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

Infos

• 

  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 12 and 14, and I also have a host daughter from Afghanistan who is with us during summer and school breaks. We are busy household with school and extra activities such as Shakespeare Theater rehearsals, cello lessons, and orchestra practice. The kids' father works as a solar installer during the week and works on projects here on weekends. During the week I work part time, garden, and do various home improvements. We are very involved volunteers for Afghan Scout Relief Fund (ASRF), and do as many fundraising and educational projects as we can to help Afghan students access education, including running a farmer's market stand on Fridays where we sell coffee, veggies and fruit we get from local farms. We are 100% volunteer, and the proceeds all go to ASRF. We also may do speaking presentations at churches, libraries, or other places to raise awareness of the dire situation for girls in Afghanistan. We also have two dogs: an older spaniel and a young Jack Russell Terrier.
  
  I am a Biofield Tuner, which is a type of Sound Therapy. I use special tuning forks in the body's electrical field to help people heal from trauma and emotional overload. During the day I usually have two clients, and I ask anyone home to be quiet while I am working. In the late afternoon I do kid stuff and make dinner. School is pretty far away, so I end up doing a lot of driving. I try to cook all organic food. Some of us are vegetarian and some eat meat., but the focus is on healthy eating, and we don't have processed food around.
  
  Our home is old and needs quite a bit of work. It is on a half acre, with lots to do! Our main focus right now is finishing a tiny house which is actually turning out to be not-so tiny! We would appreciate help from one or two volunteers who are interested in gardening and Farmer's Market to help the Afghan girls, or later towards fall, building and finishing work like flooring, finishing stairs, installing bathroom fixtures, baseboards, painting, and so on. You would work with Kit, my husband on the building, and with me on the gardening. Sometimes I can work side-by-side with you, and sometimes you might work on your own, but we can teach you if you are unfamiliar with the tasks. It's pretty quiet here, but we enjoy fun, enthusiastic self starters! Here are some things on our list:
  
  *finishing the tiny house in the backyard
  *finishing the mosaic walkway with flat rocks and river stones
  *scraping and repainting outdoor trim that is sun damaged
  *painting a couple of rooms
  *adding baseboards in the main house
  *garden clean up, weeding, and watering, which is ongoing
  *harvesting, and preserving fruit and veggies
  *making compost
  *constructing a cold frame with a winter cover
  *gathering manure for the compost pile
  *general yard clean up and organizing
  * digging out elm roots
  
  
  Let me know what skills and interests you have! Our priorities are building and gardening skills at the moment. If you have fundraising experience, that would be incredibly useful. There are many things I can teach, especially around gardening and my husband can teach building and "fixing" skills.
  
  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. We still have roofing, some interior dry-wall finishing, putting down flooring, installing the bathroom fixtures, sanding and varnishing the stairs, painting the soffits and interior, laying the water line, plastering, and landscaping and cleanup to do, Oh, and finishing the balcony and making an outdoor spiral staircase!
  
  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 would love to host a pair of friends or a couple who can share space 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.
  
  This is not a paid position, because we are volunteers ourselves. However, for people who are enthusiastic and need to make some money, sometimes we offer ourselves all as a team and do yard work for people in the city for a little spending money. And I can help connect you with people who need work done if you'd like to work in the community in your off-time.
  
  We are interested in your ideas and innovations!

• 

  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Bénévolat

  Projets artistiques

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général

  Aide informatique/internet
• 

  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  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.
  
  We are also quite active in supporting Afghan students who are transiting to the US for education, and you can become as involved as you want in that program. For instance, you could meet via Zoom with a student in Pakistan who can use practice in conversational English as they prepare for their F1 Visa interview, or you could fundraise or help prepare information for presentations or cultural events. My host daughter can teach you about Afghan customs and food, or teach you some Dari. She is Muslim, so if you wished you could accompany her to the Mosque, or learn about her customs from her.
  
  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.

• 

  Projets impliquant des enfants

  Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.

• 

  Aide

  I listed the projects we're working on above. I could also use some website/computer help if you have that skill.
  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. Innovative- we value your ideas and follow through! Be a friend of dogs! Building skills stupendous! Organizing abilities fantastic! Artistic nature would be helpful. Happy in nature and out of the city, because we're a half hour drive from Santa Fe. 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! Last but not least, we welcome people who clean up after themselves and leave things tidy.

• 

  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  My kids and I are interested in improving our Spanish, if there's an opportunity. And if you happen to be learning Dari and visit when my host daughter is here, I'm sure she could help you!
• 

  Hébergement

  At the moment we can offer tent camping, or to stay in the building we're working on, which is two story, so when we're working on one level we can have you stay on the other level. The bathroom is in the main house. We use a different one although we share the laundry which is in yours. We also welcome you to use our sun room, dining room, and patio. You have your own kitchen in the main house. 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, violin, ukes, and various percussion instruments. My son plays cello, so practicing happens daily, and I bet you could do a duet with him if you play piano or violin.
  
  Since we are a family home, it is important to know that our days start pretty early. In summer early morning is the best time to work outside, and come August, I'll be getting kids off to school early. A quiet bedtime for kids needs to happen around 8:30-9:00. during the school year. In summer we stay up a bit later. This is not a party place, so please, no alcohol, smoking, vaping, 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.
  
  Depending on your eating habits, we will sometimes eat together and sometimes you might cook and eat on your own. I provide quality vegetarian ingredients and eggs, and you can get creative. When schedules allow, and if our dietary preferences are in synch, we can collaborate and share creations. You will have your own fridge, stove, and food prep area for anything you wish to make. I provide staples, and if you want anything specific that I don't keep on hand, you are free to bring your own. We do ask that you provide a healthy example for the children and keep processed food and sweets to a minimum in the shared space!
  
  We share in clean up, dishes, sweeping/mopping the shared spaces, and cleaning the bathroom etc.

• 

  Autres infos...

  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 car or bike you can get to the nearby little lake or to the historic site, or you can bike to some fantastic mountain bike trails in the Forest with jumps and long looping trails. 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 in the wilderness, including high country lakes, if you are a backpacker. 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. 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 a great 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 plan for 4 or5 hours of work during each of the other 5 days. If you want to do a longer explore around the area or backpacking, we can arrange your schedule. The rest of your time is your own!

• 

  Informations complémentaires

  • 

    Accès Internet

  • 

    Accès Internet limité

  • 

    Nous avons des animaux

  • 

    Nous sommes fumeurs

  • 

    Familles bienvenues

• 

  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  We welcome digital nomads. I do turn the Wifi off at night though for sleeping in a low emf environment though, and the best wifi is in the main house shared space.

• 

  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

• 

  Nombre d'heures attendues

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

Feedback (1)