A rare farm in the city of Chicago, GlennArt Farm provides experiences with goats, sustainability
Illinois
For this year 2025
All woofers who wish stay at our home as guest/volunteers, must provide us with two (2) references, one personal and one professional (work related relationship). Please forward this information as a telephone number, or email. It would be helpful if the person providing the reference speaks or writes in English; however we do speak Spanish.
We provide a rare opportunity to work on an urban farm in the city of Chicago. We coordinate our efforts with the Root Riot Community Garden on the west side of Chicago. Our farm, while a tiny lot size, includes a pasture area within 100 meters. We keep goats, gardens and are working on an edible forest gardengardens. Our focus is to maintain an organic approach in our feed and health needs of our livestock. We have a rooms (small and nice) with furniture for one person or an attic for two to three persons. We currently contract international students in the house. I am bilingual in Spanish and English. If the volunteer wishes to cook his/her own food, the use of the kitchen is available. We are looking for help six hours per day, five days a week. OUR REQUEST IS THREE (3) MONTHS OF VOLUNTEER WORK. We feel that a WWOOF may accomplish more projects, become accustomed to work shifts and provide us with more continuous help.
Work includes: management of composting materials , forage crops on other small lots in the city, community garden clean up, planting and maintenance. Planting, weeding, preparation in winter/spring/summer.
1. I have currently rent rooms in our home for income. We are an airbnb and homestay as well as a WWOOF host. We have a designated WWoof room but also Wwoofers have stayed in one of our other seven bedrooms. Each room comes with a bed, closet, desk, lamp, airconditioner in summer/special downyblankets in winter (yes we have heat as well). We provide sheets and setup asking volunteers to manage their own bedding laundry and room cleanup. We share a bathroom with several people as well as available half bath.
2 I need a person for at least three months. I usually start with a two week initiation phase with an exit plan for both parties3. I would request some references, in the United States or abroad who can send information about your background.
4. We enjoy volunteers from all walks of life and hope that we are hospitable.
5. We maintain a no smoking, drug free home, which includes vaping. We are NOT 420 friendly. Any occurance of legal weed on our property will be asked to cease or leave.
March/April/May/June/July/ August/September we could use 2-3 volunteers with pasture development project. Talents that are helpful to us include carpentry, working outdoors, previous farm work, fencing and livestock experience.
Organic methods: Non chemical, composting, herbal livestock care.
Current projects: Edible Forest Garden takes up our time outside regular care of goats . We are also developing a pasture / paddock area that will be turned into a park.
We plant native species for pollinator on our property and at the community garden which is shared with us as a pasture /paddock area.
Internet access available
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Learning opportunities
Fruit or nut farming
Sheep or goat farming
Forestry
Flower farming
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Methods or systems
Biodynamic agriculture
Holistic management
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Mentoring opportunities
Woman-operated
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
0.2
Hectares
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0.5
Acres
Carolyn
Member since 2014
Languages spoken:
English, Spanish
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 2 days
Illinois
We are between O'Hare and Midway both accessible via local train. Our house sits closer to the Austin Station on the green line
Reviews
Freddy
United States
•
April 2026
Si, visitamos y la pasamos muy bien, la anfitriona fue muy amable y educada, nos dio información, hicimos algunos trabajos y en general fue una buena experiencia, gracias totales
Fernanda
United States
•
May 2024
As my first time WWOOFing, this experience with Carolyn and David was perfect, as I was able to get hands-on experience with many projects, and community roles and learn a lot more about the lands and plants! Our labor, no matter how novice one was, was always appreciated and opportunities to give all of ourselves to the work abound. Highly recommend this farm experience to those who are hardworking and open-minded! Look forward to going back in the future!
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Annemarie
United States
•
May 2024
Incredible experience! I ended up staying longer than intended. They are flexible and fun to work with. I am super grateful for my first WWOOFing experience to be here!
Andrew
United States
•
May 2024
Carolyn and David are incredible hosts! Their care and love for their goats, pets, plants, and neighbors is outstanding. I had an amazing time at their small farm, and thoroughly enjoyed the people, animals, and home that they've shared. I would highly recommend it to any other first-timers!
Amy
United States
•
August 2023
Staying with Carolyn and David for two months this past spring and learning from them was such a joy! I was sad to miss kidding season and learning to milk, but did get to feed the goats, herd them down the alley, muck stalls, snuggle mini goats, work in the community garden, learn about chickens, and generally learn more about what it looks like to care for animals in a very urban area looks like! It was really encouraging to see all that Carolyn and David accomplish with the space they have and how connected to the community they are - it can be a little chaotic at times, especially the communication piece as they are always connecting with numerous people and have lots of balls in the air, but both Carolyn and David were generous with their time, home, and knowledge and were definitely mentor figures for me. As long as you can be a little adaptable this is a wonderful place to be! Can't wait to visit again!
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Hannah
United States
•
July 2022
In my time at Glennart Farm, my hard skills grew exponentially. I truly believe if you can milk, muck, and move goats between different pastures then you can accomplish almost anything else you set your mind to. Carolyn and David have experienced so much in their lives and it is truly inspiring. It was refreshing to see how much thought was put into the needs of the goats when there are so many factory farms that do the exact opposite. Working hard everyday was regenerative for the soul, so I highly recommend coming here if you need that in your life. Carolyn showed me several plants and how to identify them, something I am very grateful for and what I think is a lost art. At the end of the day make sure to set aside time for self care, the hard work is rewarding but it is important to have balance.
The neighborhood of Austin is a fantastic place, so if you stay make sure to bike around and check out Chef Daddy's, the Economy shop, and all of the amazing parks. Don't be afraid to push yourself out of your comfort zone and bike around the city, the biking infrastructure is to die for, not literally. Wear a helmet. Carolyn and David also bike so they know a lot of enjoyable routes and what to look out for when commuting. They also have several bikes you can borrow. If you'd like to buy your own I recommend Working Bikes in Pilsen.
As someone who is pursuing a life in urban farming I believe this is a great taste of what that lifestyle is like.
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