Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
6 Mar 2024
Reply rate
88.9 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
31
Facebook verified
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
Do you love to cook with fresh food from the garden, the forest and the stables or are you a very handy handyperson? Chefs and woodworkers are very welcome on our permaculture family homestead in the green hills in the heart of Croatia!
For cooks: our son Nol is learning to become a chef so we like to provide you with fantastic ingredients and a variety of tools. We like to cook a "peka" or a soup in a cauldron on an open fire, indoors we cook on a wood stove with a big oven, we like to ferment, bake, to smoke meat and fish, we have made our own sausages... Cooking here is fun!
For handy people: there is always work to do on the animal housing or the playground, if Peter is not working on a bigger project like building a traditional wooden house, a compost toilet or a shepherd's hut or furniture for this all.
All others: sorry, we cannot host you through this website because we ask people to do our (€ 70,-) course in sustainable living, permaculture and self sufficiency first, before they volunteer with us.
We are looking for nature lovers who want to help us set up a village-community on our 12 hectares of terrain where we live a sustainable and self reliant life in the countryside.
Our vision is to grow our homestead into a community-village with like-minded people in an edible landscape.
Our food forest (started in 2015) is almost mature, the food savanna is getting more and more diverse and the camp ground is turning into an edible landscape.
About our family: we live a simple, healthy, holistic lifestyle as practical realists. We use permaculture principles to develop our terrain and our life. We care for the earth, for the people around us, for the future and we like to share our abundance with you.
We aim to make the world a better place by living as sustainable as is practical for us, and we are using permaculture design to setup our systems.
You need a certain amount of independence, curiosity, flexibility and fun.
We welcome you as you and we don't appreciate advocates for a battle that doesn't need to be fought here. Who you are matters for us; not what colors your skin has, what gender you identify with or who you prefer in your bed. That is not an issue here. We have hosted warriors who dominate the atmosphere with what others can or cannot say. We enjoy a light atmosphere and we might not be "politically correct" because we don't believe in politics. We believe in us all being humans and caring for the world.
Please write a PERSONAL message (to Peter and Barbara) about you, what you want to learn, why, what we can learn from you, your skills and your dream future, so we can setup a good stay for you.
We normally get more than 400 requests a year so you need to make it personal with your motivation!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We like to share and exchange recipes, music (we have a piano, guitar, wooden flutes, djembe, cajon), inspiring movies, ideas, insights... Peter used to be a blacksmith, Barbara likes to work with wool (spinning, felting, knitting, crochet) and she makes our own herbal health care (tinctures, oils, teas), body care (face & hand creams) and cleaning products (with soda, vinegar, borax, salt, essential oils and such).
Barbara is a (social) permaculture teacher and Peter coaches people to make (natural) steps in their lives, so you can learn about permaculture and personal development as well.
Help
We are homeschooling our son Nol to become a chef and we definitely need help with that, from professional cooks! We have hosted chefs from Costa Rica, the United States, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Chili and England and we are very grateful for their contributions in our kitchen.
You can also help us with your skills in wood working. So if you are good in furniture making, you can help with the animal housing, the interior of our shepherd's hut or a traditional wooden house. If you are experienced in construction work, Peter would be pleased to build cool stuff with you. A reciprocal roof is also on the agenda.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
German: Intermediate
Croatian: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
Želimo "level up" u Hrvatski jezik pa izvorni govornici hrvatskoga molim vas dođite i pomozite nam!
Accommodation
Volunteers stay in a camper van, caravan or in a room in the house, depending on the season.
What else ...
We're situated on the top of a hill, inland Croatia. The village Vojnic is on a 5km/50 minutes walk distance. In Vojnic there are bars with wifi and there are shops for groceries.
On Saturdays we sometimes go to the farmers market, to buy things that we don't produce ourselves (yet).
When it's hot, we go swimming in the river Korana (or Mreznica).
On a day off you could visit Rastoke (beautiful old, wooden village on the river) or the Plitvice lakes & waterfalls (UNESCO monument), or the nice city Karlovac (half hour bus drive). Also the capitol Zagreb is visitable (just over an hour with the bus). The Croatian coast is under 2 hours by car.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have Elon Musk's Starlink internet and we can set you up with a desk and flexible hours to work.
Space for parking camper vans
On our 12 hectares we have some excellent spots to put your vehicle!
Can possibly accept pets
Friendly dogs can play with our labrador-retriever Nina or with our border collie Nelson.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (10)
Both of them have many, many skills and if you want to get some work well done, these are your people. They ask because they're genuinely… read more
Marcus is hard working, flexible, independent and reliable. He is a realistic idealist, actively working on a better world, starting with himself.
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.9)
Both of them have many, many skills and if you want to get some work well done, these are your people. They ask because they're genuinely… read more
Marcus is hard working, flexible, independent and reliable. He is a realistic idealist, actively working on a better world, starting with himself.
It was a joy to host her!
We had a good time in the garden, sowing, planting, fertilizing, mulching and harvesting, hunting bugs and garden bed maintenance. They also worked in the food savanna and in the nut orchard, cared for the plants and trees and processed… read more
Barbara, Peter, Nol and Fleur are an incredible family with a fantastic vision for how they want to live life now and in the future. There were 14 of us in total including our family, theirs, and the other volunteers. We all shared… read more
This family is great company for good conversations, good food and they bring good energy, love & joy to the world around them. They are passionate about health and good food but not dogmatic. They are… read more
We think that Debora is really cool and courageous because she left a safe job to search for a more meaningful life in nature.
She works hard and learns quick so that we could team her up with new volunteers… read more
They were interested in our life story, life projects, and learn from our culture as well. They shared lots of life stories. We eat the most natural food ever (most of the food was from their garden). They took us to the river a couple of times which… read more
We did a big variety of tasks with them, like gardening, animal care, paving a terrace, piling a wood stack and processing the harvest. And cooking! Camila is a good cook and she taught us some… read more
You're welcome back Philipp!
Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, she had to leave earlier than planned but Camille is welcome back any other time.
They work hard and they work well together. Both are practical AND very creative so what they make is beautiful. Lou painted fantastic ornaments that she designed herself, from examples/style indications that we gave her. Théo constructed the front and the back of a gypsy wagon, and Lou made some… read more
Thank you for coming here and enriching our lives! We really enjoyed your stay here, our talks about Toltecs and ancient wisdom, your music, your delicious influence on our food...
You are 2 lovely, positive warriors for a better world.
Love,
Peter & Barbara
Fabio is a lovely, gentle man with a great eye for detail. He is funny and light, and at the same time serious with everything he does. He is not "just a helper", he is TRULY helpful!
Sofia is a great… read more
Leandra helped us get the garden ready for spring (and we did various other things) and David helped Peter with making furniture for our event. What a valuable contribution that was! We had fun and we learned from them too.
The entire family (including… read more
What a joy to host you! Thank you for choosing our place. We had fun with you, interesting conversations, and you left a lot of physical memories with the things you did here.
Thank you very much and we wish you a lucky, bon voyage!
Barbara, Peter, and kids are a wonderfully welcoming family; supporting and fostering creativity and free thought.
Work Overview:
The work here is varied, and dependant on the season, and also your abilities.
Whether you’re interested… read more
You're welcome back any time, Sarah!
They are a lovely couple with a good sense of humor and good cooking skills.
They quickly found their way… read more
