Explore every episode of the podcast The Farmcraft Neighborhood

In the first episode of The Farmcraft Neighborhood, Emilie sits down with willow grower and basket maker Hanna Van Aelst, Willow Artist and Basketmaker at her hillside homestead in County Tipperary, Ireland.

What begins as a conversation about willow weaving unfolds into a deeper story about intuition, craft, land stewardship, and building a life by hand. Hanna shares how she left Belgium during her formative early adult years, moved to rural Ireland and spent decades slowly building a homestead, getting to know willow as a plant, and crafting business that now supports her family.

Together they explore the rhythms of growing and harvesting willow, the realities behind romantic homesteading narratives, and the creative flow that comes from working closely with natural materials. You can find links to Hanna's work after the timestamps.

00:00 Welcome to The Farmcraft Neighborhood
00:39 Introducing willow weaver Hanna Van Aelst
02:26 Hanna’s early life, hard choices, and leaving Belgium
08:13 Moving to Ireland and discovering willow
13:02 Building a homestead from scratch
20:53 Growing food and living close to the land
26:19 Why Hannah avoids labels like permaculture or organic
27:36 Trusting intuition and following your own path
33:17 Making a living from willow basketry
36:22 The reality behind romantic homesteading
42:46 How long it takes to build a craft business
43:25 Growing willow: coppice vs pollards
52:45 Harvesting willow by hand
55:29 Drying, soaking, and preparing willow for weaving
01:06:00 Willow varieties and favorite species
01:16:20 Craft, creativity, and the flow state
01:22:05 Why making things with our hands matters
01:26:20 Closing reflections
01:28:24 Outro

Find Hanna online at:

https://www.hannavanaelst.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/HannaVanAelst