Despite having to manually drive 52 posts, 3 feet into the world’s hardest, drought-stricken ground, we got a 30’ by 96’ greenhouse put up in 8 hours - thanks to the kindest, hard-working souls on the planet. Every one of those souls were volunteers.
There was a lot of laughing, sweating, and keeping the kids entertained as we worked on the last hot day of the year. I don’t know how a small farm would survive without the help of some volunteer labor. Big projects are expensive and necessary to grow, but many small farms get stuck paying giant loans to get past these stumbling blocks.
Over the years, we have held all kinds of volunteer workdays at our farm and find it to be an incredible resource! We’ve planted crops, hauled compost, cleaned our chicken coops, built greenhouse(s), ripped out gardens, moved tarps, moved fences and countless hours of weeding.
So many families are looking for a connection to farm life. They might be interested in homesteading and learning to live off the land, or maybe they just need somewhere to let their kids chase chickens while mom gets some exercise - or maybe, they are just passionate about local food and farmers, and isn’t that the goal?!
Our general rule of thumb is to gather for 2 hours, split up into different small groups to tackle a seasonal job, chat and laugh and get to know other like-minded people while we work. At the end of the day, everyone goes home with eggs, veggies, or whatever farm goods we have extra of at the time. Parents love it, kids love it, and it keeps us farmers from bleeding money for every little thing that has to get done around the farm. Having more people on the farm in person has helped grow our business, get us through major projects, and teach a lot more people about real food as well.
I encourage you to post about work days on social media! Sprinkle in some friends and families and teach about the farm every chance you get. You’ll be surprised how starved most people are for more connection to where their food comes from and how much fun they have helping you at your farm!