Tidelines Institute, a field school based in Southeast Alaska, seeks a two-person team for a homesteading residency of three years at our Inian Islands campus. Living on-site year-round, the homesteading residents will be responsible for maintaining this off-grid, 5-acre property and all equipment in excellent condition, collecting scientific data, hosting student groups, supervising seasonal employees, volunteers, & interns, and advancing Tidelines Institute’s mission.  In return, the residents will receive total annual compensation of $35,000-$51,000 (depending on experience level) plus room and board, and will be apprenticed to local experts in the homesteading arts including wide-ranging practical skills and subsistence. We particularly encourage applications from families (with or without children!) seeking to acquire the necessary skills and savings to create a self-sufficient life for themselves in Southeast Alaska, deeply connected to its fertile lands and waters. 

TIDELINES INSTITUTE

Tidelines is a field school devoted to education, science, community, sustainability, and honoring Tlingit culture and values. We bring student groups for field-based courses in the liberal arts and environmental sciences, conduct scientific study, and welcome community members for events in this beautiful, wild setting. We endeavor to connect people deeply to each other and the natural world, and to educate and inspire rising scientists, conservationists, and community leaders.

TIDELINES INSTITUTE HOMESTEADING RESIDENCY

Our homesteading residents will live the profound joys and challenges of rustic Southeast Alaska. This is among the most remote, wild, and unforgiving regions in North America, providing a rare opportunity for near-absolute isolation, particularly during the five or more winter months. There are no roads, and travel by boat or seaplane is a serious enterprise due to distance and inclement weather.

The solitude and beauty of this place will offer our residents a rare chance for insights into the natural world and their place within it. They will face fundamental living: keeping warm, gardening and harvesting wild foods, servicing off-grid water and power systems, and maintaining buildings and boats in an isolated maritime setting. While gaining these skills and living this life, they will serve students, scientists, and visitors of all walks of life, especially during regular student courses throughout the summer.

We hope the skills and earnings acquired over three years at Tidelines Institute will serve our residents in founding self-sufficient lives at residency’s end.

COMPENSATION

Homesteading residents will receive total annual compensation of $35,000-$51,000 for the team (depending on experience level) plus room and board, skill-building opportunities with local experts, generous vacation time (both on- and off-site) and an ample stipend for supplies, boat use, and travel to nearby communities.

QUALIFICATIONS

Homesteading skills that our residents do not arrive with can be taught through apprenticing to local experts, including an overlap period with outgoing homesteading residents.  Nevertheless, a base level of outdoor and practical competency is a crucial starting point (see application below).  A deep desire to gain these skills, and a deep devotion to the mission of Tidelines Institute, are paramount. 

The ideal candidates will show many of the following qualities:

• Problem-solving abilities, good communication & interpersonal skills, attention to detail, ability to work alone or as part of a team for extended periods of time, adaptability to an extremely isolated location for extended periods, tolerance for endless bouts of foul weather, flexibility to changing circumstances, levelheadedness, joy in working with young people, and trustworthiness.