Lina Schofield

Hello, this is beautifully serendipitous timing to see your post! I just moved to the area with my husband and nine year old son so we could be closer to my grandparents who live in northern California. We are looking for a place near Medford/Ashland and are extremely interested in meeting with you and seeing the land and available rentals. We have been practicing permaculture since 2012 and have implemented and cared for permaculture farms/food forests on four sites in Maine, Connecticut, and New  Hampshire. I'm currently finishing up the final design for my online PDC taught by Dr. Alan Enzo through the Permaculture Education Center and have completed all of the course work for the PDC. I worked in my uncle's commercial greenhouses and plant nurseries when I was growing up and I have had gardens since childhood, taking care of plants and animals is what I have always loved to do. I am an extremely creative person that thrives in spirit when I nurture living beings, and I am passionate about developing and growing sustainable community resilience. I have been involved in sustainability projects in New Hampshire and Florida and hope to share my skills in our new community once we find our new home. For income I work as a nanny, a nature based teacher, a writer, a musician, and as a fiber artist that upcycles almost everything I create. I have also had private clients as a gardener. I do have some web design experience and am relatively tech saavy. My most recent job outside of being self employed was working as the Executive Director of a 501c3 non-profit in Florida that focused on environmental justice and education. Prior to that I worked for a cloud based electronic medical records company as an analyst. My husband is a sous chef with around twenty years of experience and he is also a certified motorcycle mechanic. He has extensive experience helping me build gardens and caring for the animals we have had when we operated our farm animal sanctuary (with chickens, ducks, and rabbits). He also has experience taking care of horses. We homeschool and wildcraft and believe in living in attunement with nature. Our spirituality is earth centered and we have deep reverence for the earth, water, plants, and animals, we have indigenous ancestry and honor our relatives and ancestors. I have studied holistic healing, soapmaking, wildlife rehabilitation, and herbalism and we maintain wellness using these methods. We currently have a dog, a guinea pig, and three indoor cats. Would you be open to considering pets? Our Australian Shepherd/Corgi mix dog has spent the majority of her life on permaculture farms with animals and is a great farm dog. Her best friend was a duck we had named Ginger and she has always been gentle but also knows how to protect the flock by letting us know when predators are around.  Our cats are all fixed and older so they just sleep and cuddle most of the time. I hope to connect with you soon, this sounds like a wonderful community you are forming! I can be reached at 727-534-8330. Thank you

This sounds amazing! I have always wanted to become a wildlife rehabber (to specifically work with bears) and just moved to California from the East coast. I am currently looking for some land to steward. I would love to discuss this project with you! I can be reached at 727-534-8330.

Thank you everyone, I appreciate you taking the time to respond and offer your advice.

They seem pretty committed to being unreasonable at this point in time unfortunately, and since they have a track record of being inconsistent, uncaring, and dishonest it may be for the best that I am being given an opportunity to get out of dealing with them any longer and losing more because of it in the long run.

I have pretty much resigned myself to leaving after trying to talk to them, the whole thing is illogical on so many levels in my opinion that I
can't invest any more time or energy into trying to understand it at this point. They are in their legal right to do this and that is all that seems to matter to them, even if it is less practical for the selling time they are choosing, and the rent they are losing by having us leave during the repair time etc. Getting them to pay me isn't an option either unfortunately, they aren't empathetic individuals when it concerns money, (or more accurately) having to separate themselves from it in any fashion.

I have a small child and don't feel up to the squatting battle (especially because law enforcement could become involved) and that seems like that would be the only other option right now, it just isn't worth the stress and potential turmoil it would cause.

I am now going to focus on trying to find work farming or in a greenhouse that would allow me to at least make some money until I can afford a place. I know how to make herbal medicinal and beauty products so possibly I could find something doing that as well. Fortunately I have friends in New England, and while they are not in a financial position to help , I can probably stay somewhere until I can earn enough to get a place at least.

If anyone hears of any job opportunities that are paid anywhere in New England please let me know. I am flexible on the location, I just don't think I can gather enough to move further than New England for awhile.

