Forest gardening, animal rescue, organic farm in Øygarden, Norway

Details

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  Description

  The only availability we have is now (for 1 week), and October and December. We are fully booked for the rest of the time in 2024.
  
  We are a married couple; 40 and 43. We live on a småbruk (small farm) in Øygarden near the sea. We have an organic vegetable patch (no dig) and free ranging rescue/unwanted animals. We are creating a permaculture/forest garden and habitats for wildlife to thrive. Being environmentally friendly and sustainable are very important to us.
  
  We have a dog, cats, rabbits, ducks, hens, roosters and a lizard. We look after and release hedgehogs too.
  
  We will prioritise stays of 2 weeks or longer.
  
  If you are from outside the EU, you need a visa to volunteer in Norway.
  If you are from outside the EU and travelling in Norway, you don't need a visa.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We can share our knowledge of looking after animals in a free range setting and explain about common ailments, how to spot and fix them.
  
  Learning how to grow vegetables in harsher environments without digging and working with nature.
  
  We can show/tell you about many solutions to live a healthier and more sustainable life.
  
  We can give advice or answer questions about Norway, Norwegian culture and outdoor experiences.

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  Help

  Most of the tasks are physical and outdoors. If the weather is terrible then we will try to find inside tasks to do.
  
  We would like help with all sorts of things, some examples are:
  * Looking after the animals: day to day care and also building new accommodation for them
  * Building fences
  * General maintenance of the buildings (painting, cleaning)
  * Compost making, turning and spreading
  * Erecting a greenhouse
  * Making a pond
  * Cooking, shopping and cleaning
  * Vegetable garden: sowing seeds, weeding, planting, watering and harvesting
  * Forestry-cutting down invasive species and utilising them in a positive way
  * Driving
  
  If there's something you are particularly interested in then let us know and you can do that. During Autumn and Winter, it is cold, wet and windy here (by the coast). Please bring suitable outdoor clothes to keep you warm and dry. Wellington boots are helpful as it can be muddy.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Norwegian: Fluent
  French: Beginner

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  Accommodation

  You will have your own accommodation on our property. It sleeps 8 but 4 is probably more comfortable.
  
  We provide all your food but you will prepare/cook it yourself. We are happy to receive all different dietary needs as we have some of our own. Please let us know about any dietary requirements in your initial message.
  
  We are about 400 metres from the sea, so it's a nice short walk to get there.
  
  Due to allergy and environmental reasons, we are a perfume free household and use biodegradable products, for example, vinegar and essential oils for cleaning. We have biodegradable products that you can use :-) You should be perfume free before you arrive. If you have perfumed products in your hair or on your clothes it will transfer to the furniture and bed sheets etc and it doesn't wash off. We can send you some tips about how to be perfume free if you wish :-)
  
  We have our own sewage system, where all the released "grey" waste water goes through our land. We grow things on it which is another reason we can't have chemicals being sent out onto the land. It's the same with washing clothes. We/you can only wash natural fibres (wool, cotton, linen, hemp etc) here as other materials such as polyester shed micro plastics into the water and we don't want to be eating that :-)

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  What else ...

  We have made a map of things to do in the area which we can send to you:
  There is an outdoor climbing wall nearby, lots of walking opportunities, a bird reserve, beaches etc. You can borrow our bicycles to get around if you like. We also have kayaks you can borrow and a small sailing boat as we live very close to the sea. Bergen is 1 hour away by car. You can get to Bergen by bus as well but this take a little longer. There's a bus stop next to our house and another bus stop just over 1 km away with more frequent buses.
  
  Shoes are not worn indoors so bring slippers or thick socks to keep your feet nice and warm.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have space and decent internet for you to do this.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There is plenty of space for you to park on our land

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  Can possibly accept pets

  This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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