Canada
Favourited 146 times
Come help me with my reuse recycle farm idea. See the Rocky Mountains and Western Canada (maybe). My farm is located JUST outside Edmonton which is a city of over 1 million people. There is ANYTHING you want to do here. Festivals, bars, pubs, nightlife, shopping, cinema, theatre, sports, spectator sports (hockey / football), gymnasiums, ice skating. Edmonton has the biggest urban park of any city in the world I think. There is amazing hiking in the river valley. We have the biggest shopping mall in North America and possibly the best in the world. We have lots of downhill skiing in the Rocky Mountains and also a short drive from my farm. There is a pond on my farm if you want to turn it into a hockey rink (you can shovel the snow off the frozen ice). I can possibly take you to shoot guns, throw axes, ride motorcycles, go snowmobiling and dog sledding. You shouldn't be bored in this place. When working you will be cleaning and organizing because we're just setting everything up. Expect hard dirty work but good food.
Feb 1/19 volunteer update
There is a Spanish / English speaking Argentinian guy here right now. He’s such a nice guy. He said he wants to stay until late March. He is working hard during the day cleaning and organizing.
Valerie (a girl from the USA) will definitely be coming here from Feb 1 to March 10 and another girl from the USA might be coming in March.
A 19 year old Italian girl is DEFINITELY coming on March 10 to April 18.
A Hungarian girl might come here.
There’s a German guy and also a Canadian guy (from Nova Scotia) who are thinking about possibly coming here.
A 40 year old Greek guy said he wants to come in mid March and stay for a couple months.
A 20 year old Dutch / Greek girl is DEFINITELY coming from April 10 to June 25.
A German girl might come in May and June.
A 19 year old Swiss Math Physics genius is definitely coming on May 15. He booked his flight.
I probably won't be entertaining much at all in February and March. The workawayers will have to entertain each other. They will be hanging around the farm playing billiards, watching movies, watching satellite TV, having tea, doing Skype, using WIFI, practicing English, eating food, having drinks. If you want to come join the group let me know. There will be access to a vehicle to get a ride into Edmonton. There will be one "key holder" of the car key who will be able to drive to the supermarket, etc. Starting in April I will be able to start entertaining again.
Gardening
Building
Babysitting / child care
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Other
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Language practice
Help with Computers / internet
Learn about recycling (and reusing). There are many things to know about it. Expect to learn LESS about farming because we have already planted 350 trees and you will just be watering them. You won't learn anything from that. But you can learn about all the reusing and recycling we do here. If you're an environmentalist you will benefit from this knowledge. Let's save the planet! I am an AVID recycler and this is my passion. You can learn all about recycling
learn perfect English from university educated professional anglophones
Matt is a teacher and will have lessons for you in English (he also speaks German, some Spanish, French, Russian so that will help translate)
Experience REAL Canada
You might be able to join me on a trip to see the Rocky Mountains, hot springs, waterfalls, canyons, hikes
See BOTH rural and urban life in Canada
Learn about and meet Native Indians
possibly visit Native Indian reservations and learn about the history of Native Indians in Canada and also North America. (remember that Matt used to be a history teacher).
possibly go dog sledding if you pay for it. I provide transport and bagged lunches
Possibly go whitewater rafting if you pay for it. I provide transport and food
Possibly go canoeing if it's summer (this is free as I own canoes)
live on a farm with a true Canadian family with young cute children
use power tools and practice carpentry
drive vehicles (even if you don't have a driver's licence or ANY experience) I can teach you to drive.
drive equipment and machinery
Learn about mechanics and how to keep machinery running in cold weather
Possibly ride motorcycles
Possibly ride snowmobiles
Probably try snowshoeing in the deep snow because we have snowshoes here for you to use.
get exercise by working so hard
Eat good healthy food
Learn about organic gardening with NO pesticides or fertilizers
Party and have outdoor fires with other helpers. We sometimes have more than 4 helpers here. Make friends!
On Friday and Saturday nights I MIGHT be able to drive you and other helpers into the nightclub district of Edmonton to go out for beer and dancing. Then I'd drive you back to the farm at 2:00 A.M.
Get free use of WARM clothes for the Canadian winter. I will provide the warm clothes.
Get free travel advice because Matt has been to over 55 countries and most places in Western Canada.
Cleaning, organizing, dusting, moving furniture around, placing ads on internet to recycle items, shovelling snow in winter, mowing grass in summer, doing dishes, watering trees, (all menial unskilled tasks) The only learning you will be doing is English language practice, how to clean, and also learning about recycling. Don't expect to learn much about organic farming because you'll just be watering 350 trees that are already planted.
*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️. Please read this regarding CASH payment*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️ I need someone to run the farm for February and March. If you are committing to at least March 24, speak fluent English, are VERY trainable, are very strong and have a driver's licence I might be able to negotiate cash payments for you (on top of free accommodation, entertainment and food). This would ONLY be if you are someone who could really be a valuable asset to my family and I. None of the workawayers I have hosted as of yet would fit the criteria for a cash stipend. Most of them don't want to stay for at least a couple months. They are only receiving accommodation, food and entertainment for free. BUT, if you are the right type of person and have nothing better to do than hang out and work on my farm then you might be able to turn this workaway into a PAID workawayer position. I would pay for any hours over the 25 hours per week. If ANYONE does MORE than 25 hours per week I will pay them cash for the extra hours.
English, Deutsch (German), poquito Espanol, Russian, un petit Français
You can stay in my home in an unfinished basement. It's like a dorm style shared HUGE room. You would probably have a Queen sized bed. You will probably often be coming upstairs in our home to have meals and to relax in the evenings. There is unlimited internet, satellite television. There is a BIG recreation room with a billiards table and fireplace.
I will provide all food for the workawayers. If you are doing the cooking you can cook whatever you want and we will pay for it. You could cook one meal per day or all 3 meals if you like. We're not that frugal to limit what you cook. If my wife is cooking she usually cooks 1 big meal per day. Lunch is usually leftovers from the previous nights dinner. Breakfast would just be oatmeal, banana, bowl of cereal and toast. And you will also have access to our larder with plenty of food for you. You will not starve. There is a camping stove and full sized barbecue outside in the yard if you prefer to live like you're camping. I will put lots of rice, beans, canned goods, pickles, grains, cereals, in shelves and you can help yourself to as much as you like.
My farm is located just outside of Edmonton which is a city of over 1 million people. I go into the city almost every day. I can also provide free accommodation for you in the city if you want to stay in the city for a day or two. There is the biggest mall in North America (West Edmonton Mall) close to my farm. There is lots of nightlife in Edmonton as it's a University city. I will show you around the city as well. I sometimes take road trips into the Rocky Mountains to go hiking. I've been showing them around the city of Edmonton on their days off. We have done cycling, skating, hiking, sledding, sightseeing, Or we've been hanging around the farm playing billiards, watching movies, having tea, doing Skype, using WIFI, practicing English, eating food, having drinks. Most of the time you will be on the farm working. When you're not working you can watch movies, satellite TV, use the high speed internet to Skype or WhatsApp your friends. Or just go for walks out in the woods/trees. Maybe use our big recreation room to play billiards or sit by the fireplace with a book and read. We have a library of books in our home. If you enjoy playing with children you can play with our 2 toddlers. They love it when people read books to them.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
More than two
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. Or equivalent of 25 hours. Anything over that would be paid.
