Ecological education and the arts on our family farm, Virginia, USA

Details

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  Description

  Hi travelers!
  We are an off-grid homestead and education center in rural Virginia focusing on permaculture and creative expression. Our family consists of Ella and Gil, our 12 yr old son, our 3 yr old daughter, and our 6 month old daughter (as of March 2025). We've been hosting workawayers/ WWOOFers and volunteers in various formats for the past 14 years (10 years on this property). At the moment, we are working to schedule several volunteers (3-4) at the same time for two-three week periods, to allow a sense of community and the opportunity for volunteers to meet and work with each other as well as our family. Along with our volunteers we also work closely with the local intentional communities, and have a labor exchange system set up for mutual help. In workawaying here, you will also have the opportunity to meet and work with folks from the local ICs.
  
  Our major projects:
  Education:
  We're developing an outdoor museum throughout our forest trails that is focused on interactive, scientific models of sustainability. We are developing a self-guided tour throughout our community and are looking for more signage, illustrations, and beautification. We also work with university student interns both teaching and mentoring research projects in many different areas. In past years, we've hosted a number of workshops and programs for both children and adults, and will continue to in the future. This year, we're focused more on the museum and research.
  
  Tiny house construction:
  We have had a very successful winter of building a tiny house (which we already sold) that turned out fabulous. We are going to continue building more of them using trees from our forest. This is a lengthy process that includes felling, milling, stacking, drying, and sanding boards, and then at some point putting them together to make another house.
  
  Garden:
  We plan to have a large garden this year. We could really use help in planting, weeding, harvesting, cooking, eating, preserving and seed processing. We are growing primarily for our own consumption, as well as to continue to research and select better and more pest and disease resistant varieties. There is also opportunity to help out a local seed grower to see the process of seed production.
  
  There are three communes within 15 min drive, with whom we have a work exchange relationship, so there will be opportunities to connect with lots of other people in the area, through work and social gatherings.
  
  Our homestead is nestled amidst beautiful countryside, and is about 10 min. from a town and about 30-45min. to cities (Richmond and Charlottesville). The ocean and the mountains are both a day trip away.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  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
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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

  This is an immersive experience in a homestead that is highly integrated into a network of egalitarian income-sharing communes that are weaving the new paradigm, spreading the seed of the revolution, or at least recipes for vegan snacks. The local communes attract guests and members from all over the world, opening surprising cultural exchange opportunities that you would not typically see in a rural area.

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  Projects involving children

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

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  Help

  1. We are looking for people who want to learn! As an education center, we focus a little less on hard monotonous work and more on teaching, experimenting, and offering new experiences. We hold some classes and discussions, and rely on each other to continue learning and researching topics for continuing to contribute to the project and for personal growth.
  2. On the other hand, we are also looking for folks that are self-motivated and maybe already have some skills in farming, building, childcare, and education. Workawayers are not asked or expected to do any childcare, but we are looking for folks comfortable with children, as they are very involved in our lives here.
  4. We are working on an Outdoor Sustainability Museum! We are revamping our outdoor museum, adding new elements that model ecological processes, model human impact on our planet, and explore solutions.
  5. Forestry: We harvest timber from our forest for building materials and for firewood. We need help with felling, limbing and debarking, mostly using hand-tools.
  6. Natural Building: We often have natural building projects. Currently the next project is refinishing our earthen floor, and building cob rocket stoves for cooking.
  7. Playground: beyond the zipline and swings we currently have, we are working on creating new activities and an obstacle course in the forest.
  8. Off-grid solar tech: we need help with developing and testing our solar system towards our ultimate grid independence. this includes solar power, electric car conversion, building experimental solar technology, and working with the rhythms of the sun and the clouds.
  
  In addition to all the exciting projects, there is still always a fair bit of domestic work to do, including cooking, cleaning, laundry, taking out the compost, stoking the wood-fired hot tub, cleaning the pond, gardening, etc. We sign up for chores and take turns cooking meals.
  
  Our Daily Schedule:
  On Friday afternoons we have a weekly meeting in which we determine the schedule for the week. We have a guideline of 24 hours of work per adult per week. This includes any communal domestic work. There will always be the option of signing up for work shifts with other members of the community, which is recommended during the first week or two of a workaway experience. This ensures you know how the community work functions and that you are properly trained in the different areas you want to work. When you are comfortable, it is possible to work on your own time (as opposed to work shifts) but this varies a lot from person to person. During our Friday meeting everyone in the community (members and workawayers and guests) are expected to present to the group what they have worked on the past week. Then we prioritize projects for the following week and make a schedule. There's a big white board where you can see what each person is working on each day, so you can help out or coordinate during the week.
  Meals:
  Breakfast is on your own. There's plenty of granola, soymilk, bread, eggs, etc.
  Lunch is cooked by whoever signs up, and a bell is rung when it's ready. Often people sit and eat together, but is not a formal meal.
  Dinner is cooked by whoever signs up and is a time we expect most of the community to get together to eat, socialize, and share gratitude.
  All communal meals are vegan (plus our chicken eggs). Any meat or dairy must be kept privately.
  Saturdays is our communal day off. No communal meals or work plans are made.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Hebrew: Fluent
  Sign language (American): 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 various places to sleep: some houses, barn, vintage airstream trailer, sailboat. 15 acres of forest are available for you to play or camp in. We have two showers, composting toilets, running water, hot tub, bathing pond, some electricity (mostly solar). There is no indoor bathroom, no flush toilet or indoor shower. All of your food will be provided here. We stick to a vegan/vegetarian diet. We accept and accommodate people with various diets, including gluten free, etc.

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  What else ...

  Although we are a family homestead, we expect to host multiple workawayers at a time, and you should expect to be well integrated into the social sphere. please be willing to have open and honest communication with the people around you. We expect that volunteers will fully participate in the culture here. We do not have a culture of partying; excessive alcohol or drug use will not be tolerated. We expect all volunteers and members to keep the common spaces tidy and personal belongings in personal spaces.
  
  Here on the property or within walking distance, we have places to swim, play in the forest, hike, camp, and create. The surrounding communities host regular social events like dancing, singing, happy hour, potlucks, and parties. You could hike in the blue ridge mountains, which is only about an hour away, and the ocean is only two hours from us. There are local commune shuttles that you can use to get around as well.

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  we have plenty of space, no problems there. but you can't drive into the forest, there's only walking paths, so you can't really park in a secluded spot.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  no one likes to think that their dog could possibly cause any trouble, but some dogs do and some dogs don't. we can't really specify, but we'll just say that we have free ranging poultry, cats, kids, gardens, pond, and a peaceful lifestyle. can your dog respect that? Cats and smaller animals are generally welcome.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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