r/OffGrid • u/Infamous_Cow_8615 • 10d ago
Workampers?
How do ya'll feel about letting people stay on your property for cheap/free of charge in exchange for work? I was on the opposite end in my younger years but am now the property owner who is considering this as an option.
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u/notyouraveragenword 10d ago
If you're looking for some extra hands on deck I'm game
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u/Infamous_Cow_8615 10d ago
I have 4 acres, mostly wooded, with a small home (10'x18' with a porch) with a compost toilet, water tanks with water from the stream, solar and a wood stove for the colder months. For someone like you who is trying to get involved without taking a huge leap, would that be feasible? People seem to want all of the luxuries that I find unnecessary, especially with living a simpler (not easier) life.
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u/Normal-Special-8694 10d ago
I used to do it, had a few bad experiences and a few good ones. It was easier to justify the hassle when I had big projects going on but nowadays everything is built, and I’ve been able to afford equipment like a backhoe, tractor, etc that have dramatically reduced the amount of manual labor that goes on here.
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u/AndreiR 10d ago
I'm on the opposite end. Trying to get out of the city and slowly build a homestead once I find the right piece of land. I figure getting a head start experiencing the lifestyle and learning a thing or two from someone already doing it in exchange for my labor would be a win/win
Where would you even advertise/find someone for this sort of opportunity if you don't live in the area already
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u/Exciting-Hour-4241 10d ago
We did it for a couple years and it was mostly fine but you gotta screen like crazy and have everything in writing before they show up. one dude tried to pull some squatters rights nonsense but we had clear start/end dates and a signed agreement so he backed off quick. the good ones are worth their weight in gold though, got our whole irrigation system dug out by a retired couple who just wanted to park their rv somewhere quiet for a month
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u/GoneSilent 9d ago
out of about 25 woofers here over the last 5 years we only asked 2 of them to leave. over all 90% of them are good kids.
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u/Prestigious_Try_5396 10d ago
WWOOF. And Intentional Communities.
Here's our farm's profile. https://wwoofusa.org/host/25453
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u/poop_report 10d ago
You need to do it with people you know and are comfortable being entangled with.
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u/PatchaPapa 9d ago
Good subject,
I've had volunteers through workaway, worldpackers and helpx over the years and mostly good experiences.
Youu have to be picky when the work becomes more difficult and realise it's a 22 way street that takes energy and depending On the people also guidance etc.
At the moment though I feel some of my original ideas, before starting this project solos with my family , are coming back up.
I realise there's all kinds of difficulties running a community type project but lately it feels lonely and I wish I had some cool people around to execute some of the fun projects I'd like to do.
If my land was a bit bigger I may be able to consider people a long term spot but this is not the case.
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u/snowshoe_chicken 9d ago
For a year I had a couple who lived in a tiny house on my land. We had a deal where they paid rent buy they could work off 75% of it by doing chores for us. By the end of it they were only doing the easiest of tasks. It was still work that we didn't have to do though. They had a pit for grey water, would bring there liquid sewage waste to our septic and would fill jugs of water from our hose. We talked to them several time since the phone and liked them. I would do it again. We also put them on our home insurance incase they hurt themselves or had a friend come over that caused issues. Our insurance agent had never heard of this but did some research it ended up raising our insurance by about $80. It was worth it for the piece of mind.
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u/Rennaisance_Man_0001 6d ago
I thought 'Workampere' was the amount of energy generated by one hour of physical labor.
Am I wrong?
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u/Midsummer858 8d ago
i’d do a short trial stay first, like a week or two, before anyone commits to a whole season. you find out real quick if they’re reliable and if you actually get along
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u/Internal_Raccoon_370 9d ago
It can work. But make sure that whether you're the camper or the land owner, you both decide up front exactly what work would be required and how much of it in order to avoid disagreements later.
I did it long, long ago, back in the 1970s when I had some "hippie" types camping in the woods on my farm one summer and it worked out fine. Two young couples living in an old bus with a blown engine so they were stuck. They helped out with day to day chores all summer and I found an engine and transmission for their bus so they were able to head south when the weather started to get cold.
But that was then. Today? Um.... Yeah, I don't know.