Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
26 Sep 2023
Feedback
15
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
We are Christopher and Marie, a middle-aged couple in Oslo.
Christopher is a researcher and also half American, so he is a English native speaker.
Marie is a lighting designer and speaks English and French. We both speak Norwegian of course:).
We share a countryside property called "Vestereng" (meaning the Western fields) with Christopher's sister Lisbeth and her husband Arild.
Vestereng is situated in the countryside in Hobøl, about a 60 min drive from Oslo. The property consists of fields, a young forest and gardens, the latter including a swimming pool.
During summer, there is a lot of coming and going at Vestereng. Sometimes we are two people, sometimes ten. With you we are going to be even more.
Christopher's and Lisbeth's parents built the place in the late 1980's. We have two houses, one big and one small, and a barn.
Workawayers should be comfortable around cats and dogs.Types of help and learning opportunities
GardeningFarmstay helpCreating/ Cooking family mealsHelp around the houseGeneral MaintenanceCultural exchange and learning opportunities
Workawayers will have a good chance to practice English and Norwegian. You might also say hello to deer, foxes and the occasional moose. More interestingly, we do a lot of nice stuff in the forest, not only wood chipping, but also using the wood chips for composting, amending the soil etc. This is not exactly permaculture, but it is inspired by that.
Help
PAINTING: We need help to paint the big house and maybe the small as well.
This might take a week or two with two people working.
FORESTRY: We need extensive help in the forest. Most of the forest was logged 10 years ago and some more was logged recently. There is a lot of cleaning up to do.
In Norway most people replant with spruce after logging. What we do, is to encourage the native pioneer species as well as adding other native species to get a biodiverse mixed forest. We have also added hazel nuts, chestnuts, walnuts and cider apples. We hope to add more species this summer.
The "cleaning up" of the forest is real hard physical work. It is recommended to be in reasonably good shape.
What we are looking for, is upto six people that can help us for two weeks in July.
2-3 persons will paint the house(s). 3-4 people will work with us in the forest and the garden.
In the case of heavy rain, we have a messy barn to demessify and some general cleaning to do.
COOKING: We are going to be many people. We would like a designated person to do the cooking during the weekdays.
This person should be a good allround cook (and does not need to do painting and forestry!). The menu will include meat, fish and dairy products, but we are delighted to do vegetarian meals as well. The cook will get the weekends off as everyone else. It might be a good idea that the cook arrives ahead of the others, in order for us to plan the menu and buy the ingredients. It is also great if the cook has a driver's licence.
To clarify: We are looking for upto six people for painting and forestry + one person for the cooking.Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Norwegian: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
We are maybe not very much into learning new languages, but are happy to help with the languages we speak!Accommodation
Sleeping arrangements: We have several beds in the attic which also has a bathroom. It is also possible to camp outside for those interested. At the barn it is possible to sleep outdoors , but under a roof; during heat waves this is very comfortable. (It is nicer than it might sound.)
What else ...
The house is in the countryside not far from Oslo, but the public transportation is not very good. We are happy to arrange for excursions during the weekends, but during the week we mostly stay at the property. Workawayers travelling with their own vehicle will be able to do some evening sightseeing during the week; there are several nice villages/small town by the fjord to visit.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Yes.
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (7)
Furthermore they give us the opportunity to visit Oslo in our free time. I will never forget this time, thank you so much! See ya!
During his stay Noah painted a big part of our house, helped with scaffolding as well as with the lift we had rented, he did wood chipping and assisted in the… read more
Pierre is a very nice guy, very knowledgable, speaks excellent English and he is a dedicated and independent worker.
During his stay, Pierre painted a big part of our house without any complaints even when covered in paint himself. He also operated the lift we had rented and took… read more
He was a great addition to our household and his help was substantial. He is also a very easy-going guy, cheerful and interested in many topics.
Alexis helped us with many things: Painting the house, operating a lift that turned out to be too big, so he had to partake in… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
Furthermore they give us the opportunity to visit Oslo in our free time. I will never forget this time, thank you so much! See ya!
During his stay Noah painted a big part of our house, helped with scaffolding as well as with the lift we had rented, he did wood chipping and assisted in the… read more
Pierre is a very nice guy, very knowledgable, speaks excellent English and he is a dedicated and independent worker.
During his stay, Pierre painted a big part of our house without any complaints even when covered in paint himself. He also operated the lift we had rented and took… read more
He was a great addition to our household and his help was substantial. He is also a very easy-going guy, cheerful and interested in many topics.
Alexis helped us with many things: Painting the house, operating a lift that turned out to be too big, so he had to partake in… read more
We worked about 5 hours a day for 5 days in a beautiful place. We cleaned the woods, planted plants and used the wood chipper to create a road for the tractor.
The whole family made me feel part of them ... helping me a lot with my bad English (you… read more
It was great having you here and we hope to see you again at the next crossroad. We are delighted to hear that you are happy with your stay at our property. We got to do a lot of stuff during your stay and the work was both repetitive and physically demanding. The results exceeded our expectations by far! We will for sure do something… read more