Daily Life

On this page you will find guidelines and recommendations for living and working at D Acres of New Hampshire. If you have any questions or comments, give us a call at (603) 786-2366 or email us at info@dacres.org.

Things to Bring for Your Time at D Acres - Essentials

• Flashlight
• Rubber boots
• Sleeping Bedding
• Work clothes
• Work shoes
• Alarm Clock
• Biodegradable personal hygiene products
• Hat with visor for sun protection

Things That Might be Useful

• Mosquito net, Insect Repellant
• Sandals
• Hiking Boots
• Bicycle
• Canoe
• Sunscreen
• Indoor shoes/slippers
• Swimsuit & Towel
• Tent & Tarp

Basic Guidelines

We would like to share some basic guidelines that we ask you to accept to make your stay at D Acres of New Hampshire pleasurable and happy for everyone:

• Vegetarian and vegan meals are available. Please inform us in advance if you have special dietary requirements. We supply breakfast, and lunch, and a hearty supper. We do allow individuals to add their special orders to our monthly bulk ordering with reimbursement to the farm on delivery.
• Personal sleeping spaces include tent platforms, general campsites, treehouses and other rustic accommodations.
• Foreign participants must have their visa in order, and international health insurance.
• D Acres of New Hampshire does not provide health insurance and all participants are expected to cover expenses of their personal medical and dental needs. Everyone is expected to be up to date on vaccinations and be current on their tetanus vaccine.
• Individuals must work at least 40 hours in exchange for room and board.
• The 40 hours work trade includes daily and weekly cooking and cleaning assignments that are necessary for communal life. These duties are arranged at a weekly meeting.
• All participants are asked to ensure sanitation, cleanliness and structural integrity in their private accommodations.
• The community shares maintenance and cleaning of common spaces (kitchen, dining areas, bathrooms, living rooms, etc.). We do not use toxic/chemical-cleaning products. Eco-friendly cleaning products are available on site.
• Our community represents various ages, races, nationalities, and spiritual beliefs; therefore, we expect residents and guests to respect this diversity in their language and behavior.
• If you have a different task to propose, please check it out with the staff first. Informal & weekly meetings discussions begin the process of changing course.
• When we finish our tasks we clean the tools and tidy up the work place.
• We encourage the conscious use of energy (lighting, water, gas, wood) in order to avoid waste.
• Please bring your own personal hygiene products. All products must be biodegradable.
• We do provide a clothes washing machine for community use.
• We separate organic from inorganic waste. We classify and recycle containers of various materials. We do not allow littering.
• There is no cigarette smoking allowed inside any facility. Please deposit all cigarette filters in the trash. Please do not smoke within 50 feet of the community building to prevent the aroma from molesting others.
• Fires are allowed only in the fire circle.
• D Acres staff or a designee may ask anyone who does not act responsibly within our guidelines to leave.

Recommended Reading List

(All books available on-premises)
Gardening and Homesteading

The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living by Helen and Scott Nearing, Schocken Books, New York: 1989.

The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener and The Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman, Chelsea Green Press, White River Jct, Vt.

Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik, Metamorphic Press: 1986.

Introduction to Permaculture, and Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison,Tagari Press, Tyalgum Australia.

The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch, Workman Publishing, New York: 1988.

If you are interested in Permaculture, the Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) website is a great place to start your reading!
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/perma.html

Consensus and Community

Introduction to Consensus by Beatrice Briggs, Beatrice Briggs, Morelos Mexico: 2000.

Communities Directory: A Guide to Intentional Communities and Cooperative Living edited by Jillian Downey and Elph Morgan, Fellowship for Intentional Community, Rutledge Missouri: 2000.

Wise Fool Basics by K. Ruby, Wise Fool Puppet Intervention, Berkeley 1999.