a call for the wild - land stewardship opportunities short & long term residencies available
work exchange for housing & food: seeking land stewards in exchange for rustic (wood heated) cabin life or van/rv parking!!
we have 3 small cabins available & would prefer a couple or small group. power & water available in main farmhouse. (cabin electric via power bank such as bluetti/jackery, etc). we have spring plans to bring water & solar to cabins & art studio.
responsibilities include 15-20 hours each week in exchange for housing & food staples. plenty of time for your own projects or part time work off the farm
dealbreakers: transportation (prefer awd/4x4) responsible for your personal needs & comfortable with your autonomy in a rustic cabin lifestyle as well as working with diverse groups be able to lift 50lb bags of feed & work in rough weather situations prefer folks who use alcohol sparingly & NO hard drugs…
this is an amazing opportunity for folks interested in off-grid living, but it is a challenging in-the-moment lifestyle that is NO JOKE!!! serious inquiries only please & with references
for longer term residencies: woodland harvest mountain farm is seeking enthusiastic hearty folks with knowledge of permaculture, off-grid living, & community engagement skills to join our farmstead to steward the land, assist with farm duties & continue offering teaching and learning opportunities at Woodland Harvest!
Woodland Harvest is a vibrant unique evolving farmstead that grows with the many people who pass through each season from work traders, friends, family, beloveds, community members, college students, earth enthusiasts & neighbors down the holler.
We're looking for folks who would like a work exchange for 1 - 6 months. We are especially interested in LGBTQ BIPOC folks seeking land mate opportunities. in years past, we've hosted dozens of hands-on apprentices, interns & novices, but as elizabeth is getting older, we're seeking folks with carpentry skills & desire for a true off-grid experience. we’ve experimented with a variety of living situations here & at other farms and envision a collaborative situation.
we have one full-time steward, Mike who lives in his small hand-tool built cabin. elizabeth shares our farm with her sons who come & go these days, Mike, the many volunteers & visitors who come & go each year, and a host of livestock & pet animals!!
we maintain multiple gardens & native food forest. we raise some of our own meats; our animal numbers ebb & flow with the residents & folks dietary interests. We have 3 cabins & van/rv parking space & we have several other spaces including a school bus, treehouse for warmer seasons. our area has abundant part-time work opportunities, so it's manageable to maintain off-site work for income. we also have a number of friends who need seasonal help for either money or trade, and your goods are welcome with ours for sale at the county farmer’s market & local pop-ups..
we prefer an email introduction with details around your desires & goals and some background information about yourself, skills, resources, strengths, weaknesses, etc., that you’d bring to the farm. we’re excited to share our magical space with folks in this new creative way and look forward to what and who the future brings! for folks interested in more information, please send an email to [email protected].
blessed be, elizabeth & the woodland harvest mountain farm family
************************************************
we've hosted thousands of people on the land over the past two decades from very short visits to multi-year stays. we've had probably 98% powerful positive experiences with folks. as we grow & move forward on this journey, we must ensure that the right folks have a temperament that is concordant with the rhythms of the land, animals, and other humans on the land and the vision of the farmstead. we are actively antiracist, embrace LGBTQ & BIPOC landmates & wish for a more harmonious future for all.
following is a basic list of skills we’ve found necessary to maintain and grow the woodland harvest spaces and visions; many of these skills can be learned here, but we want folks to have an understanding of the broad range of lifestyle needs:
carpentry (rough & finish) alternative energy installation, maintenance & problem solving how to use basic tools (ie. shovels, post hole diggers, hammers, chainsaws) understanding of radical weather shifts at nearly 3500 ft. in the mountains (living & working in snow, ice, rain, wind, bitter cold, heat, etc.) maintain infrastructure & further projects in progress maintain off-grid electrical system & renewable energy installations maintain and improve water systems (gravity fed spring water, graywater, etc.) harvest wood from land for woodstove heat & cooking
problem solving (ie. frozen pipes, fallen tree, low electricity, leaky windows, loose dogs, etc.) take initiative around projects that interest you which further both your own & the visions of woodland harvest consensus process, group facilitation, conflict resolution, participatory democracy & community building open attitudes & social dynamism when interacting with guests and community members a deep love of the land & all creatures