Energetic and positive helpers welcome our homestead in Honoka'a, Hawaii, USA

Infos

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  Description

  Aloha iā ʻoukou!
  **We have an immediate need; scheduled guest changed his plans
  
  
  We are a couple in our late 50s who have been stewarding this land for four years. We work hard, relax hard, and enjoy the good company of curious, artistic, witty, strong, passionate, sane, humane learners and teachers. We like to be around people whose relationship to land, soil and purposeful physical effort is at the center of daily life. *More active hosting on our part, and reviews of these fine peoplesʻ experience here can be found at that .... other agricultural work exchange site :-)
  
  We seek to host learners and doers who are committed to developing new skills, practicing conscious and clear communication, and being open to what the land has to teach us all. We want to work alongside focused and self-aware people with whom to share the process of cooperative, productive and creative endeavors. We arenʻt looking for a transactional relationship or simply offering travelers cheap accommodation in exchange for labor.
  
  We're looking for motivated & energetic people to help us tend our flourishing 5 acres: cultivating seeds, cuttings, stock for green manure, and planting trees for a diverse edible, native and habitat forest; taking care of hedgerows and windbreaks, vegetable gardens and new plantings of long-term fruit and native tree orchards.
  
  We also have a strong current need for help in completing some infrastructural tasks : sanding and other painting prep; basic construction or unskilled / learning support for construction; landscape building and miscellaneous creative solution-finding.
  
  In the process we hope to offer good hospitality, company and mentorship.
  
  The farm is not yet a commercial or income-producing operation though we have a small CSA in the works. We both have other jobs: movement educator/Rolfer/Thai Massage therapist and carpenter/builder. However, for this year we're taking on minimal hours on outside clients and projects, just to cover some bills. Our energy is 99% focused on our land as a personal homestead, and a Workaway helper can expect us to be working right alongside them. In 3-5 years we may have the capacity to start a small nursery operation or grow medicinal or food plants for specialty markets, but that is still in the future.
  
  Our 5-acre land on the Hamakua Coast of Hawai'i Island has been home to many intensive agricultural operations over the past decades, including a rose farm (before cut flower production moved to South America), an anthurium/orchid farm, vegetables, eucalyptus seedling nursery, and cow grazing. Many of these uses have been extractive and hard on the land. The nursery propagation in particular left a lot of rubbish to clean up. Most recently neglect allowed existing fruit trees to die, fences to fall, and water lines to break. We've been working steadily to repair everything and are planting cover crop, food and ornamental plants almost every day.
  
  Helpers would be expected to help us with the creative and regenerative tasks of preparing the ground for new plantings, planting food & nitrogen-fixing trees, tending existing trees and helping in the garden & propagation area as well as with the rehab tasks (clean-up of agricultural debris on the land, which is mostly down to manageable items like old sections of pipe, buckets, nursery pots, small pieces of broken fencing etc. but which we want to be meticulous about).
  
  There are so many projects to do, so apart from the essential tasks of cleaning & preparing the land for planting (which is our top priority), we hope helpers will have choices about where to help according to their interests and skills.
  
  There are always a lot of tasks that are not directly plant- or soil-related, such as construction projects, so we also welcome people with skills to help us accomplish these. They include things like building trellises for vines, building propagation tables, etc. And of course, the work of caring for an old house.
  
  Our work these past years has been that of approaching the blank slate and imagining the future. It's the work of initiating, planning, envisioning; and also of repairing, restoring and replenishing. It's not yet the work of "listening to the sound of fruit dropping" though thatʻs happening more and more! We've been cleaning up the land, removing derelict structures and preparing soil. We look for helpers who are willing to learn this phase of farmsteading, to gain the experience of entering onto raw or damaged land in order to participate in soil-building & planting for diversity. Anyone who has the vision & enthusiasm for the hard tasks of Beginning is welcome!
  
  
  PLEASE NOTE
  We ask that prospective helpers read through the following and make sure that they’re OK with making these agreements with us:


  - To bring their own work gloves, work boots or closed-toe shoes and sturdy work pants. This is a requirement. We want everyone to be safe and protected when helping. Even though this is Hawaii, we don’t only wear shorts and sandals in the field, though of course that’s totally fine if appropriate. Pulling out old fencing = protective work clothing required. Sowing seed trays = dress as you like!


  - To abstain from cannabis, tobacco, and all recreational drugs and alcohol during their stay with us. We really mean this and we really appreciate your respecting this request.


  - To understand that we don’t live by the beach, and that we don’t have good public transportation here. On days off, travel to the beach or any other recreational areas would be your responsibility, though we would be happy to help as we can and share rides when we go that way. 


