United States: Plowshare Farm Life Sharing Community

About the local hosting organization

Plowshare Farm is a life-sharing community where people with diverse capabilities, including adults with special needs, live and work side by side to build an inclusive and sustainable community. The aim is to work together to respond to the social, human, spiritual and ecological needs of our times, creating a community environment where every person and every aspect of the natural world can be learned from and valued. Our community includes four extended family households, a community building (with community gathering space, performance space, kitchen, bakery, studio space, classrooms, and office), a barn, gardens, some outbuildings, a pond and 200 acres of fields, forest, and marshes. Our environment is quite different from an “institution”. As nearly all of us live here at Plowshare (instead of coming here for 8-hour “shift work”), we are more like traditional extended-family homes and a shared farm, all of which include people with special needs. Residents (adults with developmental disabilities), co-workers, and volunteers work side by side in completing projects, with the individual needs of each person being considered in the planning of the day.

Presentation of the programme

Live in and provide assistance with daily needs in one of our lifesharing homes where people with a wide range of abilities, including people with disabilities, live together in an inclusive community-based setting. This includes sharing general household activities, supporting others in the household in activities of daily living, and sharing in social time together. Participate in 2-3 areas of volunteer service during the day, depending on the community’s current need and personal interest, such as wool and fiber arts, woodworking, baking, and biodynamic gardening. Learn about traditional baking and more).

About the accomodation

Yearlong volunteers have a private bedroom and share meals in the household where they share daily life with residents, householder(s) and coworkers.

About the location

Greenfield, NH 03047

Requirements

Volunteering at Plowshare Farm is not an easy task. What we are looking for in volunteer candidates is people who are “wide awake” – people who see tasks through to completion, have pride in their work, and have curiosity and compassion for the experience of other human beings. As a volunteer, we encourage your self-initiative in the following responsibilities: Help in some of the various workshops: farming, building, gardening, baking, cooking, fiber arts, etc. Help with meal preparation and other household tasks. Participation in household and community life such as daily meals, social interaction and leisure activities in the house or outdoors. Help with fulfilling hygienic needs of the residents.