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Finde deinen perfekten Gastgeber
Geforderte Mindest-Aufenthaltsdauer: mindestens 3 Wochen
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Beschreibung
"Taste a different life."
We run a small educational non-profit organization with a permaculture farm. We offer people the chance to experience a simple life in connection with nature. We hope this will inspire and motivate people to become less dependent on ending resources.
Approximately every two weeks, we make sourdough bread in our wood-fired masonry oven.
We organise activities for the neighbourhood such as a pizza-party, at which we share our harvest and our bread and other products. Sometimes we organise crafts evenings.
In the permaculture garden, we try to build up fertile soil with organic material from the surrounding. Recent years have been very challenging due to climate changes. When there are enough capable and enthusiastic volunteers, we try to grow most of the vegetables we eat, which means the cook must be creative with what there is.
The place is gradually built out by the volunteers, using low-tech ecological building techniques such as rocket-stove, clay from the land, wood from the forest, and homemade paint based on fresh cheese and flour (next to more traditional materials).
The project is ran by the owners of the place (Ine, Dirk, Hazel (16) and Sienna (14)), sometimes helped by some long-term volunteers. Hazel plays the piano and recorder and Sienna the flute and accordion. They will love to introduce you in folk dance and play music with you. Dirk is the master of the trees and takes the lead in constructions work, while Ine is responsible for the garden, crafts, breadmaking, cooking and the administration. For a living, Dirk helps people to realise their 'simple living' building dreams as a handyman, while Ine is a psychologist and studies medicine right now.
The 4 ha domain has forest, orchard (meadow), and agricultural land. There are sheep, dogs, cats, chickens and an old horse.
We work together with a similar family-farm at 8km distance. There will be opportunities to help also with them.Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten
Hilfe bei Ökoprojekten
Gartenarbeiten
Heimwerker- und Bauarbeiten
Betreuung von Tieren
Mithilfe auf einem Bauernhof
Zubereiten / Kochen von Mahlzeiten für die Familie
Hausarbeiten
Handwerkliche Arbeiten
UNO-Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung, die dieser Gastgeber verfolgt
Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten
Most of the learning we have to offer is in the experience of everyday life close to nature.
Depending on the volunteers there are sometimes group activities in the afternoons or evenings, like playing games, making art or crafts, watching movies, dancing, workout, ...
Skills are taught as you need them, so the longer you stay, the more you can learn.
There is place, books, some tools and a lot of natural materials to do your own projects such as spinning, cutting a wooden spoon, make a basket, make nettle fibres, ...Projekte mit Kindern
Dieses Projekt schließt möglicherweise den Umgang mit Kindern ein. Mehr Informationen findest du in unseren Verhaltensregeln und Tipps hier.
Arbeit
In autumn and winter, there are some construction projects going on, so people who have experience in this are extra welcome to take up projects and responsibilities. Volunteers with no/less experience can help and learn from time to time, when the tasks are not too complicated and/or we have people that can supervise.
Meanwhile, there is help collecting and processing food: collect nuts, make apple juice, compote, chutney, jams, ... There is always work in the garden and the green management and a little bit taking care of the animals. The approaching cold days also remind us to split enough wood to dry for the coming years.
We prefer if you stay at least two weeks, because otherwise it takes too much time to teach you everything.
We can host some 'long term' volunteers. Long term volunteers stay (after a mutual try-out period) several months and help manage the farm and the short term volunteers. They are more involved in the planning, organisation and decision making. They can learn skills that need more time to master, such as baking sourdough bread in the wood-oven, making willow baskets, repairing bikes, gardening more independently, .... They can also make more time for personal projects. Long term volunteers can also be engaged in the communication, website content, administration of the organisation, ...
We have some vacancies for ESC volunteers: residents from Europe between 18 and 30 that stay for minimum 2 months. When you participate in this program, you get some pocket money and financing for your transport.Sprachen
Gesprochene Sprachen
Englisch: Fließend
Niederländisch: FließendDieser Gastgeber bietet Sprachaustausch an
Dieser Gastgeber gibt an, dass er dir gern seine Muttersprache beibringt oder selbst eine Sprache lernen möchte.
Bitte wende dich direkt an ihn, um weitere Auskünfte zu erhalten.Unterkunft
We have reconstructed a former barn. There's a spacey kitchen with a rocket stove, where most of the life goes on. If the 'polyvalent room' is not used for activities, it's available for volunteers. In summer, it's a cool, shady place that we also use for drying herbs.
The accommodation is simple. Take into account that this kind of life takes a bit more time than in a house in the city. Compost toilets need to be emptied and sawdust supplies need to be filled. It takes more time to light a wood stove than it takes to turn on the gas. Vegetables need to be harvested and cleaned before you can start preparing dinner. Laundry needs to be hung, water kettles and hot water bottles need to be filled (winter) or hot water needs to be hauled in from the solar boiler in the next building, etc.
If you want to try/share this kind of life for a while, this is your project. If not, it might be frustrating.
Food
Our food is:
- seasonal (so no cucumbers in April, eggs in December, or pumpkins in August),
- local (so no coffee, chocolate or peanut butter),
- organic,
- mostly vegetarian and low on milk products (but we have chickens for eggs and make sometimes yogurt from milk of a local farmer)
- we cook on the rocket stove as long as it's not too warm. In summer we use the electricity from the solar panels.
We mostly have unprocessed products. We buy some basics such as oil, grains and legumes and we grow fruit, veggies, and herbs. It’s up to volunteers to turn these into meals, bread spreads (jam, hummus, pesto, veggie pâté, etc.), and other tasty things like pickles or sauerkraut. We buy flour from a local mill using grain from local, organic farmers and bake sourdough bread with it.
