Looking for land owners who need onsite stewards

Hi fellow permies, biophiles and land lovers,

We are two friends Reese and Nadav who have been living and traveling together for 2 years across the states and abroad working on farms and ranches. We are looking for land owners who need help stewarding their land in exchange for allowing us to live on their property and grow veggies/make art/learn from the land/give back!

We have both studied Syntropic Agroforestry in Germany as well as general organic farming, herbalism, and animal husbandry. I, Reese have extensive experience with horses and am an artist and farmer  and have been living off- grid or partially off grid since I was 16. Nadav is experienced in herbalism/bodywork, photography and farming.  

We love and care deeply about the soil and health of the land and how to live in a low impact, reciprocal, life giving way.  after two years of learning from a variety of different lands and farmers/communities we are looking to be more place based hopefully for a few years! We both work part-time, but would like to use the rest of our time to devote to the land! If you have land who needs two delightful companions to nourish and love her please reach out if you would be open to talking about possibility’s! Look forward to hearing from you!

Warmly,
Reese and Nadav

Aminadav.and.reese@gmail.com

Reese, I hope you have success.
Your journey sounds interesting and have you thought of dropping some more about your experiences.
What is 'Syntropic Agroforestry' please?

from google
Syntropic agroforestry, also known as syntropic farming or successional agroforestry, is a regenerative farming method that mimics natural forest ecosystems.
from; https://www.porvenirdesign.com/blog/2019/7/24/1bufd9zncys2tlph3qmmkz57ncqgsq
So what is syntropic farming exactly? Syntropic farming is an intensive form of agroforestry that imitates market gardening and slash and mulch agroforestry,
in order to provide yields at all stages of succession, generate its own fertility, and with the end goal of creating a productive forest that imitates the structure and function of the native forests.    
The Principles
The following guiding principles were laid out by our instructors:    
Keep the soil covered
Maximize photosynthesis
Stratification
Synchronization
Natural succession
Management  
My understanding of them is as follows:  
Keep the Soil Covered is done in syntropic farming by growing large amounts of biomass on site, which is regularly pruned or cut to be applied to the soil.
Syntropic farming seeks to Maximize Photosynthesis by laying out trees rows from North to South.
This is the primary design layout strategy, as opposed to managing for water through exclusively using contour planting.
In addition this is achieved by an extremely high density of planting; 20-40 plants/seeds/cutting per square meter. It's a way to grow food and other crops sustainably and productively.

Hey John,

Thanks for the question! Your summary of Syntropic Agroforestry is pretty spot on! It a form of agroforestry that includes market garden crops in the first stages, and is also comprised of grasses, nut/fruits trees and berries mimicing the stratification of a natural forest to create a complex and ultimately(down the line many years) self sustaining system not in need of watering and only requiring minimal management (mulching/pruning). It is very complex and highly interesting! I recommend looking into the Terra Network (https://www.terra-network.org/) if interested, the farmer I learned from is a teacher through them and they offer very cool programs for other to learn.

Best, Reese

Hello,
Long time Permies lurker, posting for the first time.

Is there a specific region you are interested in? I’d also be curious what your needs would be regarding accommodations- on grid vs off grid, power/water/internet etc. How much work on the property would you feel is fair? I have some property in central Maine with a cabin that would need some work. I built it in 2003 and lived there for about 10 years off grid. It’s been empty since 2016 though. I have 152 acres there. I’m living and working on the other side of the country now so I’m interested in someone making use of the property.
Gus

I'm casually looking for people who would be interested in joining me on my land. It's super informal, no grand plan, no fixed list of responsibilities and benefits. Frankly I can't even offer much as a "benefit" other than a place to park a camper or something rent-free; there's not really any infrastructure out there yet so you'll have to be able to support yourselves. But I have more land than I could ever reasonably make use of by myself, and I'm hoping to get some people out there who would appreciate the place for the same reasons I do. And if we have similar enough goals (it sounds like we probably do) then we can collaborate on whatever makes sense. If that sounds like a good fit to you, I'd love to chat some more!

Hi all,

I wont have service for a few days, but will respond soon!

Thanks so much!

Hello Reese and Nadav,

I got on the site today to post in our search for co-homesteaders to join us and found your post. Interestingly, we are in Maine, dovetailing with Gus' reply about his land. We moved to Maine to create a new life, one less focused on careers and move focused on simple living.

Homestead established on raw land in 2010 in Southern Maine. 9 acres in the woods with large gardens, greenhouses, chickens-ducks-rabbits, and a wood products on-farm business. Cozy cabins, with kitchen & bathroom, for extra housing. Outdoor kitchen, large root cellar and other out buildings. We're on grid and moving into solar--husband electrical engineer, working with hydroelectric dams, and electrician. Diverse skills/knowledge in construction, maintenance/repair, etc. I am the gardener, animal husbandry and food preservation person. Preservation includes freeze drying, dehydrating, canning, fermentation and root cellaring. Our season runs latter April thru mid November. It has been our goal to find co-homesteaders, from practical reasons--more hands needed for all the work and as we age we will definitely need help, but also due to our values for having a good life. We value authentic relationship, interdependency, and the collaboration of ideas, skills and passions.

Since our beginning, we have worked with helpers, mostly through wwoof. It's been a joy making so many close connections with intriguing folks. And all these people have helped create this wonderful place on this sacred land. As much as we'd like to continue that endeavor, we are ever more drawn to finding very long term or even permanent collaborators. We have learned a great deal becoming homesteaders and recognize there is so much as yet not learned. We highly value life-long learning around here. Our past included unschooling our daughter. We invite the ideas of others and hope to create with co-homesteaders shared food production, on-homestead income generation and deep camaraderie and mutual caring.

Your story resonates with us and we would enjoy exploring the possibility of the two of you joining us. Look forward to a conversation via PM and then more directly.

Best regards,
Cheryl & Kirk

Hi Reese and Nadav,

I have some off-grid forestland in southern Oregon that may be a good fit. You can look at some of my other posts to learn more about what I’ve got going on. Let me know if you’re interested in chatting more.

Good luck finding a spot,
Leaf

HELLO . I may have something different you might be interested in 40 acer older homestead with most everything needed to homestead grow a GREAT garden , just on the edge ! !
in northern Minnesota , and if stay or winter a fishing business , for a solid income ..
if this sounds interesting .. lets talk and make a deal ..
 Mike

I posted today looking to potentially invite one or two others to join us in our journey:
https://permies.com/t/281056/join-Central-Northern-BC#2962918