Homesteading & seed saving in Laconia on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada

Informationen

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  Beschreibung

  We are now accepting workaway interest for the season! June-October, variable lengths of stay. We welcome your interest, read on for our farm's description!
  
  Our Farm is small family farm tucked away on a dead-end gravel road on the South Shore of Nova Scotia-- 10 km to downtown Bridgewater, 20 km to Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, or LaHave, 25 km to beaches, and less than 100 km to Halifax. We have 20 acres of fertile soil on a gently sloping drumlin hillside, 200 acres of forests and wetlands to explore, and frontage on a pristine spring fed lake. Wildlife is abundant, though kept from the main farm area by our trusty farm dog, and includes ospreys (nesting within view of the field), owls, loons, eagles, songbirds, deer, raccoons, porcupines, pheasants, wood cocks, coyotes, rabbits, and the occasional roaming bear or bobcat.
  
  There are 12 old apple trees, countless wild apples, & wild blueberries in the field, and we are in the process of establishing a diverse perennial crop system of fruit, berries, nuts, & herbs. We have around 2 acres in cultivation for annual vegetable & grain crops (1 acre fenced), and a 20'x48' greenhouse. The heritage post and beam barn is used for seed crop processing & workshop space, and we have a couple of outbuildings. There is ample tenting space, as well as campers/trailers for long term workawayers/apprentices.
  
  Our primary commercial product is ecologically grown vegetable, grain, herb & flower seeds- we currently maintain approx. 200 varieties which we sell through our website, retail locally, and wholesale to a regional seed company. We grow a homestead-scale vegetable garden, selling excess produce to local cafes. We also raise ducks (eggs and meat) and in some years pigs for home use.
  
  About Us: Owners Chris & Garrett have a diverse background of farming and homesteading experience in the Northeast U.S. and Nova Scotia. Chris has been small scale organic farming (vegetables, fruits, nursery, seed crops) for over 20 years, including apprenticing and managing crews, and she has taught gardening workshops and provided sustainable landscape consultations/designs professionally. She works part-time as the Community Gardens Coordinator for the nearest town, Bridgewater. Garrett is a skilled carpenter, craftsman, farmer, teacher, and artist, as well as general fixer of things. We both love sharing skills and knowledge about living off the land. We follow organic principles and standards at our farm, utilizing generous amounts of organic matter for soil health, including composted manure, leaves, and seaweed we collect from the beach. We do not even use organic sprays, preferring cultural methods of pest control like insect netting and timing of plantings.

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  Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Gartenarbeiten

  Heimwerker- und Bauarbeiten

  Betreuung von Tieren

  Mithilfe auf einem Bauernhof

  Babysitten und Kinderbetreuung

  Hausarbeiten

  Handwerkliche Arbeiten
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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

  We enjoy sharing cultural experiences with others and living in community. As we were farm volunteers and apprentices ourselves before buying our own land, we value being able to provide an opportunity for interested people to experience rural and rustic living at a homestead. We are happy to share our varied knowledge, skills, and experiences with workstayers.
  
  We do not rely on volunteer labour to run our homestead or farm business, but rather enjoy having willing extra hands to get more accomplished/faster. We have had very positive experiences with visitors that are a great fit for our situation, many who have become life long friends, so happily continue to offer our farm as a host.

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  Arbeit

  We are looking for 5 hours help per day for 5 days per week. Throughout the season, heavy physical work is a must- lifting, wheel-barrowing, shoveling, digging, raking, etc. We believe strongly in setting a pace that is both productive and healthy for body and mind, being present and mindful, and taking adequate breaks, but it must be understood that hard physical work is central to small-scale farming and will be a necessary central feature of the workstay experience. That being said, our farm experience includes varied tasks with lots of interesting things going on to learn from. Workawayers need to be self motivated and willing to integrate themselves into our lifestyle. And we have found that previous work experience is much less important than a person's work ethic, positive attitude, and general willingness to work hard outdoors. As a farm family with three children, volunteers willing and capable of child care is an asset.
  
  Tasks include:
  
  - maintaining garden for seed production and homestead food
  
  - maintaining/establishing perennial crop systems (nut, fruit, berry, and herbs)
  
  - barn renovation, specifically re-siding with cedar shingles and building root cellar
  
  - building maintenance, including painting the house and re-roofing the sheds
  
  - basic homestead tasks/chores (firewood, ducks, processing storage crops)
  
  - childcare for 2 year old & 5 year old as available
  
  Farm work also varies with the seasons:
  - June: Bed preparation, planting, & mulching.
  - July: Weed & pest management. Firewood cut, split, & stacked.
  - August: Garlic harvest & processing. Seed crop harvesting. Weed & pest management. Wild blueberry harvesting.
  - September: Seed crop harvesting & processing. Storage crop harvesting & preservation.
  - October: Seed crop harvesting & processing. Apple harvest & processing. Storage crop harvesting & preservation. Garden cleanup/bed preparation. Collection of seaweed. Garlic planting.

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  Gesprochene Sprachen

  Englisch: Fließend
  Spanisch: Gute Kenntnisse
  Deutsch: Grundkenntnisse

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  Unterkunft

  Room & Board: Workawayers can bring their own tent/borrow one of ours. Our 17' camper trailer is an option for longer stays. Our 28' camper bus is set up as a shared kitchenette for farm volunteers (max of 3 at a time). Board consists of farm raised veggies/fruit, eggs, and basic groceries (flours, rice, oil, pasta, etc). Workawayers without their own vehicle are welcome to come along on town trips to stock up on their favourite foods, or borrow a bike to ride to the local farm market/bakery 5 km down the road. We enjoy communal meals and usually incorporate one shared meal per day, with shared cooking and cleaning up. As we are relaxed, easy-going people who prefer flexibility, we would rather allow everyone to feel in charge of feeding themselves/doing their own cooking chores, with the option to share family style meals when it suits everyone’s schedules and needs.

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  Was noch ...

  Our workaway opportunity is ideal for people who love to spend most of their time outdoors, enjoy physical work, have interest in living off the land, enjoy the company of children, and are comfortable camping out. We work hard and like to relax by a campfire, play music, and swim in the lake. We have canoes to take out on the lake, and bicycles available to borrow for sightseeing. We are well connected socially with the active & growing rural community on the South Shore. In a typical year, there are frequent social events and concerts, and there are plenty of outdoor recreation opportunities in the area.

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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

  Dieser Gastgeber bietet Platz für Wohnmobile.

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  Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

  mehr als zwei

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