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Host rating
100 %
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96.6 %
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Description
La description en français se trouve plus bas.
We are a small community of eight people living in Rawdon, Quebec. We make a living by producing fruit and nut trees (nursery), specialising in fruit trees adapted for northern climates. Along with this, we have many projects on our lands (and are constantly starting more!) - fruit orchards, keeping chickens, bees, growing our own vegetables, herbs, grains and mushrooms. Although we are not completely independent by any means, self-sufficiency is a big value of ours and we try to put it into practice in many ways.
The eight people who are staying are: Ajan, Eric, Veronique, Elisabeth, Matthew, Natalie and Camille. For part of the year we also have a couple of employees staying with us. There is also a dog named Dali. Our nursery occupies a land of 9 hectares, surrounded by forest. We use only organic methods (mulch, cover crops, etc).
As well as the main land of the nursery, we have another smaller land where a few of us live. This is, in fact, where the community started to grow from very small beginnings in the early 2000s, and where it was located until the nursery outgrew the land there and we decided to give it a better home. That is also the home of our orchards of mature trees, including apple, pear and plum - so you might find yourself coming there to help us harvest fruit or take care of the orchard, depending on the time of year.
While we also operate a tree nursery, Workawayers won't be asked to participate in the business activities (preparation, maintenance and harvesting of produce to be sold). Workawayers will just be helping around your private home and sustainable community projects.
We practice Buddhism, and value simplicity, honesty, hard work and clean-living (no alcohol or drugs are allowed on our property, see below for some other notes on our lifestyle and rules). Our place is perfect for people who have a keen interest in agriculture, self-sufficiency, and community life. We appreciate a lot if you have already some experience of manual work of some kind (but feel free to contact us even if you haven't.)
For us, Workaway is more than a little extra opportunity for cultural exchange; our place could never have developed as it has if it were not for the generosity, enthusiasm and good will of many workawayers over the years; and many of us still living here arrived originally as volunteers. We look forward to meeting more of you!
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Bonjour!
Nous sommes une petite communauté bouddhiste qui vit sur une belle terre entourée de forêt à Rawdon, au Québec (1 heure de Montréal). Nous avons une pépinière d’arbres fruitiers biologique (pas encore certifiée), en plus d’avoir plusieurs autres projets en cours et en tête ! Entre autres, nous avons plusieurs vergers avec des variétés qui viennent de partout dans le monde, des poules, des abeilles, un grand jardin, et nous essayons d’être plus indépendants de plusieurs autres façons.
Nous sommes 8 personnes permanentes dans cette communauté : Ajan, Eric, Veronique, Elisabeth, Matthew, Natalie et Camille. La communauté, tout comme l’endroit, a beaucoup grandi au cours des 20 dernières années. Tout cela a commencé par Éric qui souhaitait faire une donation au moine qui lui a enseigné la méditation. Il a acheté une petite terre au milieu de la forêt, où il n’y avait rien du tout, et travaille depuis ce temps à rendre cet endroit plus beau et autosuffisant, au départ presque sans argent et principalement avec des matériaux récupérés. Chacun des membres est arrivé ici au début avec un simple intérêt d’aider brièvement cet endroit spécial et y a ensuite trouvé un but, un style de vie et des valeurs qui l'ont fait s’y établir pour longtemps !
La pépinière d’arbres fruitiers a aussi beaucoup évolué. Tout a commencé par la passion d’Éric, combinée à la générosité de la nature (chaque arbre planté donnera des centaines de semences dans 10 ans!). Cette passion d’Éric pour les arbres fruitiers a attiré l’intérêt de quelques voisins, des gens aux alentours, et maintenant de tout le Canada et même de l’autre côté du globe ! Nous consacrons notre temps dans cette pépinière afin d’encourager et d’aider le plus de gens possible à devenir encore plus autosuffisant au niveau alimentaire et de tenter de faire ce monde un monde meilleur en créant une abondance d’arbres fruitiers !
Nous avons récemment acheté une nouvelle terre spacieuse, entourée de forêt, avec un bel étang et deux maisons. Une de ces maisons, la maison bleue, est celle où les volontaires sont logés et où nous mangeons les repas. Ce nouvel emplacement a pour but de rassembler nos cultures ! Dans les environs, il y a les chutes de Rawdon à visiter, des forêts pour aller se balader et des lacs pour se baigner.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
UN sustainablity goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Learning here is through doing; and the more you show interest, are energetic in your work and ask questions, the more you will learn. There is a lot of knowledge to be gained in many areas (orchards, fruit trees, soil management, organic farming, as well as other general self-sufficiency skills). If you happen to have any special interests or knowledge, we will also be interested in learning from you.
