Family homestead and nature school in the remote Kootenays, Canada

Details

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  Description

  We are a family of 4 living on a small farm in the beautiful Kootenays in British Columbia, Canada, with a dog, cat, goats and chickens as well as fruit and vegetable gardens. We also have a pond for swimming and a wood-fired sauna :-)

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are a dual-language family (German & English). We'd be happy to involve you in animal care or log building projects. We can introduce you to vegetable gardening and food preservation methods. We are creating our own mealworm farm. If you bring children, they would be welcome to join our Nature School (provide we have extra spaces). We have also recently started making our own cheese, cream, yogurt and butter from raw goat milk, which we'd be happy to show you.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  We are a young family on a large homestead with even larger plans, but limited time and resources :-).
  So we are looking for an individual, couple or even another small family who would be interested in helping with seasonal farm work, such as setting up electric fencing, harvesting fruits/vegetables, canning/preserving, tending to goats/chickens, making firewood, pruning fruit trees, planting or a myriad of other farm-related tasks etc.
  We love eating, but not cooking and often forget to make dinner plans when we're busy outside. So if you love to cook and you want to take that on as one of your responsibilities, we'd be super grateful.
  If you're bringing children, they are welcome to play with ours, of course. Or maybe you want to be in charge of child care by teaching the kids a new skill, playing with them, taking them on a walk etc.
  Our goal is to grow all of our own fruits and vegetables for the year, as well as all meat and dairy products for our family. It's a lofty goal, but we're slowly but surely working towards it. :-)
  In the spring, we would also welcome some help with simple carpentry (putting in flooring, siding etc.) as well as constructing a log home.
  Please note we are simply a homestead and not a commercial farm. As such we do not sell our products at this time and your labour would be in exchange for room and board.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Beginner
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  We are a bilingual family (English and German) with a basic knowledge of Spanish and French, and we would love to host someone who would either like to learn English/German or who could help teach our children introductory Spanish/French or even another language.
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  Accommodation

  We have a rustic guest house for you to stay in with a queen size bed, wood stove, propane cooker, limited solar electricity and an outhouse. There is a second mattress that can be placed on the floor or in the loft to accommodate children. You'd have access to a small fridge and some freezer space near the main house.
  Water is pumped into a rain barrel from the pond and can be used for showering, hand-washing and dishes. We usually place black solar bags on the roof for hot water. Or you can share our outdoor shower near the main house. Alternatively, you can swim in the pond and use the wood-fired sauna.
  Drinking water is filtered through a Berkey filtration system.
  
  Internet is available via Starlink near the main house. If you require reliable, regular internet access, we'll have to find you a workspace near the house as the internet won't work as far away as the guest cabin.
  
  Once temperatures drop below freezing, running water is not available. Water can be filled into buckets and heated on the stove for a sponge bath or for cooking. For showers you are welcome to use our tiny RV shower in the house or join us on a weekly trip to the hotsprings.

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  What else ...

  We are surrounded by natural beauty and it is very quiet here with Lower Arrow Lake on one side and the Valkyr Range of the Selkirk Mountains on the other.
  We are very remote without public transportation.
  Our area has lots of hot springs, hiking trails, hunting and fishing options, snowshoe and cross-country tails, an alpine ski hill, heliskiing, lots of ATV options, skating rink, movie theatre and more (you'll need your own vehicle to access all of those).
  The nearest grocery store is 1 hour away by car (limited public transportation), and the next city is a 2 hour drive away.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have Starlink, which can be accessed near our house and you'd be welcome to use it. It provides fast and reliable Internet.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There is no public transportation in our area. However, you are welcome to bring your own vehicle, including a motorhome or RV. We may be able to hook up power and a water pump, but there is no septic/greywater system.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  We have a large pasture that would make a good home for a horse (or other livestock). We have a dog, a cat as well as free-range chickens and goats. We are not opposed to having workawayers with pets, as long as we can be certain that your pet does not endanger our livestock.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week (or some variation thereof)