“Self sustainability is at the core of what we believe.”
We are looking for motivated individuals who like learning hands on and take responsibility for their learning.
We provide you the tools, challenges and the opportunity to learn, gain experience and grow. In return you will help us grow our non-profit organization and help provide opportunities for those who come in the future.
We offer you opportunities that teach you how to survive with less, minimize your impact on the environment and build a storehouse of knowledge and skills to meet your future needs.
We have had many volunteers stay with us a few months but most of our volunteers are here for a few weeks and move on as they travel.
There is much to learn and gain from a longer stay and we are currently looking for volunteers who will be interested to stay for a few months up to a year.
What you learn will be determined by your length of stay, what current projects we are working on, and your willingness to learn.
Take a look at our Helpx.net account to learn more about your stay.
Coming to the Coweeta Heritage Center is not just a nice thought, it is an action.
It begins with your decision to step out of your comfort zone and be challenged with hands on, learn-by-doing. We are happy you’re thinking of coming here and we ask you take a moment to take a look at the Pledge For Volunteers and get an idea of what you can expect from us and what we expect of you.
Here is what some of our folks have said about their time here:
My stay at Coweeta was a true blessing and a wonderfully unique learning experience! Days were spent milling lumber, milking goats, tending gardens, making compost rings, learning basic carpentry, hunting mushrooms, eating delicious elderberry and cream pops, reading, visiting the local farmers market, listening to Lara’s stories, playing dulcimers, picking and gathering rocks, swimming, picnics, wild crafting, drafting, planning, wood spoon carving, sweating, resting, and so much more. If you have a willingness to learn and to work I highly recommend visiting Paul and Lara at their homestead in Otto, NC. Im thankful for having the opportunity to spend time and to share moments with Paul, Lara and fellow wwoofers. You truly made me feel welcomed and I hold you all as dear friends and teachers of mine.
by Anonymous
I had a great experience at CHC. I stayed for about 3 months and learned tons! The internship program is demanding mentally and physically so i would only recommend it for serious wwoofers who want to learn skills to be able to work independently in the future and to problem solve issues you may face as a farm director. It is a great experience to have someone who is actually willing to put in the time to teach you these valuable skills because my experience so far is that most farmers are too busy which means you end up doing lots of unskilled (boring) labor. I gained a lot of experience with hand tools, chainsaws, tractors, basic carpentry, running a saw mill, basic electric, drafting, concrete work, and various power tools. There is endless projects to work on, all of them are very cool and more fun then endless weeding and cleaning out of animal stalls.
As well as work experience i gained a lot of homesteading experience, running a wood stove (winter time only really), compost toilets, managing a water system, basic home repairs, and lots more experience cooking from scratch. Tons of valuable experience to be had at CHC. I highly recommend either 3 weeks to 3 months. It is hard to visit and not be changed in a great way. Paul and Lara are extremely kind people with a dream of simple efficient old fashioned living.
True sustainability pioneers offering a unique wwoof experience!
by barnesjs
I spent six weeks here and I had a blast. I learned so much and did so many new things. I milled wood, put up siding, built a hay shed, made a spatula, wild-crafted, milked goats- the list goes on and on. The intern cabin is downright luxurious (there’s even a tv!). And Paul and Lara are just wonderful people. Oh- I forgot- you’ll get to learn how to make pocahickory (a hot drink made from hickory nuts) and bake bread in a mud oven. And every weekend Paul makes waffles for breakfast – ours had elderberries in them! I really recommend this farm. It’s a beautiful area and Paul and Lara are so knowledgeable. I’m very thankful that they shared their wonderful farm with me. I will treasure my experiences at Coweeta for the rest of my life. And I plan to visit them again as soon as I can!
by Anonymous
The intern/woofer cabin at Coweeta is definitely the most beautiful place I have ever lived. Though I only spent there weeks there, the experiences I had and the skills I learned will impact the rest of my life.
We worked hard. I felt tired and accomplished at the end of the day, and ready to feast on the delicious bounty the farm and surrounding area have to offer.
One of the joys of my visit were the quiet conversations Paul and I would have while working. Sometimes minutes would go by in between sentences as we pulled suckers of of fragrant tomato plants. Paul will work you hard, but he knows his body’s own limits, and will respect yours if you tell him you need a break. He is the kind of person who can spend an entire morning moving rocks if that’s what needs to be done, but also the kind of person who knows that sometimes the most important thing a person can be doing is picking blackberries along a dewy roadside. He is also the kind of person who never stops dreaming of how to make the world a better, more sustainable place, especially his corner of it. The way he gives instructions and teaches doesn’t fit everyone, but I accepted his idiosyncrasies as endearing more than annoying. If you don’t think of him as though he is your boss and you are at work, you will do better. Know what you want to get out of the experience.
by Anonymous
Anybody interested in learning about sustainable living in a quiet, mountainous setting with two amazing, loving people and a bunch of friendly dogs, sheep, goats and chickens should visit Coweeta Heritage Center in Otto, North Carolina. During my three weeks at the center, I learned significant carpentry skills, composting and humanure, cooking (with basics! Very rewarding and delicious), some plant taxonomy and animal husbandry. The time that I spent in the Nantahala mountains with Paul and Lara, as well as time spent alone in the cabin, led to significant self-observance and personal growth. Certainly a place for anyone who wants to hear some good stories, learn, live and wake up to the most beautiful scenery you can imagine!
by Libby Young
Our internship has been to help Paul renovate a 24-by-24 foot cabin that will house overnight visitors to the Center. Paul has involved us in all aspects of the project, including mixing and pouring concrete for foundation posts, framing interior walls, installing electrical receptacles and wiring, and hooking up the plumbing system. We know that this experience will be invaluable when it comes to building our own home…but what we’ve found most beneficial about being here is the opportunity to experience such a simple way of life.
by Eric
For example, the cabin is heated by a woodburning stove, which is not a terribly difficult thing to operate. But learning how to use the stove is just the tip of the iceberg; we’re also learning how to fell, buck, split, and season the wood that fuels it, so that we can be more self-reliant when we’re living on our own. We’ve also had to learn to run the pump that sends water from a nearby spring up to a storage box above the cabin, to run the generator that powers the tools we’re using for construction, to operate the diesel tractor that hauls construction materials and firewood around, to understand the hydroelectric system that powers the main house, and other such things. While all of this seems like a lot of work compared to a typical suburban household, the lifestyle resonates with both of us.
But it hasn’t been all work and no play! We’re so close to the Appalachian Trail that we can day-hike from our cabin up to Albert Mountain and back, and we’ve done a few other out-and-back hikes on the AT in the area as well. The nearest city is Franklin, North Carolina, which has a decent public library and numerous grocery, department, and thrift stores to keep us entertained on the weekends.
I spent one month living and working at Coweeta Heritage Center in western North Carolina, learning more about sustainable living from a holistic point of view. I learned to fell trees, use a saw mill to cut them into boards, and the carpentry skills to build just about anything (not really, but one day!). I heated my cabin with a woodstove, split wood in the snow, made hickory nut milk, baked bread in a mud oven, and tended goats, sheep and chickens. It was another wonderful experience that opened up my eyes to how hard one must work to live the “simple” life.
by Mallory Pitser