We are looking for people who are interested in some of what we do - whether organic agriculture, fruit trees, self-sufficiency, or community lifestyle.
You will be most welcome if you have at least some of the following characteristics:
-like to work hard and push yourself a bit
-are kind and considerate towards others
-are eager to learn,
-respect and see some value in our way of living,
-are flexible and reasonably adaptable
-Not easily bothered or bored by slightly monotonous tasks.
-want to challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone both physically and mentally.
It is a considerable bonus if you have experience in cooking, manual work and/or practice sports and are physically fit and energetic. If you don't, but are still very interested in coming here, don't be shy to contact us anyway! We will be happy to discuss.
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Ici, c’est l’apprentissage par la pratique : quand on donne son 100%, on est récompensé. Il y a la possibilité de repartir avec un bagage de connaissances dans plusieurs domaines (construction, jardinage, soudure, plomberie, mécanique, ébénisterie, apiculture, arbres fruitiers, cuisine, pain au levain, fermentation, conserves, déshydratation, survie en forêt, etc.). Il y a souvent des ateliers organisés un soir par semaine et le dimanche selon l’intérêt des volontaires.
Si jamais vous avez un talent ou des connaissances diverses, il nous fera plaisir de vous entendre et d’apprendre de vous ! Les nouvelles cultures, manières de vivre et de cuisiner, les connaissances diverses approfondies nous intéressent grandement !
Vous êtes plus que bienvenue si vous :
- aimez le travail bien fait
- avez soif d’apprendre
- êtes respectueux(se), amical(e) et attentionné(e) vers les autres
- êtes capable de suivre des instructions sans discuter
- avez une facilité à vous adapter
Help
While there is a ton of work outside to do, we also need workawayers to take part in cooking. We are currently searching for a workawayer who would enjoy cooking 1 meal a day for the group.
Apart from that, here is an overview of the different tasks there is to do:
In spring and early summer, we have several different projects to do at once: grafting, planting trees, preparing a garden, starting to weed, planting orchards on our new land.
Later in summer there will be more weeding, harvesting and food preservation, along with our family orchard care and maintenance, caring for hens, some construction projects, and more.
In fall the help involves mainly: collecting fruit and nuts, processing seeds, planting and mulching trees, canning fruit and vegetables, sometimes some weeding, construction projects.
In winter we are generally closed to volunteers.
There are also daily tasks like cooking and clean up which most people take turns to do around three times a week. It would be very helpful if you have some experience cooking for groups and are willing to cook more often. Please let us know in your message if this is the case!
The chores are often physically demanding, especially during the first week or two, and is not suitable for people suffering from back or knee pain.
While we also operate a tree nursery, Workawayers won't be asked to participate in the business activities (preparation, maintenance and harvesting of produce to be sold). Workawayers will just be helping around your private home and sustainable community projects.
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Nous recherchons présentement un workawayer qui aimerait préparer un repas par jour pour le groupe (une dizaine de personnes).
Outre la cuisine, voici le type de tâches qu'il y a à faire selon la saison:
Au printemps, tout se passe en même temps, préparation de la terre, la plantation, le début du désherbage, la plantation du jardin (s’échelonne sur plusieurs mois), l'ensachage des fruits. La nature est généreuse et florissante, ça fait chaud au cœur - mais aussi ça fait beaucoup de travail pour nous, pour se servir de toute sa générosité !
Durant l’été, il y a beaucoup de désherbage et aussi du paillage, arrosage, récoltes, faire du thé de compost, etc.
Durant la fin de l’été et l'automne, plus de récolte de fruits et légumes, de transformations, soin des arbres et du jardin et divers projets de construction/rénovation, mécanique, etc.
L’hiver, voilà un peu plus de temps pour entreprendre un projet de rénovation, bûcher du bois de chauffage, tailler nos arbres fruitiers...
Le travail peut être demandant, plus particulièrement durant la première et parfois même la deuxième semaine, et n’est pas adapté pour les personnes ayant des problèmes de dos ou de genoux.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
Accommodation
Workawayers share a house with some of us, the hosts; where there are some individual rooms and some shared rooms. If you come in the month of June, it is possible that accommodation will be in a tent outdoors.
Meals are also shared with the hosts, and one person cooks for everyone (as part of the daily schedule). Snacks are generally plentiful! Note that we do expect volunteers to help cleaning up in the kitchen after meals.
