Help turn a house into an eco-friendly B&B in the mountainous ‘wilds’ of Sibasa, South Africa

  • Bisher 110 mal gespeichert
  • Letzte Aktivität: 15 März 2024

Verfügbarkeit

  2024 

 Geforderte Mindest-Aufenthaltsdauer:  mindestens 1 Monat oder mehr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Informationen

  • Beschreibung

    Beschreibung

    Help turn a dilapidated house into an eco-friendly B&B in the mountainous ‘wilds’ of South Africa.

    I am a recently widowed, ageing, lesbian ‘matriarch’ (a relic of the '60's, a tad frail of body, but not of mind!!) who has been living for many, many, years in a large, and now somewhat dilapidated house, with ample gardens (half a hectare) in a rural village in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Limpopo is situated in the somewhat wild, far north-east corner of South Africa, bordering Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana, and close to the famous Kruger National Park (game reserve and home of the ‘big five’: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino). The village is in an area known locally as ‘Venda’ which is the traditional home of the friendly, culturally fascinating and peace-loving VhaVenda people.

    For all the years I have lived here, I have been working closely with the rural communities in a variety of human rights empowerment projects, as well as arts and crafts development and marketing. With the recent death of my beloved life companion, my thoughts have now turned to how I might continue to contribute to this rural community after I too am gone. As I have no children, I have decided to gift my property to two amazing VhaVenda people, Thina and Wani, who have been in my employ for many years. Since they will inherit it when I die, my goal is to turn my property into an eco-friendly and easy-to-manage B&B so that they can continue to have a livelihood when I pass on. For this I need some help, as I myself seem to be running very low on energy these days, and it’s too much for Thina and Wani to do alone.

  • Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

    Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

    Sprachpraxis
    Hilfe bei Ökoprojekten
    Gartenarbeiten
    Heimwerker- und Bauarbeiten
    Tourismus / Gastgewerbe
    Handwerkliche Arbeiten
    Hilfe mit Computer /Internet
  • Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

    Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

    The property is situated in a tiny village (only about 20 houses), on the edge of a crocodile-infested dam. It is in a mountainous location, surrounded by forests (mostly pine, but also an ancient indigenous forest known as “the holy forest”) and in close proximity to “the Sacred Lake of Fundudzi”, said to be the home of a magical white crocodile, as well as many natural pools and waterfalls.
    Although the village is relatively modern, there are dwellings just over the mountain that are still comprised of traditional rondavels, linked with low walls often beautifully hand-decorated. The VhaVenda people are renowned for their rich and intriguing cultural heritage, which includes arts, crafts, traditional dancing and much more. Many traditional rites of passage are still practiced, for both boys and girls, and variations of traditional dress are worn by old and young alike. Having lived here for 40+ years, I am well known in the community so you will have the opportunity to meet and get to know people of different cultures – not only VhaVenda – and to visit artist and crafter friends at work. Venda is also known for its fruit – especially avocados, bananas, mangos, litchis and oranges, whilst local “street food” ranges from roasted corn and peanuts, through to chicken’s feet and mopani worms for the adventurous! Thanks to the rich diversity of people living in the nearest town, Thohoyandou (which means “Head of the Elephant”), you can find delicious Ethiopian, Pakistani and Indian food along the back streets. For the culinarily less-brave, there’s the Thavhani Mall with KFC, McDonalds - and, of course, Nandos!!

  • Arbeit

    Arbeit

    To help focus on and achieve the goal of creating an eco-friendly, easy to manage B&B for Thina and Wani to manage alone when I pass on, I am looking for one or two volunteers, to work alongside them for around 20 hours a week to set things up, and to train them where necessary. This would normally be 4 hours a day, 5 days a week for a minimum of one month, but working hours can be flexible.
    Working with Thina, you could help with repairing/renovating bits of the house so that it is more suitable as a BnB, and the garden which is huge - too much for one person to control. There is SO much to be done that with a few exceptions, you can basically pick, from a list of potential jobs, whichever ones best suit your interests. Thina, who speaks English, is fun to work with, strong and very innovative. He has completed a basic carpentry course and does everything from woodwork to fixing plugs, painting, tiling and maintaining our small veggie garden. However he has a somewhat ‘unschooled’ approach, which means someone with broad DIY interest and experience, an eye for detail and perhaps some management skills, would be ideal.
    We hope to employ a part-time gardener when the BnB is up and running, but in the meantime this too falls on Thina's shoulders. He needs someone who can help to expand our enclosed veggie and herb garden so that it can feed us all. A challenge here (apart from keeping the monkeys out!) would be to set up a planting schedule so that we have a constant supply instead of a huge surplus once a year. We would like to produce our own honey, so some prior knowledge of bee-keeping would be wonderful but certainly not essential. We will learn as we go along!
    Wani is currently “chief cook & bottle-washer” and does all the housekeeping; we need to establish a routine for her to follow, to ensure that each room is maintained in immaculate condition. Wani's main challenge is that she is shy and her English very limited, so we need someone who can spend at least an hour a day helping to improve her language and social skills so that she has the confidence to make paying guests feel welcome. She loves cooking and baking, and so far we have made a point of getting all Workaways to teach her a new recipe!

