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Workparties at Ekone Ranch are an excellent way to visit, recharge your batteries, meet some wonderful people, and make a contribution to this special land. We have about 8 workparties each year, focused on a variety of many-hands projects including forestry, firewood, gardening, trail maintenance, deep-cleaning, carpentry, mechanics, fencing, and lots more. They are always great gatherings with wonderful food, fabulous company, and the deep satisfaction of a day's good work.
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Workparties also double as open-house days! This is the time when we can offer tours, introduce you to some of the staff and animals, share about camp and other happenings at the ranch, and get to know you over a good meal. Please do let us know if you'd like to drop by for a visit. (If you're here for more than a couple of hours, you may get put to work--it's just how we roll!)
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Please Read this Sheet with more information about what to expect during a work party (including current COVID protocols and packing list ideas) before you RSVP - we have updated our RSVP process and ask that you complete the hand dandy form linked to each work party date below, which will ask you things like:
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Who all is coming, and do you have any particular skills or interests we should know about?
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When will you arrive and depart?
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Do you have any dietary restrictions?
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What are your lodging needs?
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Upcoming Workparty Dates...
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2023
October 27-29: Grave Digging and Willow Weaving I Come join us for a weekend in support of White Eagle Memorial Preserve, helping to prepare graves for winter burials. We will also welcome willow weaver Mo Walrath from the Olympic Peninsula, to show us how to begin to work with willow in weaving gathering baskets. RSVP here Questions? Email Jodie: WhiteEagle@ekone.org
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November 24-26: Forestry and Putting the Garden to Rest I Depending on the weather, we'll be working in the woods and in the garden, to prepare for Winter. There may be burn piles, or some limbing and thinning to make More burn piles. We will also be tucking the Ekone garden in to rest until Spring. RSVP Here
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December 30-January 1: Forestry Focus I Come honor the turning of the calendar year with us, and help with forestry projects including limbing, thinning, and burn piles to bring light to these shortest days. RSVP Here
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If you can't come to a workparty but still want to help out, we'd happily accept contributions towards keeping the crew fed, watered and fueled up. Donations are always put to good use!
Here's a lil taste of a forestry workparty!
Workparty Logistics
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We're so excited to see you! Ekone is blessed to have friends like you, and we hope you’ll leave renewed and recharged, with new friends, warm memories, and a deepened connection to the Earth.
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Schedule: Plan to arrive Friday between 5-6pm, and please let us know if you'll be arriving later (consider coming in the morning if you'll be later than 7pm, for daylight and so we don't have to wait up for you). We'll share dinner at 6pm and get to know each other a bit. Saturday begins with breakfast at 8 or 8:30am, and then work projects from 9:30 until lunch around 1pm, and then from after lunch until dinner around 6pm. Saturday evening is a time for music, camaraderie, and celebrating the day’s success! After breakfast on Sunday morning, we'll have one more round of projects until lunch, and then free time for relaxation in the afternoon, which could include hikes to the canyon, drinking tea by the fire, napping in the sun before hitting the road, just enjoying the seasons on the land, or however your heart leads you to connect with this place!
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Accommodations: We can fit lots of people into our amazing Bunkhouse, as long as you're willing to share. The Bunkhouse offers 5 separated spacious spaces with doors between. We'll assign those spaces as folks RSVP and tell us their needs. Beyond the Bunkhouse, we can offer very lovely tent sites, and places to park your own van or camper! Please do let us know any specific lodging needs you might have, and we will try our best to accommodate them.
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COVID Logistics: While we are no longer requiring vaccination against COVID-19, we are requiring negative at-home COVID tests for everyone. We are still spending the majority of our time together outside, but eating inside together. If you prefer not share indoor sleeping space, please consider bringing your own camping set up and/or talk to Shonie about your specific needs. Also, we hope this goes without saying, but we are going repeat it anyways: • Please do not come to the ranch if you develop symptoms (of *any* illness).
