Help us take care of the animals and daily tasks around the house while discovering the area in Vlezenbeek, Belgium

Details

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  Description

  We're a couple of Earth dwellers, on a path to re-connecting with earth and all of its creatures, with old and new energies and bodies of wisdom. We are fluent in Dutch, English and French and, together, we offer a reasonably good level of Italian, Portuguese and German, as well as some basic Spanish. We have a relatively big house and garden which we love to open up to fellow travelers of this plane, who seem to be finding their way more and more to this place. That is how we came to know about Workaway.
  Our house has 3 floors, 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It is surrounded by greenery and, over the course of 8 years, our garden has developed from, basically, a lawn, to an edible garden with a relatively wide variety of trees, shrubs and fruit/vegetable beds. We share the premises with one beautiful cat called Rastaman and one unresistable little white dog called Tasja, as well as 6 chickens (Goldie, Blackie, Billie, Plume, Ripple and Extra) and 1 rabbit (Aquarel).
  Behind the house is a 90 m2 shed which Walter, the man around the house, has rebuilt and provided with a roof and floor, as well as windows all around. Our project was to turn this place into a multi-purpose room for sounding, yoga, meditation, lounging, ... However, things came to a halt with the passing over of both our remaining parents, followed by Walter falling ill and losing most of his mobility, strength and energy. Our multi-purpose room slowly turned into a storage room covered in dust. After several years of stagnation and adjustment to new and sometimes difficult circumstances, over the past year, a new flow came into our life, attracting all kinds of experiences and travelers spending some time here, most of them expressing nothing but awe and enthusiasm about the potential of this place for communal living and temporary/longer-term dwelling, time and experience-sharing.
  This kindled a fire that had stayed present in both of us and, at our pace, and with the help of like-minded people, we would like to finish this project to its full potential and leave behind a place that people can enjoy and benefit from even after we're gone.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We live just outside Brussels, the capital of Europe, a cultural melting pot in itself, with easy connections to Gent, Bruges and Antwerp, as well as Amsterdam, Paris and Cologne. Although close to the hustle and bustle of the city, with a wide variety of cultural offerings, our house is surrounded by farmland and feels like it's in the country side.
  Apart from learning about DIY and permaculture/natural gardening, we can help with language learning, are open to going on outings with our guests, if time allows. For those eager to learn about healthy, intuitive and eco cooking, your landlady will probably have a couple of talents one can learn from and the two of us combined have knowledge to share about a wide range of subjects and we're always eager to learn from others.

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  Help

  Lodging offered in exchange for contributing to the general household duties (on a par with the other inhabitants :)), including taking care of the animals, and helping out with the remaining DIY projects in the garden (e.g. setting up a vegetable tunnel) and the house (e.g. adding a kitchenette so the travellers visiting us can have their own food and dining area).
  We are looking for somebody who can either help us with our DIY project, or generally with keeping the house tidy and clean and tending to the pets and the garden and its creatures.
  As for the DIY project, much of the heavy-duty works have been carried out already. For what remains to be done, as Walter's physical strength has gradually decreased, we would be happy to have people stay over who can help him carry out the plans he still has, semi-independently or together with the both of us, whichever applies, get supplies, handing tools and materials, basically supporting him as much as possible, learning while doing. All of this would be at a pace to be agreed on a day-by-day basis and at any rate would generally mean working a couple of hours here, a couple of hours there, depending on Walter's physical condition, which fluctuates quite a bit. And if our guest(s) have experience/skills and time to offer on top of the work in exchange for food and/or lodging, we'll be happy to outsource actual parts of the work against some form of material/financial compensation.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  German: Intermediate
  Portuguese: Intermediate
  Spanish: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  Interested in improving Portuguese
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  Accommodation

  A bedroom in a big house; spacious common areas; a shared kitchen (as long as the idea of a kitchenette on the first floor for guests and travellers to have their own cooking space has not concretised); 3 bathrooms/showers; a shared terrace and garden.

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  What else ...

  For candidates with allergies, please check if our zoo doesn't present a problem (cf general description)
  As stated, we're close to the city, but the feel is that of the country side. There is a bus stop at a 5' walk that will take you to Brussels-midi (South) railway station in 25' (De Lijn bus R42), and the metro (MIVB/STIB Line 5 terminal Erasmus) is 15' away on foot, which will connect you to anywhere else in and around Brussels city, allowing for ample opportunities to venture into town and beyond. We're situated in Pajottenland, which is well known for its beers, good food, Gaasbeek castle, walking and cycling routes.
  To many people, just spending a couple of hours sipping a glass of something reading a book on the glass-roof terrace is a way to enjoy a sunny afternoon.

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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

  There's wired internet (ethernet via TP Link). WiFi is available during office hours only.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  We have a cat and a small dog who live in the house with us. Previous experiences have taught us that only small dogs are a viable match.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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