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20 Apr 2024
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Description
WE ARE BOOKED FOR THE 2024 YEAR, AND ARE EXCITED TO HOST MORE PEOPLE IN 2025! HAPPY TRAVELS EVERYONE
Hi everyone! We are Bri and Alex and we are very excited about all things local- local food, local materials, local energy, local economy, local community. Almost 4 years ago, Bri and her mother, Alison, bought 54 acres of lush Appalachian mountain land an hour outside of Asheville that had previously been farmed for 3 generations since the early 1900’s with cattle, tomatoes, corn, tobacco and hay. Most of the open cropland has now been newly reforested, yet some old barns, outbuildings and a farmhouse still remain tucked between the trees. There are multiple streams originating on the property and a larger river running across the bottom border. There are many old interconnecting logging roads around the property.
We currently live in the old farmhouse with our border collie sheepdog, Beau, and mousing(ish) cat, Maisie. Bri’s mother lives in the nearest town and plans to build her own home on this land in the near future.
Our homesteading goal is to provide the majority of our food and energy/fuel within the next 10 years. We are in the beginning stages of installing native orchards as well as a silvopasture system (livestock + trees) with more traditional fruits and nuts alongside our sheep, bees and chickens. We also grow corn, grain, squash and beans and potatoes in the pasture. We are operating a no-till system (so no tractors or plows) which equates to more manual (but diverse) labor and a finesse for cooperating with nature.
Bri and her mom spent most of the first year here converting the old 1930’s farmhouse into a livable space, where we installed 3 different wood stoves (one to heat the house, one to heat water and one to cook on), plumbed our house with gravity-fed spring water, and created a composting toilet system. Next, we built a dignified chicken coop for our layer chickens, started our flock of wool, meat and dairy sheep, expanded our garden, and began to plant dozens of fruit and nut trees throughout the two pastures. We pasture raise meat chickens, have bees and upgraded a barn into a cozy 3 season apartment for guests and workawayers.
Now, in 2024, we are beginning our large project of providing new and alternative housing for all three of us, using natural building techniques and passive energy systems (straw bale, superadobe, living roof, Microhydro and solar energy, masonry stove, passive solar hot water and earthen flooring and plaster to name a few)! This year, we are building a tiny house to practice on the two larger houses which will come next!
The running to-do list includes building the tiny house, keeping up the garden (and processing our harvests), tending to our flock of sheep, clearing and managing our forestland, investing sweat now towards heat for the winter (in firewood processing), and improving on our larger crops of grains, corn, beans and squash. I should note that there are a million and one other tasks and fun projects in between all of that!
Endless opportunity to learn and discover!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We can share our homesteading and farming knowledge as well as expose workawayers to the Appalachian folk culture that surrounds us. Bluegrass music is huge here, especially in our small town of Marshall (35 minutes away) where, under normal circumstances, there is live music 3 times a week. Our neighbor is also an old time farmer, born and raised on our road, and is always eager to have someone to listen to his stories of the old days- it’s one of our forms of free entertainment here. There is also the progressive culture of Asheville not too far away, and always unique and interesting things to explore in the city.
Help
We have construction, animal husbandry, gardening and food processing projects which are ongoing through the warm season. Trail clearing of overgrown flora and stray trash is helpful year round! Firewood processing also takes up a large part of the spring and fall. We will have more projects accumulate as the farm expands!
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
French: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
Both Alex and I have a diverse background in language. He speaks Russian, Italian and Spanish (he is a middle school Spanish teacher). I speak French, Spanish and some Thai and Indonesian. We love languages and enjoy expanding our minds through using them!
Accommodation
Two years ago we renovated the top floor of one of our tobacco barns into a 3 season studio apartment (pictures of the space are in our photo gallery) with a potable spring water fed sink and kitchenette, a composting toilet, and a cozy living room, dining room and bedroom setup. A wood-heated shower (the shower is attached to our house with a separate entry way) is also available to use as well as a washing machine. There is no heating system in the barn.
We both enjoy cooking and look forward to sharing dinners together after work days (usually rice and beans, pasta, or some grain, occasionally meat, always with a vegetable or two) and will stock the kitchenette with all the essentials for the rest of the meals.
It’s rustic but cozy!
What else ...
Exploring the forests behind the house is a treasure we greatly appreciate and try to utilize as often as possible. The Pisgah National Forests surrounds us with trails, lookouts and scenic drives. The town of Hot Springs, which the Appalachian Trail passes through, is 30 minutes drive away. Our town of Marshall hosts music weekly, an outside farmers market and small tourist shops. The French Broad River is 15 minutes away with one of the most popular launches for whitewater rafting. The city of Asheville is an hour away and always has events and shows. Having transportation is required to get around, since we are at the end of a 7 mile road, in rural countryside. We also currently have limited WiFi, but fiber optic is on its way!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
We have limited flat ground on this property (as we live in the mountains) and cannot accommodate trailer-style housing. Vans and motorhomes are okay!
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
25 hours per week, 2 days off
Feedback (4)
This being our first Workaway experience, we did not know what to expect. Bri and Alex exceeded all our expectations of what a Workaway experience would/could be.
From the moment we arrived, they were extremely warm and welcoming. The property is tucked in the mountains of NC with endless trails and old log roads to… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
This being our first Workaway experience, we did not know what to expect. Bri and Alex exceeded all our expectations of what a Workaway experience would/could be.
From the moment we arrived, they were extremely warm and welcoming. The property is tucked in the mountains of NC with endless trails and old log roads to… read more
