Meet MOFGA Volunteer Jim Bahoosh

Fall 2025
By Betsy Garrold

Photo credit: Jim Bahoosh

From sharing his building expertise with people who want to build their own small home to teaching others to row with the Come Boating! nonprofit in Belfast, Maine, and much in between, Jim Bahoosh is eager to share his knowledge with others.

Bahoosh first attended MOFGA’s Common Ground Country Fair in the early 2000s. Because, he says, he'd rather participate than be a spectator, he was soon exhibiting his small houses — built specially for the Fair. During the eight or so years Bahoosh exhibited and gave talks in the Fair’s Energy and Shelter Area, he talked to hundreds, if not thousands, of fairgoers about efficient building design and construction.

When he told people he was not taking on any commissioned jobs, they were often disappointed, but many found inspiration in his work. One year, two fairgoers returned to his demonstration time and again. He recalls one saying, "You know you've got something great when both an 88-year-old and her grandson keep coming back to show it to their friends.” Another time, an 11-year-old girl vowed to embark on her own building project. She came back the next year with pictures of a treehouse she had built.

When Bahoosh heard there was an opening for the coordinator of the Energy and Shelter Area, he volunteered for the position. "It was an opportunity to get really involved in a part of the Fair, be more actively engaged and, in the process, learn more,” he said.

Bahoosh aspires to continue learning and teaching beyond his involvement in the Fair. For several years, he helped with WERU Community Radio’s music fair, and for 20 years he deejayed music shows and also hosted a weekly feature about building on the volunteer-run station. When COVID-19 cut that short he started writing "The Sketchbook" articles for the Free Press. "My goal is always to break down the mystery about building stuff. My philosophy is 'just start, don't be afraid of it,'" he said.

When he talks about rowing, his enjoyment of teaching people new skills is again apparent. He really enjoys when new people come on the Cornish pilot gigs and tries to make it a good experience for them. Belfast teams have participated in the World Pilot Gig Championships twice and plan to go again in 2026. This September, Bahoosh will join a Belfast team headed to Scotland for Monster the Loch, a 21-mile human-powered boat race on Loch Ness. He will arrive back in the states just before the Fair — and his duties as area coordinator of the Energy and Shelter Area.

Bahoosh says, "I'd encourage anyone to get involved as a volunteer at the Fair. It's really fun. What I always liked the best was to volunteer before the Fair. It's wild seeing the infrastructure for a small city emerge from the fields."