Our place is located in the middle of a forest, and there can be quite a few mosquitos, as well as black bugs, no-see ums and deer flies. We provide protective mosquito nets, but it’s still definitely not the place to come if you have an allergy to mosquito bites or think you will not be able to tolerate insect bites from time to time.
Some guidelines/ rules in regard to accommodation and daily life:
1. Please note that as we are a large group and one person cooks for all, we are not able to provide separate meals for those with special diets. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you must be prepared to adapt to the meals that we serve if you are interested in staying with us.
2. On smoking cigarettes: we are non-smokers but you can smoke (tobacco!!) outside the house if you want.
3. We provide working clothes and bedsheets. A note on clothing: as you will be staying in what is both a farm and a religious community, we ask that you dress appropriately for both. No mini-skirts or mini-shorts, leggings, tight tank tops, etc. A loose T-shirt and comfortable long pants are recommended.
4. We do not listen to music or radio here, and we ask you to please refrain from playing music loudly (of course you can listen on earphones yourself if you like!)
5. We do not allow any drugs or alcohol on site for several reasons. You must be okay with this if you are interested in coming here, it is an important rule for us.
6. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to accept pets. Please find someone to take care of your dog or cat while you are here!
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Il y a la maison bleue pour les volontaires, où nous pouvons loger jusqu’à 12 personnes maximum. Il y a 4 chambres individuelles et deux dortoirs. Les repas sont tous inclus et une personne est désignée pour cuisiner pour tous (sauf le dimanche, où chacun peut se concocter son repas ou le faire en groupe !). Les collations et la nourriture sont à volonté et nous avons l’habitude de bien manger. Vous pouvez cuisiner si vous êtes confortable et que cela vous fait plaisir. Nous nous attendons à ce que les volontaires aident au nettoyage de la cuisine après les repas.
Notez que, comme nous sommes un grand groupe, nous n'avons pas la possibilité de préparer des assiettes séparées pour les personnes ayant des régimes alimentaires particuliers. Si vous êtes végétarien ou vegan, vous devez être prêt à vous adapter aux repas qui sont servis, ou bien à préparer vos propres repas durrant votre temps libre.
Nous sommes non-fumeurs, mais vous pouvez fumer dehors sans problème.
Nous n’acceptons ni l’alcool ni la drogue sur les lieux, c’est une règle importante pour nous. De plus, si vous consommez régulièrement ou vous êtes dependant aux drogues ou à l'alcool, si vous plaît, ne venez pas ici dans le but de briser cette habitude. Nous ne sommes pas un centre de réhabilitation :)
Pour ceux qui aimeraient apporter leur chat ou leur chien : désolé, mais il n'est pas possible pour nous d'accueillir vos animaux de compagnie. Merci de votre compréhension.
What else ...
We practise Buddhism (Theravada) and our lifestyle involves the aim to live accordance with principals of simplicity and morality. This includes respecting certain basic precepts, which we ask you to follow too when you are hosted on our farm:
-no alcohol or drug
-no sexual activity (including no touching, no kissing and even no flirting - you are here to learn, you have all the rest of your life for that.)
-no lying
-no stealing
-no killing (insects and animals included).
We ask you to respect these five rules when you are on our land; when you go away from the land, you can do what you want.
Please note that there are many schools in Buddhism and the one we follow can be quite different from what you know about Buddhism. We don't have rituals or statues of the Buddha, we don't pray, we don't do group meditation, and we don't chant. It is mainly a work on oneself where we work on removing one's faults and developing good qualities (wisdom, patience, effort, honesty, etc). It is ever a work in progress, and while it is a big part of our life, it is an interior work and many people will not find it very noticeable – in most ways, our place is run and works as a normal farm and self-sufficiency homestead.
If, however, you have a particular interest in learning more about our practice and our philosophy, we do have a blog dedicated to writings and teachings about this, feel free to ask us for the link.
If you are interested in applying here, please answer the following questions in your message to us:
- Why are you interested in participating in our project?
- How old are you, where are you from, and what is your "life story" (broad lines of what you are doing now and what you have done before in terms of work, study, personal life and/or whatever you consider most significant)?
- When are you interested in coming here and for how long?
- Do you have any experience in gardening, farming, construction or other manual work (Not having any is not a problem ~ we can teach you.)
- Do you have any skills in a particular field (computers, computer programming, photography, video making, mechanics, sewing, martial arts, bakery, etc.)? Not having any is not a problem.
