Hello fellow Steemians. This post is intended to reach the micro-farming and homesteading community more so. I intend to participate in the #kin-shep program here on Steemit. I currently help manage a one acre micro-farm and homestead along the south coast of Massachusetts. Honestly, the best way for me to describe to you who we are and what we do is to refer you to our website which is presently a WordPress blog. I also have a number of posts here which have mirrored our blog and I just started our weekly podcast on MSP-Waves.
What we are intending to do is not only grow organic non-GMO produce, we are establishing a lifestyle brand. While we have our first seeds popping and have been getting our outdoor beds ready, we are developing a Kickstarter. This project consists of a zero-waste household cleaning and health and beauty variety pack. This is my main focus here on the homestead in addition to handling our social media marketing and networking.
On our homestead live two families of four. I am a 43 year old stay-at-home dad with two girls ages seven and five. There is also a stay-at-home mom with a five year old girl and two year old boy, although she works on weekend nights and is currently starting an internship so that she may get a better paying job as a phlebotomist. It was agreed upon that if three out of the four adults here got jobs to pay the bills for now, I could stay home to care for the kids and manage the business. This plan does work relatively well, albeit causing us to live from check to check for now.
Where I'm running into trouble is handling the responsibilities and duties around the property. It's not a huge property, but there is much to be done to get it in good working order. The barn and storefront used to be a florist and was left in a bit of disrepair for a number of years. We've done a lot to clean it up and organize, there is still much to be done. I can't help feeling overwhelmed. I also battle chronic PTSD as well as asthma and some back pain. With a little motivation and daily inspiration I can be a worker bee, although I am more comfortable with administrative and creative tasks. I recently graduated college with a psychology degree and am planning to go to grad school soon.
One of our goals is to become as self reliant and sustainable as we can possibly be on this property. We have also teamed up with a two acre farm about a half hour drive from here with goats and chickens. And we have a small wooden shed we can turn into a chicken coop with a little TLC. We have very clean and delicious well water. The house and barn were both built around the turn of the 20th century and are in very good shape with some drafts here and there. Our CEO and our property manager are both expert carpenters as well. We have a lot of expertise, knowledge and experience in many areas between us all, we just can't afford to all be here as much as we need to be to get this all done. This is where you come in.
We need one or two people who can dedicate around 20 hours a week to some grunt work and tending to the greenhouses and outdoor beds. Of course we need people who have a passion for organic gardening and are a little more than novice. If you're a total expert, even better! We do have some friends and partners who lend us a hand several days a week. And the children are always happy to get their hands dirty. My two kids are unschooled so this is part of their education. That's also part of the problem here is that I wind up having to stop what I'm doing to tend to their needs throughout the day. You must be very good around children; I will not expect you to take care of them, however.
I also devote quite a bit of time to Steemit, as you have probably figured out by now. I've put quite a few eggs in this basket and I intend to make it work. I am active in several Discord communities and I podcast 4 times a week, which is beginning to generate an income so that I also may contribute to the bills here.
Since you'll likely be spending the bulk of your time with me or around me it will be important that we click. I am an old school Raver and Hip Hop head as well as an avid Deadhead. I enjoy playing music while I work or I listen to some of the Steemit podcasts on Discord. I also enjoy quiet when I need it. I do not drive so I am here just about 24/7, but I do enjoy taking walks and bike rides and this is an amazingly beautiful town with a huge lake and hundreds of acres of wooded land to explore.
As far as accommodations go, you're going to feel like you're camping. The barn is actually quite cozy and there are a couple of places where you would have plenty of privacy. You will also have your own bathroom for the most part and have to use the shower inside the house. Also feel free to urinate outside as I've noticed the locals tend to do it as do I. We are very 420 friendly and as long as we're doing well on any given week, we are very generous with it. It is legal here so nothing to worry about there. We do prefer nonsmokers in terms of cigarettes not only for the health aspect but for the sake of reducing our contribution to the waste stream and pollution. If you roll your own that's a different story, still do it outside.
I'm not sure if I can put a time limit on how long you could stay here. I suppose as long as we need the help and as long as you work out, why change that? I do think that unless it's really not working out, we should at least give it a week. We also may want to be fair and allow someone else to take advantage of the opportunity to work with us. It will be difficult to accommodate more than one person at a time unless you come with a life partner or close friend.
I'm very easy to get along with and I'm certainly not a "boss". I will prefer to do most things together or at least work side by side most of the time. I am also a great cook and we will certainly provide meals. My family is vegetarian and on and off vegan, the other family is omnivorous. This makes for a big variety at meal times. You are always welcome to cook as well, all that I ask is that you be conscious of how much waste you produce in terms of packaging. I can also teach you how to live a zero-waste lifestyle if you like.
We are also offering stake in our company for any one wanting to track their hours here and we have tie sheets with which to do that. If you come up with a project o your own that fits the scope of what we do here, a great percentage of that would remain yours to claim if that is something you think might work for you as well. We have every tool you can think of and the previous owners left so many things in the storefront and barn that can be re-purposed and upcycled. I can also teach you meditation, yoga, and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). one thing we plan to do here is host self-help groups.
I think this is a lot to take in for one post. It's probably impossible to get an accurate picture of what this might be like without communicating directly. Bottom line is, I need help. We need help. We've dedicated ourselves to this endeavor and while it may seem we bit off a bit more than we can chew, we know it's well worth the sacrifices we're making along the way. And we wish to forge relationships with people like you and share our vision with everyone who crosses our paths. If you got to the end of this post, you're clearly entertaining the idea. Don't worry,I'm a bit nervous too and meeting, working and living with new people is always a challenge. I'm up for it!
🙏 Thank you for your continued support ✊.
💵 Your contributions help keep the #EHO homestead afloat as well as fund my personal fight against the War on "Drugs".