It just would have been so much easier if they would have let me know at the beginning of the season before I planted and when people are avidly seeking out apprentices, field workers, and farm managers for the full season rather than temporary unpaid interns.

I am hoping that this will somehow lead to a better situation in the long run, and am working to facilitate that however possible.

Hello,

My name is Lina, I am in the final stages of completing the design process for obtaining my PDC and have been using biodynamic and permaculture techniques to operate a small farm in Maine for the last two years. My landlords just gave me notice a few days ago that I have to move out and leave mid-season because they are selling the house and they need to work on it (even though my rent has always been promptly paid and I moved here under the pretense that this was a place to start a farm with no prior indication that they were ever considering selling.) I had been earning a living on my farm and now have no other means of income.

I have gathered enough funds to relocate, but I need to find work as soon as possible because I need to also find a place to live. I have experience raising chickens, ducks, and rabbits as well as producing organic berries, veggies, grapes, medicinal herbs, and apples. I have designed and implemented ponds with aquaculture systems, rain water harvesting systems that feed through drip irrigation, composting systems, raised no dig/no till beds, spiral beds and Hugelkultur gardens.

I am seeking paid opportunities as I will likely have to pay for offsite housing for my family to live in with all of our pets (I have a five year old son and my husband is a disabled veteran, in addition to livestock we have one rabbit and duck that my son keeps as pets and also have a puppy, a turtle, and a few cats.)

Please let me know if you are aware of any opportunities, I deeply appreciate any advice or suggestions anyone may be able to offer.

Hello everyone, I am so upset right now that I can't even remember my old login so I created a new one.

My name is Lina and I was renting two acres and a house for the last two years up here, I worked really hard to restore soil quality, build a rain barrel/drip irrigation system, no till/dig raised beds, spiral beds, and ponds with an aquaculture system as well as raise ducks and rabbits and chickens. When I moved up here the ad was posted as an ad attracting someone looking for a place to farm and raise a family, which was perfect because my son was three at the time. The ad was posted by farmers that are well known in the community who operate their farm across town, I just honestly never thought a farmer would do this to a young farmer with a small child who provides for the entire family.

Last night I was given thirty days to vacate my farm because the landlords decided that they wanted to work on the house so they can sell it. No prior indication was ever made that they were even considering this, and I still don't understand why they couldn't work on the house with us living there, or why they decided to do this after planting had already taken place. My husband is a disabled veteran who is in the process of applying for his disability, and I had been using my student loans from college and profits from the farm to support the household after quitting my job last year to pursue my PDC and start farming full time. My loans don't come in again until the fall and I had already used the loans I was given in the spring to build and amend more gardens and ponds and add more trees as I was under the impression that everything was fine since I pay my rent on time, I have already planted 75% of the seeds I bought and now will never even have the chance to harvest my crops. I also have no idea what to do with my animals, and am not looking forward to explaining any of this to my five year old son who loves his farm life here, in this home, on this land.

Because I had asked them for a new lease and they hadn't provided me with one I appear to have no rights in this situation, they legally only have to give me thirty days notice. I was foolishly waiting for them to provide me with a lease that actually stated the correct dates on it as the one they provided at the last re signing period had the wrong months listed on it, and after three months of pneumonia I thought it could just feasibly wait until the next resigning period in mid-May so I didn't bring it up. These people are always difficult to get ahold of which doesn't make anything easier.

If anyone is aware of any opportunities to work for or lease from ethical people in New England, please let me know. Unfortunately I have poor credit due to medical bills that were incurred when I had just turned 18 and I was hit by a car while walking across the street, so leasing is really my only option at this time.

I was in the process of completing my final design for my PDC when I found this out, as it was for this property it is a bit too painful to look at it for the time being but I will eventually complete it and submit it to gain my PDC, aside from the design the course has been completed. I have several years of experience aside from operating my own farm as well.

Any suggestions are deeply appreciated.

I hope you are all enjoying the spring and the weather has been kind where you are.