Our plan:
7 years ago, we found our mountain paradise. Now, we are restoring the
native ecosystem to support native rare and
medicinal plants while we develop our homestead and renovate our house.
Your opportunities:
Learn how to identify and use medicinal plants and how to make medicine.
Learn how to harvest and prepare wild foods.
Experience organic
gardening in a mechanically tilled garden, “no till” garden and
hugelkultur garden.
Learn electrical, plumbing, basic construction and
wood working as you help with home renovation (my father has 40+ year experience as a general contractor).
Learn basic homestead skills (how to split wood, do basic mechanical repairs, etc).
Experience the hard labor a homestead requires, such as pulling invasive vines, digging out the channel drain, weed eating, etc.
Have fun! In your free time, head out on the lake, go trout fishing in the Cheoah River, hike through gorgeous mountains, etc.
Our
land:
25 acres on the edge of thousands of acres of Nantahala National Forest in western NC. This is a vacationer’s paradise. Lake Santeetlah is 5 minutes away, our long range mountain view is of old growth Joyce Kilmer Forest. We have forests, fields, 2 creeks, 2 houses, a wood working shop, a mechanic shop, a vegetable garden, a medicinal herb garden, a couple fruit
trees, blackberry and black raspberry patches,
mushroom logs,
wild edibles, etc, etc.
Our people and pets:
My husband and I share one house, my parents are in the other. Between us we have two 70-80lb, well trained, friendly dogs, 5 cats, 1 parrot, 6
chickens and a couple small ponds of fish.
Your room and board:
You will have an apartment that is the lower level of my parent’s house with a private entrance, deck with mountain views, living room, bedroom, dining room, laundry. There is a full kitchen, every thing is hooked up except the
oven (you will help us put in the electrical circuit). Until the oven is connected, there is a toaster oven and microwave. There is a full bath, but it is in the middle of renovations. Toilet works fine. You will help us install the plumbing for the
shower tub, and finish the walls and floors for the bathroom. Till then, you are welcome to
shower in our guest bath. We will also give you $75/week.
What we expect from you:
A willingness to work hard and learn! I work 2 days a week in a town an hour away. You will have those days off. On the days we work on the homestead, it will be 3 to 8 hours depending on the
project. No early mornings unless that’s your preference. You have to be able to entertain yourself. You will have limited wifi and cell, we do have a landline phone, you will have TV.
We are pretty middle of the road folks. We are tolerant and open minded, but we do NOT want extremists or someone who tries push their beliefs on other people.
You will have to get yourself here, or at least to Asheville, NC or Knoxville, TN where we can pick you up.
We prefer a minimum one month commitment but this is negotiable.
We will need references (previous employer, college professor, etc- no friends or family), and a description of your abilities and interests.
Women will be given first dibs. As a woman, I have found it incredibly empowering to learn all of the skills that we will be teaching you. I want to share that!
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