seeking land share/trade/lease in western washington

Gabriel Arielle wrote:After a year spent working on small farms and homesteads in this region I am considering a more permanent move, possibly with a good friend joining me. I will be in Olympia for the month of February 2014 to explore living and work opportunities in the region. I hope this post might connect me to some new people and places during my visit and possibly lead to some sustaining community when I make my move.

Though I have not had the opportunity to take a permaculture design course, I've had the pleasure of working on sustainable design projects with folks who have studied permaculture. I have enjoyed a fair amount of reading and applying the principles in my life and work in both rural and urban farming contexts. I hope to continue to build on this experience. Sustaining my land base and my community has come to be the great value of my life. I also greatly appreciate homesteading that integrates anti-oppression work as an aspect of community wellness and accessibility.

Some of my farming experiences have included raising and harvesting meat and dairy goats, lamb, chickens and rabbits. Working with a variety of composting systems. Basic forestry, tree pruning, planting etc. Building and maintaining terraced beds. And dabbling in bio char, mushroom cultivation, graywater filtration, and canned and fermented food processes. I'm interested in continuing with animal husbandry, particularly learning to keep sheep for wool, practicing food forestry and perennial agriculture, expanding my existing building and carpentry skills, learning metal smithing for tool construction, and beekeeping.

I would be very interested in a land share, land/work exchange or land lease in the Puget Sound region to start in fall 2014 or spring 2015 and to cover at least a year. I would need space to park a small off grid and sustainably powered camper home, and ideally would like some additional land for self-sufficiency projects such as a small garden and chickens. If my friend tags along with me this might effect our space needs.

Again, I'd also love to meet more people in the area. If you might like to connect for a meeting, farm visit, work opportunity, or email correspondence please send along a hello!

Thanks so much and take care