  - To have a clear plan for departure day and to communicate with clarity throughout our time together about any thing important such as need to change plans, etc.

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  We're hard-working but fun-loving people who have a strong motivation to bring more health, beauty & diversity to this land. We like to eat well, read, discuss and learn; we like to hike, go to the ocean, play and balance effort with rest. Between the two of us we have extensive gardening, farming and homebuilding experience. Our ask is for some dedicated help in taking our land to the next step, and our intention is to build relationships that will allow helpers to feel welcomed, appreciated and rewarded as they take part in caring for this Island.
  
  Update November 2024
  
  We're working on a project basis at the moment. There are so many things to that require a team. We would like to host people who want to stay a while, pitch in fully and whole-heartedly, and be part of a many-hands effort that accomplishes a lot in a short time. Some recent examples are seed-collecting, planting cuttings, demolishing an interior wall, converting a goat pen into an orchard, building an outdoor shower, painting windows, installing gates, planting a new orchard section, etc.
  
  Eventually we may be able to offer longer-term farmstays or apprenticeships with extended learning, but at the moment we prefer short term.
  
  Update January 2024:
  
  We're opening up new areas of the farm after having established many hundreds of pioneer shrubs and trees. Abundant banana, papaya, avocado, pumpkin and garden vegetables are now in our diet. Many other trees are getting closer to fruiting in 2024/2025. We trade for taro and bake a lot of bread.
  
  We continue to propagate new plants all the time & are focusing on the following projects this spring:
  - new native forest area (3 zones already planted) / maintain existing zones
  - continuing syntropic experiments with cassava (yuca) as the main food anchor
  - building help needed!! lanai roof extension, machine shed, tent platform and making brand new outdoor stairs to the garden
  
  Update July 2023:
  
  The indoor guest space is now available and we have an immediate need for assistance on the farm and will consider any motivated & mature workawayers (single or couple of people) who are interested. Focus on planting, plant propagation and development of new planting areas. Hard but rewarding work, reasonable expectations, lots to learn and good vibes.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Pratique d’une langue

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide dans une ferme

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général
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  Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

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  Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  We have both lived, traveled and worked extensively abroad, and have received so much hospitality & kindness from our hosts in other countries. Our freedom to travel has with changed with our commitment to the land, and Covid has transformed the landscape for many of us, but we are still as curious & eager as before to connect with other people from around the world. We would like to offer our own hospitality & welcome to our helpers through the sharing of mentorship, collaboration, friendship, good meals (and recreational outings together if it works out.) What we can share are our skills in farming & gardening, building, eco-projects and farm management.
  
  We speak English, Spanish and French.

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  Aide

  - Care for existing and expanding vegetable, herb and flower gardens; fruit tree orchards; permaculture food forests, native forest planting, windbreaks, biomass rows and more
  - Propagate (in temporary propagation areas and on site): many varieties of vegetables green manure plants; food & habitat trees
  - Build rock retaining walls with larger rocks removed from planting areas
  - Plant: nitrogenous & other fast-growing biomass trees, diverse cover crops, fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers.
  - Install pond & Plant pond area
  - Weed / prune: existing trees of low utility or that are shading growing areas; noxious weeds
  - Clean the land of agricultural debris and waste left by previous users. 1 acre has been fully cleared and the remaining 4 acres have varying degrees of need.
  - Build: permanent shade/greenhouse & propagation area; goat shed; stairway on steep slope
  - Establish large composting area with multiple piles
  - We're always doing ongoing work restoring the 1966 house: sanding, scraping, painting, repairing windows and screens, etc.

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Espagnol: Courant
  Français: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  We speak Spanish, French and English. Slowly but study working on study of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.
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  Hébergement

  A nice room in our house with its own bathroom (currently occupied by other volunteer spring 2024); large 11 x 14 comfortable tent under permanent waterproof canopy in camping meadow.
  We can offer indoor accommodations. Helpers can also tent camp with their own tent if they prefer.

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  Autres infos...

  The Hawai'i of tourist brochures is a poor reflection of the Island's true essence. Yes, Hawai'i is rich in natural beauty, walking & hiking opportunities, ocean, mountains and forests. Its cultural traditions are profoundly earth-based and should be respected & honored. What helpers do in their time off is only limited by their energy & interests. Public transport is regular but not extensive. We may be able to help. We love to walk & to explore.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  Internet is fine for us.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  Let's discuss whether this can work. Hookups are not available.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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  Mes animaux

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