Typically, there are oats and sourdough bread with home-made jam or (frozen) fruit for breakfast at eight, soup or salad and bread with home-made spreads for lunch, fruit or smoothy in the afternoon, and a cooked vegetarian meal for diner around six. In the season there are, of course, always fruits and berries to be picked for a snack at any time. In winter we snack the dried fruit from summer.
Washing
There’s an outdoor shower with hot (solar heated, so depending on availability) and cold rainwater. We don't use drinking water for the shower, so in dry summers with a lot of volunteers, showering is really 'functional'.
In winter, water is heated on the stove, and you have to wash from a bucket in the bath top.
Since 2024 we finished the log-house bath-house/sauna that is heated from time to time.
Heating
All heating is done with home-made rocket-mass-wood stoves. Usually, only the kitchen is heated. The sleeping area is not. We have plenty of blankets and warm water bottles for wintertime.
In winter, the stove in the kitchen is heated once or twice per day for cooking and/or warmth. During this time it is possible to heat water for drinking and washing, which then can also be put into thermoses for later use.
When it’s warm outside and the sun is shining the solar cooker and electricity can also be used to heat water (summer).
Sleeping
We have four separate rooms and a dormitory with two bunk beds. Beds, sheets, pillows and blankets are available. Volunteers can bring a tent, if they want.
Transport
The place is easily reached with public transport. Every hour, a 10 min walk will take you to a bus stop, which will take you to a train station, which can take you directly to Brussels and Gent. Please don't come by car. There are some bikes, but they are only borrowed to longer term volunteers that are able to take care of them or want to learn that.
Other things
- We only invite non-smokers.
- There is wifi and a laptop at your disposition.
- Compost toilets only.Was noch ...
The Flemish Ardennes is one of the most beautiful regions in Flanders, with a hilly and often surprising landscape.
At four kilometres, there is a small town with shops, a swimming pool and a library.Etwas mehr Information
Internet Zugang
Eingeschränkter Internet Zugang
Wir besitzen Tiere
Wir sind Raucher
Familien möglich
Kann Digital Nomads unterbringen
We have a decent internet connection and some very basic separate rooms. In winter, only the shared rooms are heated. We expect all people to participate in the life of the land, but a combination with personal projects is possible.
Platz zum Abstellen von Camper Vans
Van can be any size.
Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal
mehr als zwei
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Korrekte Angaben im Profil:
(5.0)
Kultureller Austausch:
(4.8)
Kommunikation:
(4.8)
We came, we saw, we played, ..
..we watered plants, baked bread, helped with the pizza parties, went iceskating, swimming, ate hundreds of apples, dried plums, shared interests in Momo's, cooked on the rocketstove, played Dixit, braided our hair, watched Harry Potter ..
We can go on and on..
Not sure how long we would stay - we… read more
I also met other former volunteers (Jonathan, Yannick, Helen and Cairen).
I won't forget how well I was welcome, in a warm atmosphere, with some good food and smiling people.
Yes I chopped quite a lot of wood, you were right Dirk, it has become addictive there… read more
Through the 2 months that I spent there, I got so many experiences, discussions, discoveries, that deeply affected… read more
He is a really nice volunteer and became a good friend.
We will be happy to welcome him back at any time.
Have a save trip and see you hopefully again.
Big hug from all of us.
The work varied from weeding, planting, scytheing, chopping wood, drying herbs, processing fruits and vegetables for the winter,... but there is also room for own initiatives.
It was interesting to live with all the different people; families,… read more
If you are interested and ask the people, you can learn a lot there!
We had wonderful conversations with Hélène and Cairan, the longterm volunteer couple living there, they received us gently and showed us the place. They have two little children: Nisha and Rumi. I had fun and… read more
No matter who you are, I want you to try this place out. Love the gym and need to work on your deadlift? There are brambles in the forest that need to be pulled out. Those needing more than 1500N to pull out I left for you ;) Want to cook for larger groups? They are very welcoming to let you try. Want to learn baking? This… read more
The work we did was varied and interesting. The work was open for self-direction just like it says in their profile, but perhaps moreso during our two-week stay than expected. There was a… read more
The work was heavy, but I liked being busy for a good cause. The food was delicious and things were nicely organized. The place was filled with wonderful, welcoming people. We had a lot of fun and it felt like family.
I also met a girl from Germany here who came with me to the… read more
This is very special to me. Being with Ine, Dirk, Hazel, Sienna and now also Kuba makes me happy and lets me grow. I learned many things there like spoonmaking, cobbing, gardening, ...
Being there inspires me a lot to do things.
Thank you for having this beautiful place and making… read more
I learnt a lot about living sustainably and how to use what's grown on the farm. Making the bread was really fun and smells delicious!
Hazel and Sienna are really cute and Hazel was great at teaching me Dutch words (even if she did laugh at how I pronounced things!)
Ine showed me… read more
Things I did :
- Looked after chickens (feeding in morning / evening, collecting eggs, repairing fences, occasionally chasing one back into the coop)
- Collecting, moving and de-barking felled logs so that a new shelter could be built
- Helping… read more
Thanks ...
***
I stayed with Ine and Dirk for 5 weeks and i would have stayed longer if it was not one personal interest that drove me away. They are very warm, friendly and welcoming, i felt comfortable the very moment i entered their house.
The social environment is peaceful and happy, with two joyful girls running around and… read more
A group of beautiful, interesting people, with good energies and a true interest in permaculture, which live in probably… read more