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Looking for help at a creative boarding school in North Carolina, USA

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: 1 month or more

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    We run a day/boarding school for 7-9th graders. It's an intensely communal place where most full time staff members live on campus in community with each other and practice consensus decision making, live in shared housing, share the majority of maintenance and grounds work, administer the educational program without a head of school, receive very similar salaries, and share many meals together.

    We're located within a larger ecovillage northwest of Asheville, North Carolina, on a property surrounded by streams and National Forrest land. We are mostly "on grid," though we do have a solar field and generally heat with wood from the property.

    The educational program is a progressive mix of outdoor education, vocational and trade skills, and liberal arts, delivered by teachers with lots of curricular freedom who tend to tailor the program to the students they have in any given year.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Language practice
    Help with Eco Projects
    Teaching
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Farmstay help
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Experience rural Appalachia! We're in a hot zone of artsy craftsy culture, as well as in a really healthy part of high Appalachian forrest with lots of biodiversity to poke around in. Our community loves group singing, art projects, films, board games, and spending time together.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

    This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

  • Host offers payment in line with the minimum wage

    Host offers payment in line with the minimum wage

    This host offers accommodation and payment.

    Host has indicated that they will pay at least the minimum hourly wage of their country for each hour worked and that accommodation will also be provided. They are asking for help with a business or business activity. Contact the host directly via the site messenger for more information and details about the wage provided. Any arrangements should be agreed in advance with your host.

  • Help

    Help

    While there are many possible arrangements, some we have had in the recent past have been:

    Artist in residence - someone willing to live on campus and teach an elective once a week for at least one 4-6 week unit, participate in weekly campus work project days, and spend some of their time doing their own art on campus in a way that adds to the culture of the school

    Farm/Garden intern - someone willing to live on campus for either/both the spring and summer to help with work in our garden and with our farm animals (turkeys, chickens, cow and calf)

    Intern for the school year - someone willing to participate in the academics and running of the school for a year: student teaching core academic subjects, teaching electives independently, spending evenings with small groups of boarding students, helping out with work project days, attending some staff meetings, taking social and academic advisees, and going on outdoor trips

    Summer stay - someone willing to stay in fairly rustic housing for some or all of the summer in exchange for keeping this housing in good shape and doing grounds work from time to time

    The above arrangements all strive to be, in the spirit of workaway, financially breakeven possibilities for cultural exchange and enrichment that cover peoples material needs (food, lodging, some extras) while working half time and don't demand that they dip into their own savings or be working all the time.

    We also have full staff positions that are not in the spirit of the workaway arrangement as they demand almost all of people's time. For details on these positions, consult our website.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    It depends on the time of year. We usually have guest space available in one or more houses, but there is also space to camp or be in open-air structures when it's warm.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    There's a couple small towns 20 minutes drive away, and Asheville is an hour away. There are also many trails, streams, and mountains to explore right here, as well as a great swimming pond and lots of art/craft studios that are usually open.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    4-6 hours a day, 4 days a week

Host ref number: 399146184991

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