Diverse opportunities to WWOOF on two farms in Great Smoky Mountains
Tennessee
We are 5 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, one of the most biologically diverse forests in the country, this experience combines volunteer opportunities on two separate farms in the same area. The first farm, located on old hindu ashram, is nestled into a beautiful mountain holler with delicious spring water. Run by 39 year old activist, community organizer, river guide, yogi, and lover of life, the farm grows a variety of veggies, a young orchard, and we work to upkeep several houses and cabins. We strive towards self sustenance, not marketing, with our gardens. Work here involves gardening, food preservation, construction projects, and house maintenance.
Current goals involve outdoor shower construction, herb production, orchard maintenance, farmhouse renovation, developing a better compost system, firewood gathering and chopping, soil building, invasive species removal, and landscaping projects. Volunteers here stay in a peaceful a meditation cabin by the creek or the farmhouse and take hot showers in the farmhouse/shared laundy room. Sometimes you will volunteer and apprentice to a master mechanic and junk collector. This place is a sort of unique recyclery with the concept of buy less, reuse more. Work here will involve auto and machinery mechanics, house repair, and helping our eccentric mechanic move this delightful 'junk' to his new farm down the road. You'll have oil lamps, candles, a comfy bed, a beautiful space to inhabit, outhouse, and access to all the things you need. Our mechanic does live in a junk yard which is really quite a dirty mess and probably different from anything you've ever experienced before. Patience is a key ingredient to working with this awesome mechanic. He works very slowly.
The veggie farm is different from the junkyard, its cleaner and more comfortable We need folks to come out who are creative, motivated, and positive. The place is really secluded from town, etc. Having a car is necessary You must be able to deal with spending some of the time (but not all of it), alone in a beautiful setting. Sometimes there are several woofers, sometimes not. We work, play, and hang in a nearby whitewater rafting community. We also make regular trips for city life to nearby Asheville, North Carolina and Knoxville, TN
Our guests are asked for 20 hours a week of participation in projects and activities.
We provide all the staples to make 3 meals per day along with farm lodging. Spring, summer, and fall are the busiest times for work in the year. A car is required to visit the farm, unfortunately we are too rural to host someone without transportation. Please know that an in person phone call with you before I can approve your request. We speak english but its okay if yours is not very good. We are omnivores but can host vegetarians and try to keep meals quite healthy. We don’t host cats as our dogs are not cat friendly. I am open to hosting dogs. The area is steeped in Appalachian outlaw and moonshine culture. We are pagan leftists that vote democratic. We hate fascism. Free Palestine and Abolish ICE. We are LQBT friendly and open minded to diversity. We have an awesome network of friends (rainbow family, activists, artists and outdoors folk) . I've heard it said that if you come here to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee you're bound to leave a piece of your heart behind when you leave
. Come check out my Tennessee Mountain Home!
Certifications: non certified organic
Internet access available, Verizon coverage but not most other networks, I do not accept families with kids under 10 years old due to safety issues .
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Permaculture
Mentoring opportunities
Woman-operated
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
Former WWOOFer
4.5
Hectares
|
11
Acres
Amelia
Member since 2014
Languages spoken:
English
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 6 days
Tennessee
Knoxville TN
Reviews
Francesca
United States
•
November 2025
Amelia was a super generous host and interesting and passionate woman. She provided us with more than enough food and she is an excellent cook and we shared many lovely meals together. She also is part of a very vibrant community full of eccentric people. She went out of her way to include us in her various activities including a witch float, protests, and other gatherings.
We were here at the very end of the growing season when most of the gardens had been shut down so the work load was pretty light. We did some weeding, tilling, and other property maintenance chores. We would suggest others come visit earlier in the year for more gardening projects and due to weather concerns. The accommodation provided is not heated and is quite old and rustic. We both unfortunately are sensitive to mold so we were unable to stay in the farmhouse due to health concerns and spent our month there in a tent.
Also shout out to her bloodhound Doyle, he’s an absolute gem if you can look past the drool.
Read more
Lucinda
United States
•
November 2024
Amelia's farm is amazing! The property is beautiful with various trails while in the mountains. The work consisted of weeding, planting and managing crops, using organic fertilizers/pesticides, and greenhouse duties, with other various tasks to keep you busy for the week. Amelia herself is very laidback, fun to talk too, and has many kind friends for you to get to know. We were able to do online college while WWOOFING for the first time, meaning you'll have plenty of free time (once your chores are done!). Recommended for anyone to come!
Read more
Mariah
United States
•
July 2022
We had an awesome stay here. Amelia and Johnny were super welcoming and friendly and even took us white water rafting and to a protest in Knoxville. We learned how to use a tiller, planted squash seeds, weeded, sprayed neem oil, harvested, and watered. The living accommodations are very rustic and comfortable, overall we felt restored after our 2 week stay here and learned a lot about organic farming. We would highly recommend it here, plus it is a beautiful property.
Read more
Mollie
United States
•
July 2022
Amelia and Jonny were great hosts and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in The Smoky Mountains! Lots of peaceful garden work interspersed with time in the National Park and white water rafting with Amelia. They are flexible with hours and helpful with teaching new skills in the garden. A lovely place to be!
Caroline Schnabl and
United States
•
January 2021
Amelia and Jonny were wonderful hosts at the Junk and Grow! We had such a good time working around their property, building blackberry trellises, cleaning leaves from the roofs, composting gardens with old corn stalks, laying down mulch for a walking path, and taking care of their six chickens. We also had the pleasure of working with Mike from the junkyard where we moved an old school bus up a mountain holler. It was truly a magical and unforgettable experience! He is quite the character, and his junkyard is full of goodies if you love old cars and great stories. Amelia and Jonny took us whitewater rafting through the rapids which was also an unforgettable experience! We learned a lot about how they create and manage their veggie gardens, and got to experience their wonderful cooking as well. They are extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and our time spent with them was stress free and fun! The farmhouse was a perfect rustic getaway from modern society. We used the wood-burning stove to keep us warm every night, and we were perfectly at home the minute we moved in. The five dogs on the property are also a pleasure and they are the perfect helpers! :) We definitely plan on coming back one summer where we can raft and work with them some more. We can't wait to go back!
Read more
