We have been living here with our goats and using their milk to make cheese since 1982. We live in the high desert surrounded by piñon and juniper forests. Our goats are the heart of our operation. They forage for their food most of the year. We provide them with certified organic hay in the winter, but even with a foot of snow on the ground they want to go out to browse on the south facing cliffs behind us. Unlike many commercial dairies, we are interested in feeding very small amounts of grain and having the goats produce milk off what they browse that humans can't eat.

It is not green here (except for the evergreens) most of the year. We are not out in the low desert with sand dunes and big cactus but it is dry here. We work hard at conserving water.

We are very isolated! It is 2 hours of hard driving just to get to where our mail is delivered. To get to Albuquerque takes about 5 hours one way. Access is best by 4-wheel drive. 2-wheel drive is possible if you have lots of ground clearance and the roads are dry. Most of our helpers have not had a vehicle.

When you walk away from our houses and barns, all sign of humans disappear and you can walk for hours without seeing any.

Milking the Goats

The most important thing we do is taking care of the goats and making cheese with their milk. Liking the animals can make this job a joy.

Living Conditions

We have four small, separate accommodations (trailer, bus, or step van most with a wood stove, a propane stove top and a propane light with a solar powered AM/FM radio.) We all share the kitchen/living area. We cook, eat and clean up after our meals there. We eat at least one meal a day together but you also need to be able to feed yourself from the available food.

We have a guest cabin that could be used as a bunkhouse if we have more that one intern or woofer, especially when it is cold, because we have a wood burning stove in it.

We have wood burning stoves for all our heating needs. We cook with wood, or propane in the main house. We have outhouses and composting toilets.

Cleaning up in the kitchen is part of work here. In fact, WASHING up in the cheese room, WASHING dishes and pans in the kitchen and WASHING milking equipment in the milk parlor are a big part of our ongoing operation.

We try to live off what the land provides us. For example, if we have a lot of zucchini in the garden, we eat lots of zucchini. We eat a lot of brown rice, Mexican style food, garden vegetables, plus our own goat meat and lots of chicken eggs in season. Although we eat meat here, vegetarians have worked with us. We enjoy a natural food diet- organic when possible.

We try not to go to town more than twice a month. This means we have to keep track of what we need and sometimes do without if we run out before a scheduled trip.

We allow no pet dogs, no drugs and no alcohol. Since we are certified organic, even if you have personal uses for pesticides don't bring any here. If you smoke, plan to keep a month's supply on hand while here. This is NOT a good place to try and quit smoking. There is no smoking in the main house, hay storage areas, or cheese rooms. Smokers must dispose of their cigarette butts appropriately. DON'T throw them around. An inquisitive goat could eat it, a fire could be started or Nancy could see it!!

Everything we bring into Coonridge is consumed, recycled, put back into the soil or hauled out. We heat with wood and use outhouses or composting toilets. We have some solar panels that provide power for our radiophone, and a few lights and radios for the house and workers accommodations.

We like to recycle as much as possible. Aluminum cans should be smashed as small as possible and placed in the 55-gallon drum on the porch of the main house. All burnable paper is put in or by one of our wood stoves. All food scraps are fed to our chickens. Meat scraps and bones are set aside to be rationed out to the dogs equally. All non-aluminum, non-paper, non-edible trash is placed separately to eventually go to the dump.

Electricity

Our electricity is from generators or solar panels. The generator is used to run power tools and not for everyday needs. Our solar panels make small amounts of electricity on sunny days. This electricity is stored in batteries and must be used wisely.

Water

We catch all our water off our roofs and store it for use through out the year. This means we have to be especially frugal with our water. We use it twice whenever possible. We use our wash water to water plants. We reuse our rinse water into our next wash water.

Fires

There are Fire Extinguishers located around all wooden structures. Make sure you know where they are located and how to use them. They would be the first line of defense in the event of a fire. After that, water would be pumped from the tanks. Be sure you are trained to do so. No fire truck would ever come to Coonridge!

Your Skills and Interests

Besides our ongoing work we are building stone and bottle buildings, have run off gardens and other projects. The skills and interests you have will determine which other jobs you do. You will need to be able to work without supervision as well as get along with other people in group projects.

We are trying to find ways to live harmoniously within our environment with our animals. This takes hard work from everyone who lives here.

Compensation

Apprentices receive a stipend of $50 a month for 4 to 6 hours of work per day plus food and a place to live. After the first month pay may be available.

People with real life experience, especially carpentry skills, go on salary right away.