Explore the Foodways of a Mediterranean Island alongside Children

About The Field School of Hvar

The Field School of Hvar is an independent enrichment program located in Jelsa, on the island of Hvar, Croatia. We bring together children ages 3 through 15 from around the world for a year-round academic program grounded in experiential learning, close reading, and deep engagement with literature, history, and the natural world. Small groups, meaningful work, and genuine community are at the heart of everything we do. Our curriculum is organized based on a chronological story of Western human development. In the fall of 2026, we will be centered in pre-history and Ancient Greece.

AUTUMN on HVAR

As the last of the summer sun dries sea salt and tomatoes, figs soften and crates fill with grapes that will be crushed to fill great casks. Wild carob, avocado, love-in-a-mist, and fennel wait to be gathered.

As the days grow shorter, persimmons, pomegranates, and citrus ripen like early Christmas baubles on pewter branches. Hands rake down olives to be milled and pressed into oil the color of new grass. Hvar’s harvest culture is as rich as any in the Mediterranean — and almost entirely unknown outside Dalmatia.

The Field School's Food Preservation Fellowship invites a practitioner to spend the fall with us on this idyllic island, working alongside our children to bring food folkways to life.

THE PROJECT

Throughout the fall, our learners will be exploring social entrepreneurship in their math classes by coming up with microbusinesses based on artisanal snacks, foraged or cultivated in our school garden, and preserved. The goal of this in part is to create a brand, "Field," that tells the story of Hvar with five senses. To this end, learners and their parents will create a collection of "edible island" products — sun-dried tomatoes, herb salts, fermented vegetables, and more, all sourced from Hvar's landscape. They will also think hard about sourcing, environmental stewardship, and how cultural stories are amplified or eclipsed by branding and commerce.

Our "Foodways Fellow" will advise our faculty in techniques for simple, safe food preparation with children, as well as offering a wider ethnographic lens on food as culture.

Parameters

Role. Field Fellows join our community in a dual role: as a participant — enrolling your own children in the program alongside other Field School families — and as a contributing expert, mentoring our faculty on a food preservation project that draws on your knowledge and practice.

Reciprocity. In return, we offer a full scholarship covering your children's tuition for the term. We aren't able to cover travel or accommodation, so this works best for families who have the flexibility — whether that's a homeschooling lifestyle, a sabbatical year, or simply the appetite for an unconventional fall.

Storytelling. We'd love to be part of your story if this experience moves you, and we ask for one long-form piece (a podcast episode, Substack essay, or video) within 90 days of your residency, provided that it feels like a natural fit.

Dates. The fall session runs September 7 through November 28, 2026. Expect to commit about a day a week to this project, as well as additional time spent exploring and drawing inspiration from the island.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR

The right fellow is a practitioner first — someone who ferments, preserves, forages, or works deeply with the food traditions of a particular place. You might be a cookbook author, a food educator, a culinary historian, a chef, or someone with a teaching practice built around seasonal and traditional foodways. We're drawn to people who have a passion for food as cultural memory, and a desire to celebrate food artisanship with children as well as with adults.