- Do you have any special diet? Are you vegetarian? If so, are you a strict vegetarian who will not eat a soup that has been stirred with the same spoon that was used to stir a meat stew?
- Do you like cooking? Do you have any experience cooking for groups of more or less 8 people? Would you be happy to cook meals for the group on a regular base? Of course, using a lot of fresh veggies from the garden :-)
- Any allergies or health issues we should know?
It will be a pleasure to read your answers! We generally answer within 24 hours. We really look forward to hearing from you!
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Nous pratiquons le bouddhisme dans la vie de tous les jours. Il s’agit de travailler constamment sur sa présence d’esprit, de développer ses qualités, de garder l’esprit clair.
Nous respectons un code moral qui nous aide dans ce développement. Nous vous demandons de le suivre avec autant de rigueur que nous durant votre séjour. Le voici :
- pas d'alcool ni de drogue
- pas de sexualité (incluant toucher, embrasser et même cruiser ou draguer, car vous venez ici pour apprendre, vous avez tout le reste de votre vie pour ça)
- pas de mensonge
- pas de vol
- ne pas tuer (incluant animaux et insectes).
Il est bien de mentionner qu’il y a plusieurs écoles dans le bouddhisme. La pratique que nous faisons est probablement différente de ce que vous connaissez du bouddhisme ; nous n’avons pas de rites et rituels, pas de statue de Bouddha, pas de prière, pas de chants, pas de méditation de groupe. Notre pratique est personnelle et constante ; c’est un travail intérieur qu’il est difficile de remarquer de l’extérieur.
Si vous êtes intéressé à venir vous joindre à notre équipe motivée, veuillez inclure les réponses aux questions suivantes dans votre message :
1- Pourquoi êtes-vous intéressée) à participer à notre projet ?
2- Quel âge avez-vous, d'où venez-vous, quel est votre parcours de vie (grandes lignes) ?
3-Quelles dates êtes-vous intéressé(e) à venir ici, et pour combien de temps ?
4-Avez-vous de l'expérience en construction ou en jardinage (ne pas en avoir n'est pas un problème, vous êtes ici pour apprendre) ?
5- Avez-vous des connaissances ou compétences dans un domaine particulier, quel qu’il soit (ordinateurs, programmation, photographie, montage vidéo, mécanique, couture, arts martiaux, forge, pâtisserie, etc.) ?
6- Avez-vous un régime alimentaire particulier ? Êtes-vous végétarien ? Si oui, êtes-vous le type de végétarien qui ne mangera pas une soupe qui a été brassée avec une cuillère qui a touché à un plat avec de la viande, par exemple ?
7- Aimez-vous cuisiner? Avez-vous déjà cuisiné pour des groupes de plus ou moins 8 personnes? Est-ce que cuisiner le repas de façon régulière pour le groupe pourrait être quelque chose qui vous plairait? En utilisant plein de légumes frais du potager :-)
8- Des allergies ou autres conditions de santé que nous devrions connaître ?
Au plaisir de recevoir votre réponse ! Nous répondons généralement dans les 24 heures.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
maximum 5 hours per day 5 days per week
Feedback (48)
She adapted herself promptly to our environment… read more
Every day was a different task (except for the several days when we were 'all hands on deck' harvesting corn together. Lots to learn and they… read more
Thank you very much Steven. Wishing you the best in the… 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:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.9)
She adapted herself promptly to our environment… read more
Every day was a different task (except for the several days when we were 'all hands on deck' harvesting corn together. Lots to learn and they… read more
Thank you very much Steven. Wishing you the best in the… read more
She is a very respectful young lady with a strong desire to help and do good. Even when it was not her favourite task, she would go over that to get done what needs to be done to help out. She was always very attentive to the instructions given, and as well attentive to do the task according to the… read more
Cet automne, j'ai passé deux mois super enrichissants dans la petite communauté de la pépinière avec tous ses membres très gentils et incroyablement motivés à faire de ce monde un monde meilleur. Dès le premier jour je me suis sentie à l'aise et appréciée dans mon travail varié. Notamment en plantant, déplantant, transformant,… read more
I spent two months in the farm, there was always something new to see, learn, and wonder about.
Such a hard-working, detriment, caring, fun, and interesting community.
I'm happy that I… read more
I stayed at the nursery for about 10 months. I write these words with a fair past experience in volunteering at others farms and intentional communities. I’m tremendously grateful to the persons who started this place and the ones who run it everyday. They have been able to trust me and I’m infinitely thankful… read more
This was not necessarily the easiest work, but it was… read more
You feel directly home, get a lot of opportunities to learn and enjoy plenty of good home made foods and snacks.
