Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
23 Apr 2024
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100.0 %
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Details
Description
Hello! We are a young family living in the countryside near Tartu (15 km). We bought the place in 2020 and have done some work, but more is on the list, like always in the countryside. In the last two summers, I have hosted a few volunteers and can host a few this year too. We prefer if you come together with your friend or partner and stay 1 or 2 weeks. If you are travelling alone, you can write to me, but I can accept you if there is an interest from someone else at the same time. As we take you into our family and want to host you as well as we can we are capable of taking only a few workawayers each year. You are a good match for us if you have high motivation and some basic skills for work tasks and are a nice person to spend time with. :)
The work you could do depends on the timing. In spring there will be a lot of preparation of garden beds as the plan for this year is to make the garden more productive. In summer, there might be a lot of painting work for the infrastructure we plan to build.
If you are interested in learning about horses, that's the place, as I have several. I (Piret, the host) can teach you about horsemanship, groundwork and the academic art of riding*, which is my passion. Also, I am into environment, sustainability, permaculture, and have worked as a climate policy expert for quite many years. We have a 3-year-old son called Iko, almost 1-year-old daughter Iti and a cat called Taavi. One day, we will have more farm animals, for sure, but not yet. My other half Tenno is working in the IT sector, and he used to be a sound engineer. We used to travel around quite a lot when we were young(er). Thus it would be nice to host some travellers in our home too!
We try to combine modern conveniences with eco-conscious living, having solar panels and an electric car, and an automatic heating system, but then try to grow more and more food ourselves, reduce our environmental footprint, buy local and organic, and preserve food for winter etc. The farm is still a work in progress, and I am still starting up with the permaculture-style garden.
*Wht is as academic art of riding? It is combining the physical and mental well-being of the horse and for getting to the riding part there is a lot of preparation from the ground. Thus, I cannot offer you riding, but it's more about how to communicate with a horse from the ground, and how to prepare it for riding mentally and physically.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
DIY and building projects
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We can share the Estonian way of living, and our knowledge of our land and culture. I (Piret, the host) can teach you about horsemanship, groundwork and the academic art of riding, which is my passion. Also, I can share experiences on how to keep horses - I am developing a paddock paradise (track system) for my horses and can tell you all about that. I can also show you how to take care of the hooves of the horse if you are interested. I am still a beginner in permaculture gardening but have some theoretical knowledge which I am happy to share. I am currently going to gardening school to get more practical knowledge. Tenno's favourite topics are IT, sound engineering, music, and foreign politics which he is always happy to chat about.
Help
This spring and summer I have some specific projects you could work on.
- Painting stuff around the farm
- Preparing garden beds (digging and getting rid of weed roots) +some other gardening tasks
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Estonian: Fluent
Swedish: Beginner
Accommodation
You have your own room on the second floor and if we are ready with it then your own bathroom (with toilet but no shower). We expect you to keep your own place tidy and help out with weekly cleaning chores as you live here in our home. We live on the first floor. On the first floor, there is a bathroom with a shower. You can also use a sauna (separate house) as you wish. We will heat up the sauna from time to time, especially for social events, which you are more than welcome to join.
We eat a lot of local and organic food. Sometimes we also eat meat but cook a lot of vegetarian food, no problem to do some vegan food as well if you prefer so. It would be nice if you are willing to share your cooking skills with us.:) We eat what we currently have at home and do not shop every day. My cooking style is to look into the cupboard and mix something up. Eating times are not by the clock, though we eat 3 times a day. Morning comes always with porridge and Sunday is with pancakes.
We are spending quite a lot of time at home, but sometimes also go away for a few days. If we go somewhere for a day trip and you would like to join, then we are happy to take you. For example last summers we took our volunteers for a music festival, a hiking trip, parties with friends, roadtrip to South-Estonia and swimming by the nearby lake.
What else ...
It is possible to reach our place by free bus ride (20 min) from the Tartu bus station. Buses go around once every hour and Tenno often goes to the office during workdays, which makes it easy to visit Tartu.
We live in the countryside, so it's a quiet place and it's possible to walk around our land or on our village road. However, we don't have hiking trails or anything like this next to our property. For that, you would need to have a trip to some nature trail (we can recommend you, if interested).
You should be able to work on your own, but I would be there with you helping out as much as I can.
If we have trip together somewhere for fun you are expected to pay your own admission fees, meals ect.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have decent wifi here and have a home office for ourselves too.
Space for parking camper vans
We can provide you with electricity and water.
Can possibly accept pets
If pets can stay outside, then there is no problem (if they don't chase horses). We prefer no pets indoors (the main reason is that we do not fancy cleaning). Our own cat spends the summer outside and only stays with us in the house in the winter.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (3)
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
I stayed about 3 weeks in Piret's and Tenno's home and I can happily say I enjoyed every second of it. They made me feel at home since the vert first day, with their daily family breakfast (best porridges are served there).
The work in itself is really enjoyable since Piret always makes sure that it suits your preferences and… read more
