 September 19, 2018
In recent years, I started watching several Homestead YouTubers. I narrow downed my favourites to: Dirtpatcheaven, Off Grid With Doug & Stacy, and Fouch Family Off Grid. Through Dirtpatcheaven, I learned about WWOOFers. WWOOF is an acronym and started out in the early days as Working Weekends On Organic Farms. This changed in time as it was realised that people wanted to volunteer and host anytime. Now various WWOOF organizations use a variety of meanings: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Willing Workers On Organic Farms. A couple of years ago, when we started talking about formally becoming a micro-farm, we assumed that we would be doing all the work ourselves. However, both Gary and I have health issues that severely slowed down our progress. I started to talk about WWOOFers more often. We have so much knowledge to share.
We are in the process of creating a tiny cabin Airbnb from what was formerly my art studio. With Emily about to be placed on the heart transplant list, I decided to move my art studio back to the city leaving the art studio cabin vacant. It's too adorable to leave empty, so we decided to share the experience on Airbnb. In October, I will be spending several days moving the art studio and designing a tiny cabin Airbnb. IKEA here I come! The tiny cabin will also serve as the WWOOFer(s) home while they are here. The application process is detailed. WWOOF Canada and I have been emailing each other all week. It's exciting and a little scaring to move forward with this. I am completely confident that WWOOFers will learn and we will have a mutually beneficial relationship. The scary part is actually seeing our vision come to be. This could be a "be careful what you wish for" scene. This will be hard work. But it's part of our dream. I'll keep you posted about the WWOOF Canada application results! XOXO  Hello, My name is Sandra Clarke. I am a part-time homesteader. We (my husband Gary and I) bought our homestead (just south of Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada) in 2010 when our two children were 10 and 16 years old. Our intent was to relax and enjoy the property on weekends while working in the city (Toronto, Ontario). However, we quickly grew to see the homestead had potential to be more than 2.5 acres and two off-the-grid cabins in the woods. Our plans expanded to create an organic homestead, eco-retreat for artists, writers, and nature lovers.
Gary and I are in our 50’s. We have a part-time city life and part-time homestead life. Gary still works full-time and I am a textile artist, both in the city and on the homestead. Our 24-year old daughter, Emily, was born with complex heart defects that cannot be repaired. She’s had three heart operations and is currently in the process of being listed for a heart transplant. Emily is a brilliant writer (I’ll post some of her short stories on this blog). Emily attends college in Mississauga (near Toronto, Ontario). Our 18-year old son, Evan, is also in school. He has a creative soul like Emily. Evan is a photographer and videographer. He specializes in nature films. Our children are our priority. This is the primary reason why we are part-time homesteaders rather than full-time. Once Emily receives a new heart and is stable, we will be able to move permanently to the homestead. Our homestead is about a three hour drive to Emily’s hospital, so it’s best that we keep our little townhouse in the city to be closer to the hospital. So that’s us! I wanted to keep my first blog short and sweet. I hope you come back for more. Thanks for your time! Sandra xoxo |
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