Help us take care of our homestead in Springwater, ON, Canada

Informationen

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  Beschreibung

  We are Tobey (Dusome) and Laura Jane (Wilson). We have a small dog named Gemma. She is the best. We are happily married and together since 2009. In 2018 we started creating our 5 acre homestead on a 200acre family forest.
  There are always projects to be done whether it's gardening, building, cutting trees, milling lumber, feeding pigs, harvesting, medicine making, making the property nicer, patio stones, odd jobs.... There is something for everyone and we are flexible and go with the flow :)
  This will be our 3rd summer with the food forest. We especially need help because Tobey has a bad back. We currently live "in the shop" and we plan to build our home summer 2025. (Landscaping work needs to be done with the skidsteer. as does tree cutting and maybe even milling our own wood!!! )
  We bought a newly renovated motorhome for our guests :) I think we shall park it on the edge of the food forest garden. hopefully the flowers do well again this year.
  We have a good sense of humour, we live a balanced life and we eat well!

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  Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Hilfe bei Ökoprojekten

  Gartenarbeiten

  Heimwerker- und Bauarbeiten

  Mithilfe auf einem Bauernhof
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  Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

  We have a large extended family in the area and if you are interested in practicing the language or learning about the culture you are welcome to join us during family gatherings and holidays.
  
  We hope to bring you on a holiday up north to our fish camp as well. I'm sure one of my brothers could watch the pigs and chickens for a week, but I don't want to ask them to watch them every other week all summer.
  
  There is so much to explore within an hour or two and our home would be the perfect "home base" for someone to enjoy life in Ontario.
  
  Now, originally we were planning on building our home summer 2024 but Tobey recently found a regenerative medicine clinic and is going to be getting treatments in the next 6 months, so we have postponed building our home until summer 2025. However if you are interested in learning how to build things you are more than welcome to build structures or a cabin and we are happy to pay for materials and instruct.
  
  You will hopefully learn alot about plants and how amazing they are!
  If you are interested I can teach you how I make my own oils, lipbalms, face scrubs, cleaning products, etc... I started my own product line called "Handmade by Lady Jane".
  
  All of my family members have different interests and we see each other frequently. So you can learn someone different from each one.
  
  By borrowing my car and exploring the area you will learn about the country and I hope you will experience how kind and courteous Canadians are.

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  Arbeit

  Tobey and I have a motto .. "Slow and steady". We like to balance hard work with relaxation and enjoying the day.
  Our ideal summer is to spend one week at home and one week up north at our fish camp and repeat all summer long. (july and august) For this to happen we need help. We would love for someone to live in our newly renovated motorhome and enjoy the area and have a great summer. The work is very flexible.
  
  Here are the jobs we would like help with.
  -Caring for the food forest which is mostly turning on and off the sprinklers or bucket watering.
  -Doing some weeding and other garden work; edging with logs or stone, harvesting, planting
  -Feeding the pigs and filling up their water with a hose.
  -Feeding the chickens. (Water is automatic)
  -Cutting trees with a chainsaw (If you're not comfortable with this that's ok. If you are willing to learn we can teach you.)
  -Milling wood
  -Using the skidsteer (kind of tractor) to move dirt and build berms... which are essentially earth walls which I am building around the 5 acres for privacy and also to help keep out certain animals and also to plant things. (I call them my bird berry berms :) (if you don't know how to operate a skidsteer it's easy and we will teach you.)
  -Harvesting wild plants (stinging nettle, garlic mustard, clevers, mallow, dandelion, plantain, yarrow, and so many more!) COME MEET THE PLANTS :)
  -Harvesting flowers and dehydrating them.
  
  If you like to be creative in the garden there is opportunity because the gardens are still growing and evolving. (This will be year 4 for many of the plants and year 1 for others. Other areas are rewilding while they wait!)
  If you just like to be given a simple task to complete we can do that too.
  
  Ideally you would be encouraged to contribute what you most love doing and are best at.
  
  Laura has always taken care of the gardens and is very passionate and rather obsessed with not only growing plants but also wild edibles, foraging and eating weeds! I harvest flowers for teas, tinctures and oils. I harvest wild plants as well for eating. I don't know a whole lot about mushrooms but i know we have them!
  Vegetables are not what I am best at but I keep trying. Last year I think the wild bunnies at most of my beans and peas. this year I plan to plant even more seeds and hoping that enough of them grow up! (and using some of those large fabric bags so the bunnies can't get the food!)
  
  Tobey is a builder by profession but has been off work with a bad back for a while now. He is ready to learn to be a teacher! He is in charge of the animals and fixing the machines when they break. He has a reputation for being able to fix anything. If you like to build and be independent and fix things you can learn alot from him. He doesn't have experience teaching but it's time for him to learn. So we are looking for someone intelligent, patient and with a good sense of humour.
  
  Ps. we have the sweetest little dog named Gemma. (Mini long haired daschund and rat terrier mix. just the cutest.)

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  Sprachen

  Gesprochene Sprachen
  Englisch: Fließend
  Spanisch: Fließend
  Französisch: Fließend

  Dieser Gastgeber bietet Sprachaustausch an
  Laura Jane is interested in learning languages but Tobey is not. English only for Tobey.
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  Unterkunft

  Motorhome. Queen bed with brand new memory foam mattress. Toilet. Small shower. Sink. Small kitchen (you can use our big kitchen). Laundry. private forest. gardens. located on our growing homestead with (hopefully) chickens and pigs. It is a large property.
  
  We prefer to have a couple stay with us because we don't want to spend all of our time with our guest and we don't want you to be lonely. You will probably have quite a bit of time off that you can spend here on our property or explore the awesome area we live in. We are surrounded by forest with walking paths. we also have a swimming pond a 20 minutes walk through the forest. we are nearby many beaches. collingwood. muskoka. toronto. etc.
  
  Our guests are welcome to use my mazda to get around while Tobey and I will use our truck.
  
  We really are hoping to find people that start to feel like best friends :) We like to be a part of a team.
  
  Oh... also we are not loud people, we do not allow fighting, name calling, yelling or anything like that at our home. If guests cannot be peaceful and kind they will be asked to leave. (I don't think this will be a problem but I thought I should include this disclaimer.) Our home is our sanctuary and we have worked really hard to set boundaries and create a peaceful and loving space where everyone can feel free to be fully themselves.
  
  oh... and TOBEY IS ALLERGIC TO PERFUME. So no scented products at all.

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  Was noch ...

  During your time off you can use our second vehicle to travel and enjoy your time. You can also just chill at home and enjoy the nature and privacy. There is no public transportation in this area and that is why you can use my car. As i mentioned we can bring you to Quebec to our cabin on the lakes where there are very few other cottages. It is amazing. We are close to wasage beach, blue mountain, horseshoe valley, spas, hiking, lakes, and only 1h30 from Toronto. I hope you are a nature person like us! We want you to work hard with us and also have a great time in Canada.

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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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  Kann Digital Nomads unterbringen

  We have excellent internet connection.

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  Platz zum Abstellen von Camper Vans

  We have a very large parking area.

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  Hier sind Haustiere in der Regel willkommen

  Maybe...It really depends on the pet.

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  Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

  zwei

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  Arbeitszeiten

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