    I on the other hand am pretty darn useless around the house and garden! I run (from home) a non-profit company dedicated to developing projects for, and building capacity amongst, local NPOs, mainly to address gender-based violence (in which I have 25 years of experience), environmental issues, and arts & crafts, It keeps me VERY busy, as frankly the few rooms we have available are unlikely to generate sufficient funds to both renovate the building and grounds, and keep the three of us in basic necessities. I personally need help with IT - to manage bookings, but also to sell online some of the "clutter" I have accumulated over the years.

  • Gesprochene Sprachen

    Englisch: Fließend

  • Unterkunft

    Unterkunft

    There are 3 bedrooms available for guests and volunteers - a large double with shower/loo en suite, and a double and single room sharing a bathroom. We have started to accept bookings from paying guests, so try to keep the largest room free for them. Up front - I am struggling financially and so regrettably can only provide breakfast; there is a fridge in which volunteers can keep their own food and refreshments, and a well-equipped kitchen. Usually we take it in turns to provide an evening meal, as it doesn't make sense to eat alone! We have Netflix, uncapped Wi-Fi, a solar geyser, panels and an inverter, so loadshedding is no longer an issue for us!

  • Was noch ...

    Was noch ...

    Being located in the culturally rich and environmentally stunning rural north of South Africa, there is plenty to do and see in your free time. There are many fascinating places to visit close by as well as further afield, but for longer trips, own transport will be needed (+/- US$22/£18 per day to hire). Our village is located 70km from the Kruger National Park and 200km from the ancient site of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe – both offer lovely accommodation. The Zimbabwe border is a mere 140km away. Frequent mini-bus taxi’s are available to take you to the closest town (20km) and the local “spaza shop” (selling basics) is about 6km down the road. Closer to home, there are hiking paths, as well as many natural pools and waterfalls to cool off in. There are crocodiles in the dam – so no swimming there – but there is a small plunge pool available on the property, for cooling down during our very hot summers if you don’t feel up to a hike to one of the many rockpools or waterfalls in the vicinity.

    Crime, which many people worry about when visiting South Africa, has never been a problem in this area because people here know and look after each other. Most of the villagers are VhaVenda and Zimbabwean and love to welcome visitors and teach them about their culture.

    Last but not least, you should know that I am a crazy dog-lover, and yes – our 3 "pavement specials" tend to rule the household! But they love visitors and are good company on walks along the many forest roads that surround us. Although I have reached the grand age of 72, I am young at heart, very “laid back” and easy-going, leaving visitors to do as they wish: either keeping to themselves if they are loners, or spending time with me if they want company. Regarded as a tad “off the wall”, I have plenty of tales to tell, having lived amongst the VhaVenda people as a white woman for 40 years.... I was born in Tanzania , and lived in Seychelles, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe and the UK before moving to Venda. Pre-Covid our home was always full of volunteers – PeaceCorps and IVS – and many still return for holidays. I miss them, and so look forward to meeting new friends of other nationalities through Workaway!

  • Etwas mehr Information

    Etwas mehr Information

    • Internet Zugang

    • Eingeschränkter Internet Zugang

      Eingeschränkter Internet Zugang

    • Wir besitzen Tiere

    • Wir sind Raucher

    • Familien möglich

  • Kann Digital Nomads unterbringen

    Kann Digital Nomads unterbringen

    Wifi a tad erratic, but both Vodacom and MTN are accessible, not always strong enough for streaming. On the positive side, some VERY kind friends have installed solar for us.... so no more loadshedding!!

  • Platz zum Abstellen von Camper Vans

    Platz zum Abstellen von Camper Vans

    Sufficient parking space for a campervan

  • Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

    Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

    zwei

  • ...

    Arbeitszeiten

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

Gastgeber Ref-Nr.: 268822518949

Feedback (7)



Weitere Bilder

Feedback

Dies sind zusätzliche optionale Bewertungen, wenn Mitglieder Feedback hinterlassen. Es wird die im Schnitt hinterlassene Bewertung für jede Option angezeigt.

Korrekte Angaben im Profil: (5.0)

Kultureller Austausch: (4.9)

Kommunikation: (5.0)











Hilf uns, Off-Grid zu werden in der Kalahari, Südafrika
Off-grid eco-backpackers and Permaculture Farm in Hogsback, South Africa