Learn about small homesteading, or just trade effort for a supported visit
Oregon
OREGON HAS SAFE WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE. We are LGBTQ supportive.
Help most needed March-May and Mid August-October. We offer skills such as wet-felting and wool crafts, biochar production garden-focused meal preparation and canning, in exchange for a mellow work commitment. In spring we are seeking lots of help with soil preparation, seeding, weeding, and all aspects of getting ready for the season. We'll be eating a lot of "found" potatoes and yummy weeds. We're fairly mellow to work with, but we like to WORK while we work, then knock off and rest. We like to get an early start by 8 am.
We enjoy teaching as we work: plant families, vegetable varietal selection, compost care, organic fertilizing: you will learn a lot. We strongly prefer hosting people who want to learn about agriculture and homesteading and care about the curriculum we offer. By arrangement we make specific plans to teach wool crafts, canning, sourdough bread baking, and other aspects of homestead management. We are also OK with folks who just want to do work: weed whacking, mowing, compost turning, etc and then explore this area.
Your safety is a big concern for us. We use protective equipment for all power tools, and limit heavy work to conserve your back. We put in about 20 hours a week, especially on weekends, with lots of hiking, biking, and recreation in between. In the summer, the river swimming is glorious. You'll meet quirky people who live close to the land and enjoy sharing their skills.
Our accommodations are a cool old converted school bus, a sweet cabin, and tenting under huge oaks on the edge of a giant meadow. We have an outdoor kitchen, and we often share meals (we are omnivores but we're considerate of other diets.) Plan to create your own meals in a rustic outdoor kitchen with no toaster or oven. (Camp stove, pots and pans, fridge and freezer provided.)
We specialize in biochar production, (Kelpie literally wrote the book, look up: "Biochar handbook" and I also teach wet felted wool crafts and vegetal dyeing to people eager to learn about that, in hours additional to garden and yard work agreements.
We are a two-household homestead producing year-round organic vegetables using organic soil management. We often save seeds for local adaptation. Our busiest work times are late March, all of April, May, and early June, (planning, seeding, planting) then September and October (lots of harvesting and preserving.) We will feed you from the garden whenever possible.
Leisure activities: biking in the hills, swimming in the pristine East Fork of the Illinois River, hiking in the Klamath-Siskiyou Wilderness, and community service activities in the village of Takilma. We are one hour from the Oregon Caves, or the Redwoods/Pacific coast.
TENT ACCOMMODATIONS, outdoor shower, biochar outhouse, bike use, wifi, nearby electrical charging, and outdoor kitchen. All trash is separated/composted/recycled when possible. Washing machine use upon request. NO PETS; the area is not safe for cats (coyotes); we are not set up for dogs. We love children, but our unfenced meadow is not safe for a toddler.
We are looking for individuals, small teams, or couples, to enjoy tenting in our oak savannah for a few days, or in the cabin or bus if thy are open, usually one to two weeks. We enjoy teaching weeding, seeding, seedling identification, planting, biochar production, building beds, compost production, work in flower gardens, small fencing projects, cutting back blackberries, weed whacking, food harvesting, and maintaining community hiking trails.
Expectation: 20 hours a week in the gardens, some participation in meal preparation. A good personality fit is essential. We need people who can follow instructions and make good decisions. We interview by Zoom or in person and work towards a clear understanding.
Fair warning: many people come to this village and never leave. Be sure you’d want to live in Southern Oregon before you fall in love with it.
March: We get serious about seeding and blending custom mediums for different crops, varietal selection, raised bed repair, early planting.
April: full-swing! We can accommodate a small team in late March and through April. Care for starts, schedule plantings, do biochar burns.
May: Hardening off, transplanting, fertilizing, staking, building trellises, etc. Sift compost and amend soils. Reduce fire danger by cutting grasses and brush. So much to do! We'll eat a lot of fresh salad and sleep under the stars.
June: Plant out tender crops and double down on drip irrigation classes! Peas! Strawberries! Salad! Artichokes! Too hot from morning weed whacking? The river calls! Brave the 58 degree water with us! It feels great!
July: Harvest garlic, plant fall veggies, feed with organic fertilizer blends, harvest plums, make jams and syrups, make flower bouquets and swim in the (slightly) warmer river.
August: Tomato time arrives! Make sauces, sungold relish, pestos, dry herbs and mint for tea. Harvest cattails for basketry, pick a lot of blackberries! Freeze local peaches and make fermented pickles. The river is perfect!
September: Learn water bath canning v. pressure canning. Harvest and preserve a LOT of food, fertilize, prune, stake and weed. Eat a lot of grapes while you work. The river is chilly again as the nights cool off, but it still feels wonderful.
October: A race against the frost! Remove tomato vines, pepper plants, etc., top dress and mulch soils, prepare for the season's end by caring for tools, organizing stakes, and winterizing irrigation supplies. Enhance compost piles, dig potatoes, braid onions and shallots, make garlic powder and spice blends. We'll drain solar water systems and bring in hammocks.
And that rounds out our year!
Organic methods: Biochar production, earthworm culture, Korean natural farming and fermented biostocks,
Certifications: All organic principles, no certification. Homestead.
