• Fermentation Workshop III with Siobhan Dammert

Fermentation Workshop III with Siobhan Dammert

Regular price N$900.00

Fermentation Workshop III with Siobhan Dammert

Theme:  Cultivating a Biophilic Consciousness — Milk, Cheese & Wild Sodas: The Living Art of Culturing, Coagulation & Wild Fermentation

Join us for an enriching, hands-on evening — the third gathering in our fermentation series with Siobhan Dammert, here in the warm light of BELLHAUS Atelier & Galerie. This time we turn to the living alchemy of milk: cheese in all its forms, drawn alongside the bright, restless fizz of wild sodas. Around one table, we make, we taste, and we slow down together.

Fermentation is one of humanity’s oldest and most quietly magical food technologies — an art older than refrigeration itself, where salt, microbes and time transform humble ingredients into something vibrant, healthful and alive. Following two much-loved gatherings, this session delves deeper still, into one of the most transformative meetings of microbe and milk: cheese. We explore three living traditions side by side — animal-based cheese making, plant-based and fermented cheese, and wild sodas — reconnecting you to traditional food wisdom while nourishing the body, the mind and the soul.

What We’ll Explore

The evening unfolds around three equal pillars, each with its own hands-on moment at the table:

  • Animal-based cheese making — culturing fresh milk, coaxing the curd, and shaping simple fresh cheeses by hand
  • Plant-based & fermented cheese — culturing nut- and seed-based milks into tangy, aged-style cheeses
  • Wild sodas — brewing naturally fermented, lightly sparkling tonics from wild ferments and living starter cultures

The Gathering

Duration:  approx. 4.5 hours        Facilitator:  Siobhan Dammert

Date:  26 July        Time:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm        Price:  N$900

How the Evening Flows

1.  Welcome & Gathering In   (20 min)

  • What fermentation is, and the quiet science behind milk cultures and coagulation
  • The difference between wild fermentation (naturally occurring microbes) and culturing (starter cultures, rennet, tibicos and gingerbugs)
  • How animal and plant milks behave differently — the proteins and fats that let a cheese set
  • The gifts of live cultures for gut health and wellbeing
  • Cheese and fermented-drink traditions carried across cultures and generations
  • Safety basics and hygiene

2.  Pillar One — Animal-Based Cheese Making   (45 min)

Demonstration + hands-on

  • Choosing and preparing milk; the quiet dance of acidity, cultures and rennet
  • Culturing, coagulation, cutting the curd, draining and salting
  • Making a simple fresh cheese by hand (such as paneer, labneh or a cultured soft cheese)
  • Flavouring, shaping and keeping it well

3.  Pillar Two — Plant-Based & Fermented Cheese   (45 min)

Demonstration + hands-on

  • Preparing nut- and seed-based milks and bases (such as cashew or almond)
  • Letting cultures and wild ferments build tang and depth
  • Techniques for fresh spreadable cheeses and firmer, aged-style rounds
  • Herbs, aromatics and rind treatments; keeping and storing

4.  Pillar Three — Wild Sodas   (45 min)

Demonstration + hands-on

  • Meeting the living starter cultures — tibicos (water kefir grains) and gingerbugs
  • The brewing rhythm: first and second fermentation, and how the fizz is born
  • Building flavour with fruit, herbs and botanicals from the land
  • Keeping your cultures alive and thriving at home

5.  The KIN Table — Tasting Together   (25 min)

  • Sampling animal and plant cheeses at different stages of culturing and age
  • Pouring and comparing a spread of wild sodas
  • Laid out with bread, crackers and small bites — seasonal, from the land

6.  Questions & Conversation   (15 min)

  • An open floor for your questions
  • Sharing tips, stories and your own fermentation adventures

7.  Carrying It Home

  • Each guest packs their own cheese and soda to take with them


What You’ll Make & Take Home

  • 1 portion of fresh cheese, made with your own hands during the evening
  • 1 bottle of wild soda started at the table, ready for its second fermentation at home
  • A living starter culture (tibicos or gingerbug) with care instructions
  • Recipe sheets for animal-based cheese, plant-based / fermented cheese, and wild sodas


More than a lesson in technique, this is an invitation to slow down and settle in — to cultivate a deeper connection with nature and traditional food wisdom, and a biophilic consciousness that celebrates the living microbes that nourish our bodies and our soil alike. You bring your curiosity and the people you love; we’ll lay the table.