$600 Seeking a Homestead Caretaker-Housemate

We have a spacious house and small farm to share in a friendly, safe, rural neighborhood in Guilford, VT. We are just over the MA border, 12 min to Hwy 91, 17 min to Brattleboro, 23 min to Greenfield, and 40 min to Keene. We are looking for someone to join our household who values living with others and can help us tend our cows, land, and infrastructure. Our former housemates/tenants offered to be references, so if you'd like to talk with someone who's lived here about how we are as people/landlords/housemates, about what it’s like to live here, or anything else, just let us know. Move-in date is flexible, we are not in a rush, and we are big fans of trial periods. ABOUT THE LAND: Far enough away to be off the beaten track but close enough to I-91 to be in touch with the surrounding areas. The house sits on 20 acres, 15 of which are in beautiful, green, south facing sloped pasture with a small herd of sweet grazing Hereford cattle. A spring-fed stream feeds a small pond and wetland-stream complex. There are high bush blueberries, some fruit trees, wildflower meadows, and a big sunny garden. The land offers beautiful views, mountain top pastures, lots of sun, and abundant wildlife. The stars are outrageous. There is a gambrel bank barn and a sugar shack for maple sugaring. We suggest an AWD car to get up and down the hilly gravel road in the roughest part of the winter and mud season; studded tires on a non-AWD car should get you through the majority of road conditions in the winter. ABOUT THE HOUSE: The house is a fully renovated 1939 cape. The downstairs has hardwood floors (made from trees harvested from the land), lots of sunlight, radiant floor heating, ample cubbies, a laundry room, and an open floor plan in the living room/dining room/kitchen. A large south-facing deck spills off the first floor common areas. Storage space is available in the drive-up, partially finished basement. While we like to keep a clean and spacious home that welcomes movement/dancing wherever, there is also a shared movement/exercise room designated for that purpose. Common spaces are furnished. We live here and rent out 1 or 2 bedrooms at a time, depending on the balance of people. One bedroom is upstairs with a full bath that also serves as the guest bath for overnight guests. (The photos of an unfurnished room with a beige carpet and creme walls are of this upstairs room.). The other bedroom is downstairs with an en-suite bathroom. (I can send you a video tour of the room.) At the time of posting, the available room is upstairs. RENTAL & CARETAKER DETAILS Baseline rent for a single housemate who is not caretaking is $1200, all inclusive. (We ask a little more for additional people and/or pets.) This includes: • a sizeable bedroom (approximately 12’x13’) • private full bathroom • ample pantry and cubby spaces • shared common spaces (spacious and modern kitchen/pantry, living room, mudroom, exercise/yoga room, deck) • access to furnished guest room • some storage space in barn and/or dry, climate controlled, rodent-controlled, dehumidified basement • all utilities (high speed internet, streaming services, electric, gas, heat, air conditioning, hot water, recycling, trash) • washer and dryer • snow clearing • garden space • access to miles of hiking trails WE ARE OFFERING FOR A CARETAKER-HOUSEMATE TO PAY $600 PER MONTH IN RENT AND CONTRIBUTE 6 HOURS PER WEEK VALUED AT $25/HR TO COVER THE REMAINDER OF RENT. Caretaker duties include some combination of the following: Warm season: - Mowing approximately once per week 1 acre of grass around house and barn - Cow chores 3-4 times per week (filling water, rotating through fenced pasture) - Weed wacking, removing invasive plants, and/or helping with other land care projects - Helping process firewood Cold season: - Cow chores 3-4 times per week (feeding, watering, mucking) - Tending the outdoor wood boiler 3-4 times per week (daily loading, weekly cleaning) - Setting up and monitoring the generator during power outages if we are away - Bonus: Operating our tractor-mounted snowblower All seasons: - Generally being able to care for the house, land, and cows when we are away, including managing neighborly support and/or professional services in cases of emergency. (Note: We will always provide a thorough list of neighbors and professional contacts for different types of emergencies and contingencies.) Additional Notes: - We aim to go out of town for 1-2 weeks each December (often but not always over Christmas) to be with family, as well as be able to take some long weekends or shorter trips during other times of the year. Extra hours worked by the caretaker during these times would be applied to the following month’s rent, decreasing the amount of rent you would owe. - When we are away, our caretaker’s expertise, reliability, and trustworthiness are valuable to us. So even if, for example, no snow fell and the power never went out during our December trip and therefore you didn’t technically work more hours, we would still want to compensate you in some way. We don’t have a precise proposal of what this would look like and imagine discussing it together to figure out what feels good to all of us. - We like clarity. We imagine collectively keeping a log that details what needs doing and what you spend time on so there’s never a question about our exchange. - Caretakers need breaks! When you have plans to travel, we’ll work it out. REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE INCLUDE: - Comfort operating a tractor, ride-along mower, and hand-held power tools, or requisite experience that makes you confident in your ability to learn quickly. - Experience and comfort with cattle, or requisite experience with animals that makes you confident you’ll dig the cows and feel comfortable managing them. - Ability to lift and carry 50 lbs and to push/pull/maneuver heavy objects. - Bonus: Knowledge of local natural history and ecology. CULTURE OF OUR HOME: Folks here are self-aware, emotionally intelligent, mature, and intentional, but we are not an intentional community. We have house meetings every once in a while when logistics pile up, but we don’t need regular house meetings because we communicate directly, respectfully, and proactively about whatever comes up. We enjoy spontaneously sharing or preparing meals together and we use each other’s milk when we run out, but we also do our own food shopping and have our own areas in the pantry. We like to periodically hang out and play board games, go to concerts or circus performances, or enjoy a campfire together, but we also have social lives and friends outside of our household. We value living lightly and in conscientious relationship with land, but we aren’t dogmatic about what that means (except that everything that goes down a drain must be eco-friendly/biodegradable because our septic leach field is above our aquifer). We look for people to join our household who are responsible, reliable, hardy, have steady income, and are open-minded and willing and wanting to communicate with curiosity and compassion across difference. We all generally go to bed in the 9-10pm realm, and are up and about in the 6-7am realm. We’re not open to indoor pets at this time, though pups could be an option in the future. MORE ABOUT US: Partner 1 -- I’m an introvert. Working with plants, moving my body, and being quiet are some of the ways I find balance in a busy world. Here with this land, I’m particularly engaged in native plant and riparian/wetland restoration projects and I like to host Jewish holidays and rituals. I take classes at the circus school in Brattleboro and love a good dance party. Professionally, I work in the field of food access and land education, and participate in faith-based bridge building with Native tribes and communities. I’m 40 years old and use she/her pronouns. Partner 2 – I’m a farmer by soul and a mechanic by trade. Having worked on farms for over a decade and a half, I have a deep, abiding love for cows, pasture, rural living, and a hard day's work. At this point in life, I’m enjoying the process of laying down roots on our little homestead. Things that matter most to me: being a good friend, neighbor and community member; being honorable and honest; treating everyone with kindness, dignity, and respect; and a smile from my sweetheart. Things I love doing: fixing anything that's broke, fishing, hunting, hiking, and enjoying a cold beer around a fire with friends. I’m a 42-year-old man and use he/him pronouns. PROCESS: If you’re interested, send us a note telling us about yourself and why you feel like this may be a good fit. We’ll be in touch with you from there.