Volunteers welcome on our hobby farm in Northwest Saskatchewan, Canada

Details

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  Description

  We are looking for help on our hobby farm. There’s 3 of us living here full time. We have horses, rabbits, ducks, chickens, geese, donkeys, sheep, guinea fowl, peacocks, dogs, cats and alpacas.
  
  We are pretty fun people to be around. Always laughing and joking. We have a ton of animals here right now that need to be looked after but we do try to ride horses every chance we get. At this time we prefer intermediate to advanced horseback riders. If you don’t ride, feel free to apply anyway. There’s a chance we can’t take you based on current circumstances. But it’s worth a try
  
  Here’s a little more information I’m adding into the profile so you can make an informed decision.
  
  
  Every day the animals require care twice. Morning and afternoon. Some very cold days they need a 3rd check. This means food and water for each animal.
  
  January -. Our coldest month. Guaranteed snow if that’s what you like. Fairly relaxed month. We spend a lot of time in the house just chillin. There may be some riding based on weather and snow but it will possibly be limited to the outdoor arena. Other activities include, hiking, snowshoeing. If you pay there’s a chance for dogsledding, or skiing /snowboarding.
  
  February is the same as January except February we take a 7-10 day holiday during the 3rd week and are looking for responsible people to watch the house
  
  March -snow starts to melt. Depending on how fast it warms up there may be more opportunities for trail riding. We spend a lot more time outside in March. There’s still a chance for winter activities mentioned for January.
  
  April -much more busy. Animal pens need to be cleaned after a long frozen winter. Doesn’t take long and isn’t hard. Many hands make light work. Message for more information on that. Baby lambs are born the end of April so we start getting the sheep ready and making sure they have a dry warm place for lambs. We also sell hatching eggs and baby birds. April is very busy with egg picking. We may take a 10 day holiday in April, and we’re also looking for mature and responsible people to look after the house while we’re gone. There can be less horseback riding in April due to how busy it is but we still try to make sure our workaways get to ride. It can be very beautiful weather and we spend a lot of time outside.
  
  May - generally very beautiful weather. The snow is finally gone and the ice is off the lake. Most of the lambs are born in May. We have many many baby animals during May. Once lambing is done on the animal pens are clean, we go back to riding horses more often. May is a great month because there’s almost no bugs. May activities include canoing/kayaking and hiking.
  
  June - June is a more relaxed month, but that’s when we focus more on the gardening. We usually get everything planted the first week of June. There may be some big outdoor projects to work on. There can be quite a bit of horseback riding in June, except the bugs are starting to be pretty crazy.
  
  July -generally we don’t take workaways because we are taking a family break
  *** edit ***. We are taking a 10 day family holiday mid July and need people to watch the house. We prefer people that can come the beginning of July to learn the routine.
  
  August- same as July
  
  September- the weather can be quite beautiful. There’s much less bugs. We start getting the animals ready for winter and bringing in hay, straw and grain. There’s bales to stack, pens to set up, bird houses to build, pens to clean etc. if you like to be busy , but not too cold, September is for you. There’s usually quite a bit of riding in September due to no bugs.
  
  October-final panic before winter. We start moving all the birds indoors, putting out warm straw, final pen cleaning before the snow etc. We get everything settled and tidy before it’s buried in snow. Can be quite satisfying. Usually we ride quite a bit this month
  
  November- basically just waiting for it to snow. Keeping things organized until it does. Riding as long as there’s not too much snow. Can be quite cold but also we’ve had a few mild Novembers. We spend more time in the house. If you have an online job, this would be a good month for you.
  
  December -CHRISTMAS! There’s Christmas activities, winter festivals, snowshoeing, tobogganing, etc. The weather can be quite cold so we spend a lot of time in the house. There’s a lot of cleaning and organizing to do to get ready for Christmas.
  
  Message me if you have any questions about any of these months.
  
  *** it’s highly recommended that you READ the reviews. There’s a lot of extra information there. ***.
  
  
  
  We provide -
  
  Riding boots (summer and winter ). We may not have all sizes but we do have most. If you have a favourite pair and room for your boots, please feel free to bring your own
  
  Riding helmets. We have ALL sizes and none have been in an accident or dropped.
  
  Bedding, towels, etc. This is a normal house with normal stuff :)
  
  Washer and dryer are free for you to use.
  
  Work gloves. If you feel uncomfortable wearing someone else’s gloves then please bring your own.
  
  Rubber boots - we have ALL sizes and will buy more if needed. Rubber boots are absolutely essential for April/May /June but we don’t expect people to bring their own.
  
