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Self-sufficiency and living in harmony with nature, in a forest near Quebec City, Canada

  • Favourited 813 times
  • Last activity: 28 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    This is a domain founded by my Italian grandfather, Vittorio, over 35 years ago when he decided to buy a beautiful woodlot outside Quebec City. My wife and I decided to leave the busy city and to move in the country house in 2012 . Since then, we have been building our dream of self-sufficiency and living in harmony with the lush nature around us.
    Milling wood, organic gardening, splitting and cording wood, raising poultry, picking wild mushrooms & berries, landscaping, cooking, canning, hunting, building sheds, and renovating the actual structures are tasks that are part of our daily lives. Join us in this journey as we have so much to teach and so much to learn from each other! It would be a pity not to share this heaven of peace with you! Welcome to our Villa!

    Maxim & Tiana


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    Ce domaine fut fondé par mon grand père italien, Vittorio, il y a une trentaine d'années lorsqu'il a décidé d'acheter un boisé à l'extérieur de la ville de Québec. Mon épouse et moi avons décidé de quitter la ville pour venir nous installer ici, en 2012. Depuis ce temps, nous travaillons fort pour une quête d'auto-suffisance et pour vivre en harmonie avec la nature qui nous entoure.
    Sciage de planches, agriculture vivrière biologique, sylviculture, fendre et corder du bois de chauffage, élever des volailles, cueillir des baies et des champignons, aménagement paysager, cuisine, mise en conserve, chasse, projets d'eco-construction et rénovations des structures existantes sont des exemples d'activités de tous les jours. C'est un grand plaisir pour nous de partager ce mode de vie avec vous! Joignez-vous donc à nous puisque nous avons beaucoup à apprendre l'un de l'autre! Soyez les bienvenus!

    Maxim & Tiana

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Farmstay help
    Babysitting and creative play
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Quebec is a French speaking region but English is widely understood and spoken. Altogether, Tiana and I speak French, English, Italian, Spanish, Arabic and Malagasy. If you want to learn French, then we will only speak to you in French! No better way the learn the language. Besides languages, you will be fully immersed in a traditional ''Quebecois'' lifestyle, where you will be doing tasks that our ancestors did over 300 years ago. That's what I call a great cultural exchange!

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    La région de Québec est francophone, mais une grande partie de la population parle et comprenne l'anglais. À nous deux, Tiana et moi, nous parlons : français, anglais, italien, espagnol, arabe et malgache. Si vous souhaitez apprendre le français, nous pouvons vous parler uniquement qu'en français! Rien de mieux qu'une immersion pour apprendre une langue. En plus de l'aspect linguistique, vous serez complètement immergés dans le mode de vie traditionnel québécois, en exécutant des tâches que nos prédécesseurs ont effectuées il y a plus de 300 ans. C'est ce qu'on appelle un échange culturel riche!

  • Help

    Help

    Here are some things that you could be doing to help us out: Helping with milling wood, organic gardening, feeding hens and picking eggs, landscaping, helping with construction or renovation projects(ex: building wood shed, painting, building mobile hen house, fence,compost bin, restoring wood furniture, etc.), splitting and cording firewood, picking wild berries and mushrooms, planting flowers, cooking, canning and much more! You might have to work in difficult conditions (heat, cold, rain, manure) and tasks sometimes can be repetitive and long. It's not always easy living off the land!! It is important for us to have someone who is committed in getting the job done and not scared to get his hands dirty. The rewards are always great!


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    Voici des activités de notre vie de tous les jours: Aider dans les opérations de sciage, agriculture vivrière biologique, nourrir les volailles et ramasser les œufs, aménagement paysager, aider avec les projets d'éco-construction et de rénovation (exemple: construire une remise pour le bois de chauffage, peinture extérieure, construire un poulailler mobile, réparer des clôtures, construire un bac à compost, etc.), fendre et corder du bois de chauffage, planter des fleurs et désherber, cuisine, mise en conserve, transformation des aliments et bien plus! Il arrive que les conditions de travail ne soient pas optimales (chaleur, froid, pluie, fumier) et les tâches peuvent être répétitives et des fois longues. Cela fait partie de la vie lorqu'on décide de viser l'autosuffisance! C'est très facile d'acheter un steak pré-emballé au supermarché, le produire est une autre histoire! Il est important pour nous d'avoir des gens qui ont de l'intérêt pour notre mode de vie et qui sont intéressés à apprendre! Aller au bout des travaux et des fois se salir les mains sont des qualités importantes pour toute personne visant l'autosuffisance! Les récompenses sont toujours grandes ici!

