Wwoofing Opportunity with Longtime Wwoof Host in upstate NY on the MA/NY/VT border

Hi we are a 150 acre homestead farm, Cherry Plain Sanctuary Farm. On wwoof usa we are Hearts in Hand Horsemanship, LLC. Our link is here: https://wwoofusa.org/en/host/20691 and here: www.heartsinhandhorsemanshipllc.com. We have wwoofers here now and have hosted over 40 wwoofers, along with friends and permies folk.

We have an off grid cabin available for the right person/persons/family. Last farm helper lived there with her dog for 21 months. Please check us out and send a note if you'd like to know more about this opportunity. See our profile below, from wwoofusa.

Welcome to our farm!

Before reading any further, please note there's info you want to know.

Dwelling Portably: We LOVE travelers who have campers, vans, smaller RVs, and tiny traveling abodes on trucks. If this is you, we probably can find you a spot even if our multiple wwoofer dwellings are taken. Bushcrafters, archers, forest dwelling creatures who thrive on the wildness of complete and total mountain forest, we welcome you.

Weekend Warriors: We get a lot of requests from downstate city folk for weekend "wwoofing" visits. That ain't gonna happen here but we have good news for you. Please see our Hipcamp site if you'd like to come stay in the country for the weekend, and we might even arrange to show you around the farm. We have a tipi that is especially delightful for short family visits during the spring, summer and fall.

Must Have Personal Vehicle: A personal vehicle is required to visit us here as there is no public transportation.

USA Only: At this time we are not offering to host wwoofers who reside outside this country and/or are not US citizens. There is an international wwoof site where you can apply to farms outside the USA.

Dress: Wow I can't believe I have to write this LOL. We are a conservative crew here, and live in a conservative town, within a conservative county. That said, we cover ourselves to a reasonable level, i.e., tank tops and shorts, not bikini tops and thongs. If this is you, awesome. If you like to wear less or nothing, we wish you well on your journey.

Now that all the above is out in the open, let's see what our farm is all about.

We are a multi generational family and community with many places to rest and recover, including hammocks, multiple dwellings where one can stay, and shaded areas including the huge pavilion where our camp kitchen is located. Reesa has a little one and visits frequently. We encourage strong, outdoorsy independent folks to apply here at our farm. For this precious Sanctuary, we are especially grateful and give thanks for the many blessings from our Creator, Jesus Christ. Please note: For us, nature is the closest we can be to our Creator.

We are a home base farm sanctuary serving local youth, combat veterans, law enforcement professionals and their families who wish to enjoy our horses and farm. Please note, if the police and/or military make you uncomfortable we are not the farm for you and wish you the best on your journey.

Having some knowledge of what grueling hard work goes into creating and maintaining a farm is helpful. Please read past wwoofers comments, both bad and good, for a flavor of what we do here. It's hard work followed by more hard work. Dirty, grungy, unforgiving hard work.  The rewards are great, and we love stopping work in the middle of the day to go jump in the nearby lake, followed by hours lounging in the hammocks, wandering in the woods, or exploring the local area which is incredible. We have a beautiful archery range, with bows and arrows available to share with you. Mountain biking, kayaking, hiking in the local state and national parks is only minutes away. Our own farm has miles of marked trails that you can explore. Does this sound like you? Are you ready for a real farm experience? Then please, contact us. We would love to share our world with you.

Big projects this year include maintaining our huge existing gardens, creating big new gardens up the hill at a very sunny spot, taking the horses for walks on our wild mountain trails, building a forest trail mounted archery course, setting up our hunting lodge near the NY DEC line, adding sheep fencing for rotational grazing and creating a wild forest camp.

We built a trail system over over 3 miles, and will be maintaining that in our spare time (LOL what spare time?). We are setting up our wildest 100 acres, adjacent to NYS DEC land, for the ultimate bushcraft experience. If you are minimalist low tech bushcrafters we want to hear from you.

