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Host rating
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Last replied
8 Apr 2026
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Description
(Sorry our reply rate is so low, it's just because we do not keep up to the responses in our off season, you can read our reviews on here and on Help X.)
Welcome to Our Riverside Homestead – Cowichan Valley, BC
Hi there! We’d love to welcome a thoughtful, independent helper to share time on our beautiful 7-acre property beside the Cowichan River, we are Ali and Chris. We have chickens, bunnies and cats and are hoping to get ducks.
We live a creative and connected life—gardening, hiking, and enjoying our beautiful property.
Ali runs a handmade clothing business from her home studio, where she designs and sews natural fibre clothing, and Chris works for Kinsol Timer and builds playgrounds and musical instruments and works full time.
About Your Stay
You’ll be staying in our very clean, lovely cabin that is cozy with its spacious loft, and outdoor kitchen, a very clean outhouse and beautiful hot outdoor shower and outdoor bathtub.
We provide three meals per day, laundry, wifi and private accommodations. We are a busy family and we do like to share a few meals a week, but are often hustling to keep up to life, careers and property, which sometimes leaves us with less time to socialize than we would like. We provide you with a mix of prepared meals, and ingredients to prepare your own meals in your space when we are not sharing meals.
In exchange, we ask for 25 hours of help per week. Often it works out to x5 five hour days with x2 days off. We are pretty easy going and flexible with when you fit your hours in.
Some helpers prefer to do a few longer days with more days off. Sometimes we do prefer to work together on weekends when we are off work. We are happy to work together to find a schedule to suit us all, We are pretty easy going.
Current & Ongoing Projects:
• Gardening & landscaping
• Weeding and yard maintenance
• Firewood stacking
• Interior painting if you have experience
• Building projects (bonus if you have experience!)
We’re looking for someone comfortable working outdoors in all weather, often independently and sometimes alongside us.
We like to start with a 1-2 week trial and if it feels like a great fit for us both we can discuss extending your stay.
About the area:
- Glenora Store and Cafe 30 minute walk
- Alderlea Farm to Table restaurant 45 min walk, 10/15 min bike ride
- 3 Minute walk down the bank to a beautiful swim hole on the Cowichan River.
- Glenora Trails provincial Park, with Play ground, and Trans Canada Trail Hiking/Biking System 15 minute walk.
- We are a 10 minute drive from downtown Duncan, its about an hour walk. (no busses)
We do drive into town a few times a week, and have an e bike you can borrow.
If this sounds like a good fit, we’d love to do a video chat to get to know you and give you a feel for the land and space.
Please note: we are unable to host dogs.
We look forward to hearing from you!
~ “Work is love made visible.”
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
General Maintenance
Interests
Music
DIY & crafts
Gardening
Cooking & food
Carpentry
Astronomy
Animals
Beach
Yoga / Wellness
Hiking
Cycling
Dancing
Nature
Fitness
Camping
Adventure sports
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We love to share our way of life with others. Being a very creative family we always have some fun project on the go, Weekdays our jobs keep us quite busy, Ali is usually out and about in the late afternoon in the gardens, we have more time on weekends. Chris is a percussionist and instrument builder. Ali is a clothing designer and seamstress with a home based cottage industry clothing line she designs and sews from her home based studio.
Help
We are looking for help in our veggie garden, firewood, support with our animals and more. Huge bonus if you have woodworking experience. We really like to tune into our helpers strengths and give them tasks that work for them. We are very easy going and flexible and work together to find a reasonable schedule.
We are looking for someone who is self directed and is comfortable working alone and together.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
Beautiful private cabin for our helpers, it is impeccably clean and cozy with a big spacious loft and a queen bed. There is an outdoor kitchen, very clean outhouse and hot water outdoor shower and bathtub. Our property is very private and spacious.
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We live on 7 acres of beautiful land right beside the Cowichan River with Holt Creek Provinical Park is only an 8 minute walk down the road with trails along the Trans Canada trail system and amazing hikes alongside the Cowichan River.
We swim in the River at our swimming hole just down the bank from our home, all summer and go tubing. We are a 10 minute drive from downtown Duncan, we provide a bicycle you can use. Its a 20-25 min bike ride.
There is a biodynamic cafe up the road called Alderlea Farm (10 minute bike ride), and a corner store and gas station called Glenora Store. Also Zanatta vineyard is just up the road.
What else ...
Our location would be ideal if you had your own car. But also totally works if you dont. We have a bike you can borrow.
We ask our helpers to be motivated, must like our cats, be respectful and no smoking around our family.
We hope to make you feel at home during your stay with us.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have great wifi in the house and we have a workspace for our helpers to use.
Space for parking camper vans
We have lots of room for your own camper van here and electrical and grey water hook up for your RV or camper van.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
Heritage Chickens
We love our flock of chickens, we have had chickens for 10 years and continue to love their personalities and providing our own eggs. We like heritage breeds and our chickens get to free range for a few hours a day.
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (6)
We feel so blessed to have had them stay with us for 3 weeks. It was sad to see them go.
I… read more
Work wasn't too hard (staining the deck, mulching, wood piling) and the place is really nice with a large garden(/playground!), big house, lovely river a few minutes away and plenty of trails to walk around.
Ali provides all meals, she's a good cook (although she doesn't know it!), everyone… read more
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
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:
(4.5)
Communication:
(4.0)
We feel so blessed to have had them stay with us for 3 weeks. It was sad to see them go.
I… read more
Work wasn't too hard (staining the deck, mulching, wood piling) and the place is really nice with a large garden(/playground!), big house, lovely river a few minutes away and plenty of trails to walk around.
Ali provides all meals, she's a good cook (although she doesn't know it!), everyone… read more
Hope to see you again!
The trailer usually used by workawayers was rented out so we'd stay in a really cool room on a ground floor, Chris… read more