If you don't like working a lot and getting dirty hands, this is not a place for you. I personally really enjoyed it and appreciated that the tasks were varied.
The 6 permanent staff were… read more
In my two weeks I learned so much and would have loved to stay longer.
If you would like to meet some, really special, open minded and impressive people you should definitely go there!
Thanks again ;)
They are always welcome volunteer from any countries so I can comfortably fit with this environment and I often laugh cuz my mates made a funny joke even we are in a hectic situation.
I can't forget what I felt and what I heard about meditation. This makes me… read more
He is very interested in learning, so it is… read more
She has great organization skills, she can be handed projects to lead by herself, whatever she doesn't know how to do she will search for the answer and find it.
She has initiative and she cooks great Indian and Korean dishes! (still making your squash patties :-) )
She… read more
As soon as I arrived, I became a new member of this recomposed family and they made sure I felt comfortable and included.
My stay was pretty brief (12 days) but man, it felt more like a month! The hosts are all very unique and caring. They are really intelligent and easygoing people. I learned as… read more
Thank you so much for teaching us how to make gnocchi, tagliatele, raviolis, tiramisu!!!! I had been wanting to learn how to make fresh pastas for such a long time, and now, from an Italian cook, WOW! My wish is fulfilled! You can be sure that there will be tons of fresh… read more
enthusiasm. Felicia was always taking interest in the different tasks
that had to be done, even if the jobs were not always "so much fun"! I
don't know how she would find energy to run 11 kilometers after a day of
work, but she did it! I'd say she is the opposite of… read more
Thanks for your help Marta, you came at a time when we really needed and have been very… read more
We take good note of your comment about communication and will work on correcting this point for the future.
Thanks Nicolas and wish you the best for the future!
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Nicolas est arrivé… read more
I spend 3 month there and this experiment was very good. Mars,
Veronique, Eric and Ajan are very interesting people and very funny.
The amazing part was that i learnt so many things, i was a city boy
and i learn to use my hands (and my head) doing stuff i never did,
like cutting trees, planting, weeding, take trees… read more
He is very responsible and you can put him in… read more
Ulysse has all the qualities of a great… read more
L'automne n'est peut être pas la meilleure saison pour faire des activités diversifiées mais ça vaut toujours le coup!
Kenneth love to debate, so if you want to practice your debating skills, he is your man!
Kenneth was helpful and was always willing to do what had… read more
Krista stayed almost 3 months with us, and she was our official cook, and what a cook! :-) From meat to vegetarian dishes, from bread to cookies, she knows how to fill you stomach with good stuff!
She is VERY responsible and dependable, she is SUPER caring, she is easy-going and sociable. We don't have kids… read more
They are friendly, the food is usually self-produced, good accomodation. We were 6 workawayers from… read more
Everyone was very nice and accommodating; I felt welcomed and included.
There were a variety of tasks that helped me to learn and grow as a person.
Thank-you very much for having me, I wish I could have stayed longer.
Driss est aussi un excellent… read more
She is a calm person, she easily adapted herself to the group, she was always willing to help when we needed. She arrived in our big rush time of the year, and she was such a great help, I am not sure how we could have done it without her! She is also very interested in learning and very friendly, she… read more
with this review I´d like to give you an impression on what the farm life was like when I was with Véronique, Éric and Ajan so that you know what to expect.
Please read the whole decribtion Véronique wrote before you contact her to get an impression of what you will do during your stay at the farm! I spend almost two month with… read more
Eric is a veritable fount of knowledge, and is very happy to share with you his diverse experience.
If you really want to learn how to live self sufficiently, and… read more
If you need any ''muscle jobs'' to be done, he is the one. (I secretly believe he is able to lift a car with one hand without effort.)
Dennis is a good worker and did not mind having extra hours work to help out on the projects. For heavy job, he can easily replace three or four… read more
An endless amount of things to learn and do, at a really peaceful place!
The people are simply great, very kind and helpful, and very interesting to work with.
I learned a lot of them, something for every part of live, which in my opinion makes it an excellent workaway experience.
I… read more
Auke is really interested in learning, he is mature and he is very open minded. We had great talks, he was open to discuss and… read more
They always make sure the workers don't get bored; consequently, the activities are diverse.
They are the… read more
She is a great cook and she is a person who adapts herself easily to different environments. She loves to take part into a team, she is very interested about gardening and learning in general.
No doubt you will have a great time… read more
PS : Sorry for english...
