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Women share the workload Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Aloha Heart, foreground, and Teri Becker paint a rental house in Ashland Saturday. They and about a dozen others are part of a group called Women Helping Other Women, a concept reminiscent of the barn-raising days of the Old West. By Jessica Smith ASHLAND � Brush in hand, flecks of sage green splashed on her tanned face, Karen Giese looks the part of a professional painter. Saturday morning, she and three other women bathed the house at 70 N. First St. in the green paint. But the women, who live in the Applegate area, aren�t professional painters. One�s a counselor to troubled kids, another translates Spanish, a third raises her children and goats, and another works as a therapist. Yet week after week, these women and others put their hands to work as part of a home-spun outfit called Women Helping Other Women. "We do all kinds of things," said Aloha Heart, one of the founding members of the group. "We build fences, we dig trenches, we paint, we landscape." "But we�re not for hire," said Giese, surveying the progress made on her rental house in just two hours. By 10 a.m., the foursome had covered about half the place in fresh paint. Taking their cue from the barn-raising days of the Old West, Heart and a small group of women decided two years ago to establish a community cooperative that would tackle labor-intensive projects as a team. For now, the group accepts members only in the Applegate area. "When you live out where we live and you have five or 10 acres, it requires a lot," Heart said. "We just decided that there are ways we can help each other." In two years, the group has grown to 15 members. Each must volunteer at least nine hours to various members before they can cash in and request help with their own project. The project host always serves lunch to her volunteers, Heart said. "It�s a circle of spirit and friendship and practicality," she added. By the time the women finished at Giese�s Ashland rental, they�d worked between them a total of 12 hours. The cost to Giese: $150, a thermos of hot coffee and a pile of sandwiches. "What would it have cost me otherwise?" she said. "The group is a godsend. I�m getting lots of work done." And there�s always work to be done. The women meet every six weeks to develop their work schedule for the next couple months. Working mostly on Saturdays and Mondays, the women help each other clean house, plant vegetable gardens and finish other household chores. Along with the work, the women forge friendships that help them in other ways. Lori Michael, who�s been with the group about 18 months, said she depends on the relationships between her co-volunteers to help her sort out problems. "On a personal level, that�s what I�ve needed," she said. To foster the sisterhood feeling, the group generally excludes men. "But it�s not a man-hating thing," said Giese, explaining that some members� husbands have helped in the past. "It�s about us getting together. It�s just women helping women." Anyone interested in learning more about Women Helping Other Women, or getting tips on starting a group, may call Aloha Heart at 899-7968. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.