United States
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Cottage Build 2019 - COB / EARTHEN PLASTER: This summer is all about cobbing / earthen plaster! Our strawbale timber frame home has a lot of strawbale in-fill that needs to be plastered inside and out. First floor interior is done for now, so we are concentrating on the exterior, both ground floor and 2nd floor. If you enjoy scampering on scaffolds or if you prefer staying on the ground, there's plenty o' plastering for all! We use clay from our property + "waste" sand from a local quarry + fresh horse manure for our plaster. It is a peace-filled soothing experience. Learn about clay slip, clay plaster, and a little cob too.
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Other
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Language practice
Our family is constructing our home using natural building methods--timber framing, round wood framing, straw bale in-fill, cob, etc. Our off-grid homestead features sustainable living--solar power, passive solar home, greenhouse, food forest, hugelkulture, composting. Our lifestyle is sustainable by using locally-sourced building materials--trees, rocks, and clay from the build site, locally milled lumber, used windows and doors, used local slate for roofing. We encourage our volunteers to work with us in design and construction methods. We don't know everything, so we listen to the wealth of knowledge others have and implement solutions immediately.
Cobbing / clay plaster, low voltage (12v) wiring, grey water plumbing
English, some French
We have 2 options--camp on our 31 acres or we also have a guest room that sleeps 2. There are numerous camp sites near the build site which offer privacy.
We will provide meals. We have a privy as well as some composting toilets. We can provide sleeping bags and pillows, as well as tents. We also have an unfinished 2nd floor of our house that can be used in bad weather only since we are working to complete that space.
We are in the heart of the Green Mountains with the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail only a few minutes away sporting Vermont's second highest Peak--Killington Peak. Our property is 31 acres of heavily forested hills with streams, boulders, and plenty of wildlife. Hiking and exploring are strongly recommended. Skiing, snowboarding & snowshoeing available. There is an abundance of streams, lakes, mountains, and hills nearby. Historic sites. Covered bridges. Farmers markets. Museums.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
More than two
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
