Cultivate, create & connect at our fair-trade hostel & explore the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa

Details

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  Description

  Our lodge is situated at the foot of the renowned and rugged Sani Pass that marks the border with the stunning Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. Nestled deep in the Drakensberg mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we are one of the longest-running hostels in the country. Along with our hard-working team, we have nurtured and grown our business for more than 30 years!
  
  In addition to accommodation, we run a café, craft shop, and tour company. Our adventures into Lesotho enable guests to drive/hike/horse-ride through the picturesque, high-altitude landscape, stopping in with partner communities to learn about and experience the unique culture of the Basotho people. Over the years, we have set up multiple community tourism projects, empowering locals to set up their own small businesses and partnering with them to incorporate their services into our tours. We support schools in Lesotho and are passionate about responsible and sustainable tourism, as evidenced in our Fair-Trade Tourism certification.
  
  Our small herd of Jersey cows provide organic milk from which we make (delicious!) cheese, yoghurt, halloumi, feta, butter, cream cheese, and ice cream. In the summer, fruit from our orchard is made into jam to accompany guests' breakfasts and our scones, served with our fresh cream, of course. A mountain stream welling up from a spring on our land provides fresh water, and the air is as pure as can be. Simone is a potter and artist, making ceramics from locally sourced clay and selling her creations and paintings in our shop. Russell is the cheesemaker and indigenous plant expert. We are animal lovers and have cats and a dog that do visit the lodge.
  
  We are looking for a young, enthusiastic and sociable traveller to help our team of staff with a variety of projects. Due to the nature of our business, you must enjoy interacting with guests, and be flexible to fit in with what is required (and that can change at the last minute due to challenges of living in a deep rural environment). We hope you will also be excited to share your own skills, be they in marketing, social media, woodwork, building projects, DIY, cooking/baking, gardening, computers, and upskilling our staff in areas of computers or carpentry or cooking.
  
  This post suits a mature, independent person who can help alone and is happy to get their hands and clothes dirty. We expect that you will be able to use your own initiative based on the ideas and / or projects to work on during your stay and that you communicate regularly with us; for example about what you are busy with, what project you have completed, what you need help with, about supplies that you need to do the project.
  
  Although we are English speakers, being good with people is more important to us than perfect English-speaking ability, and with travellers from around the world visiting our lodge, knowledge of additional languages can only be to your advantage!
  
  PLEASE ONLY CONTACT US ONCE YOU HAVE READ OUR ENTIRE PROFILE. Include details about why you think you will fit in with our ethos, why your background equips you to contribute to our business, and what skills you have to offer.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Hospitality/Tourism

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  You will have the unique opportunity to learn all about sustainable tourism, interact with guests from around the world at busy times, and learn a bit about the local Zulu culture from our friendly staff. If possible, we will try to organise for you to join a tour into Lesotho or a guided hike to see rock art.
  
  In addition, you will be able to:
  - stay in a rural area that is set deep in majestic mountains, bordering a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
  - hike into the wilderness right from our doorstep, swim in mountain streams and sleep in a sandstone cave,
  - learn the basics of running a farm/lodge/restaurant/tour company, as well as gardening and maintenance,
  - meet local Zulu people, hear (and maybe learn some of) their beautiful language, and learn about their rich culture,
  - see local wildlife such as duiker, baboons, reedbuck, eland, and many species of birds,
  - take a break from today’s fast-paced world in the tranquility of the mountains
  - enjoy the swimming pool and sunshine
  - watch our cows being hand-milked and try it yourself if you’d like!
  
  We hope you will enjoy learning about life in rural Africa where there is never a dull moment!

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  Help

  We are looking for an energetic and social volunteer who can work independently, does not mind being alone and when the lodge is busy, can use initiative to assist. We would like your help arranging and hosting activities for our guests, demonstrating your favourite recipes from home, using your skills to teach our staff in areas required (see skills section below) helping our cleaning ladies if it’s busy, and helping with general maintenance and upkeep (there’s always something to be done!).
  
  Some specifics:
  - Only one person at a time ( we do not take groups of two or more at a time)
  - Ideally between 25–30 years old
  - Comfortable interacting with people
  - Available for a maximum of a 2 week stay
  - Ideally comfortable speaking English (but being good with people is more important than perfect English)
  - We expect that you will use your own initiative based on the ideas and / or projects to work on during your stay and that you communicate regularly with us; for example about what you are busy with, what project you have completed, what you need help with, or about supplies that you need to do the project.
  We shall not be working alongside you as we are hands on engaged in the continual upkeep of the farm and businesses. You will often be helping alone on your tasks unless they are involving staff help.
  
  Useful skills:
  - experience in all sectors of hospitality
  - computer literacy to upgrade staff knowledge
  - practical skills such as building, general maintenance and repair work, carpentry, path maintenance, gardening, and plumbing
  - skilled with photography for social media marketing
  - sign making
  
  Note: We employ nine full-time staff who were all previously unskilled before joining our team and receiving on-the-job training. This country faces a desperate unemployment crisis, so we do not view Workaway as a provider of cheap labour. Rather, we consider Workaway to be a source of young people with energy and enthusiasm, skills that can be taught to our staff, willing to help where necessary and to be a fun, interactive link between our staff and guests.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  You will have accommodation in a 4-bed dormitory, which you may or may not share with other volunteers or guests depending on how busy we are. There are communal ablutions. Dinner will be provided in our café, and we will supply ingredients for you to make breakfast and lunch in the communal kitchen.
  
  NB: We will do our best to cater for food allergies, but it is imperative that you tell us in advance as our local shop is limited.

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  What else ...

  1) It is possible to reach us via a pre-booked shuttle – we shall give you information on how to book this).
  It is easy and cheap to hire a car from Johannesburg (seven hours) or Durban (three and a half hours) airport and drive to us yourself.
  
  2) It is strongly advised that you purchase a South African sim card from vodacom so that you can have local connectivity and the ability to send and receive whatsapp messages as wifi is not available anywhere outside of the central restaurant.
  
  3) The nearest grocery store, pharmacy is a 25-minute drive. We can give you a lift when we go in.
  
  4) We border directly onto the protected uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park. This means you can hike to mountain pools, peaks and caves directly from the lodge!
  
  5) We will try our best to let you join one of our tours – cultural day trip up the Sani Pass or a hike to Bushman’s paintings etc – provided there is space on a pre-arranged trip, and there is nothing else pressing that we need your help with at the lodge, but it is not guaranteed that this will happen.
  
  Ultimately, we are passionate about responsible tourism and conservation and hope you will share our vision to uplift communities and protect the untouched wilderness at our doorstep. As humanity becomes increasingly urbanised, this is a rare opportunity to step out of the fast lane, nourish your soul, reconnect to nature, and learn about and from African culture, history, and philosophy!

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  There is a small, basic camping area, but it does not have any power points. There is a basic camper's kitchen with sink, cold water, gas plates, and recycling bins. The camper's ablution is unisex with 2 gas-fired hot showers, 2 toilets and 2 basins.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 5 hrs per day, 5 days a week

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