My Farm is located at various spots throughout Haines Junction, Yukon, gateway to the magnificent Kluane country, in the traditional territory of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. I grow vegetable, flower and herb starts for sale as well as produce for myself and for market. I also save seeds, grow cut and dried flowers and culinary and medicinal herbs. From March to June, the focus is on the plant nursery, along with preparing the gardens and planting them. July and August finds me doing lots of garden maintenance, harvesting and the Dakwäkãda-Haines Junction Community Market. September and October are the harvest and preserving months, as well as cleaning up and putting the gardens to bed.
My situation is quite unique - I don't own any land. I have developed several relationships in my community and I use the land and gardens of my neighbours. I follow organic growing practices in all my growing endeavours. The opportunities to learn about supporting oneself in a land-based business, growing plants for sale, growing a market garden, seed-saving, medicinal and culinary herb use, composting, basic carpentry skills, soil-building, harvesting, preserving, wattle-fence building, cold-frame growing and community market involvement are all available with me!
Accommodation is unique! I live in a small house and have no room for anyone else! My neighbours, however, have converted an old highway lodge into rental lodgings. WWOOFers will be accommodated there (within walking distance of my house and the greenhouses). Lodging consists of a private room, with one or two double beds (bedding and towels included). Single WWOOFers or couples or two friends who are comfortable sleeping in the same room will find it quite comfortable. There is a shared full kitchen, bathrooms and living room. It must be noted that this accommodation, as well as my house and greenhouses, are located 20 kms west of Haines Junction, about a 10-minute drive or 40-60 minute bicycle ride (I can provide WWOOFers with a bicycle). The lodging is a non-smoking facility.
Meals are also unique, as I am not able to share 3 meals/day with my WWOOFer. Breakfast, lunch and most dinners are the WWOOFers own responsibility (we will share the occasional dinner together). To facilitate this, I will take WWOOFers on a weekly grocery shopping trip, in order to purchase supplies to prepare your own breakfast, lunch and dinner. WWOOFers are welcome to produce from the garden. When we do share dinner together, we would also share the work of preparing dinner and washing dishes. My diet is 60% ovo-lacto vegetarian and 40% meat-eating.
It must be noted that any WWOOFers who come to help me will need to be fairly autonomous, self-sustainable and enjoy the outdoors. Living outside of town, wildlife sightings are inevitable and bears do live in the area. WWOOFers who are comfortable in a rural setting will find my lifestyle and community amazing! WWOOFers who have never seen a bear or uninterrupted wilderness in their life, but are unafraid to experience this, will also find my lifestyle and community amazing!
Expected hours of work are 5 days per week, 4-6 hours per day. The days may not be consecutive. At the beginning of the week, we would sit down and discuss work days, so you know when your time off will be. Each week will be different. Work encompasses a broad range of activities, from pricking out (transplanting) seedlings to soil-building to composting to working at the community market to harvesting to collecting manure to preserving to seeding to planting in the garden to wattle-fence building to watering the greenhouses. A degree of physical fitness is required, as we will work steadily all afternoon, with one tea break. Gardening is hard work!! Experience is not required - all tasks are easily learned. We will be using tools such as shovels, hammers, drills, garden forks, pitchforks and rakes. WWOOFers would be wise to bring work clothes, work boots, a sunhat (we have a lot of sunshine!), rain gear and their own gloves (none of these items are provided). We work outdoors in all weather. All tools and training will be provided.
WWOOFers should be prepared to come to a very small town (the nearest large town is Whitehorse, which is 160kms away). We have a grocery store, seasonal restaurants, library, liquor store, weekly community market, gas stations, hotels and little else in the way of amenities. There is no place to purchase items such as work gloves or boots in Haines Junction. Haines Junction has a vibrant arts community and there is often live music or workshops throughout the summer. There are myriad places to hike, bike, walk and paddle in the area.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Wild foraging
Flower farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Traditional crafts
Food justice / sovereignty
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Biodynamic agriculture
Holistic management
Mentoring opportunities
LGBTQ+-operated
Woman-operated
Host type
Production farm
0.4
Hectares
|
1
Acres
