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Description
Come Experience life off grid. Help me on my homestead with chickens, extensive veg gardens, building projects, food prep and dancing while you enjoy unplugging on Xwe'etay, a unique off-grid island of beautiful mature Douglas fir forest, mossy bluffs, feral sheep, dragonflies and quirky characters.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Art & design
Architecture
Self development
Sustainability
Politics / Social justice
Farming
LGBTQ
Events & social
Plant care
Music
DIY & crafts
Books
Cooking & food
Gardening
Writing
Hitchhiking
Carpentry
Yoga / Wellness
Nature
Camping
Winter sports
Sailing / Boating
Mountain
Dancing
Beach
Water sports
Outdoor activities
Hiking
Cycling
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The community is small but there's often alot going on so if you're around for a bit there's likely to be some fun social events to meet other islanders. There's a market on Saturdays June to September, often weekly dance, & yoga, a community sauna that gets fired up 2x/week on ultimate frisbee night and there's fun annual community gatherings in every season - the Spring Fling, Artsfest, Fireman's Picnic, Fall Fair, Tsk Tsk, community dinners and a monthly open mic night in the winter as well as other shows and parties at our fabulous community hall, where I often volunteer. The island's land conservancy group also organizes work parties and other events.
This is a great spot for folks keen to learn and share about food production and preservation (gardening, fermenting, canning etc.), sewing, mending, and building with cob, stone & wood. My degree was in Geography & Environmental Studies and I've mostly worked as a gardener, natural builder and outdoor guide (mostly kayaking, but also canoeing, hiking and horseback riding) so can share lots of tips for outdoor activities and I could teach you about cob, permaculture, seed saving etc. My homesteader's book collection is pretty decent and there's wild forest land just out the back to explore. Swim in the ocean or pond every day if you want to. I have no internet on site so you can enjoy a bit of a digital detox. I live alone but am pretty social and polyamorous so there's often friends visiting or stopping by. I strive to communicate effectively and hold safe space for all folks.
Help
I'm looking for keen folks to help me with my homestead. I grow food for myself and to share with friends and neighbours, not as a business. I ask for 15-20 hours of helping per week not including your share of meal prep and dishes (no dishwasher yo!). We'll eat well, mostly homegrown organic local fare but it takes lots of food prep to make that happen so there's always plenty to help with in the kitchen & garden as well as construction projects, firewood, fencing, canning & food preservation, etc. etc. I grow pretty much all my own veggies and I am getting into more and more seed saving and even a bit of veg breeding. I keep chickens for eggs, hunt the local sheep and sometimes raise livestock for meat. I would also love to host someone with sewing skills who'd be keen to help with my large mountain of mending projects. I'm good at darning and can teach you how!
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Intermediate
Spanish: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
I speak English (happy to help you improve yours), French (decently as I was in French Immersion and later worked for Katimavik but a bit rusty, would love to practice), and a bit of Spanish.
Accommodation
My house is small, but there are multiple nooks and corners that fit a double bed. In warmer weather I usually keep a big tent set up for guests so everyone gets some private space. Help me design and build more fun guest bed options if that's your jam. We will mostly cook and eat together. On days I am out working I'll make sure there's ingredients/leftovers available for helpers.
This is a remote location. Services on island are very limited. Cell reception is patchy at best. My land-line phone works sometimes. Electrical power comes from solar panels with a small gas generator for emergency backup. Your water and power usage needs to be thoughtful. Outhouse. Projects in progress include an indoor shower and outdoor wood-fired tub so bathing facilities are currently a bit rustic. There is an outdoor hot shower but it's not super private
What else ...
I prefer if folks only get in contact when they are already on the coast and hoping to come soon, I find it hard to gauge where I'll be at months in the future.
The homestead is a 20 minute drive / an hour or so bike ride from "downtown" (13km of gravel road) Hitch-hiking on island is easy, especially if you time your efforts to coincide with ferry traffic. I am generally happy to pick you up from the ferry but may or may not be available to chauffeur you around. Gas is super expensive here so I usually ride my e-bike. I have a couple push bikes around but you'd probably need to give them some love to get them going.
To get here you take a passenger only ferry from French Creek, north of Parksville on Vancouver Island for approx $12 (each way, exact amount varies by season). Ferry is passenger only, so if you have a vehicle, you will have to park it on the Vancouver Island side. Also note no ferry on Tuesdays (or Wednesdays in winter).
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
4hens&arooster
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