Hello from Aroostook County, Maine

Greetings!

I'm 55, grew up in rural New Brunswick, Canada. My husband and I married 27 years ago. We moved around in the US for 7 years, settled in Virginia outside Washington, DC, for 20 years. There, we homeschooled our two kids. With an empty nest, we are moving to a farmhouse with 53 acres in Northern Maine. The property is mostly wooded, and has a brook, spring and pond.

I completed my PDC in December, 2022, with Earth Activist Training.

I'm an enthusiastic student of Live the Off-Grid Dream: https://www.livetheoffgriddream.com/

I never would have the guts to buy this property if not for that course. We are planning to build short term rentals on the property to get cashflow, and build dwellings to support a permaculture community on the land. Along with glamping sites to start with, we plan to build an outdoor sauna and cold plunge as wow factors to draw visitors.

Right now, the project I want to start with is building a rocket mass heater for our farmhouse, which has no backup heating in case of power outage. I hope I can complete this project by the end of September.

I recently took a Natural Building course at The Deanery in Nova Scotia. https://thedeaneryproject.com/

They taught us about RMH at the course and I want one so bad! I can consult with one of the teachers of the course, but I'm hoping to find a mason or someone else nearby my to give me advice and guidance.

Other than taking these courses, I'm a newbie at building and gardening. I'm hoping to connect with people nearby and attract one or two people to come and stay with us for a while and help, with the possibility in mind of a long-term partnership.

My husband is working remotely in IT and he's a cheerleader for me, but this isn't his thing.

Nice place and best wishes…

I have a lot of family up there though I live in central Maine.

I got a farm but after 40 years of homesteading, I am retiring from it. No complaints just a new era in my life.

Hi Jennifer and welcome to Permies!

Beautiful pictures! I really love the look of the house.

Your plans sound wonderful. I too fell in love with rocket mass heaters when I found out about them! I really, really would want to build one, but that's not possible at our place.. Well, I might just build a teepee with a rocket mass heater in it some day, like they did in Wheaton Labs...

In the Rocker Mass Heater Forum there's a thread called Top Questions about Rocket Mass Heaters. That could be a good starting point for your research here in Permies. When you start designing and building, don't hesitate to ask questions in the forum! There are many Rocket Scientists who love to help and you can get answers surprisingly fast! There's also the Projects forum where you can start your own threads to document and share your projects.


Welcome!

Hi Jennifer;
Welcome to Permies!
And Welcome to the Wonderful World of Rocket Science!
With some luck finding the supplies, a willingness to get dirty and you can have an RMH before winter.
Come on over to the RMH forum and tell us all about what you have now and would like to have before winter.
Lots of choices out there, but we can help you figure out what is best for you.
Or pop on over to my website and read about the different options. https://dragontechrmh.com/

Jennifer Damashek wrote:
Thank you so much, Saana! How cool I was welcomed from Finland! I read a few of your posts and I wish we were neighbours!

Haha! I did get good vibes from your post too, and your pictures show a view not so different from ours although I am a bit more to the north. I’m also very much a newbie gardener (and builder) with a hubby who’s not that much into permaculture and homesteading as I am. I’m slowly drawing him to the Permie side though, one homegrown vegetable, fruit and berry at a time!

Finding Permies was a huuuuuge leap forward for me in.. well, I think in everything. There is so much great information here (I did get a bit overwhelmed at first) and the community here is amazing and every day new awesome members join.

Hello Jennifer, and welcome. I'm also in Aroostook County, in Masardis. Would be interested in following along with your rocket stove build as I have been considering different heating options for an outbuilding.

Tim  

Did you see this post?

https://permies.com/wiki/63855/Wood-Heat-DIY-Rocket-Mass

Hi Jennifer,
Welcome to Permies. It is always good to see another Mainiac here on Permies.

thomas rubino wrote:Hi Jennifer;
Welcome to Permies!
And Welcome to the Wonderful World of Rocket Science!
With some luck finding the supplies, a willingness to get dirty and you can have an RMH before winter.
Come on over to the RMH forum and tell us all about what you have now and would like to have before winter.
Lots of choices out there, but we can help you figure out what is best for you.
Or pop on over to my website and read about the different options. https://dragontechrmh.com/

Hi Thomas, thanks for linking to your store! We're moving in next week and I'll be sure to visit the RMH forum once we get settled. I'm so glad I found permies.

Dennis Goyette wrote:Did you see this post?

https://permies.com/wiki/63855/Wood-Heat-DIY-Rocket-Mass

I didn't see that post but I already purchased Erica Wisner's book and these videos! I've got lots of learning to do for sure. Thank you!

Good Jennifer......I'm using a 50 year old big size cast iron woodstove, but I have less to heat and it is centrally located in my post and beam house so I can't do a rocket stove. But, it's the new way to go for remodeling or new construction