Join us around the house, dog-sitting in the countryside next to the capital of Belgium

Details

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  Description

  Update: looking for a work-awayer for the period 10-25 May 2025
  
  We're a couple of Earth dwellers, on a path to re-connecting with earth and all of its creatures, with old and new energies and bodies of wisdom.
  For the past 10 years, we've been sharing a big house and a beautiful wild garden with Rastaman, the cat and Tasha, an irresistable little white dog age 12, as well as 5 chickens (Goldie, Blackie, Billie, Plume, Ripple) and 1 rabbit (Aquarel). Just prior to Christmas, we welcomed Snow (age 9 months) and Darcy (age 7 years) into our family, two lovely dogs who were abandoned and are learning fast to feel safe and at peace in their new home.
  Since Walter, the man around the house is gradually losing his mobility to MS, we can do with some helping hands to run our household, i.e. care for the animals, walk the dogs, harvest vegetables at the CSA farm nearby, prepare or warm up meals, tidy up, etc.
  Schedules and tasks vary with the presences and absences of Martine, the other half of our couple, and work/leisure activities are pretty much agreed on as we go along. A fair degree of autonomy is greatly appreciated. Generally, there's quite some room to do your own thing, but on some days that Martine is away for work, it may be required to not wander too far from the house or limit excursions to a few hours, i.e. to go into the city or on a bike tour around the "Pajottenland".
  Depending on the help offered and the degree of autonomy, extras on top of room and board can be discussed.
  We are fluent in Dutch, English and French and, together, we offer a reasonably good level of Italian, Portuguese and German, as well as some basic Spanish.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  House sitting
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  Interests

  

  Hiking

  

  Nature

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Farming

  

  Sustainability

  

  Self development

  

  Pets

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Music

  

  Languages

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Gardening

  

  Books

  

  Animals
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We live just outside Brussels, the capital of Europe, a cultural melting pot in itself, with easy connections to Gent, Bruges and Antwerp, as well as Amsterdam, Paris and Cologne. Although close to the hustle and bustle of the city, with a wide variety of cultural offerings, our house is surrounded by meadows and farmland and feels like it could be in a small village away from everything.
  Apart from learning about gathering and processing/ preparing/ preserving food, healthy and intuitive cooking, animal care and natural gardening, we can help with Dutch, English and French language learning, and are open to going on outings with our work-away guests, if time allows.
  We love to commune and philosophise about esoteric subjects, such as Human Design, Gene Keys, astrology, energy medicine, etc.

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  Help

  Basically, helping out running the household in all of its facets. Depending on the time and season, this may include the following:
  - Being part of the household, taking care of groceries, meals, tidying up, etc., when and where needed
  - Going to harvest vegetables at the local CSA-farm and processing them
  - Walking the dogs and caring for all the animals, including helping to clean the hen house and such
  - Tidying up the garden, trimming trees, mulching cuttings, mowing grass and such
  - Helping out with small DIY projects
  There's an opportunity to learn about a wide variety of subjects, including natural gardening/living/food processing/cooking/healing etc.
  The idea is to learn by doing and to gradually become independent, able to take care of certain things on your own.
  We'd love to have a chat with you about what we have to offer to one another prior to your stay. Feel free to send us a message including your whatsapp number so we can get in touch.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  German: Intermediate
  Portuguese: Intermediate
  Spanish: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  Interested in improving Portuguese
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  Accommodation

  A charming rooftop bedroom and bathroom; spacious common areas; a shared kitchen; 3 bathrooms/showers; a shared terrace and garden.

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  What else ...

  We're close to the city, but the feel is that of the country side. There is a bus stop at a 5' walk that will take you to Brussels-midi (South) railway station in 25' (De Lijn bus R42), and the metro (MIVB/STIB Line 5 terminal Erasmus) is 15' away on foot, which will connect you to anywhere else in and around Brussels city, allowing for ample opportunities to venture into town and beyond. We're situated in Pajottenland, which is well known for its beers, good food, Gaasbeek castle, walking and cycling routes.
  To many people, just spending a couple of hours sipping a glass of something reading a book on the glass-roof terrace is a way to enjoy a sunny afternoon.

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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

  There's wired internet (ethernet via TP Link). WiFi is on when needed, and only during the day (we're EMF sensitive)

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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