Help create gardens and with a tiny house project near the Pecos Wilderness of New Mexico, USA

Details

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  Description

  Hi all! We are a family in beautiful Pecos, New Mexico, about 30 minutes outside Santa Fe. Our home is in a fairly rural area close to the Pecos River and the Pecos Wilderness area, where people come from all over to fish and hike. This is also a popular area for mountain biking, so if you are a biker, you should probably bring your bike!
  
  I am an older mom of two kids, age 11 and 13. We are pretty busy with school and extra activities such as Shakespeare Theater group rehearsals and cello lessons. The kid's father works as a solar installer during the week and works on projects here on weekends. During the week I'm doing projects on my own and working part time at home. We also have three dogs: an older spaniel, a young Jack Russell Terrier, and a young Siberian Husky, and a one-eyed cat. During winter vacation we will also be hosting a high school girl from Afghanistan.
  
  I am a Biofield Tuner which is a type of Sound Therapy, and use sound, special tuning forks, and invocation to help people heal from trauma and emotional overload. During the day I usually have two or three clients and also work on projects and home improvement in between. In the late afternoon I do kid stuff and make dinner. Three nights a week I take kids to rehearsal. I cook all organic food and make either grass fed beef dishes or vegetarian/vegan, depending.
  
  Our home is old and needs quite a bit of work. It is on a half acre, with lots to do! I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and hope to find some help from fun, enthusiastic self starters! Here are some things on our list:
  
  *training dogs and dog walking
  *fencing the backyard
  *building a tiny house in the backyard
  *making a mosaic walkway with flat rocks and river stones
  *scraping and repainting trim that is sun damaged
  *painting a couple of rooms
  * adding baseboards
  *garden clean up, weed eating, and weeding
  *cutting up dead wood from around the place
  *making compost
  *constructing a raised garden bed with a winter cover
  *gathering manure for the compost pile
  *planting garlic
  *general yard clean up and organizing
  *making a stone entryway for the driveway
  *planting trees
  *organizing a wood shop/repair shop for my son to work on projects like rebuilding a dirt bike, which is his dream
  * digging out elm roots
  *help design/create an outdoor mural
  
  Let me know what skills and interests you have! There are many things I can teach, especially around the gardening things and healing, and on some things we would both be learning! The kid's dad is a great builder and has a store of knowledge for building, electrical, and general fix-it. We hope to finish the tiny house as soon as possible. Right now the foundation is nearly completed. He will be milling the wood for it himself at a family timber mill, and framing it before long. A person with some basic building skills and interest could learn framing, sheeting, insulating, roofing, building stairs, and finishing, as well as interior things like dry wall, electrical, and some plumbing.
  
  I want to be clear that work and kids take up a bunch of my time, so although I can work together with a volunteer part of the day, I have to get you started and then go on to my work. I am hoping for a pair of friends or a couple who can share the room and work together to make it fun and enjoy companionship when I'm engaged or running up and down the road getting kids from school.
  
  I am interested in your ideas and innovations!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We live in a historic rural area near the Pecos Historic site, which was a Native American pueblo community that later became colonized by the Spanish, who built a mission there. The area remains a historic site, and the two cultures remain a part of our community, which is largely Spanish, and Catholic. We welcome people of all nationalities with loving, open hearts. Nearby Santa Fe is one of the most famous art centers in the United States and has many museums, art galleries, and theaters. It is famous for it's pueblo-style architecture and iconic art history.
  
  Additionally, we are learning Spanish, so welcome Spanish-speaking people so we can practice! We are also happy to help those learning English refine their language skills.
  
  I am also devoted to the Earth and love Plant and Nature Spirits, and we welcome people who want to learn about connecting with the spirit of nature, which is part of our human ancestry.
  
  Part of the year we will be hosting an Afghan student. I am passionate about social justice and educational rights for girls.

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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

  I listed the projects we're working on above.
  Skills and qualities you might offer are: be friendly, honest, and personable, and understanding with kids. Willing to use a shovel, get dirty, and do mundane chores like weeding and digging. Digging out elm roots takes some perseverance! Be a friend of dogs- dog training experience is awesome! Building skills stupendous! Organizing abilities fantastic! Artistic nature would be helpful. Happy in nature and out of the city. Able to work alone or with your pal if you came with someone. Respect for and connection with Nature is a real plus. It's helpful if you're not bugged by early risers... we get up around 6:00 am to get ready for school, and it's hard to keep kids quiet!

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  We offer a room for workawayers. It is 17' x 11', heated with a wood stove, furnished with a queen bed, table and chairs, and some drawers. If needed we could switch out the bed to a bunk bed with a full on the bottom and twin on top. Ideally we would like to find a couple or pair of friends to share the room. The bathroom is nearby, we use a different one although we share the laundry which is in yours. We also welcome you to use our sun room and patio. You would have your own kitchen. We have Wifi. We occasionally do movies in the living room, though not on school nights when they can interfere with homework and musical practice. We have a piano, drum, and various percussion instruments. My son plays cello and coronet, so there is practicing happening, and I bet you could do a piano/cello duet with him.
  
  Since we are a family home, it is important to know that our days start early for school (6:00 am) and a quiet bedtime for kids needs to happen around 8:30-9:00. This is in no way a party place, so please, no alcohol, smoking, or recreational drugs.
  
  During the days when I have clients, it needs to be quiet during my sessions, and I will post a schedule of when that is.
  
  Most days I can include you in family meals. I provide oatmeal with peanut butter and honey, fruit, and herb tea in the mornings. On weekends we might do pancakes or something more fancy. For lunches you are on your own with beans and rice, veggies, eggs, etc, and can create what you wish. I will generally make something yummy for dinner or we will agree to collaborate and share creations. You will have your own fridge, stove, and food prep area for anything additional you wish to make. I provide staples, and if you want anything specific that I don't have on hand, you are free to purchase it yourself, such as coffee, milk, cheese etc. We do ask that you provide a healthy example for the children and not go wild with processed food or sweets in the shared space!
  
  We share in clean up, dishes, sweeping/mopping the shared spaces, and cleaning the bathroom etc. I am finicky about having the shared space be clean and picked up so that when my clients arrive for a treatment, things look professional and their sessions happen in a quiet environment.

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  What else ...

  For time off, you can walk to the river and fish, or swim if you are brave enough to go in the cold water! If you have a bike you can get to the lake or historic site, or you can bike to the Mountain Bike trails on the Forest. There is also a lake nearby. The community is friendly and the tiny town center and river are within walking distance from our house. There are many places to hike and explore up the river toward the wilderness, and during the winter the Santa Fe ski area is within reach if you have a car. It will probably snow a few times in the late fall, but during the days it warms up.
  For many places of interest, it takes a car or public transportation, which is limited. If you choose to venture into Santa Fe, there is a hostel there and public transportation for exploring the city. That's a good place to hear music, go to museums, events, theater, and restaurants. When I am going anyway I am happy to take riders along, but I can't make special trips. There is a bus that comes to a stop about 10 minutes away a few times a day, and I am happy to take or pick up people from the bus stop as long as the timing doesn't interfere with clients of kid's pick-up schedules.
  
  If you stay here during days off, it is the place to watch the stars, meditate, go to the river, walk with the dogs, work on art projects or other creative things, or read. Pecos is a pretty quiet place!
  
  We will be working on projects on weekends, so days off will be during the week. We give 2 days off and expect 5 hours of work during each of the other 5 days. The rest of your time is your own!

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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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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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