There's a LOT we do during the growing season. Our style of gardening is all raised beds with occasional cattle panel trellises. You'll like the ease of both planting, weeding and harvesting produce. Farm educational exchange is 25 hours per week. We share time together to teach, to learn, and to share farm activities. Your true commitment with a willingness to our honor our system is vital to the Farm Sanctuary.

Since we are a non-commercial and small-scale family homestead, your time living with us in our home here is fairly relaxed except on rare occasions such as if there's an animal emergency.

Our farm is located in the mountains of the Great Northeast, nestled between Vermont and Massachusetts,  We are adjacent to 1000s of acres of state  and federal land (NY/MA/VT), including the Green Mountain National Forest, the Berkshires, Petersburgh Pass, Cherry Plain State Park, Pittstown State Forest, and the Taconic Crest. Somerset and Harriman  Reservoirs are nearby for clean water kayaking. Eagles and hawks are a frequent sighting here. There is also a state park lake about 15 minutes away that we often frequent to swim! If you walk in it is free of charge.

Living spaces include our beautiful off grid cabin, should a wwoofer stay with us who demonstrates long-term potential; a not fancy but cozy barn loft, complete with electric, a full sized futon, a TV and tea kettle;  and lastly, another small hut closer to the main house that we call the Tiny Hut. Wwoofers have also camped in the past and we welcome that.

We have a fridge and flush toilet in our basement for wwoofer use, and two other composting toilets. The shower is outside and very "low tech" but it gets the job done! We purchased a propane water heating system and hope to get that up and running this next summer, maybe with your help?

Meals are primarily  fend for yourself as our schedules vary wildly. First and foremost you have full access to the unlimited vegetables and berries in our garden. We provide store bought staples for woofers to prepare and cook for themselves. These include coffee, tea, half n half, one dozen eggs per week, cooking oil, oats, lentils beans and grains, pancake mixings, bread, jam and peanut butter. Occasionally we will probably grill you a steak from local farmers beef . If you have something in particular that you crave such as ice cream,  we have small shops nearby where you can find it. When we make a big meal we often  invite woofers to join us.  We also recommend you bring your favorite snacks.

Do you love horses? Our rescued horses are a big part of this Sanctuary. We are a Similar Ministry of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch. Training our horses is a daily exercise and we welcome horse people, especially those who want to experience Natural Horsemanship. Our equine assisted services program, which we provide to at risk youth, Police, Firefighters. Military and EMS providers is funded by our LLC.  I travel to train and trim rescued horses, including mustangs at the Mustang Valley Sanctuary.

Praise the Lord! Some (not all) of us here are Jesus believers. We do not attend conventional church and all beliefs are welcome here. Our primary church is outside and we love our native, pagan, Buddhist and "other" believing community.  At present, we are Jerome, Jules, Reesa, River (part time), with occasional friends. Amongst us, we have 4 dogs on premises, 3 goats, 4 sheep, 4 cats, 5 horses and 1 llama spread out over 30 of our 150 acres.

Your well behaved pets we will consider on a case by case basis. What's an extra dog or cat, right?

We especially appreciate visitors from May through October, with the possibility of an early spring or late fall stay. You would be welcome to remain here for longer if you are willing to help us continue with the farm work that has to be done, and have a strong desire to learn about new ways of homestead farming. Our last farm helper who lived in the off grid cabin with wood stove, propane stove, and cozy upstairs bed stayed with us for 21 months. Just saying. Longevity can be good.

Preference is given for wwoofers who stay for a month so as to get a fuller experience. Please note, if we find that we are simply not going to be a match, a quicker departure will be requested and ensue.

To wwoof with us, a note expressing your wish to visit us through wwoof-usa, a phone Interview, photo ID and two professional references are required. Cigs, drugs and alcohol are discouraged. Minor stuff we really worry about, as long as it's legal. All belief systems are respected and welcomed. No politics here please.

Thank you. Jules, Reesa, River, Jerome