Permaculture, creativity and well-being for a small family homestead in Dendermonde, Belgium

Informationen

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  Beschreibung

  We are are Sofie, Stan, Mil (5-year old daughter) & Vos (baby born in October 2025).
  A family of four, living on a green oasis in the midst of the small city of Dendermonde.
  Every day we're creating our dream at this beautiful little paradise we are lucky to call our home.
  
  We're an engineer and an architect turned into, amongst many other things, permaculture lover, carpenter, natural builder, yoga teacher, bodyworker & space holder for ceremonies and women's work.
  
  As for the space itself, it consists of a piece of land of roughly 4400 square meters, in the midst of a built environment. The land contains a house and some old sheds; the remains of the original farm.
  
  The second we bought this land, we knew it would be a land to share with others, a place for ourselves and others to come home.
  In the 2,5 years we've been living here, we've made this place our home, and we've opened up the space for others to visit & experience a slower way of living. In nature, in connection, without having to do anything or be anyone.
  
  As such, we've given this place a lot of love, we've made a permaculture veggie garden, we're creating a food forest, we're renovating the old sheds. Last year we were lucky to welcome a beautiful yurt and a 2-bedroom caravan to our land.
  The yurt serves a sacred space for circles, ceremonies and body work. And the caravan will be the accommodation for volunteers until we start the renovation of our house (May-June 2026).
  
  Even though we feel we're living amidst nature & birds, we're only a footstep (2km) away from the centre of Dendermonde, a small city at about half an hour distance from Ghent, Brussels & Antwerp.
  It's great to be situated in this oasis of calmness, while still being close to all facilities and public transport a small city offers.
  On top of that, at only 1,5km distance lays the beautiful river the Schelde, embedded in the National Park of the valley of the Schelde. A great place for biking, walking, exploring nature.

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  Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Hilfe bei Ökoprojekten

  Gartenarbeiten

  Mithilfe auf einem Bauernhof

  Babysitten und Kinderbetreuung

  Handwerkliche Arbeiten
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  Interessengebiete

  

  Vegetarier / Veganer

  

  Nachhaltigkeit

  

  Haustiere

  

  Leben im Camper-Van

  

  Selbstentwicklung

  

  Farmarbeit

  

  Sprachen

  

  Heimwerken & DIY

  

  Gärtnern

  

  Musik

  

  Bücher

  

  Gartenarbeiten

  

  Kochen & Backen

  

  Architektur

  

  Zeichnen & Malen

  

  Tischlerarbeiten

  

  Outdoor-Aktivitäten

  

  Natur

  

  Yoga / Wellness
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  Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Connecting with the community (friends & family) that visits us, joining events as a guest (circles etc) when available, visiting the neighbouring cities, playing music together, inspiring each other with nice meals (lots of fresh garden veggies in summer season!), sharing yoga, meditation and other spiritual practices,..
  
  Guest could learn more about all of the above, including permaculture, food forestry, yoga & meditation, several languages, wood working techniques and so on. We have a lot of space and natural materials available for guests to make their own creations/art. Which could be a great collaboration. Same for making music together, singing, making a bonfire, enjoying the simplicity and beauty of life.
  
  We love connecting with people from all over the world. Having been volunteers quite a few times ourselves, in different parts of the world, we love the idea of bringing the world (and our travels) into to our home. And by having had the experience of being a volunteer we have quite a few ideas about what a good host could offer.
  
  By sharing our place with others, we invite different world views & explore different ways of living. We're looking forward to having long philosophical (and/or spiritual) talks around the fire, and sharing some singing/music or a nice meal together once and while!

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  Projekte mit Kindern

  Dieses Projekt schließt möglicherweise den Umgang mit Kindern ein. Mehr Informationen findest du in unseren Verhaltensregeln und Tipps hier.

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  Arbeit

  We have a big variety of tasks, including the permaculture garden, food forest, general maintenance and upkeep of the land, playing with our kids,..
  
  The most urgent task at the moment will be taking care of the garden, as spring is a busy season for the plants!
  We need help weeding, sowing, planting, pruning, propagating plants,.. And/or taking care of existing trees on the land.
  We love to work together in the garden, but as we have two littles ones, it's always nice to have some extra hands & eyes to take care of them. Playing with the kids is not a must, of course. The garden will be the priority for the volunteers. But some affinity with kids is necessary :)
  
  The caravan is very cosy, safe and clean with 2 proper bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom.
  It's in the back of our garden amidst the trees.
  
  As we're both independent and don't live the classical 9-to-5, 5 days a week, we (or at least one of us) will be home often.
  When he's at home, Stan spends almost all of the time in the garden, constructing, tending to the garden, fixing things,..
  Although we'd love to find volunteers who are proactive and don't mind executing certain tasks completely on there own, Stan is also a born teacher and loves sharing all his knowledge and skills. The gardening & the general maintenance will often be done together with Stan.
  Sofie mostly brings her love to this little homestead by taking care of the family, cooking and organising circles and events. But she loves to tend to the garden & all of its structures as well.
  Our daughter Mil is a sensitive, wild, & caring being. She loves exploring, running around barefoot and she knows what she wants. She connects with adults (& children) very easily, and has a way about her that she immediately sees you as a peer, as an equal. She'll love to play with you and take you on her adventures, or question your thoughts, - what a beautiful mirror.
  Our little one, Vos, is a very happy little baby. He loves being outside and watch us tend to the garden.
  
  To be clear. Volunteers won't be involved in any business activities, such as assisting with paying guests during ceremonies/events. Sometimes they will have the opportunity to join AS A GUEST.

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  Gesprochene Sprachen

  Englisch: Fließend
  Spanisch: Fließend
  Niederländisch: Fließend
  Französisch: Gute Kenntnisse

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  Unterkunft

  A large caravan with two bedrooms, a bathroom (with a shower and compost toilet), a kitchen (with fridge, stove,..) and a living room.
  
  Depending on the time you'll be sharing the caravan with another volunteer, but you will have your private room.
  
  There are limitless options to put your tent in the garden (or borrow one from us). And coming with your own van can be discussed (to see if we can make some space available).
  IMPORTANT: from May 2026 onwards we will start moving to the caravan - volunteers are still very welcome for the summer season but they'll need to sleep in a tent. We can borrow one if necessary.
  
  Food can be discussed. We can provide food (you'll be cooking for yourself in the caravan) or we can make the arrangement of working less hours and you'll be providing the food for yourself.
  In the summer season there will be many organic veggies available in the garden, anyways.
  95% of the time, we eat vegetarian meals, so we won't be buying any meat.
  
  Of course we'd love to have a large shared meal together, once and while. Sofie loves to cook elaborately. But we can't provide this on a day to day basis with family life.
  
  We are open to discuss the needs and desires of the volunteer(s) regarding this.

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  Was noch ...

  We might have a bike for you to use to explore the area. (only one, for now)
  
  We don't welcome any drugs or excessive alcohol use on this beautiful land.
  
  We expect the volunteers to be respectful of the environment, of our family life, of the neighbours, and overall we expect the volunteers to be able to take care of themselves in a healthy, grounded & relaxed way.

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  Etwas mehr Information

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    Internet Zugang

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    Eingeschränkter Internet Zugang

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    Wir besitzen Tiere

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    Wir sind Raucher

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    Familien möglich

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  Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

  mehr als zwei

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  Meine Tiere/Haustiere

  Sid

  Bodhi

  Nora

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