Farm Living and Homesteading Opportunity

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Farm Living and Homesteading Opportunity Available at Waterwheel Park on the Washington/Oregon Border – 2019

This opportunity is no longer available

What we’re looking for with the farm living and homesteading opportunity:

     We are looking for a mature established couple who are passionate and experienced in growing organic food, and interested in a long term living situation sharing workload on our farm (approximately 8hrs/week/pp). Farm labor changes seasonally. Winters are very slow except for snow removal.  We have a big fruit and flower garden (which includes a 100′ x 80′ newly established seasonal vegetable bed), raised beds, running water, farm equipment and a nice place for you to live. There is a modest rent ($500/month) and we share utilities electricity/gas.

     You will help us with all aspects of the farm on a year-round basis.  Maintaining the property and growing organic food are the higher priorities.  You must be willing to learn to operate the tractor for moving dirt and snow.  Living situation and labor expectation details are provided below.  

About Waterwheel Park:

            Waterwheel Park is a 5 acre organic farm located near the border of Washington and Oregon, in the heart of the Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River Gorge of the Pacific Northwest.  We are located about fifty miles east of Portland in a small community in the Little White Salmon River valley about 1,000 feet above sea level on the Washington side of the Columbia River.  We’re located about eight miles directly northwest of Hood River, Oregon.  Photos of the farm can be seen at www.wwfnew.weebly.com. 

            Our region is blessed with gorgeous crystal clear rivers, waterfalls, mountains, and all kinds of recreation.  It is about twelve miles to the nearest town of White Salmon, WA, or Hood River, OR.

What we have to offer for the farm living and homesteading opportunity:       

     A nice studio: Pictures of the studio.  Water Wheel Park is a peaceful place with creeks, ponds, huge dug firs with almost constant wildlife meandering through it.  We have a comfortable studio apartment in the main house, free internet, (we don’t have cable TV here).   We have for your use, kayaks and other outdoor sporting equipment.   We have an extensive library, which you have full access to use. In fact, we encourage it.  

     We can teach you about operations on our farm such as tractor operation, fruit tree and berry bush growing, irrigation system, mechanics, woodworking, power tools, chainsaws, solar power, building, electrical, plumbing and much more. 

     Like us, you will need to find part or full time work for income or you could grow food here for income or have a home based business.  There are lots of pubs, coffee houses, and restaurants in neighboring towns and tons of construction and labor jobs.

     You will be welcome to have guests visit and stay at the farm.  We would like to meet your friends and family.  

    We are totally cool with you leaving for vacations, as long as we plan ahead so someone will be here to take care of watering plants.

        There is a lot of garden space. Are you someone who wants to dive in and grow food, and know how to do it?  Lots of potential here to sell produce if you’re motivated.

Year-round, long term housing.

     Very nice upstairs studio apartment with shared entry, large kitchen, beautiful views, on a peaceful park like setting in the heart of the Columbia Gorge, in Washington.

     The right match for the farm living and homesteading opportunity should be someone who enjoys and has experience living the country lifestyle.  You should enjoy peaceful, quiet, dark nights.  You are someone who likes to read books, watch films, play your instrument, paint, or do other hobbies.  There are no clubs, pubs, malls, or coffee houses in our neighborhood.   We play music with friends, and watch lots of movies at night.  When we have guests, we are often sitting around the fire.  The closest nightlife is a 12 mile drive where there are breweries, theaters, and gathering places for you to explore in nearby towns.  You are comfortable being alone but not a loner.  You enjoy meeting and engaging with people on the farm and in our neighborhood.  

     The winter season provides ample opportunity to study, read books, write music, and recreate in lots of ways.  Winters here can be mild, or very rainy, or heavy snows.  Be mentally ready for that.  You should be someone who LOVES down time by a fire in the winter.  If we have a rainy winter, you need to put on rain gear and get outside for walks, hikes and other outdoor activities.  It rains a lot in some winters, be willing to embrace it.  Remember, it’s the rains and snows that give us our luscious forests, rivers and lakes that we enjoy the rest of the year.

