Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
10 Dec 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
20
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
We are a small (4 acre) family farm that we are trying to make self sustaining, organically, and would love some assistance. We need to clear the back 2 acres, fix up the barn, enlarge the pond and build some garden beds.
My daughter and three kids live at the property and love to welcome people from all over the world. My husband and I live in Vancouver but spend many weeks and weekends on the farm in the Cowichan Valley.
We have a person that works the farm but we want to enlarge our usable space, get the farm ready to bring in more trees, plants and animals. There is 1 acre of grapes and we have a winery of sorts. We have fruit trees and are currently planting a big garden to sell bedding plants. There are dogs, cats, turkeys, chickens and sheep right now.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
My daughter and her family welcome people from all over the world. The 18, 16 & 15 year olds are being educated in French.
They know a few words in Thai. I would love to find someone that speaks it to help them relearn some Thai.
I have some Latin American Spanish and would love to practice.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We are setting up the farm up so we have a variety of tasks that we need to get on with.
- Repairs to the fence,
- planting/pruning trees/grapes/vegetables
- put up netting to keep birds out
- digging culvert/adding drain tile topond
- cut paths in blackberry brambles to make them more accessible
- dig out the invasive broom weeds
- repair/tear down barn on property
- lay landscape fabric down the wine rows
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Accommodation
30' self contained trailer on the property. It has it's own patio, iternet access is good.
Food will be provided or we will take you shopping, or provide money for food, and some dinners with family.
What else ...
The farm is in an amazing part of the world, surrounded by mountains, hiking trails and nature. We have 2 battered old kayaks for use in the ocean and Cowichan Lake. Duncan is a short bus ride away. The capital city of Victoria is 45 minutes south and Nanaimo is 45 minutes north by car. Bus service daily.
Vancouver is about 3 hours by car and ferry. We travel back and forth all the time and have a big house in Vancouver. We would welcome you to visit us at our house on days off from the farm.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
We have a place to park with electricity and a bathroom and shower accessible downstairs.
Can possibly accept pets
Sure, if they get along with others.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (15)
As soon as we got to the vineyard we had a vibrant feeling of being at home. They all had all sorts of questions for us and so did we for them; we always enjoyed so… read more
We learned a lot about the vineyard, wine and cooking and had delicious dinner and of course with well chosen wine from Ron. He also took us to a wine tasting, which we never had… read more
Fun, funny, great conversationalists, interesting, great workers. They think outside the box and had great suggestions when we were tackling new projects. They were off on an adventure and came home with a free sink and taps they had found on the side of the road. Kelpie then proceeded to make a cabinet for it… read more
The work at the farm is rewarding. We did a wide variety of things, from working in the winery (fermenting, pressing grapes, and bottling lots of delicious wine) to doing the roofing and flooring in an outhouse. We… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(5.0)
As soon as we got to the vineyard we had a vibrant feeling of being at home. They all had all sorts of questions for us and so did we for them; we always enjoyed so… read more
We learned a lot about the vineyard, wine and cooking and had delicious dinner and of course with well chosen wine from Ron. He also took us to a wine tasting, which we never had… read more
Fun, funny, great conversationalists, interesting, great workers. They think outside the box and had great suggestions when we were tackling new projects. They were off on an adventure and came home with a free sink and taps they had found on the side of the road. Kelpie then proceeded to make a cabinet for it… read more
The work at the farm is rewarding. We did a wide variety of things, from working in the winery (fermenting, pressing grapes, and bottling lots of delicious wine) to doing the roofing and flooring in an outhouse. We… read more
If you are looking for a workaway host, where you feel like part of the family, and have great dinner table conversations, while enjoying high-quality food, then here is the right address.
Marvin and I could only stay at the farm for about one week, because of our travel schedule,… read more
Judy, Amanda and Ron, your family have a friend in me forever.
I was with Judy, Ron and Amanda for a month in their vineyard, an experience that I would repeat without a doubt. Ron is a wine lover, with great knowledge of wine science. Of course he makes delicious wines, we had great conversations and of course a wonderful… read more
How to tell you, a big thank you to you 2 sorry to write only now.
I spent 3 weeks just wonderful, Judy works a lot in Vancouver so I stayed a lot with Ron, what to tell you about him...... If you like real life (a good wine or a good beer a good meal and a convivial moment) so don't hesitate any longer. Ron is a cordon bleu and… read more
Helping out at the vineyards was so much fun! I got to drive two different tractors, learned how to use power tools and planted a whole veggie garden. On the hotter days I got to do… read more
Most of the work has been limited to removing the concrete around the pool when it's sunny, and when it's raining I've been helping Ron around the house pouring out… read more
Late is an understatement for this feedback - we stayed with Ron & Judy all the way back in September, but it was such a good time that we had to come back and leave a good review whist we still could.
Ron & Judy are some of the most welcoming and generous people you'll… read more
Looking forward to picking… read more
Unfortunately Ron became extra super busy at work travelling way to much so hasn't been as available as usual to work with Jesse in and around the farm. It is out in the country and Jesse doesn't drive so it wasn't ideal for him either. He was limited to 4… read more
Being their first domestic Workaway and the first to come so late in the year, I had a bit of a different… read more
We taught him about lacrosse and hockey and he enjoyed a beer at the end of… read more
