Introducing myself

Hey everyone, I'm a single 50 yr old woman living in upstate SC on a little over an acre of land with a well and septic. I have a camper set up and an additional site that just needs power run. I am having trouble getting some of the heavy lifting done around the place. I have a nice garden started and have plans for canning but need to build a canning shed as the camper is not consistent on temperature during the hotest part of the summer. I have limited funds but not many bills and I'm not a very outgoing person. I have a contract set up for someone to work for the rv site. I only need basic stuff most of the time, yard work, shifting stuff that's too heavy for me and things like that. I am slowly getting the material together to add the shed, some chickens and hopefully expand the garden. Anyone with building skill and tree work would be a huge plus. I don't want anyone that party's or gets aggressive, as that tends to piss me off. If you're interested message me and we can see if you will fit.

Welcome to Permies Cathy,

good luck with your project, i started mine last winter in Thailand and now we had the first Pumpkins harvested..
happy days ahead..

I'm having a blast mostly. My soil here is mostly clay so I'm doing raised beds this year and the results are impressive! At least to me lol.

Welcome to Permies, Cathy.

Beautiful zucchinis! I hope you will find the person you are looking for soon.

I haven't had any responses from anyone so I'm guessing either no one need a place to stay for cheap or they don't know enough about me to try. Lol hopefully if I share a bit someone will see the opportunity.

Let's start with my land. I bought 1.27 acres with a septic on it for just under 8k. I spent another 6k to put in a well. I have been here 4 years now and have fenced in about a third of the place for my needs the rest is woods. I have the tools needed for most small projects but no heavy equipment to make big projects easier. The land here is pretty inexpensive but about 45 min to an hr from most big stores.  

I am the mother of two kids and the grandma of one great little boy. Both of my kids, my son (30) and my daughter (28) are into drugs. That's why I can't be around them. My son is in recovery now and doing good. My daughter is not in recovery but seems to be doing fine, she is homesteading in NC. After years of dealing with drugs and the affects of them in my life I have banned them from my property. The kids don't visit much. My son is just starting to but having hope isn't the same as having faith.

I have been saving and dreaming about this life for most of mine. As a young adult I spent most of my 20s taking care of my mom. Then my 30s taking care of my husband and kids. My 40s starting over after my divorce. And dealing with the choices my kids were making.

Now I have the land and the dream is still alive but health problems mean I can't do the things I used to. Moving cinder blocks and cutting trees is not something I can do anymore. I need help. For this help I offer a place to live for less than $200  a month. In an area where purchasing your own place should be doable. And the loan of my time and tools to help you build yours, once you have it bought, until you can buy your own.

I don't know if there is anyone out there looking for this kind of opportunity. I hope there is and that we can try together to build a future for both of us.

Phew, tough times. I hope the future is brighter.

The Permies crowd is spread out over the globe. I think you may have more luck asking close to home.

Have you considered someone local who is semi-retired but looking for a project and a purpose? Lots of talent out there, underutilized. And generally not party animals either (woo!).

How would I find someone like that? I don't get out much lol.

Try posting in the community forums, perhaps, and summarize what you said in this introduction; maybe someone in the Carolinas is searching for a scenario similar to your offering. Wishing you well!

Your posting is honestly asking for a lot from an individual. I have 30 years as a master electrician and master HVAC. I have built over 150 homes and over 60 commercial buildings. For someone to do the task your asking for they will need to invest a lot of time into what your trying to do.  Consider investing more of yourself in what your asking for. There is several ways you can improve soil conditions free.

Could you explain please? I really am not sure what you mean by investing myself more.

As for soil, I have a bioreactor in place and am currently working on my second run of compost from it. I have cinder block raised beds for the garden that I would like to move around to condition the soil underneath. I have the seeds and schedule set to growing not only for myself but whoever is helping. I have everything needed except the jars and food to can anything for myself and the person who helps.

I have plans for small buildings only, nothing major, and all the inside work can be done by myself it's just he heavyweight stuff I can't do. Running an underground wire from my power supply to the rv cute isn't that major an undertaking I just can't do it anymore. The 30amp or 50amp setup for an RV isn't that complicated. Water is fairly easy to run,  digging the trench is the hard part. But it's been done and I have already placed a junction for easy future runs if needed.

I'm not sure why this isn't sufficient compensation for someone to live cheap so they can save for their future? I don't expect them to work constantly for me. The contract says 8 hrs a week. One full days work,  they pay the power bill difference.

What am I missing? Is that expecting too much? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm not very good with other people's expectations.

Also good on you for strong boundaries!!!

Hi congrats on working towards homesteading and welcome to this forum. Have you considered just hiring someone to do the work you need done? Lots of time cheap rent plus work doesn't translate. I figure you could get a local handy man to do the projects then continue on with your private homesteading...Jules

Cathy Rathbone wrote:Could you explain please? I really am not sure what you mean by investing myself more.

As for soil, I have a bioreactor in place and am currently working on my second run of compost from it. I have cinder block raised beds for the garden that I would like to move around to condition the soil underneath. I have the seeds and schedule set to growing not only for myself but whoever is helping. I have everything needed except the jars and food to can anything for myself and the person who helps.

I have plans for small buildings only, nothing major, and all the inside work can be done by myself it's just he heavyweight stuff I can't do. Running an underground wire from my power supply to the rv cute isn't that major an undertaking I just can't do it anymore. The 30amp or 50amp setup for an RV isn't that complicated. Water is fairly easy to run,  digging the trench is the hard part. But it's been done and I have already placed a junction for easy future runs if needed.

I'm not sure why this isn't sufficient compensation for someone to live cheap so they can save for their future? I don't expect them to work constantly for me. The contract says 8 hrs a week. One full days work,  they pay the power bill difference.

What am I missing? Is that expecting too much? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm not very good with other people's expectations.

Digging a trench is extremely hard labor. 8 hours a week in today's labor market is 350. For skilled individuals it's more. I have lived in my younger years in a situation like your offering . It's never 8 hours . 8 hours a week 15 an hour. 480 a month. Non skilled labor. Your asking a lot

Good luck finding someone, I'm not US based so unfortunately I'm unable to help

Hoping you've had success finding someone in the regional forum has yielded someone who you can combine forces with, I think that, for the right person, what you're offering is workable, but, as with many things, its about finding the right person, that you are the right person for their land/living needs.  Sometimes things take time.  I'm glad you and your son can visit again, that is good news that he's in recovery now.

I Cathy...saw your post on permies..
Tim here...just wondering how you have been getting along....I can understand your trying to get a decent setup and be established in a nice farm setting...
Should you like to talk a bit just call me anytime ampm...I717 880 4267  im in Texas now but have 20 ac specialty fruit orchard started in AR.... hope to hear from you soon.... latters