Hi Everyone,
We are a family (with two young kids) working toward implementing permaculture practices on a new homestead near Yosemite National Park. Below is, hopefully, most of the info you need.
The Homestead:
It’s rough land that we recently purchased. There is currently nothing setup in terms of gardening, farming or permaculture. We are working with a permaculture designer and getting ready to implement supporting infrastructure. The work can include anything from digging, planting, simple construction, tending small animals (or helping to prepare spaces for them), and more—your flexibility is important. This is not yet a producing farm or homestead. We simply try to get ready for that. We ourselves are learning permaculture as we go.
The Location:
We are in the town of Oakhurst, about 15 miles from the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park. There are regular buses that run between Oakhurst and Yosemite, and we are willing to pick volunteers up from as far away as Fresno, Merced or Modesto, so a car is not necessary. Our homestead is about 1.5 miles from the conveniences of Oakhurst, which include major grocery stores, restaurants and a theater. We are only about 3000 feet (1000 meters) in elevation, so it can be quite warm during the summer. Morning, evenings and nights are quite nice. We try to do most work before the heat of the day.
Accommodations:
Accommodations will either be a tent (a large one, if you have kids) or an RV/trailer (which you might help to rehab). We ourselves live in a trailer that we are rehabilitating. A heated shower, compost toilet and laundry facilities, which we all use, are outside. Though things are a little rough right now, we do our best to keep things clean and neat. Our arrangement is more like glam-camping than actual camping. If you are single, you may need to share a tent/RV with someone else. Families, couples and friends will share their own space.
Expectations:
We expect 4 to 6 hours of work per day for 5 days per week. That said, we are perfectly fine with you taking multi-day excursions to Yosemite and Sierra-Nevada high country. A simple, 2-week, itinerary might be to work with us for 5 days the first week, then you explore Yosemite and the mountains for 3 to 5 days, and then come back to work another 4 days or so. It's all negotiable. It's best to go to Yosemite during the weekdays. During the weekends it's unbearably congested and not worth the hassle.
We require a minimum 2-week stay. Longer is better, so long as well all agree that the relationship is working for everyone.
Children:
We are hoping for families with young kids (ages 2 to 10). Our girls are 2.5 and 5.5. That said, if you do not have kids that's okay. Just be aware that our girls are social and will want to spend time with you. You will need to be open to this. And willingness to help build play structures for kids is appreciated.
Food:
We will provide 3 meals per day and can accommodate any kind of diet. On days that you travel into Yosemite or elsewhere, you will need to provide your own food.
Languages:
We speak English, Russian, and broken Spanish. My wife's Russian language blog is here (lot's of pics--though not many from the homestead yet):
http://polina.harbertstudio.com
If you have any questions, please send me an email or reply here. Thanks!
