Gardening, animals and maintenance and building tasks in a beautiful Tvååker, Sweden

  • Favourited 333 times
  • Last activity: 28 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: 1 month or more

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Come and sample some Swedish country living with us – Monika and Jim – plus our cat, our dog and three horses, in our tiny farmhouse in beautiful Halland County, Sweden, 20 minutes drive from the historical towns and picturesque beaches of Varberg and Falkenberg.

    Monika is Norwegian and is fluent in Norwegian, English, German and Swedish/Norwedlish. Her work and life is centred on horses and works as a trainer and instructor, spending most weekends from March to November away in various Northern European locations teaching at riding clinics. During the week she trains the horses, walks the dogs, strokes the cat and drinks coffee. She loves MotoGP, Ducati motorcycles, Italian wine and food, adventures and fun.

    Jim is an English Graphic Designer (fluent in English, football, guitars and motorcycles) working for a company in Varberg. Jim travels abroad for work frequently to places like Canada, the USA, Japan and Europe. This is nowhere near as glamorous as it sounds.

    We are looking for amazing people to come and spend time with us helping out with some of our horse-related projects. Our horses live in 2 "Paddock Paradise" areas (one for Winter, one for Summer) which require regular maintenance; re-gravelling horse tracks, and rebuilding and maintaining fences. We also have some non-horse-related building projects planned.

    One thing to note: While WorkAwayers will be helping out with the horses, riding is not included – even though the horses are part of our family, they are also part of Monika's work. However, hanging out with them, grooming and cuddling you can do as much as you like! We absolutely do not want to give any false impressions or expectations. But you will get to come along on occasional forest walks with the horses.

    If that's not quite your thing, we also have a million and one house and gardening projects we could use some help with.

    Since we are out in the countryside without any bus connections, you will have occasional use of a car at your disposal (only if you have a full drivers licence, naturally) and all we would ask is that you pay for fuel used, parking fees and motorway tolls. For those without a driving licence, we have a bicycle too, but be warned... hills.

    Life here really is very quiet; if you're self-reliant, like being surrounded by nature and animals, love settling down with a good book or are content to cosy down with a TV series or a movie in the evening, this is the place for you!

    We would be thrilled for you to come and spend some time with us. We like to think we are pretty chilled out and relaxed. We love good food and wine and eat healthily. Love and kindness are what guide us through life and if that makes us sound like dreadful hippies then we can live with that. Laughter and a warm vibe are central to our house and home.

    Thank you for all the messages and cool vibes from everyone who has written to us. It means the world to us that so may people want to come and hang out with us and our amazing cat/dog/horse family. If you're looking to travel to Sweden after reading all that, please get in touch.

    Come and join us!

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    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

    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

    This is a great chance to practice your language skills in English, Norwegian or German. We speak English in the home but Monika will happily drop into any language that takes her fancy.

    This is also an opportunity to experience a little outdoor life with animals, a little manual labour and learn about natural horse care.

    And of course, Sweden. Really, it's beautiful here. There are plenty of culturally interesting places to visit and we are not far from the bright lights of Gothenburg.

  • Help

    Help

    We will need help with:
    • Animal-sitting
    • Dog walking
    • Horse mucking/feeding/watering
    • Cat medicating (it's a long a dull story)
    • Maintenance/building
    • Garden work (if you're into it)
    • Help in the house

  • Languages spoken

    German: Fluent
    English: Fluent
    Norwegian: Fluent
    French: Intermediate
    Swedish: Intermediate

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    Your own bedroom with a desk, night stand and a view out across the fields, a reeded pond and the forest beyond that.

    Breakfast and lunch are usually a bit on-the-fly so dive into the fridge (well-stocked) and help yourself. We will have a sit-down meal every evening.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Varberg is the centre for surfing, wind surfing and kite surfing in Sweden. There are plenty of historical and heritage sites in the area - castles, fortresses and archaeological ruins - as well as museums and exhibitions. There are plenty of hiking trails and nature reservations for those with excess energy to burn. and the of course, we are only a one hour drive from big city life in Gothenburg - bars, restaurants, clubs, concerts, museums, galleries and Liseberg amusement park.

    Car occasionally available for those with a full, clean driver's licence. Pay for your own fuel, parking and tolls. And as one WorkAwayer has pointed out to us... we have a bicycle too.

  • 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

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    One

  • ...

    Hours expected

    Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 872321226463

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