Gardening, family fun, maybe filmmaking and starry skies
ReportLocation: Freeport, United States
The Hearthstone is a family owned, small farm located in Freeport IL. Our mission is to grow natural and sustainable foods as well as learn more about permaculture. We are a small family of farming novices.HELLO volunteers!! We recently moved to a three acre area near town. It's a quiet place with starry night skies. We are looking forward to hearing from you. Before sending us a message, please read this posting all the way to the end. We have a detailed profile to help to avoid miscommunications and unclear expectations between us and helpers (aka, new friends). This tends to make for the best exchange for everybody!
--- OUR FAMILY ---
We are a family of 3, plus 2 rescue dogs (Apple Jax and General Mills, see picture), and a hope to have some chickens soon. I am Rob and I live with my wife Shelly and son Benjamin. The five of us are shown in our photos. We are all English-speaking. Shelly and I can speak conversational Spanish and the dogs are working on it. We try to work smart, eat well and have LOTS of fun.
--- OUR HOUSE AND PROJECTS ---
Honestly, we don't know what we don't know, but we're learning. Last year was our first foray into gardening and landscaping, plus we learned about canning and storing our wonderful bounty.
For 2023, we need to do basic cleaning of the barn, build a brick pizza oven and learn pizza making skills, expand the garden, put in a small pool and continue to learn about food storage. We still have the typical tasks of upkeep and maintenance required to run a house. We mainly need help with gardening but if volunteers have any special skills such as painting, electrical, building etc. then that would be very helpful. We would also be very interested in having a volunteer who has knowledge about permaculture and could help start setting that up.
In the winter, we don't have as much to do (especially outdoors). Winters are snowy here, but we still find projects and fun things to do. We're a fun family of easy-going people who laugh a lot... and we're happy to host enthusiastic helpers regardless of your levels of expertise. Of course, any special skills like plumbing, carpentry, electrical, etc... are always appreciated.
WORKING ARRANGEMENT
We are asking an exchange of about 20 hours per week of labor, including meal prep. Depending on the work, the weather and what YOU want to see and do while you're here, we can schedule these hours according to whatever works best for both of us. We are fairly flexible. We will treat our volunteers like part of the family, so please take initiative to be an active participant. This includes helping clean up and clearing dishes after meals.
We expect people to speak kindly and not need 40 variations of meaningless F words in each sentence. We don't yell, freak out or get overly angry or curse at anyone and expect the same.
We also have a non-smoking/vaping house, so if needed, it can be done outside. And pot is legal in the state, so the same applies to smoking it outside. Please don't bring harder (not plant/fungus derived) illegal drugs.
We do accept first-time volunteers, but please remember this is an exchange… if you are unable or unwilling to work, please don’t make a request here. We'd like to have you stay for at least a week. If you have an idea of your stay time, we are glad to discuss it. We have hosted people for shorter and much longer time periods, as well. Don’t hesitate to contact us about your specific hosting needs; you will only know the answer if you ask the question.
Finally, we understand when travel plans change (that’s the nature of travel, sometimes), but if we accept your request and then your plans change... please let us know as soon as possible. First, it worries us. Second, if we are saving a space for you, it could mean another request has been denied. Don’t do that to other volunteers!
LIVING ARRANGEMENT
Your exchange includes all meals and housing. We prepare evening meals communally and share dinner almost every night while breakfasts and lunches are quicker fare. If you like to cook, that's great! If not, we only ask that you contribute to preparation and clean-up. We can accommodate most dietary preferences (like vegetarian, gluten-free, or nut-free), so make sure to let us know. If you have very specific dietary needs (like strict veganism or severe food allergies), we will accommodate as best we can, but you may need to do your own food preparation. Most times, we can offer you a large, private room in our house. We have Wi-Fi, streaming TV, washer/dryer, loads of board/card games, towels, pillows, and blankets. We will also help get work clothes as needed. If you're traveling, we can find a place to store your gear (if necessary). There are small, lockable lockers if you need them. We can arrange transportation if you arrive by plane, train or bus. If you have your own car, that works, too! For your free time, the city of Chicago is reachable by bus and we enjoy occasional driving trips to the city. In this area, there are many outdoor activities in the summer. There are LOTS of hiking and bike trails around here, plus rivers and parks for swimming, frisbee golf and more. We have camping gear, frisbee golf discs, and bicycles that you can borrow. You must like dogs (they do give loads of kisses and occasionally jump up to greet you). Thanks for reading all the way to the end; when you first message me, please include the word “zoinks” in your message so I know that you have read this posting fully!