• Once you’re here, please continue to monitor yourself for symptoms. If you develop any, please
immediately put on a mask and alert someone on staff.
• If you develop symptoms in the days following your visit, please let us know so we can let guests know and
also monitor ourselves. To be extra safe, we recommend rapdi testing again once you get home. -
Kids: We obviously LOVE kids at Ekone Ranch, but please consider carefully if a work party is the right environment for your children. We’re in a git-‘er-done mode for workparties; there are elements of danger; and the atmosphere is oriented towards adults. That said, if you want to bring your hardworking kids along, they are welcome! Please do: 1. Let us know ahead of time, 2. Plan to supervise them carefully all weekend, and 3. Consider making a donation if you can. We consider workparties an exchange of your labor for a quality Ekone experience, and have found that parents, especially of small children, are sometimes less able to be fully engaged with the projects at hand. Please ask if you have more questions, and we can help you decide if workparties are a good fit for your family!
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Teenagers: We also love teenagers! We love having Ekone teens at workparties, but they DO need to have a designated responsible adult chaperone to ensure that they are making responsible, safe, healthy, helpful choices. Occasionally an Ekone staff member is willing to serve in this role, but we do not always have the logistical capacity, and some workparties may be closed to minors.
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Horses: We know that many folks love working with horses as much as we do! However, with the amount of people at workparties, and all the awesome projects happening, we’re just not able to do any riding during workparties. We do hope you’ll take the opportunity to connect with the awesomely heartful and generous horses of Ekone by assisting one of our staff with morning or evening feeding, or by just spending a little quiet time visiting with them over the corral fence.
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Money: We are delighted to offer this working retreat as a win-win exchange of your time and energy towards service projects here for the invaluable opportunity to be part of this vibrant community, share the experience of working and playing together towards something greater than ourselves, and experience the magic and healing of this land, so no money is required! Full disclosure: we do always make a soft pitch for donations from those who are inspired or able to contribute in a monetary way to the stewardship of this special place and the work we do here to share this important experience with kids of all ages.
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Things to Bring:
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Sleeping bag and pillow (the Bunkhouse has comfy sleeping mats, but BYO if you're camping)
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Towel
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Work gloves (we have extras!)
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Work clothes and sturdy shoes/hiking boots/mud boots, as well as lots of layers for different temperatures/precipitation and working outside in all weather. A non-nylon outer shell for working around burnpiles is recommended...sparks are disaster for those nice puffy down coats! We do have some extras.
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Musical instruments for evening campfire jams
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If you have a chainsaw and are safe and comfortable using it, please bring it! We always have fuel-reductions projects or firewood to cut, and are so appreciative of all the help we can get! Note that we require all chainsaw operators to wear protective gear including chaps, and we do have some extras.
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Flashlight or headlamp
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We provide all meals, but if you'd like to bring something to share, welcome treats include good crusty breads, greens and veggies in winter, chocolate, anything from your garden, and anything involving a secret recipe.
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Adults are welcome to bring adult beverages for responsible consumption and sharing after the work is done!
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Please check our Wishlist to see if you have hand-me-downs or such that would find good service at Ekone.
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Things Not to Bring:
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Dogs…the ranch may seem like a doggy paradise, but there are a lot of rules and training involved to ensure that dogs at the ranch are safe and considerate towards people, other dogs, other animals, and themselves! If you absolutely cannot come here without your dog, please email or call ahead of time so we can discuss it, and please don’t be offended if we say no, or that your dog has to be kept on a leash or in the car while you’re here.
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Firearms...will not be needed for this event. Please don't bring any.
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Directions: please use Our Directions. DO NOT use Mapquest, Google Maps, GPS, etc. They will send you down the old goat trail/not-really-a-road, and you will be stuck, lost, out of range, and/or severely jostled.
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Let us know if you have questions, and please RSVP for workparties, using the new forms linked in our list of workparty dates above.
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Looking forward to seeing you!
