Join us on our small sustainable farm in the north of Örebro, Sweden

Details

• 

  Description

  Welcome to help us and enjoy life on a small farm. Here you can learn about gardening, permaculture, honey bees, chickens and sustainable living.
  We are a family of four living on a small organic farm 20 km north of Örebro. On our farm we grow many different vegetables, berries and fruits by using organic and permaculture principles. We have two cats, chickens and honey bees and try to live as sustainable as possible, not using more resources from earth than needed. We also believe that locally produced food is a good way to live more sustainable and contribute to our local ecosystem. Our farm is quite small and all food we grow and produce is consumed by us and friends.
  Oh and we - that is Katharina (39), Erik (40) and our kids (10 and 11). We adults both work part-time within IT in the public sector. Instead of working full-time we spend time taking care of our animals and vegetable garden, which provides food, joy and quality time close to nature. We do not earn money by doing this, but spend less than we would otherwise and meanwhile having a more fulfilling life.
  Welcome to join us!

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
• 

  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

  ×

  ...

  ...

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  What's this?
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are happy to share our knowledge with you, for example: sustainable living, growing food, beekeeping, chickens, brewing kombucha, baking sourdough bread. We also practice yoga and enjoy board game nights with friends.

• 

  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

• 

  Help

  For April - May we are looking for 1-2 persons (preferably german speaking) for a 1-2 weeks stay. Help is needed with different tasks in the garden, for example:
  
  - planting trees (includes lots of digging)
  - preparations for finishing the pond (digging, moving stones, removing roots etc)
  - "cleaning up" on the farm - removing the old chicken yard, moving stuff that's in the wrong place
  - preparations for growing season
  - building dead hedge fences
  
  -----------------------------------------------------------------
  We are looking for someone who is able to work self-driven and take responsibility.
  From time to time we try to plan for working days together but generally you need to be able to work on your own (or together if you are two). There is always at least one of us at home available for questions and of course we will share our vision and provide instructions.
  
  You will often have the possibility to choose from different tasks and decide at what time of the day you want to work. However certain tasks require planning, preparations and working at specific times or weather conditions.
  
  Example of things we do and appreciate help with:
  - various gardening tasks, for example weeding, mulching, watering
  - taking care of seedlings and plants
  - chopping and stacking firewood
  - felling small trees
  - harvesting & preserving vegetables, fruits and berries
  - producing biochar
  - taking care of the chickens (cleaning the hen house, refilling food and water, fencing).
  - beekeeping. If you have knowledge in beekeeping you can help us with the bees or if you lack knowledge but are interested, you can learn about beekeeping by assisting at the hives and also harvesting honey.
  - The pond-project: creation of rather big pond to increase biodiversity and as a water reservoir to increase our resilience is ongoing. Digging and moving stones might be involved.
  - Cooking. If you like cooking you are very very welcome to do that (we are vegetarians)
  - Painting. There is always something that needs some new paint
  - House sitting: taking care of our animals and plants while we are travelling for a couple of days
  
  - Building projects:
  An ongoing project the last years has been converting an old building to a greenhouse. As we use recycled materials as much as possible in an old building there are no standard sizes and solutions, we design and build as we go on and try to make the best of what we have. All major structure-related parts have now been finished. Next up is fixing the floor and installing a fireplace.
  
  Another project for 2024 is building a new chicken yard.

• 

  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Swedish: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  We'd love to meet german speakers as our kids need to practice their german (Katharina has German roots). We are happy to help you practice swedish.
• 

  Accommodation

  You will live in a tiny house that is 10m2. It is suitable for two people who are comfortable with living together in a small place.
  There is a small living area with two beds (extra mattress on the floor can be arranged), chairs, table and some storage and a small but well equipped kitchen area with a fridge, sink, two cooking plates, toaster, kettle.
  There is electricity and internet connection in the tiny house, but no running water or sewer. You can get fresh water in our house at any time to refill the water tank in the tiny house. The used water goes into a tank that needs to be emptied regularly. There is a small urine separating composting toilet in the tiny house, mostly for night time use (you will have to empty it daily). There is another urine separating compost toilet in a building nearby that does not require daily emptying).
  Note that there is no shower in the tiny house.
  You are welcome to use the shower and washing machine in our house but not during night time and because we have our own well, we all need to be conservative with our water consumption (no extensive showers).
  
  Normally you will arrange your own breakfast. We often will have dinner together on the working days (or maybe all days, depends on what we all are up to). Lunch will vary, usually you will arrange lunch on your own. We supply the groceries for all meals at our place and depending on season there will be different homegrown vegetables to enjoy, as well as eggs from our chickens and plenty of honey.
  
  We are ovo-lakto vegetarians.
  
  It is possible to go to stores by bus (20 min walk + 15 minutes by bus one way) if you want to buy snacks or anything else.
  
  We don't accept excessive alcohol consumption, although moderate consumption is acceptable. We are non-smokers.

• 

  What else ...

  Time usually flies in our lifes and every day life with the kids, our jobs and taking care of the farm can be demanding. We enjoy meeting new people, having nice conversations and playing board games and are happy to invite you to our life but how much time we spend together depends on what kind of chemistry develops between us - which is hard to predict in advance :)
  Also after intense days we adults often are quite tired in the evenings and we will need to spend some family time on our own - so you need to be able to spend your free time on your own as well.
  
  There is plenty to do and see. We live in the countryside, the closest neighbours are a few hundred meters away. It is close to the forrest and nice walking areas. Beautiful view over Kilsbergen, a mountain range a few kilometers from us, with forrest, hiking (Bergslagsleden) and mountain bike trails, national park areas. A nice river suitable for swimming is close by. There are lots of animals you might spot here: birds (and even cranes), deers, foxes, elks.
  
  There are two bus stops within walking distance from our place (1 km/1.8km). From there you can easily get to the biggest city nearby - the regional capital Örebro, but also other nice places to see, i.e Nora and Lindesberg. From Örebro there are good connections by bus and train to Stockholm (2 hours by train), Gothenburg (3 hours) and Oslo (five hours).
  In Örebro there are restaurants, cinemas, museums, pharmacies, hospital, university, libraries, a castle, shops, gyms, swimming pools etc.
  
  Please send us some information about yourself, what you like to do, your experiences and skills, why you want to come here and anything else you think we should know about you.
  
  We are looking forward to hear from you!

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Can host digital nomads

  There is Wi-Fi available in the tiny house

• 

  Space for parking camper vans

  There is plenty of space for campervans.

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

• 

  Hours expected

  4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Feedback (10)