  We have a limited supply of winter gear but enough to lend out if needed.
  
  
  
  
  What you should bring -
  
  Inside shoes (slippers/crocs/flip flops ) . We have animals in the house. .. things happen
  
  Clothes that can get dirty! You will be outside. There will be animal mess.
  
  Bathing suit. (This is more for summer months, but we do end up at indoor pools in the winter)
  
  Clothes that are good for outdoor activities like hiking , canoeing , riding, snowshoeing. Etc (obviously seasonally appropriate) .
  
  If you’re coming in winter please ask us before you buy anything. Often you can buy winter gear here cheaper and better than what you can get at home.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We do a lot of things here. Hiking. Canoeing. Kayaking. Trail riding. We live in a very beautiful area surrounded by lakes, forests and open prairie. We will do everything with you that we possibly can. You won’t be bored.
  
  You can learn about raising birds, rabbits and sheep. Caring for horses. There’s a little bit of gardening. Basically how to run a small hobby farm. Some helpers have even learned how to change a flat tire (oops)!
  
  Oh. And yes you can see the northern lights if they are out. But no promises. ;)

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  Help

  We are looking for help with feeding and caring for livestock, gardening, yard maintenance, building animal shelters, training horses, and some housework. You don’t have to be good at all of it.
  
  We prefer intermediate to advanced horseback riders during the spring, summer and fall. I like to go out on adventures with the horses and I’m not comfortable taking out complete beginners. In winter we are happy to take people that don’t ride.
  
  
  We would LOVE to find someone handy with wood working or construction. We need to build some small animal housing and make some small improvements to the home.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  I would love to learn Spanish. If someone wants to learn better English I’m very happy to help
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  Accommodation

  We have 2 spare rooms with a queen bed in each and large windows. There is also a room in the basement (large window. Not scary) that we have to use if we have 3 or more workawayers overlapping for a bit. We try to always just have 2 at the most though.
  
  You can have meals with us or you can cook your own food. Pantry, fridge and freezer are always stocked.

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  What else ...

  We have a few dogs and cats in the house. If that bothers you then this isn’t the place for you. Like. Seriously. If you don’t like cats and dogs then don’t come here. Animals do not go in any bedrooms (unless that’s what you really want lol )
  
  This is a FARM. We have livestock. Not all the animals are pets.
  
  We have 2 canoes, 2 kayaks and 2 paddle boards. . 2-3 days a week we may have a spare vehicle to borrow for short trips. Horseback riding is weather dependent. Also dependent on the health of the horses. Sometimes some horses can be lame or sick. There’s nothing we can do about that. We also have to take the trailer out for rides most of the year. We are surrounded by private property that doesn’t allow horseback riding most of the time.
  
  We are about 10 min from a provincial park with lakes, beaches, camping, hiking trails and a golf course. It’s a very beautiful area. It’s a nice mix of forests and farmland. We are 35 min to the nearest large town which is Meadow Lake, Sk. It has a pool, a movie theatre, bowling alley, many restaurants and some shopping. **Please note. We are 700km from the mountains. If you Google ‘Saskatchewan ‘ it shows you Mt. Saskatchewan. That’s in Alberta… **. Taking time off to travel to the mountains is definitely an option most of the time (also weather dependent) . Just let me know that’s what you would like to do and I can help you plan it.
  
  We are 130km to the nearest bus station. Lloydminster. You will have to fly into either Saskatoon or Edmonton and then take the bus to Lloydminster. The bus is Rider Express. Another option would be flying into Calgary and taking the Rider Express bus from there. It’s a longer bus ride, but it might be cheaper. Please look at Bus times on the website. In most cases your flight will get in too late for you to make the bus for that day.
  
  Please contact us before booking tickets to ensure we are free to pick you up. There’s no public transport and no way for you to get to us without us picking you up.
  
  Also, there’s a chance that we are already travelling to Saskatoon Edmonton or Calgary and can pick you up from the airport if our dates match.
  
  
  
  We are super chill but we don’t smoke or do any sort of drugs. Occasional drink is fine but not beyond that.
  
  ** if you’re the kind of person that needs to go out drinking and partying all the time, please pick a different host. We socialize but we don’t party and we don’t have much in common with people that do. It’s not the vibe here. ***

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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 unlimited starlink internet and quiet rooms upstairs. You definitely have free time almost every day to do some work (some days we’re off on adventures or in the city or something). Please discuss this with us first

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We can take any size vehicle.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  We MAY accommodate some pets. No big dogs as we have free range birds and small lambs.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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