Current projects: Biochar, seed saving, felting by arrangement
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Flower farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Natural cosmetics fabrication
Traditional crafts
Mechanics / tools / technology
Mentoring opportunities
Woman-operated
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
2.4
Hectares
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6
Acres
Kate
Member since 2017
Languages spoken:
English
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 4 days
Oregon
Bus station Grants Pass, Airport Medford (MFR)
Reviews
Francesca
United States
•
April 2026
Kate and Mark were incredible hosts. They welcomed us right away and provided us with so much delicious food. We learned so much from Kate, she is very knowledgeable about so many things (she taught us how to wet felt and needle felt!!) Our work consisted of garden bed prep, compost sifting, planting, and other tasks to prepare the garden for planting. We worked with Kelpie a lot as well and she is also wonderful. The cabin was very cozy and we enjoyed our stay and would highly reccomend others check out this awesome place.
P.S ask Mark about his chain mail collection if you want to acquire the coolest photos of yourself possible.
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KC
United States
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November 2025
I spent two wonderful weeks on Kate and Mark's homestead and learned so much! Not much was happening in the garden while I was there in late October, but we worked on putting the garden to bed for the winter which gave me plenty to do. Kate and Kelpie both have a lot of knowledge to share about gardening and soil management, and were always excited to answer any questions I had.
I worked with Kelpie on multiple biochar burns using her Ring of Fire kiln, which was very exciting. Kelpie also taught me about the process for making bokashi, and we made sauerkraut together! Her partner George is a very skilled banjo player, and took me to a local open mic where I got to listen to a lot of Cave Junction musicians.
Kate and Mark's home could not be more welcoming, they are incredibly kind and generous people who want the best experience for their WWOOFers. When there wasn't much to do in the garden, Kate taught me how to use wet felting techniques to make a pair of wool slippers, which I will treasure forever. Mark has an awesome collection of medieval-style weapons and armor, and is a real jack-of-all-trades with a lot of knowledge to share as well. There were varied and delicious dinners every night, using seasonal and local ingredients, and plenty of deserts as well.
Takilma is a beautiful community with a culture of reciprocity that is really inspiring to be a part of. I can't recommend this place enough!
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Margaret
United States
•
April 2025
I stayed with Kate, Mark and family for 5 full days during a beautiful time of year. My sociable, garrulous and generous hosts accommodated me despite their very full busy lives with work, family and friends in this LGBTQ-affirming household. I was grateful for the chill atmosphere at their place after a previous stay in the nearby region with an uptight, unpleasant controlling host who abruptly ended my stay--fortunately I'd already made arrangements with Kate and she had planned for me to potentially arrive a day early while she was out of town. It was a good fit for a more independent, pro-active woofer who can manage for themselves despite the chaos of a busy household with many hobbies and interests and who has clear learning goals.
Kate facilitated learning opportunities for me in the community that I expressed interest in such as helping with a biochar burn and how to prune apple trees at a nearby communal property. I worked on preparing garden beds and planting transplants under the guidance of Kate's neighbor Kelpie. I also learned how to be successful at making spanakopita! Many learning opportunities here depending on the time of year you arrive and your interests.
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Jesi
United States
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April 2025
I visited Kate and kelpie almost 4 years ago with my 3 friends from another farm! They were my first pit stop in a long series of Oregon adventures. Their neck of the woods in siskiyou country is unbelievably beautiful and I often think about the incredible night skies, calm lazy days by the river nearby, their stories about how they got there and built their homes, and the wild little tucked away town they’ve built a community around. I’ll never forget Kate’s incredible cooking and dancing to banjo on kelpies porch. Kate and kelpie were very generous about sharing their gardening and homesteading wisdom. It was an immense privilege getting to know their family and friends and being welcomed into their world.
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Roger
United States
•
June 2024
I had a great experience working for four days with Kate, Mark and Owen.
It was a very relaxed energy, and I was motivated to help out because the folks were so nice. I highly recommend anyone to request to to host.
Heather
United States
•
June 2024
So pleased to have wwoofed with Kate and adjacent farmer-gardener, Kelpie. There are two vegetable-flower gardens, where wwoofers may end up spending time, one at Kate's house and one at Kelpie's. They grow a lot of food and a lot of flowers in a relatively small space. Being there in late May, early June, some things were well on their way to productivity, some already harvestable for cooking and eating, such as spinach, kale, lettuce, broccoli, peas, cilantro, garlic scapes and wine cap mushrooms, and other veggie and flower seedlings were ready to be transplanted out from their greenhouse space to the garden. I got to help with all that, plus watering, fertilizing, mulching, weeding and direct seeding beans. I and another wwoofer got to participate in a bio char demonstration (with actual fire!) Kelpie did at another nearby wwoof farm, for high school age kids.
There's also plenty of weed whacking to do this time of year, as the grasses have grown tall and are drying out and fire season approaches. The meadow is gorgeous and the grove of oak and pine trees where I camped for the two weeks was fantastic.
Kate is a generous and caring host. Anything you need, just ask. A wonderful last night dinner with Kate and her family, but maybe now I regret not putting on the chainmail and armor.
Thanks Kelpie for the delicious dried tomatoes and Kate for the sungold relish and plum jam.
South west Oregon is beautiful and magical and so are the wild people of that area.
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