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Our Story /
Our Vision
The BreadHaus & Traditional Crafts Learning Center (BreadHaus) represents a collaboration of BREAD Encounters, a start-up 501( c )3 Nonprofit established in 2020 and Boulder Creek Rustics, a local business operating in Kettle Falls since 2015. The two joined forces in support of a cooperative vision, aligned towards creating a community learning center dedicated to the preservation of traditional skills as well as a providing a safe space where people from all walks of life can co-create around bread making in a manner that both underlines their equality and takes into account their different talents and needs.
We see our learning center as a dynamic intersection of tradition and innovation, where individuals of all ages and backgrounds come together to explore, create, and connect. Our vision encompasses a diverse and inclusive community that values the unique contributions of each member, fostering an environment where mutual respect and shared experiences flour-ish, providing a safe place for those who participate in our programs. We plan to collaborate with locals schools to bring our programs of self-sufficiency and nutritional education to students in various counties.
Bread houses are community centers that host bread baking and various other activities for groups of people of very diverse backgrounds, thus encouraging relationships across ethnic and religious origins and social status. The model has been successful in increasing the social capital in communities and strengthening civic spirit as well as increasing the skills and self-esteem of the participating individuals.
The BreadHaus is NOT a commercial bakery but we plan to make fresh bread available to the community on a to-be-determined schedule as an ongoing fundraiser.
In addition, the BreadHaus will provide a meeting space for the 1804 Club, a community youth program founded in 2019 by Charles Lamica, owner of Boulder Creek Rustics, which teaches traditional skills alongside the history of the Lewis and Clarke Expedition to youth from 3 surrounding counties.
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BREAD Encounters is a licensee of the global Bread Houses Network and as such part a of the International Council for Cultural Centers I3C)
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Bread Therapy
Bread Therapy is a unique form of expressive group art therapy which takes the participants on a journey of self-reflection through story telling in flour and bread. It is suitable for mixed groups of all ages, special needs, and varied socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.
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Both Charles and Sibyl are Trained Practitioners and official Crumbassadors of the Bread Therapy Network. We use the method developed by Nadezhda Savova-Grigorova, PhD – founder of the Bread Houses Network. and had the unique opportunity to be part of a bread therapy session led by Dr. Savova at the Day Center for people with special needs in the town of Sandanski, Bulgaria. Although we did not speak the their language, it was an amazingly uplifting experience as we all communicated through bread. You can read more about here​
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We can tailor a bread therapy session specifically to your group, whether you are a company looking for a unique team-building experience or organizing a family re-union. We have worked with inter-generational groups where the youngest was five and the oldest in her nineties and one of the family members had dementia. It was amazing to see them shape their dough and re-enact memories from their childhood.
March 2025 - Kick off Bake your Lawn (from seed to sandwich)
The UK based program called "Bake Your Lawn (from seed to sandwich)" will become a reality in 2025. The Orient School in Orient, WA will be the first school to grow a small wheat field on their campus. We teamed up with local regenerative farmer Joel Fancy of Fancy's Regenerative Farm in who is generously donating the heritage wheat seeds to the program and will help lead the students through the process of planting & growing their wheat. In September we will harvest, thrash and winnow with the students before milling the grains and eventually teach them baking a loaf of bread from the flour of their harvest! This will help students have a better understanding of where their food comes from, learn about regenerative agriculture and the importance of nourishing bread in their diet.
(Sourdough) Bread Workshops
Most of the bread found in supermarkets these days is an ultra-processed product devoid of nutrients and laden with chemicals sabotaging our metabolic health. At the BreadHaus we are on a mission to teach people not just how to bake their own nourishing (sourdough) bread but also share some of the research on the nutrition and digestibility of bread so our students are able to make informed decisions when it comes to baking and/or purchasing bread.
Our classes are fun and informative and we always end with the sharing of bread as a symbol of friendship and connection with each other.
Leather Crafting and Wood Working
Our traditional skills classes are taught by Charles Lamica.
Future Project - Community Bread Oven
BreadHaus is planning on building a woodfired community bread oven with members of the community. This oven would be available at certain times to the community to bring their bread doughs, pizza doughs and other goods to-be baked while at the same time providing a space for community engagement.