Share our quiet life in the middle of the woods, about an hour north of Oslo, Norway

Details

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  Description

  Hi🌸
  
  We are Shaun (English) and Aslaug (Norwegian) We’re both 42 years old.
  We live on a small holding in the middle of the woods about one hour north of Oslo.
  We live here with my father Ole, 5 horses, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and flock of chickens and ducks.
  
  We moved to Bjørkhaug (the name of the farm) in April 2019. The place was, and still is in need of some TLC/hard work to get back in shape. Both the buildings and the land.
  This is what we are slowly but surely working on, and would like some help with.
  
  Our main reason for moving here was for our animals to have more space and be happy.
  We also wanted to live a simpler and more quiet life. Grow some vegetables, food for the animals, and enjoy nature.
  Our place is not big or fancy, but we like it here.
  
  Aslaug has a job as a carer, and works mostly night shifts. So the days she’s working we have to limit the access to the house, so she can sleep without being disturbed. We hope that is understandable.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Our farm is a traditional Norwegian smallholding ‘småbruk’ in the countryside surrounded by forest, wild animals and funny, but friendly neighbours.
  If you come to stay with us you will experience what life can be like in rural Norway.
  
  We don’t really have any machinery other than a log splitter, and a gras cutter, so you will experience what hard work on a small holding is. We are used to all the manual labor, but we realise that it can come as a bit of a shock to a lot of people.
  We use some old traditional tools and techniques. For example cutting grass with a sythe, hanging the hay up to dry, splitting logs with an axe, picking potatoes by hand, burning the ends of hand made fence posts etc.
  
  We sometimes have social get togethers with neighbours. There you will have the chance to meet some nice people, and hopefully have a good time.
  There are also a couple of local sights, and some cultural activities we are happy to recommend. Both in the local area and in Oslo.
  We do encourage people to explore the area in their spare time, and are happy to lend you a tent and camping gear if you want to go camping. There are a couple of lakes in the area where you can go swimming if the weather is nice.

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  Help

  This summer 2024 our main focus will be:
  
  •The vegetable garden, and the poly tunnel.
  So shifting compost, making beds, weeding, planting, harvesting etc.
  We do not have any machines to help us, so we just want to make it clear that this is quite hard physical work. And you will get dirt under your fingernails.
  
  •Firewood. We go through quite a bit of firewood in winter, so we need to fill up our woodshed. Collecting, splitting, and stacking wood is a big job every summer.
  
  •We also want to try to harvest as much hay as possible for our horses. We do it in the old fashion way, and hang it up to dry before we carry it up into the barn.
  
  Other tasks that we would like to get done this summer is:
  
  •Finish painting the barn.
  •Pick berries.
  •Tidy up here and there.
  • Trim branches and twigs.
  •Fix existing fences, and put up new ones.
  
  A lot of the tasks we do here are depending on the weather, and it can be very difficult to plan exactly what to do, and when to do it.
  Last year we had a really bad summer with a lot of rain, and most of what we had planned could not be done.
  This makes it difficult for us to commit to anyone weeks in advance. We learned last year, that having a lot of people here with nothing to do is quite stressful for everyone.
  
  I realise that not all the tasks are super fun, but these are the things we need help with. We expect that you are willing to participate in the different chores.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Norwegian: Fluent
  Spanish: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  We’re happy to help you with some basic Norwegian and English, and it’s always fun to learn some phrases in a new language. However this is not something we have a lot of extra time to do.
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  Accommodation

  We have a cosy room in our barn with a 120x200 cm bed, and a sofa bed.
  There's no water, but you are of course welcome to use the kitchen and bathroom in the main house.
  There's also a lot of nice places to put up a tent on the property if you would like that. We have a small tent you can borrow if you don't have your own.
  We are also happy to welcome people traveling with a camper van, caravan, tiny house etc.
  
  Shaun eats meat from time to time, but I don't so there’s always a meatless option. I do eat, fish, eggs and dairy.
  I’ve realized that it’s very helpful to me if you let me know before you come what your food preferences are, so I can prepare a bit. It can be quite intimidating cooking for other people😅
  We normally have bread/porridge/cereals for breakfast and lunch. And then a warm meal for dinner.
  And you are always welcome to help yourself to coffee and tea.
  If you take special supplements, medication etc you have to sort that out yourself.

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  What else ...

  We live in the middle of the woods, so depending on the season it's perfect for hiking, running, skiing, picking berries and mushrooms, bicycling, camping, swimming and fishing in the big lake Mjøsa, or the smaller lakes closer to our house.
  Sometimes you can see deer, moose, hare, fox and different birds in the forest, and sometimes on our fields.
  We're about one hour away from Oslo by car, and 40 minutes away from Hamar. There's no public transport nearby, but with a bit of planning we are happy to help you get to places.
  There's an old boat in much need of some tlc in the barn, so if anyone wants to fix it, they can use it as much as they want-but I don’t know how easy it is to fix it…We have a little trailer to transport it down to the lake with.
  
  Shaun is a furniture designer/builder, so we have a lot of left over fabrics and leather from his projects. It's a lot more than I'll ever have time to do something with, so if you want to sew and make things you are more than welcome to. We have an industrial sewing machine, and an old standard (not sure the old one works anymore..)
  
  The barn is a work in progress, and a lot of things are packed away, so you will have to let me know if you want me to find any of these things for you. (Camping gear, fabrics etc) Don’t be afraid to remind me if things, as I often have a hundred little things to remember in a day. So I easily forget things…
  
  About the horses:
  The horses are kind, but big and strong, so for safety reasons(both yours and the horses)we will not let you take them out for rides on your own.
  We can’t promise that you will get to ride, as this will have to fit into our daily schedule. But we do our best to let everyone have at least one ride while they are here.
  We only go for rides in the forest, and we don’t have a riding arena.
  
  About the dogs:
  We have three Rhodesian ridgebacks. They are quite big dogs, but they are really sweet and friendly-and they will want your attention.
  
  About the cats:
  We have two cats. The older one spends most of her time sleeping upstairs in our bedroom. She’s a bit shy, and not that keen on new people. The younger one on the other hand is very friendly, and loves cuddles.
  
  As we live on a small holding in the woods there will be flies, mosquitoes, spiders (only friendly ones) and other bugs in summer.
  There will also be dust, and or mud so it’s important to bring good shoes. (We do have some shoes and clothes you can borrow, but not all sizes)
  We don’t have a lot of machines, so most of the tasks requires a bit of manual labor.
  
  The chickens and the ducks are quite entertaining to watch, but they don’t really want to be too close to you-other than when you feed them.
  
  
  🌸Lastly I just want to mention that I understand that peoples plans can change, and that is totally okay. But please let us know as soon as you can, if you are not able to come after all.
  We get a lot of requests, and we have to say no to many people. So let us know if you’re not coming, and someone else might get the chance to come🌸

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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

  To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what a digital nomad is, but our wifi is good.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have room for one, possibly two campervans on the property. We have a hose, so there is access to fill up your water tanks. There’s also a fridge/freezer in the barn that can be used if needed.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  All pets are welcome as long as they get along with our animals. All dogs must be kept on a leash outside of the property, from April to October. This is according to Norwegian law, and we ask that you respect this.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

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