We live in a two-acre clearing in the foothills of the Green Mountains in Southern Vermont. Beautiful hiking trails weave through the mostly-hardwood forest and connect our house to a college campus and the little village of Marlboro, Vermont. In July and August we walk through the woods to the world-class concerts of the Marlboro Music Festival. Sometimes we host private chamber music concerts at the house as well. Another trail brings us to the shores of South Pond where we swim and canoe and visit with friends.
Our spacious sunny home is solar-powered and heated with firewood from our forest. We began the long-term project of clearing land and building the house in 2010. With the timber-frame house mostly finished, we are now focusing on growing vegetables in raised beds, tending a perennial herb garden, and establishing an "edible forest"" of fruit and nut trees, flowering shrubs, and companion plants that attract pollinators. Permaculture principles guide the design and process.
We are also enjoying the pleasures of caring for twin daughters, born in November 2014. Our eleven-year-old golden retriever, Frieda, and twin cats Ella and Stella are the other lively and affectionate indoor members of our family; chicken are arriving in April. (With the various animals, we are sorry to say we no longer are able to accept WWOOFers accompanied by animal companions.)
Workshops and gatherings occasionally take place on our screen porch and our meditation room is used for yoga, chi gong, sitting meditation, and other restorative practices. (WWOOF volunteers sometimes teach yoga classes for our community there.) We like to host volunteers who enjoy group work projects, swimming in the pond, and singing around the campfire. Volunteers can choose to sleep in a guest room in our home or to tent outside. Meals are shared together in the main house and everyone is welcome to the indoor shower, dining room, living room, and meditation room. The house is universally accessible. We can accommodate any dietary needs with advanced notice. Our house has internet access but no landline. One host speaks German and Tibetan; the other knows a bit of Swedish. The twins love to listen to all of the languages our WWOOFers speak. We ask guests to stay for a minimum of two weeks.
Work projects depend on the seas. In the spring, there is getting the gardens ready, planting, sometimes splitting and stacking wood, occasionally working on small building projects, planting trees and shrubs, etc. Summer is caring for the gardens, harvesting, weeding, sometimes splitting and stacking wood, and other projects that come along. There is one pond near the house for cooling off and another larger lake nearby for swimming and canoeing. In the fall season we are harvesting vegetables, splitting and stacking firewood, making sauerkraut and apple sauce, planting trees and native shrubs, maintaining hiking trails, etc,. Throughout the year we are also playing with our twin girls and having adventures. We welcome WWOOF volunteers even after the gardening season is over (December - March) for a more restful time that might include splitting wood, fermenting vegetables, shoveling snow, helping with carpentry projects, repairing tools, and walking the dog. The nearby city of Brattleboro, Vermont is accessible by bus and train and we will gladly drive volunteers from there to Marlboro. We look forward to meeting you!
Note: Each summer we offer a homestead retreat for young adults interested in practicing mindfulness, living in community, and studying the theme of interdependence. You can read more here: https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/touching_earth/
Organic methods: organic gardening, permaculture landscape design
Certifications: We use only organic products and methods on our homestead. Because we grow vegetables and fruits only for our own consumption, we do not feel a need to seek organic certification.
Current projects: tending vegetable gardens
tending and propagating shrubs and trees in an edible forest garden
clearing brush at forest edge
Internet access available
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Dairy farming
Forestry
Wild foraging
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Traditional crafts
Methods or systems
Holistic management
No-till farming
Permaculture
Mentoring opportunities
Woman-operated
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
Former WWOOFer
7.3
Hectares
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18
Acres
