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FAQ’s (Frequently asked questions) - 2026

How does the Big Kid 2-week Tribal Village Experience work?
(If you need 1-week camps, please see the Registration Form. Lots of new kids just do one week). 
Our epic 2-week sessions are designed to overlap with each previous camp week. This creates a living village experience, because nearly every Monday we have a new group of 60 kids who are arriving for their 1st day of their session, and we also have around 40 kids continuing their 2nd week of camp. These 40 kids from the previous week share their business ventures and the camp culture with the new kids. So the overlapping 2-week Sessions give the campers a real experience of living in a functioning child-built forest village.

Parents tell us that their children come home each summer night with elaborate stories, and impressive plans for each next day! This is traditional organic childhood. Tribal Wisdom Academy is a “natural habitat”, not a “program”. (Programs are for robots.) I am 62 years old, and this was my own earliest childhood memories. In the farm fields of Sacramento, I built huge igloos out of large tumbleweeds blowing in the dusty summer wind… making wooden swords and cardboard suits of armor. This is organic human childhood.

We hope that your child’s potential 9-summers at the Los Gatos Tribal Wisdom Village Camp (age 7 to 15) will become the core of their happy childhood memories, and these treehouse village summers will become core foundational experiences in your child’s journey into a mature adulthood.

1. How old are TWA camp kids?
   New campers may attend if they are turning ages 7 through 10 by December 31, 2026. A little younger is okay, just talk to Ben if your child is ready.

   The Alumni Camp is for age 10.5 to 11.5 (more specifically, Alumni should ideally be turning age 11 or 12 by December 31, 2026). But to qualify as Alumni, your older child must also have attended a TWA day camp in 2025. (This is surprisingly and mysteriously important). Losing one’s “inner-child” happens suddenly at this age, unless carefully nurtured. Plenty of wise Alumni attend camp for several weeks each summer at this age.

   “Boys Tribe” and “Tribal Rangers” (for girls) is the next age group for Alumni old folks, like turning ages 13 and up. After that, expect and encourage your college sons and daughters to be home for the summer, and working as a Tribal Wisdom Academy Mentor.

   Alumni who are age 17 or older are invited to look at our summer staff application HERE. Although TWA staff are in college or much older.

2. What other (non-TWA) outdoor camps are available for my kids who are turning age 11-17?
   Locally there are many Scout Troops that are either all boys or all girls. And there is co-ed Scouting for ages 14 to 20. It would be well worth contacting all Troops within a 15-minute drive from your home and visiting at least 3 Troops to see if one fits your family. Ask each potential Troop if they do these activities: Have a weekly in-person Troop Meeting with at least 30 Scouts, have a monthly weekend campout, attend a Summer Scout Camp, and preferably do a weekend snow camp (Klondike Derby), and a summer 50-mile backpacking trip. Start by doing a Troop search using your zip code HERE for either Boy Troops or Girl Troops. (And also see the VIDEO HERE for local Boy Troop 539 in Los Gatos). Age 9 to 12 is a good age to start in the Cub or Scout programs.

3. Can I get a refund or a date switch? Please see the policy that was in effect at the time of your child’s 2026 registration. The policy is in the registration form. This year, with the camp using a fancy Shuttle Transportation Company with limited seats, refunds will be hard to manage. But let Ben know if you have a family emergency.

4. What is the 2026 tuition cost? Camps are $870 per week, which includes extended length days and the Shuttle Service. Many kids attend a consecutive 2-weeks of camp. Alumni often attend several single weeks throughout their summer. Big Kid Camp is best if attending both an odd-numbered and an even-numbered camp week, to get the full camp program (which includes the blacksmithing week and the woodworking project week). Plenty of kids attend just one week, and choosing either an “odd or even” program week is a fulfilling experience.

5. Can Adults visit the Camp? Generally no, because our camp is a true Kids World. And an adult visiting is almost like as if you entered the monkey habitat at the zoo… the little chimps will stare at you in confusion, (the kids actually do that, too). Although if this is your child’s 3rd or 4th summer at the Big Kid Camp, then please contact us about a visit if it is very important to you. (Wearing a Mama Panda or a Daddy Sasquatch costume is recommended, but not required).