     When friends, relatives or guests of ours arrive at the farm, it’s okay if you want to come say hello, smile, shake hands, introduce yourself.  We are a community.

     Please note:  We have discovered that there are many people who love the idea of living in the country, but have no clue about the reality of country living.  To be a good fit for this farm living and homesteading opportunity you should be strong, fit, healthy, and self reliant.  If a storm blows a tree branch through a window at night, you need to be someone who will put on a headlamp, run to the barn, grab some plywood, tarps, screws and patch it up.  You should be able to build a fire in the wood stove.  If the irrigation pump fails, you need to carry buckets of water to keep the plants alive until the pump can be repaired.  

Farm Living and Homesteading Opportunity Chores: We created a list of chores to give you an idea of what kinds of tasks we do on the property…

1. Seasonal/vegetable food growing, including preparing starts in early spring, planting ,watering, weeding, feeding plants with nutrients, and staggering growth to provide fresh vegetables all throughout the growing season.  
2.     Our big garden (2 ½ acre 8ft. fenced in garden area) includes apple, pear, and plum trees as well as blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, gooseberry, currant, aronia, and sea buckthorn bushes. This big garden requires maintenance including watering, weeding, weed whacking, feeding plants with nutrients, pruning, mowing, and harvesting. Maintenance also includes checking drip emitters, fence mending, mulching, maintaining worm bins, composting, and bee keeping.
3. Irrigation maintenance, including clearing irrigation ditch, cleaning drip emitters to provide adequate water flow to plants.
4. Yard maintenance including mowing, weed whacking, weeding, raking leaves, and burning, snow removal, etc.
5.     When we have animals… take care of animals, clean coop, feed and care for chickens and ducks, collect eggs, care for new born chicks, and feed fish.
6. Farm equipment general maintenance, greasing, cleaning, fuel management, oil changes, scheduled maintenance.  Always report when supplies are low.
7. Building maintenance, painting, sanding, deck repairs, small general repairs, gutter cleaning, and window cleaning.
8.  Firewood harvesting, cutting, splitting and stacking.
9.  Dump runs and recyclables runs when needed.

It would be nice if you would:

1. Be interested, passionate about, and have experience with organic gardening, permaculture, organic food, food storage, and  sustainability.
2. Be honest and trustworthy, respectful and responsible.
3. Be financially sovereign and prudent. 
4. Be healthy and strong physically.
5. Be emotionally healthy, friendly, and open minded.  
6. Be intellectually healthy, a good communicator, and be curious to learn new things.
7. Have health insurance or apply immediately for federal health care coverage.  (Although we have been accident free, we know accidents can happen and we want you to be taken care of should you get hurt on or off the farm.)  We cannot be responsible for your health care costs.
8. Although we share utilities, and we expect you to be respectful of usage.  Turn off lights, don’t waste hot water.

Have excellent references!  We will not bother your friends and relatives for references until you are one of the final potential applicants for the farm living and homesteading opportunity.

Since we’ll be such close neighbors…this is who we are:

      We, Scot and Rebecca, are in our later fifties and have been together for 31 years and have enjoyed and embraced our lives together.  We are best friends.  We both graduated high school in 1979.  We have college degrees, and Rebecca has a graduate degree in law.  We are not followers of any western or eastern religions, but we both have conscious philosophies that we would be happy to discuss and explore if you are interested later.  We are community minded. 

      Scot highly appreciates the value of our orchard, gardens, and organic whole foods in general, however, he is not a farmer, did not grow up with a farming background and doesn’t have interest in being a farmer.  He maintains the equipment and property so we can have food.

      Rebecca’s first passion is growing flowers and her next passion is growing and maintaining the fruit trees and berry bushes. Although Rebecca too appreciates the value of organic whole foods in general, she does not have a passion for growing seasonal vegetables. 

