Ekone Workparties
are an excellent way to visit the ranch, 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, evening music jams, saunas, and the deep satisfaction of honest work done in good company.
Email sacredearth(at)ekone.org to be added to the workparty mailing list!
Upcoming Workparty Notices:
Dear Ekone friends,
May Day! May Day! It’s a May Day workparty at Ekone Ranch! What a perfect opportunity to leap over some bonfires and celebrate the rush of Spring. Here are some other excellent reasons to clear your calendar for April 29-May 1, get out your workgloves and hog-tie your favorite
hardworking friends for a trip to Goldendale:
- You need (and deserve) a weekend away, to fully appreciate Spring and charge your batteries–personally, socially, physically, and spiritually.
- You’ve been waiting for warmer weather to visit, and here it is….plus, there will only be ONE MORE workparty before fall (5/20-22), and what if you can’t make it to that one??
- Workparties attract the most wonderful people! (Yes, you!) And nothing builds friendship like a good day of collaborative work in the woods.
- You’ll get to ride horses–we now do a little “horsing around” on Sunday afternoons at workparties, weather permitting.
- We need you! We’re making great progress on our big forestry project but still have quite a bit of work to do this spring, and can’t do it without you!
We know that it’s hard to pull away from your busy life, and gas is expensive, and who wants to spend an extra weekend “working,” anyways? All we can really say is, we are 99.9% sure that you will not regret the decision to drop everything and spend a weekend in the woods at Ekone with wonderful people, working together on the land. Plus, we’ll help you arrange carpools.
Please RSVP to sacredearth(at)ekone.org or 509-773-4536, and let us know what your lodging needs are!
With love from blooming Ekone,
Shonie & the crew.
Work Party Logistics:
1. 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.
2. Schedule…plan to arrive Friday between 5-7 if you can. We’ll share a potluck dinner that night, and then work together all day on Saturday. Saturday evening is a time for sauna, music, camaraderie and celebrating the day’s success. One more work shift on Sunday morning, and then time for play in the afternoon–hikes to the canyon, relaxing by the fire, or “horsing around,” weather permitting.
3. Accommodations…we’ll divvy up between the longhouse, round house, and the warm and cozy Skyfort. There are three rooms with honest to goodness beds in the lodge as well – donations are appreciated for these rooms, to help cover the time and cost of laundry and upkeep. You’re also welcome to bring a tent for greater privacy. If you snore, please bring earplugs for everyone. 
Please do let us know what lodging you prefer, to help us plan.
4. Projects…we will be focused on forestry work (brush removal, burn piles and firewood).
5. Kids…we 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 work parties and the danger factor can be high (i.e. chainsaws and such…used in the safest possible ways, of course). Work parties are oriented towards adults. That said, if you want to bring your hardworking kids along, we’d love to have them! Please do: 1. let us know, 2. plan to supervise them carefully all weekend, and 3. consider making a donation. And we can’t have unattended minors at work parties…sorry, Ekone teens!!
6. Things to Bring…
- Something to share for Friday night potluck
- Warm bedding…we have a good number of comfy pads but if you’ve got a good one bring it
- Towels for shower & sauna
- Work gloves (we have extras!), sturdy clothes & shoes, lots of layers for different temperatures
- Musical instruments!
- Tools (extra chainsaws always come in handy)
- Flashlight
7. Things Not to Bring…
- Dogs…we have enough of our own, and have had too many problems with guest dogs! If you think we should make an exception for YOUR dog, please let us know why he/she is so wonderful and safe, give us plenty of time to consider it, be willing to keep them on a leash, and forgive us if we say no.
8.. Directions…most of you have been here, but you can find them at www.ekone.org. DO NOT use mapquest, googlemaps, gps, etc. They will send you down the old goat trail.
Let us know if you have questions, and drop an email about your arrival or give a call at the ranch, 509-773-4536.
Looking forward to seeing you!
Please do let us know what lodging you prefer, to help us plan.
- Something to share for Friday night potluck
- Warm bedding…we have a good number of comfy pads but if you’ve got a good one bring it
- Towels for shower & sauna
- Work gloves (we have extras!), sturdy clothes & shoes, lots of layers for different temperatures
- Musical instruments!
- Tools (extra chainsaws always come in handy)
- Flashlight
- Dogs…we have enough of our own, and have had too many problems with guest dogs! If you think we should make an exception for YOUR dog, please let us know why he/she is so wonderful and safe, give us plenty of time to consider it, be willing to keep them on a leash, and forgive us if we say no.
