Learn and assist in an apple orchard in rural Himachal, India

Informationen

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  Beschreibung

  Michael (British) and Devanshe (Indian) have a farmstay project going on at their ancestral farm in the Indian Himalayas (2100 m). We grow apples and other fruits & vegetables, we have our own cows, sheep and chickens, as well as run a farmstay (bnb). The farm has apple & pear orchards below the house, with great views down the valley below, while there are deodar forests above the house with tracks leading up to the local peak (3400 m), with views of the Great Himalayas. The farm is remote from any urban-style facilities - Shimla is 2.5 hours away by car. There are lots of opportunities for trekking, milking cows, reading, making jam or juice and other farm-based activities.
  
  We welcome help in our yogashala (if we have yoga retreat guests) as well as on the farm stay. Tasks can vary from cleaning, painting, picking rubbish from the mountainside, gardening, landscaping, jam making and other everyday chores.
  Of course, hosting volunteers sometimes depends on the task-skill match or need-based requirement. We prefer people who don't mind getting their hand dirty.
  
  We're also open to long stay volunteer couples / friends - 4 to 6 months. You'll get a room and your own kitchenette to cook your meals as well as your own kitchen garden area to grow your own veggies - if you wish to. In return for up to 4 hours of help each day.

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  Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Hilfe bei Ökoprojekten

  Gartenarbeiten

  Heimwerker- und Bauarbeiten

  Mithilfe auf einem Bauernhof

  Hausarbeiten

  Tourismus / Gastgewerbe

  Handwerkliche Arbeiten
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  Interessengebiete

  

  Nachhaltigkeit

  

  Kultur

  

  Farmarbeit

  

  Gärtnern

  

  Musik

  

  Geschichte

  

  Gartenarbeiten

  

  Zeichnen & Malen

  

  Heimwerken & DIY

  

  Kochen & Backen

  

  Bücher

  

  Outdoor-Aktivitäten

  

  Segeln / Boote

  

  Natur

  

  Wandern

  

  Gebirge
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  UNO-Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung, die dieser Gastgeber verfolgt

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  Was ist das?
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  Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

  You will be living as part of an extended Indian family (and may interact with farm workers).

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  Arbeit

  We welcome help in our yogashala as well as on the farm stay. Tasks can vary from cleaning, painting, picking rubbish from the mountainside, gardening, landscaping, jam making and other daily chores around the house.
  
  Of course, hosting volunteers depends on task-skill match as well as need based requirement.
  
  Someone with previous house keeping experience ( or someone who won't mind daily house-hold chores) will be appreciated.
  
  Help with building / carpentry skills / lifting / digging / clearing land/ landscaping. Someone strong & used to physical work.
  
  2026 WORK CAMPS (upto 6 volunteers) Fixed dates
  March 18th - April 2nd
  July 12th - 20th
  August 21st-31st
  
  Jobs:
  1. March / April work camp
  Orchard management (preparing soil/planting/ weeding/grass cutting/mulching/wood chopping etc
  
  2. July / August work camp
  Apple / pear harvest, grading and packing
  
  3. Kitchen duties: All work camps. Two volunteers. (cooking lunch and dinner for the others, washing up /clearing / tidying up).
  Kitchen volunteers should especially be able to cook indian meals (daal, veg, rice, chapatis). You might also be taught local pahari dishes (by the family matriarch).
  
  Please indicate what you're interested in / capable of (orchard work or in-house).
  
  Note:
  1. Each day 'orchard' volunteers will alternate between morning and afternoon shift (so you have the morning off or the afternoon off on alternate days)
  2. Punctuality is important and will be appreciated.
  3. Twin shared rooms.
  4. Quiet time 10:00pm to 6:30 am.
  5. Meals times: breakfast 8;15 am, lunch 1pm, dinner 8pm
  6. July / August can be wet, so please come prepared to work in light drizzle occasionally.
  7. Orchard work can be challenging..only volunteer if you can cope with working outdoors .
  8. You'll need to be a fast learner - you'll be taught the correct way to pick fruit, grade and pack.
  
  OTHER TIMES...
  WHEN WE HAVE GUESTS :
  We need someone to help out in the house, in the garden (weeding, watering), interacting with guests (if they want to), see if they need anything and so on. You need to be sociable yet independent, and enjoy rural life.
  We don't need a cook, but some general help around the house and in the kitchen is required, especially related to guests - fetching things, moving things around, tidying up, telling us when something needs doing, laying & clearing the dining table etc.
  
  WHEN WE HAVE NO GUESTS:
  Help out with other chores such as painting, clearing land, chopping & stacking wood, and so on.
  
  The hours are flexible, but should average five per day. In summer we could start at 7:00am & put in an hour before breakfast with a longer break during the day.
  There will be days when very little goes on and others when there's lots to do. Sometimes we might all go off on a shopping excursion, a hike picnic, a wedding, a festival... It depends. Most volunteers do more than five hours but that is their decision. If you feel you are working too much, take a day or half a day off.

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  Gesprochene Sprachen

  Englisch: Fließend
  Hindi: Fließend
  Spanisch: Gute Kenntnisse
  Französisch: Gute Kenntnisse
  Italienisch: Gute Kenntnisse
  Japanisch: Gute Kenntnisse

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  Unterkunft

  Comfortable basic room with separate basic shared bathroom.

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  Was noch ...

  We don't have wi-fi. We can help you purchase a local sim card for your phone.
  
  Directions to get to the farm:
  
  There is one local bus which goes past the house (surprisingly) every day, so you can get to and from Shimla independently.
  
  Buses to our side leave from the IGMC bus stand, Shimla.
  
  Buses timings (roughly): 12.40 (direct / goes past our gate).
  Ticket cost 120 rupees.
  Time taken: about 4 hours.
  
  The 12.40 bus is a government bus (but could leave any time between 12:30 & 2:00pm) - and goes straight past our gate in RUKHLA (the name of our village).
  The final stop is REOGHATI so ask for the Reoghati bus VIA Keeth and Chadiyana and tell the driver Rukhla.
  
  Note: The last 10 kms or so is rather excitingly narrow, single track.

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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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  Platz zum Abstellen von Camper Vans

  You can park by our apple grading shed. There's a toilet available close by.

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  Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

  mehr als zwei

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  Meine Tiere/Haustiere

  Sheep & Cows

  chickens and ducks

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