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    French: Fluent
    Italian: Fluent
    Arabic: Intermediate
    Spanish: Intermediate
    Malagasy: Beginner

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We live in our country house with our three young children : Aymar, 6-year-old, Stella, 4-year-old and Farah 2 year old. The guests live in a separate fully furnished summer cottage that can accommodate up to 4 people. Hot water and wood stove are also available. It's clean, comfortable and spacious!

    What about food? Food will come from our farm but as well from the supermarkets. We always buy fresh and mostly organic. We cook lunch for you every weekday. We give you money every week so you can do your own groceries for breakfast and dinner.

    On weekends, you have to provide for your food as we need to spend time with our family and we won't always be available at the farm. We encourage you to take advantage of the many activities that Quebec has to offer!

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    Nous vivons dans notre maison de campagne avec nos trois jeunes enfants : Aymar(6 ans), Stella(4 ans) et Farah(2 ans). Les bénévoles vivent dans un chalet séparé. Il est meublé et rénové qui peut héberger jusqu'à 4 personnes. L'eau chaude et le chauffage au bois sont aussi disponibles. C'est propre, confortable et spacieux!

    Et la nourriture? Les aliments proviendront de notre fermette, mais aussi des marchés locaux. Nous achettons des produits frais et principalement bio. Nous cuisinons tous les repas du midi et vous laissons suffisamment d'argent pour faire vos courses pour le petit déjeuner et le repas du soir.
    Les weekends, nous ne sommes pas disponibles pour cuisiner puisque nous passons au moins une journée à Québec pour voir notre famille. Pour cette raison, les bénévoles doivent prévoir leur nourriture le weekend. Nous vous invitons à profiter des centaines d'activités à Québec et dans ses alentours!

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    We are located only 20 minutes from Quebec City which is the oldest fortified city in North America. We offer rides to town around 2 times a week in the evening from 5pm to 10pm (sometimes later) and spend at least one full weekend day in the city. If you want to spend more time in Quebec you can rent a car or preferably hitch hike.
    There is a vibrant cultural life in Quebec, with a lot of music shows, and festivals of every kind. It holds one of the biggest music festivals in the world: the Quebec summer music festival(Festival d'été de Québec) which lasts weeks! Night life is amazing especially on weekends and surprisingly inexpensive as there are nearly no cover costs. Criminality is also probably one of the lowest in North America if not the lowest.
    Outside from city activities, we must not forget that we are in a paradise for outdoor sports and activities! Quebec is surrounded by dense forest, mountains, rivers, lakes and trails that travel through all of it. You have access to over 300 acres of our own woodland. Hiking, trekking, camping, canoeing, rafting, kayaking, biking, rock climbing and cliff jumping are just a few of the leisure that awaits you here. I am myself an experienced freediving instructor and I regularly teach on weekends. I also teach kickboxing a few evening a week in the greatest gym in town. Name it and we do it here!!


    We are very open minded and easy going people, however we do not accept:
    - Smartphone addicts (please no smartphone during working hours unless used for pictures or important calls)
    - People who are just looking for a place to crash and have no tangible interest in what we do here.
    - People who are broke and rely at 200% on us to live.
    - People who are not physically/mentally able to work around 5 hours a day (excluding children of course).

    We accept and reward any motivated individuals who are willing to actively participate in our countryside lifestyle!

    Warm regards,

    Tiana, Maxim, Aymar, Stella and Farah :)

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    This host can provide space for campervans.

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

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

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 641536764769

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