   A funner option is to simply book a summer weekend Birthday Party for your family and friends. This lets you see the whole Big Kid Camp, and play! See our 2026 summer Party Packages HERE.

6. What "tribe" is Tribal Wisdom Academy? We are your tribe, or basically we honor and welcome your own family's cultural heritage. Ben has traveled in over 30 countries and understands fairly well how to do that.

7. Does TWA teach any Religions? No. And we also don't preach atheism. Our staff don’t add what might be called “spiritualism” to your child’s experiences in wild nature. We value the tribal context of one's own family and culture. No worries. Our job is to support each family in their personal parenting style. Ben was a youth pastor in the 90's and knows well the concerns of our Church and non-Church families.

8. Does TWA teach Hunting? No, but we play with the toys. The well supervised TWA Target Range has lightweight bows, strapped-down BB guns, Tomahawks and mostly rubber throwing knives. Child development from the depths of ancient history has involved hunting for food. Human hardware (your brain/body) was designed to grow in the fertile soil of historic forest adventures. Comparably, all "cat toys" are hunting toys. And house cats develop mentally and physically by playing with what are essentially “hunting toys”. Of course, raising a house-cat without toys would be physically cruel and mentally damaging. Beyond comparisons, when parents see kids playing at Tribal Wisdom Academy Camps, they all say something like "...wow, this is childhood". Yes, it is organic human childhood. Ben spent decades studying and experiencing what human childhood is all about, and has personally survived with tribes in the deep wilderness by hunting. And in conclusion, we have not heard our camp kids talking about becoming hunters. What we have seen is children growing in responsible safe behavior with tools.

9. Is TWA a child’s sanctuary from the adult political/social world? Yes.

10. Homeschoolers? We have a lot of experience with homeschoolers and unschoolers, as well as gifted and twice-gifted children. Please tell us about your child on the Registration Form.

11. Other-Able Kids? Parents should work with their doctors to decide if their child's simple physical limitations are okay in a deep forest camp. Our Registration Form includes the parent reading and declaring their confidence in the safety of having their child participate in Academy programs. Some parents optionally give us a medical report from their doctor. Kids will need to clearly see and safely grip wood-cutting tools, and use them with fair coordination around other kids and staff. We also walk on forest deer trails, and the forest terrain can be steep.

12. Behavior Contract? Yes this is serious, although in our experience kids tend to behave much better than their parents had expected. Our staff will help by nurturing your child’s sense of responsibility. Although outdoor woodshop tool programs are not safe for children with known behavior issues. Our staff/student ratio is NOT the one-on-one ratio that behaviorally challenged children require. Our “Behavior Contract” is a list of expectations for well behaved children. If you as a parent would not hand your child an axe, tomahawk, knife and saw, then please read the Online Camp Waiver. The waiver is a legal document, and each parent is legally responsible as they knowingly releasing their child into the wilderness of the camp treehouse village. Maybe ask your doctor for advice on other camp locations with nature programs that hike all day, rather than a tool-centered program. Email us if you would like recommendations for other camps that do not use woodsman tools.

13. “Preparing Kids for any World Future?”™ Yes, priceless the skills of tribal childhood are. (Yoda voice). It’s fun being a kid when you are allowed to be a kid. We do that. The Tribal Wisdom method is simply a large staff of trained adults who don’t teach your kids. We guide and mentor kids through the journey of childhood. And we allow “safe mistakes” along the way. Although our camp features many traditional physical skills, the big learning happens socially and emotionally in complex interactions with other kids. And since Big Kid Camps include a little string of Tribal Coins, your child’s future may easily include owning a business.

14. For friends to be together at camp try being on the same Shuttle number (and same weeks, of course). Otherwise, no worries, all campers are pretty much in the same large treehouse village. Only ages 11+ have a somewhat separate Alumni Village.

15. If you have any other questions, please use the contact form at the top of this page. The camp office is open all year. We are always available to help our neighbors find the best summer life experiences for their kids.