Herbal Homestead and farm with a Cow, Horse, Chickens, Dogs
Montana
We're a family living out in the country north of Billings, Montana. We have 21 acres we're homesteading on.
During the school year I work at the local school, but in summers we are working on growing organic herbs to sell locally and online. We are just getting started but I have a lot of experience from before I moved here, so is not new to me. I’ve had 10 plus years working with an herbalist and in an herb garden/business etc.
As far as living accommodations, you can tent camp on the property (lots of trees), or stay in a small camper (needs fix up as well, but is an option—there will be clean sheets and a bed). There is a tiny house that will be available until we start renting it out.
Our focus for summer of ‘24 is getting our herbal spots started and set up. Each week, we will have different projects we’re working on, depending on our priority at the moment. There will be some days that we are baking for local farmers market, some days we build or fix on things for a day, some days we do clean up and a fire, and sometimes we’ll work on landscaping. We’re also working on crafts for farmers market to keep our farm going, but you are not required to help with that if you’d rather do garden/farm stuff. Chickens have to be fed/watered every morning, eggs gathered.
We will be building a small house or log cabin on the property hopefully soon, if you would like to help with that. Or, if you would like to do more gardening, canning, or animals, we will be doing that as well. We'll also be building a root cellar and pond/waterfall at some point down the road. This summer our building project is a gazebo/library out of pallets and used windows. We have a couple friends willing to help as well.
I've had experience in farming, homesteading etc. I worked in a greenhouse 5 years and am an herbalist. Come along if you want to help and enjoy the beauty out in the country.
We are trying to become totally organic but unfortunately will take some time before we are set up to be . We cook mostly from scratch generally, but not as much while we're just getting set up. We don't cater to specific diets because we are so busy right now but you are welcome to cook for yourself if you’re on a diet and use what supplies we have. We use meat and vegetables etc but can do some meals with them separately if you’re on a diet; we just will not be able to separate them on all the meals.
Children and pets accepted, as long as the pets are not aggressive.
No drugs or heavy alcohol use.
We can help with some transportation and can also provide a bike while you're here.
The hours are flexible but an average of 4 a day preferred for 5 days of the week. You can take 2 days a week off, your choice of which 2.
Organic methods: Natural pesticides (herbal), natural landscaping etc.
Certifications: Organic, but not certified yet
Current projects: garden, herbal plot preparation, chickens and cleaning up around their pen, some weeding, landscaping, library/gazebo, pond, repairs on sunroom and tiny house.
Internet access available: Starlink
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Forestry
Wild foraging
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Traditional crafts
Methods or systems
Holistic management
Mentoring opportunities
Woman-operated
Host type
Production farm
8.5
Hectares
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21
Acres
Accommodation
Elizabeth
Member since 2020
Languages spoken:
English
Sun
Mon
Tue
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Response rate: 100%
Montana
Billings, Montana
Reviews
David
United States
•
July 2024
Liz's farm is in a very peaceful location. There are an abundance of different projects you can have the chance to work on. Liz has a wonderful vision of what she'd like to do with her property. from updates to innovations. Great food, wonderful family, plenty of flexibility.
Reply from Elizabeth
David, we enjoyed having you come! You’re a very hard worker and we appreciated your clean habits and good nature. We hope you’re doing well.
Rebecca
United States
•
July 2022
Liz & her family are lovely people! I can’t say enough about how wonderful this stay was. From day one I felt like part of the family. Liz is an amazing person with a very inspiring story to share! She is a wonderful mother & is raising 5 children on her own. They each have great work ethic & have individual unique personalities. There are lots of projects to help out with around the farm and tons of friendly animals, including goats, chickens, roosters, ducks, cows, and dogs. Liz was having behavior issues with a puppy that was given to her so I offered to adopt him. I now have a new family member and I feel so blessed! The area is absolutely beautiful! Only 30 mins from Billings & 20 minutes from the small town of Roundup. I met such amazing local people & even got to attend a rodeo! Liz is very laid back so will allow you all the time you would like to explore! Thank you again, Liz! You know I will be back ❤️
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Caden
United States
•
November 2020
Liz and her five children are all very nice and made me feel welcomed when I first arrived. A lot of the work I did consisted of cleaning out their farmhouse, which was filled with old furniture, computer parts, and other junk from the previous owner. About a week in we started to build the outline of a fence for their horse they were getting soon. Liz was worried about their home being too chaotic, which is completely understandable with five children, but there were times where it was unsanitary as well which was worrisome. There is a lot of work to be done, both at their home and their farmland so you will always have worthwhile work to do, and Liz is very flexible with scheduling so you are able to work on what you would like when you would like to do it. They are in the early, early stages of their farmland so there are lots of big projects that need to get done rather than maintenance and upkeep of an established property.
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Rebekah
United States
•
October 2020
We actually did not end up staying here because our other plans fell through but we did get to meet with her for an afternoon and it was a very pleasant experience. She was very kind and we enjoyed meeting with her! She has an awesome vision for her farm, so many great ideas- and we would definitely connect with her again if we were in the Billings area.
Ron
United States
•
September 2020
I very much enjoyed my stay with Liz and her family — they are really good people. They were working on establishing the land they intend to move onto for a more sustainable lifestyle. Liz was worried about the chaos of their household but it wasn’t a problem — she provided a nice bed and room and I ate just fine; if you’re flexible you'll have an enjoyable experience. The state of the current house and the farm property are indeed both on the chaotic side but that just means there’s lots of worthwhile things to do and create on — there is so much potential with their farm. Liz was sweet and the kids are unique and bright and lively. Through this visit, I learned more about chickens, ducks and chicken runs, land in Montana, a bit about canning and other insights I was previously unaware of. I would like to visit again to see their progress and to help with any new and interesting projects. Thanks for sharing a bit of your lives, Liz.
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Yuka
United States
•
September 2020
I very much enjoyed getting to know Liz and her family. It was really fun working on her newly purchased land! I hope that I can return one day :)