      We love our farm, but we also love traveling, adventure, music and the arts.  In the summer, we work as musicians playing music at festivals, wineries, weddings and fairs. We also spend our summers working on our farm and recreating in the beautiful Columbia Gorge.  

About our neighborhood:

     The Columbia Gorge is one of the most beautiful places in the Pacific Northwest.  The recreational opportunities are endless. The tributaries of the Columbia River contain world-class white water for kayaking and rafting as well as immensely beautiful rivers for fishing. The Little White Salmon River is only a half-mile down the road from us.  You can find excellent road or mountain biking right from our doorstep.  Windsurfing and kite boarding are world-renowned in the Columbia Gorge.  The Pacific Crest Trail, as well as hundreds of other excellent hikes, abound throughout the area.  Also, the city of Portland, Oregon, is only an hour+ drive from the farm.

     The community of the Columbia Gorge in which we are located is made up of an eclectic mix of people.  Without a doubt, you will be able to make close friends of like mind in the Gorge.  There are lots of families who practice sustainability, permaculture, home schooling, organics, alternative medicine, etc. 

     The immediate surrounding neighborhood of Mill A is also an eclectic mix, but tends to be a Christian leaning crowd.  There are not many progressives in our neighborhood, however, when you get to know our neighbors, and are tolerant of their beliefs, you will discover they are warm, friendly, accepting, and always willing to pull together when any neighbor needs help or to celebrate some event.  Although we are not religious, we visit enthusiastically with our Christian neighbors and get along very well, and they come visit us at the farm regularly for evening fires, or a beer down by the pond.  

     Waterwheel Park is a popular gathering place.  The water wheel has become a local landmark and tourists are always taking pictures or videos of it.  Mill A has no businesses, only residences and a K-12 school. The closest town is White Salmon or Bingen (12 miles away) on the Washington side of the Columbia River, or Hood River, on the Oregon side (13 miles away).  The community of Mill A is on one of the main routes to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest for tourists.  The Gifford Pinchot national forest is just three miles up the road.

How to apply for the farm living and homesteading opportunity:

     If you think you might be a good fit for the farm living and homesteading opportunity and are ready to apply, we’re sorry, but this opportunity is no longer available.

1. A letter of introduction telling us about yourself, why you think you would be a good fit for the farm living and homesteading opportunity, your interests, dreams and aspirations.  If we’re going to live with you on our farm, give us information that will help us to know you.  Your private living quarters are close to ours and we use the same entryway.
2. A resume’ of your personal stats (name, phone number, age, address, email), any education you have received, accomplishments, jobs, and travels.  List any particular skills you may have whether or not you think they may be helpful on the farm.
3. A photo, or photos would be nice.  Not that we care what you look like, but so we can match a face to your letter.  
4. References are not required at your initial application, but if you are one of the top applicants, we’ll want to speak to someone you have lived with and worked with before.  We’re taking you into our home and our lives and trusting you with our greatest possession, our farm.   We’ll be happy to provide you with the same if you want.   It’s important, so be prepared to provide references upon request. 

     We will confirm with you that we have received your letter.  If you do not receive a confirmation of receipt after two days, send again.  After the above has been submitted and reviewed by us, we may contact you to set up a personal meeting, or maybe a skype meeting.  Write down all questions you may have about the farm living and homesteading opportunity.  Feel free to ask questions before applying.  We may add your questions to our advertisement as something we forgot or did not cover enough in detail.

     We are entirely open to all, ethnicities, sexes, orientations, and races, but prefer an established couple in their thirties or older.  

    Thank you for applying!

 

• Learn more about farming and food jobs and internships, or learn how to post a job, internship, or apprenticeship opportunity on beginningfarmers.org by going to https://www.beginningfarmers.org/internship-and-employment-opportunities/