Profile information
Host rating
85 %
Feedback
-
Email verified
Badges (1)
Details
Description
Join our large extended family in rural Massachusetts
We are a multigenerational family living on the land in beautiful western Massachusetts. We share 200 acres of healthy forest which has been in the family over a century.
We are Helene and Mark (both in their early 60s) in a house we built ourselves from trees harvested right here. Four of our five grown children also live on the land, when they are not traveling outside the country. Helene will be your touchpoint during your stay; Mark works as a luthier in a shop on the property.
The mostly forested land includes beautiful hiking trails and contemplative spaces. We also tend fruit, vegetable and flower gardens on the property. This is a great place for people who value solitude and want access to many miles of hiking trails in the woods. There is also a lake not too far away for those who like to swim. Good for a couple or people who value their own company. We have bikes you can use while staying with us.
We are working on improving our Spanish all of the time, and would love someone who wants to help us in that goal. Helene has experience teaching foreign language and would be happy to help you improve your English.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Charity work
Languages
Music
Books
Camping
Mountain
Beach
Outdoor activities
Hiking
Adventure sports
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We offer community, healthy living, and the great outdoors: trees, streams, hiking trails, birdsong, fresh air!
This is also an opportunity to take part in small-town life, as Ashfield is a close-knit and vibrant community, with a thriving arts scene and a functional small-scale democratic process. Ashfield is the quintessential small New England town. With its sweet library, great pizza place, amazing hardware store, and public lake, there’s a lot to enjoy for the rural-minded. As well, there are often plays, concerts, two affirming and open churches, a lively farmer’s market, and other cultural events in town. Our road has a bike path and we can loan you a bike so you can get to town on your own. We live about 10 minutes drive from Shelburne Falls and 30 minutes from the amazing city of Northampton, but be forewarned, there is no public transportation, and a rental or owned vehicle would be helpful for a prolonged stay. Join me, Helene, for my daily summer swim (and if you don’t know how to swim, I’ll gladly teach you!).
Mark and I are members of a few Morris dancing teams and often get together to practice, tour, sing, and socialize. We welcome you to join us in this fun.
In addition, there is quite an eclectic collection of family members ranging from 10-103 who live on the land. We intermingle and work together on community projects, so you’ll likely have opportunities to get to know the rest of the family as well. Other family interests include biodiesel production, alternative education, renewable energy, living close to the land, foraging wild mushrooms, homesteading, carpentry, and herbalism. Let us know if you are interested in any of these topics and we may be able to arrange work for education with extended family in these areas.
Help
Tasks can include planting, weeding and harvesting in the flower and vegetable gardens, tending the orchard or pruning the berry bushes. Maybe you will mow with our ride on mower or help a family building project. Love to cook? Want to learn to can and freeze the bounty of the gardens and nearby farms? I’d love your help and will be happy to share my knowledge of homesteading with you.
Since our winters are cold, our summer and fall is full of wood splitting and wood stacking for multiple households. We will remember you fondly all winter long as your help keeps us warm in our wood-heated homes. Other outdoor projects include hiking-trail development and maintenance, outdoor beautification projects, fence upkeep, building projects and maintenance.
Other indoor tasks include cleaning, laundry, organizing, home maintenance and food prep
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
French: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
We are interested in improving our Spanish.
Accommodation
We will have a private bedroom for you, comfortable for a couple or a single, but if you want to camp out while you are here we have camping supplies you can use. The bathroom is shared. Shared Washer and Dryer available for use. Outdoor drying encouraged in good weather.
What else ...
We tend to go to bed pretty early. We have no TV reception, but do stream movies. Our cell reception is pretty reliable, but only if you have AT&T (other cell providers may not function at all), and our internet is pretty fast, though not lightning speed (these things are not a given out here in rural America). Please, no excessive drinking or substance use and no tobacco usage.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have high speed internet (wifi) and places for you to plug in and have some quiet while you work on your own projects. I have a printer and copy machine you are welcome to use as well. Cell phone reception depends on your server, in general AT&T works best at our place.
Space for parking camper vans
Having a car or other personal transportation is a real plus for you. We live in the country and there is no local public transportation, but we can loan you our bikes.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
Photos
