Mountain Homestead, Coquille, Oregon

I got to the Mountain Homestead at about six in the evening on monday. 450 miles of hitchhiking in two days, probably a dozen rides altogether. So I'm in Oregon finally and it's pretty exciting. It's not like the place is completely different from northern california. Sure it's a little cold at night, but so was a lot of places in california.

More importantly, I am for the first time in my life, working in a place which is actually designed using permaculture. There are are maps, and mission statements, and projects of all sorts, organized in the same ways my permaculture teacher organizes his projects. Let me tell you what they've got here.

Compost toilets, and only compost toilets. All the water for both irrigation and drinking is from a natural spring and a pond, both on the 400 acres. Raised bed gardens, lots of raised beds. Tons of fruit trees, fruit vines, berries, and all sorts of other edible plants which i haven't even discovered yet. electricity is from a micro-hydro turbine and solar panels. Hot water for showers is heated by rocket stove, look it up. every structure built by homestead residents and work exchangers. and each building is unique. they are all made from timber harvested and milled on site. there are a few cob structures on the homestead, though wood is their main forte. for cob, one must go to the cob cottage company, their neighbors. I haven't visited them yet, but I'm probably going to do a day of work their sometime in the next week so that will be a cool way to get to know the place.

I've been working the last two days on a stone wall for the back of the bathroom and showers. kind of like stone terracing. also they are putting up a new maintenance shed, and they're working on the foundation, putting in huge pieces of urbanite, big blocks of cement torn up from construction sites, i.e. free. to put them in place, the work exchangers have built a jim pull?, don't know the spelling, a crane made from a log sitting on a notched stump, and then they use pulleys to lift the heavy blocks and then swing it over to the right spot. i'll take some pictures and videos.

This looks like the place I'm going to stay at for a while, unless it doesn't work out. The days are longer than at wwoof farms, but the people here are really invested in their homestead and that's admirable, i could learn a lot from them.

I'm also beginning to realize, I've really learned enough, and it's time I start doing things. At this place, like on the farm in Israel are highly motivated people, who make things happen. I need to become one of those people. Truthfully, volunteering the majority of my adult life, I haven't actually made anthing of my own. I think I know now what I want, and I think I can just go ahead and do it already. I'll find some land somewhere, no matter how small, and prove to myself that I can do anything.