Class Purchases: Individual classes available for one-time purchase (e.g., Traditional Cooking class for $199), separate from subscription model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

School of Traditional Skills operates a subscription-based online learning platform offering 37+ on-demand video classes taught by 30+ homesteading experts, covering skills such as gardening, food preservation, sourdough baking, herbalism, animal husbandry, and traditional cooking. The platform pairs structured, step-by-step curricula with printable Skill Sheet companion materials and a private members-only community of 10,000+ families. Membership is sold via monthly ($29), annual ($298), and lifetime ($2,980) plans, and select individual classes are also available for one-time purchase (e.g., $199 per class).

Product overview

School of Traditional Skills is an online learning platform offering a subscription-based membership providing access to 37+ on-demand video courses across homesteading topics including gardening, food preservation, sourdough baking, herbalism, animal husbandry, and traditional cooking. The platform is structured around the core School of Traditional Skills Membership subscription (Monthly $29, Annual $298, Lifetime $2,980) with individual courses also available for standalone purchase (e.g., Traditional Cooking with Carolyn Thomas at $199). Membership includes printable Skill Sheets, a private community space, members-only challenges, and instructor Q&A sessions. The platform features instruction from 30+ trusted homesteaders including Joel Salatin, Sally Fallon Morell, and Melissa K. Norris, with over 300 years of combined experience. 10,000+ families are enrolled in the platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School of Traditional Skills Membership Subscription-based online learning membership providing access to 37+ on-demand video classes across homesteading topics including gardening, food preservation, sourdough baking, herbalism, animal husbandry, and traditional cooking. Members also receive printable Skill Sheets, access to a private community of 10,000+ families, members-only challenges, and instructor Q&A sessions. Sold as monthly ($29), annual ($298), or lifetime ($2,980) plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• Traditional Cooking with Carolyn Thomas Individual comprehensive video course covering foundational traditional cooking skills including sourcing ingredients, using healthy fats, preparing grains, making bone broth, and building sustainable kitchen routines. Available for one-time purchase at $199.
• Raising Rabbits with Daniel Salatin 30-video comprehensive class on raising meat rabbits at home, covering housing setup, breeding programs, feeding, daily care, health management, and harvest procedures, taught by Daniel Salatin of Polyface Farms.
• Raising Pigs with Brandon Sheard 19-video class teaching step-by-step pig raising for homegrown pork, covering breed selection, infrastructure, feeding, land management, and harvest.
• Holistic Orcharding with Jason Ross 19-video class teaching low-maintenance orchard growing using holistic and permaculture principles, covering soil building, plant selection, water efficiency, and pest management.
• Artisanal Cheese for the Home Kitchen with Beth Dougherty Video class teaching traditional homestead cheesemaking methods for making mozzarella, provolone, and aged farmhouse-style cheeses at home.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members report saving money on groceries through home food production
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Polyface FarmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoel Salatin of Polyface Farms serves as a primary instructor, teaching regenerative agriculture and pasture management classes. Polyface Farms is a well-known leader in sustainable farming, lending significant credibility to the school's curriculum.
• Weston A. Price FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSally Fallon Morell, founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation, teaches traditional cooking and nourishing foods classes. The Foundation is a leading organization in traditional nutrition education.
• Homesteading FamilycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe founders (Josh and Carolyn Thomas) co-founded both School of Traditional Skills and Homesteading Family. Homesteading Family's existing audience, YouTube channel, and brand provide cross-promotion and marketing support for STS.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MasterClass: Premium multi-instructor video subscription where celebrated experts teach their craft. The closest comparable model to STS: curated catalog of expert-led classes, all-access pricing, strong brand-driven acquisition - though MasterClass covers a much broader scope (arts, business, science) at a higher price point.
• Skillshare: Subscription-based learning marketplace offering all-access video classes on creative and practical skills. Closely comparable on the all-access subscription model, multi-instructor catalog, and consumer-focused pricing, though Skillshare focuses on creative/business skills rather than homesteading.
• Craftsy: Subscription learning platform for hands-on crafts (cooking, sewing, knitting, baking). Strong peer on the skills/homemaking subscription model and instructor-led video format, with comparable price points and consumer audience.
• The Great Courses (Wondrium): Video lecture subscription service featuring expert educators across a range of subjects. Comparable in expert-led video courses, premium positioning, and all-access subscription, with similar skill/knowledge transfer model.
• Homesteading Family: Sister brand co-founded by the same husband-and-wife team (Josh and Carolyn Thomas), offering free homesteading content via YouTube and adjacent channels. Direct peer in topic, voice, and target audience, and the primary free-content cross-promotion engine for STS.
• Pioneering Today (Melissa K. Norris): Homesteading and self-sufficiency creator platform offering courses, podcast, and written content; Melissa K. Norris is also listed as an STS instructor. Closely overlapping topic and audience with her own paid products and STS, creating partial competition alongside an existing partnership.
• Bluprint: Subscription and a la carte crafting and cooking video classes including yarn, quilting, baking, and home arts. Closely comparable on skill-based video learning subscriptions, home/hobby audience, and instructor catalog, though focused on needlecraft and craft categories.

Broad incumbents

• Udemy: Large-scale course marketplace with broad personal and professional development categories. Comparable business model (per-course purchase plus subscription), but at vastly greater scale and a broader, more academic/professional course mix.
• Curiosity Stream: Subscription streaming service for documentary and educational video content. Comparable on subscription-only, video-first educational delivery, but with a documentary/nonfiction focus rather than hands-on skill instruction.

Others

• Teachable: SaaS platform that enables individual creators to sell their own courses and subscriptions. Adjacent rather than competitive - STS is a publisher/operator of courses, while Teachable is an infrastructure provider used by individual homesteading creators who indirectly compete with STS.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/traditionskills
• Facebookfacebook.com/schooloftraditionalskills
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/school-of-traditional-skills

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about School of Traditional Skills