Coweeta Heritage Center

Dear Volunteer,

Thank you for your interest in Coweeta Heritage Center/Talking Rock Farm. Coweeta Heritage Center is a school, working farm and homestead. We offer short and long term work/stays from 3 weeks to a year-long. We welcome shorter stays but you will need to camp and provide your own food.

Our goal at CHC is to help preserve the cultural history and natural beauty of this area through story-telling, demonstrations of heritage skills and knowledge, tours, summer camp programs, and classes for adults and children. We offer work/farm-stays in which you will be helping with building projects, as well as participating in day to day life here on our farm. You must apply to be accepted at CHC. Please contact us for an application and more info.

Our primary focus is on education: teaching back to basic skills for a sustainable future based on self-reliance. We offer you opportunities that teach you how to survive with less, minimize your impact on the environment, while building a storehouse of knowledge and skills to meet your future needs. What you learn really depends on your interest and commitment. Short term stays usually involve helping out (with little training provided). If you decide to stay around and make a commitment to learn basic knowledge and skills (competencies), we will take time to teach you what you would like to learn (you will need to do some background work such as reading a manual for a chainsaw and follow-up that research with a questionnaire to demonstrate your basic understanding). We provide you a place to live, electricity, water, and basic food items from our farm and bulk dry food (grains, seeds, etc). We also have preserved foods available, as well as milk and eggs from our animals. You can also utilize many wild foods available in our area as well. You will need to cover the cost of any processed food from a grocery store that you may want. If you complete a basic core curriculum and meet a set of competencies (skills and knowledge), we can offer you a basic stipend or wage. Experienced workers can expect to receive pay after meeting a required number of hours as exchange for room and board. You would need to take on responsibility for leading projects. We cannot offer a stipend for short term stays. But we are happy to have you with us!

If you are with us for at least 3 weeks, we will provide a pick/drop-off up at the closest location (about an hour away). If you drive yourself we will provide a travel allowance to help out.

We are located in the Nantahalla Mountains of the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 10 miles south of the town of Franklin, North Carolina (120 miles N.E. of Atlanta, GA and 70 miles west of Asheville, NC). The center's 52 acres lie in the heart of a small valley with a stream running through the middle fed by numerous springs and surrounded by national forest. The stream provides water for our hydro-electric system. We are off-the-grid. The area is home to wild turkey, deer, bear, and has one of the largest diversities of plants anywhere in the world. Huge chestnut stumps, remains of 1800 log cabins, mill raceways, spring houses, century old farming roads, and old still sites, are reminders of a people and a way of life based on an intimate knowledge of the environment and those skills needed to survive.

We, Lara and Paul Chew, live here in the last existing log structure dating to the 1840s. Lara came here in 1987 as she traced her family's history to this valley where several generations lived mainly from subsistence farming. Lara is a naturalist, having learned much of what she knows based on the knowledge passed to her from her grandmother. Paul is a former teacher of Industrial Arts and Technology Education and is well versed in woodworking. He is working on developing appropriate building techniques that incorporate the log construction styles of the past, as well as alternative energy systems. The center has its own saw mill to provide lumber for building projects which may eventually include cabins, a workshop, and a small conference center for retreats and programming.

You will live in a renovated cabin which has been beautifully finished by previous volunteers. The cabin has two bedrooms accommodating 2 people, electricity, water, composting toilets, wood heat and all the amenities you wouldn't expect in the woods! Short term visitors should expect to camp and provide their own food (less than a 3 week stay) unless there is room in the cabin. Required work-hours are reduced for these folks who camp and provide their own food. We are currently working on a camping shelter.

Some of the things you can learn while you are here include:
-Organic gardening/permaculture
-Animal care (we have milk goats and chickens)
-Aquaculture
-Carpentry and other building skills
-Alternative Energy systems and energy conservation
-Wildcrafting and basic food preparation
-Baking in a mud oven
-Woodcarving
-Harvesting and conversion of trees into lumber
-How to use a chain saw, tractor and other equipment
-And other practical living skills for sustainable living.

What you learn will be determined by your length of stay, what current projects we are working on, and your willingness to learn, and take on more responsibility.

If you are interested, you may spend additional time learning basic skills in carpentry, using a chainsaw, driving a tractor, etc. We can offer longer-term stays based on your commitment. Email us for an application.

Your work/stay with us begins with an orientation to our property and structures, a general explanation of power and water system, and an overview of current projects and plans. You will live in our guest house and share household responsibilities with other volunteers.

Are we right for you? Are you interested in gaining valuable skills and knowledge for back to basics living? Are you willing to meet the requirements of the center's General Policies (a separate document; email us for a copy)? Are you highly motivated and willing to take the responsibility for yourself and your own learning? If you answered yes to these questions then we can provide you with the opportunity to learn, experience and grow. In return you will help us grow our center (we are a not-for-profit organization) and opportunities for others who may come in the future.

Some of the projects other volunteers have been involved with include: renovation of the guest cabin including installation of electrical, water, and gray water systems; a wood fired bath house; trail work; upgraded hydro-electric system for off-the-grid living; clearing of garden areas, fencing and installation of raised beds; a cold frame; a start on a solar array; construction of hay barn; milling of building materials for a shop building; start on a camping shelter for visitors and much more.

Come stay with us and enjoy the beauty of the mountains, learn to provide for yourself, and join in community with others. We welcome you to be part of our family!

Best,

Paul Chew (Volunteer coordinator at CHC)