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Évaluation d'hôte
100 %
Last replied
2 oct. 2025
Taux de réponse
100.0 %
Usually responds ≤ 2 jours
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23
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Infos
Description
Hello! We are a small organic berry farm & hiker rest stop in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. We love to grow berries and vegetables while also helping backpackers who visit us off the Appalachian Trail.
For the past several decades, this small farm has been popular with locals (who pick our berries - blueberries, raspberries, currants, elderberries, gooseberries, cranberries, etc.) and Appalachian Trail thru-hikers looking for a place to relax and replenish. We provide freshly baked cookies and cold homemade drinks for free to the hikers who stop by. With permission, we allow backpackers to tent on our spacious lawn or sleep on our beds (especially when the weather is bad) in the airplane hangar if we have space. AT hikers know us and seem eager to stop at our farm since we have been long time “trail angels” in our area going all the way back to the first Cookie Lady (Marilyn and Roy Wiley) in 1985. We also sell blueberries and other berries at local farmers' markets and make preserves, both with blueberries and other berries we grow. Our vegetables are grown in our Hugelkultur garden beds in a sustainable no-till style.
There's always a lot to do, and we welcome people who want to pitch in, especially those who are enthusiastic about gardening.
Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre
Projets artistiques
Aide avec des éco-projets
Jardinage
Bricolage et construction
Aide dans une ferme
Cuisine/repas pour la famille
Aide à la maison
Entretien général
Home sitting
Centres d’intérêt
Événements/vie sociale
Dev. durable
Animaux de compagnie
Culture
Vie en van
Films et télé
Ferme
Photographie
Musique
Livres
Bricolage / artisanat
Histoire
Soin des plantes
Art et design
Jardinage
Cuisine et alimentation
Dessin et peinture
Animaux
Randonnée
Activités en plein air
Montagne
Camping
Nature
Yoga / bien-être
Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre
Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre
Each day during the summer, you'll meet many new people as they make the small detour from their Appalachian Trail hiking to visit our property. They come from all over the country and world & appreciate our hospitality. We are known as “Cookie Lady 2.0” to these backpackers. It's easy to strike up a conversation and make a new friend who you would otherwise never have met. During blueberry season (mid-July to early September), there are also plenty of locals and travelers who come to pick our berries. With our expanding five-person family and two dogs on top of all of this, it's really never lonely here. The Berkshires are also full of artistic and cultural events.
You'll also learn about our small-scale, homesteading-style operation. We grow our berries and vegetables organically and love sharing the practices that we have found effective. We could teach you about the wild edible plants in the October Mountain State Forest surrounding our property and show you our favorite spots in the nearby mountain towns, whether you're looking to hike, swim, dine, or enjoy arts & culture.
Projets impliquant des enfants
Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.
Aide
Regular tasks include watering/weeding the gardens, greeting hikers, preparing and providing cold drinks/cookies, mowing, weed-whacking, splitting/stacking firewood, and doing the dishes generated by the hikers. There are also plenty of larger projects around our farm, like stonewalls that we are building and putting together a new cabin/shop that was recently constructed. And we're always thinking of landscaping & art projects (like sign making) to make our property more beautiful & welcoming.
We do earn an humble income from our berry operation, so we do not expect help with picking berries or maintaining the patches.
Langues parlées
Anglais: Courant
Hébergement
We have a mini-bus with two built-in beds. The bus has been decorated with colorful fabric and lots of decoupaged birds on the ceiling and walls (see photos). It's not anything fancy, but it's relatively private and the beds have memory foam mattresses and also loads of blankets, pillows, and curtains. We have a few cubicle bedrooms set up in our airplane hangar that could also be used. You could also camp on our property. We'd provide meals, which we often share with hikers who complete chores for us, and give you access to our house's shower/kitchen/laundry, but we primarily expect our helpers to use the Porta-Potty which is cleaned once per week.
There is no WiFi, but there is strong LTE reception with T-Mobile & Verizon (we use our smartphone's hotspot to stream Netflix on our laptops regularly, for instance).
Autres infos...
We're located in Berkshire County, which is a popular tourist destination with an abundance of arts, culture, and outdoor recreation attractions a short drive away. While our farm is surrounded by state forest (October Mountain’s 16K acres) and at an elevation of 2,000 feet, we're a 15-30 minute drive from attractions like Mass MoCA, Tanglewood, Waconah Falls, Kripalu, The Clark, Mount Greylock, Herman Melville’s and Edith Wharton's home, and the Norman Rockwell Museum.
We're also located right on the Appalachian Trail for those who want to hike, and there are pristine lakes and streams surrounding our secluded property.
Informations complémentaires
Accès Internet
Accès Internet limité
Nous avons des animaux
Nous sommes fumeurs
Familles bienvenues
Espace pour garer des vans
Cet hôte a de la place pour les vans.
Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux
Dogs are okay if they are low-key and don't mind some slightly territorial but ultimately friendly golden retrievers.
Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?
Deux
Mes animaux
Three Dogs: Brick, Huggie Bear, and Daphne
Discutez avec des workawayers qui ont séjourné chez cet hôte
Feedback (11)
There were a lot of hikers on the trails passing through and so many new people to talk to!
Lots to do and… read more
I already have plans to go back in March.
When you are going to… read more
Photos
Discutez avec des workawayers qui ont séjourné chez cet hôte
Feedback
Ce sont des évaluations supplémentaires en option lorsque les membres laissent un feedback. La note moyenne pour chaque option est affichée.
Exactitude du profil:
(4.9)
Échange culturel:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
There were a lot of hikers on the trails passing through and so many new people to talk to!
Lots to do and… read more
I already have plans to go back in March.
When you are going to… read more
Painting the shed, making tea bags, moving things from house to shop, and preparing garden beds were among the many things they did while at our farm. They worked hard and did a fine job on… read more
The work we did was chill and consisted of weeding out the vegetable… read more
No matter what the task was, Ava was… read more
Harry worked hard every day and matter the task he did it well. He painted our shed as well as a 6 foot tall metal spiral staircase… read more
Ruth and Michael, who own the house and farm, are very welcoming and communicative. If you aren't from New England, you'll get to see the… read more
Mary Grace was more than willing to help with any task.… read more
The farm itself and the surroundings are so beautiful and peaceful. There are so many learning opportunities here as Ruth knows so much about plants and… read more
