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Description
Join us at a a non-profit 40-acre organic homestead in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. We grow and preserve a diverse range of seasonal vegetables alongside chestnuts, hazelnuts, olives, apples, stone fruit, berries for eating through the year or sharing with our neighbors.
This is a hands-on, learning-rich environment where we love sharing skills and knowledge. Depending on the season, you can learn about food preserving, beekeeping, composting, tree growing, cheesemaking, breadmaking, and aspects of off-grid living. There’s always something interesting happening.
We both work office jobs 5 days a week, so working bees happen on weekends when we enjoy working side-by-side with our volunteers. Weekdays you'll be helping us with easy maintenance tasks leaving plenty of time to explore, relax, or enjoy the property.
Accommodation options include a cosy wood-stove glamping tent with an outdoor bathroom and sauna, or a charming tiny home overlooking the orchard. You’ll also be sharing the space with our affectionate border collie, who is always keen for company.
In your downtime, unwind by the swimming pond, wander through five acres of gardens, or simply enjoy the peaceful rural setting.
If you’re curious, practical, and keen to experience organic growing and slow living, we’d love to welcome you.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Babysitting and creative play
Interests
Vegetarian or vegan
Yoga / Wellness
Pets
Sustainability
Farming
Books
Plant care
Music
Cooking & food
Gardening
Performing arts
Animals
Camping
Nature
Outdoor activities
Dancing
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We see Workaway as a genuine cultural exchange, not just a work stay. Our home is a place where people from different backgrounds can share skills, stories, food, and perspectives.
You’ll experience everyday life in regional Australia for a family of five—balancing work in the city with a strong connection to land, food, and community. We enjoy spending time together over shared meals, often using ingredients grown on the property, and love learning about your culture, traditions, and favourite dishes too. We welcome children who will enjoy exploring secret passages through the garden, making tepees, kayaking in the pond or playing board games by the fire with our three.
We regularly share practical skills such as preserving, breadmaking, cheesemaking, beekeeping, and organic growing—but the exchange goes both ways. If you have knowledge or traditions you’d like to share (cooking, gardening techniques, language, music, or crafts), we’d really value that.
There’s also a strong connection to the local community. Depending on timing, you might join local events, markets, or informal gatherings in the Central Highlands region, giving you a broader sense of life in rural Victoria. We also have a unique patch of the Moorabool (meaning "Place of kangaroos" in Wadawurrung language) riverfront hosting a diverse collection of indigenous herbs, grasses and sedges. This kind of floristic diversity provides amazing habitat for all kinds of insects, insectivores (birds frogs lizards), wallabies and wombats. The river flat hosts Eucalyptus yarraensis, the Yarra Gum, which is a critically endangered Victorian endemic species
We aim to create a relaxed, respectful, and open environment where people feel comfortable, included, and inspired—whether that’s around the dinner table, working in the garden, or unwinding by the fire or pond.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We’re looking for practical, curious, and motivated helpers who enjoy working outdoors and learning new skills. Tasks are varied, seasonal, and designed as a cultural exchange and learning experience rather than commercial farm labor.
We enjoy sharing knowledge about organic gardening, food preservation, composting, beekeeping, breadmaking, cheesemaking, tree growing, and sustainable living practices. We also love learning from our visitors — whether that’s cooking, language, gardening techniques, music, or experiences from different cultures and countries.
We work alongside our volunteers on weekends and enjoy spending time together over shared meals and projects. During weekdays, a locally employed gardener is here to guide garden-based activities.
Typical help may include:
Gardening: planting, weeding, mulching, pruning, and harvesting seasonal vegetables and fruit
Orchard activities: assisting with seasonal care of chestnut, hazelnut, olive, apple, and stone fruit trees
General property projects: tidying garden beds and pathways and mowing.
Food processing: helping with preserving, cheesemaking, breadmaking, and seasonal harvest preparation
Composting and soil building: turning compost, preparing beds, and learning regenerative practices
Beekeeping (optional): assisting with hive checks depending on experience and time of year
Occasional local driving: helping with simple family tasks such as picking children up or dropping them at the local bus stop
No prior experience is required, but a willingness to learn, and basic physical fitness are important. If you already have skills in gardening, carpentry, food production, or permaculture, that’s a bonus.
We value people who enjoy working as part of a team, and appreciate the physical nature and rhythm of seasonal, outdoor living. The focus here is on shared experiences, learning, and enjoying life on the land in regional Victoria.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
German: Beginner
French: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
We will be living in Germany from Sept-January 2026/7
Accommodation
We offer two unique and comfortable accommodation options, both immersed in the beauty of the property:
🌿 Hauslein Gunya Tiny Home
A cosy, self-contained tiny home with a private deck overlooking the orchard. It’s a warm and welcoming space to relax after a day outdoors, with peaceful views across the olive grove.
🔥 Wood-Stove Glamping Tent
For a more nature-immersed experience, stay in our spacious glamping tent, heated by a wood stove for those cooler Central Highlands nights. It’s set just a short walk from a dedicated amenities block with a hot shower, toilet, and a sauna—perfect for unwinding.
Both options have access to cooking facilities, including an outdoor kitchen in the main shed on the hill, where you can prepare meals and enjoy the open-air setting.
🍲 Food & Meals
We provide a mix of shared meals and self-catering:
Dinner is cooked and shared together in the main house, using seasonal produce from the garden wherever possible. This is a lovely time to connect, share stories, and enjoy home-cooked food.
Breakfast and lunch are self-prepared by you in the shed kitchen. We keep it well stocked with staples including milk, cheese, yoghurt, bread, eggs, preserves, and pantry basics.
There’s often a homemade soup available for easy reheating, especially on cooler days.
What else ...
🚗 Transport
We’re located in a rural area, so having your own car is helpful—but not essential.
We travel to the city regularly and are happy to offer lifts to and from the train stations in Ballan or Ballarat when our schedules align.
From these stations, you can easily access Melbourne and surrounding regions by train.
We recommend planning ahead for arrivals and departures so we can coordinate lifts where possible.
🌿 House Guidelines
To keep things enjoyable and respectful for everyone:
No loud music after 10pm
No smoking on the property
Bring your own alcohol
WiFi is available—you’re welcome to connect to our network
Please clean up after yourself, especially in shared kitchen spaces
Be mindful and respectful of animals, gardens, and tools
Be sparing with water and power—we rely on tank water and aim to live lightly on the land
Communicate openly—we value a friendly, collaborative environment
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
The WiFi can be patchy in the Tiny Home making video calls unreliable. You can use the Ballan Library for important calls. WiFi is not present in the glamping tent.
Space for parking camper vans
Powered site and filtered dam water available for showering and washing.
Can possibly accept pets
Friendly dogs accepted but there is no fenced area for dogs
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Maggie (4 years)
Very friendly border collie
Photos
