Help with building a homestead for our family using sustainable practices in Vermont, USA

Details

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  Description

  A typical day: M heads to work before 7, while L works from home. You wake up whenever you need to. You wander into the barn to collect some eggs for breakfast and on the way back check the garden to see what you can add to that omelet. Peppers and tomatoes and some herbs will work. You have the morning "off," so perhaps you work your online job or write some more of that thesis or go for a hike. M will return home early afternoon and then the projects begin. Dinnertime comes and we all gather together. The kids set the table and we enjoy some of the best home-cooked, locally-sourced food ever. Conversation abounds. Perhaps L has made cheesecake for dessert. After we clean up we select a board game and have some fun. Or perhaps you've brought an instrument along and we have a jam session instead. Darkness settles and we wind down for the day. We head to bed because we know we have an early start to the day. You stream a movie on your tablet and then take a night walk enjoying the brilliant stars and night sounds--a hooting owl and the cry of a fox. You fall asleep to the breeze in the trees and the ever-present chuckling of the brook.
  
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  Homestead Build 2025
  This will be a very busy year of construction and homesteading!!
  **Please note that all construction projects will be done by the owner-builders and Workawayer(s) will have the opportunity to acquire skills and experience in the following: natural building, strawbale, cob, thermal cob, light straw-clay, clay plaster, basic framing, board & batten siding, and more. We show you how to use power tools safely and then we work alongside you every step of the way.
  
  - HOUSE: Some cobbing inside and outside are needed. Interior and exterior wood cladding needs to be installed on a few sections.
  
  - BARN: We need to finish the siding at the loft and a section on the east side. This will include hanging a few windows.
  
  - WATER: We need to change our source of water, so we will be digging out a spring near the house and plumbing it. Also, we need to revamp our PEX plumbing setup within the house and add some new fixtures.
  
  - ROCKET MASS HEATER BUILD: We will be completing the bench with some gorgeous Vermont Greenstone sourced on site. Shelves and niches will be carved into the cob as well.
  
  - OFF-GRID LIVING: Lots of daily chores including stacking firewood and "normal" household chores like cooking & cleaning, etc.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Our family is constructing our home using natural building methods--timber framing, round wood framing, straw bale in-fill, cob, etc. Our off-grid homestead features sustainable living--solar power, passive solar home, greenhouse, food forest, hugelkulture, composting. Our lifestyle is sustainable by using locally-sourced building materials--trees, rocks, and clay from the build site, locally milled lumber, used windows and doors, used local slate for roofing. We encourage our volunteers to work with us in design and construction methods. We don't know everything, so we listen to the wealth of knowledge others have and implement solutions immediately.

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  Help

  General homestead tasks plus construction projects and gardening. The profile above details more of what's happening this spring/summer/fall.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  We have a guest room that sleeps 2. We also have a micro-loft for an adventurous person. Bedding provided. Plenty of secluded places to camp if you have a tent.
  
  We will provide meals and laundry. We have a privy as well as some composting toilets.
  
  We are still in THE PROCESS of building our home, so along with the ruggedness of our home it is also a construction zone.
  
  If this isn't your cup of tea, that's totally understandable. Check back in a few months to see where we're at.

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  What else ...

  We are in the heart of the Green Mountains with the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail only a few minutes away sporting Vermont's second highest Peak--Killington Peak. Our property is 31 acres of heavily forested hills with streams, boulders, and plenty of wildlife. Hiking and exploring are strongly recommended. Skiing, snowboarding & snowshoeing available. There is an abundance of streams, lakes, mountains, and hills nearby. Historic sites. Covered bridges. Farmers markets. Museums.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have both wired and wi-fi internet connections available. The guestroom is practically above the router so the connection is solid. The dining room table is rather large, near major light sources including huge windows, and also close to the router, so there's a really nice work space when it's not meal time.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have a couple different parking locations both quiet and near potable water. Some solar access. More solar access can be had with some tree trimming (we want to turn that area into a meadow anyway).

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  Can possibly accept pets

  We cannot accept visitors with pets at this time. If you are interested in camping or RVing we can discuss the possibility, but anyone staying in the main house we can't, sorry.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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