The Farmcraft Neighborhood

Hanna Van Aelst - A Life with Willow

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.hannavanaelst.com/] https://www.youtube.com/c/HannaVanAelst [https://www.youtube.com/c/HannaVanAelst]