Profile information
Host rating
85 %
Last replied
31 Jan 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 6 days
Feedback
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Details
Description
Hi! We are two adults with a sweet husky-X dog and a couple of free-roaming chickens living on one acre homestead in rural Québec! We moved here 7 years ago to start our beekeeping business (which we closed during the pandemic) and general little farm/homestead set-up. Over the years we've had ducks and goats, but have scaled down to a few egg hens for the moment. We transformed a pure grass lawn into a diverse landscape with medicinal plants, a large garden, fruit and nut bushes and trees... and etc! With our two full time job we are now finding it a challenge to get everything linked to maintenance and project completion done, so we would love to recruit some help. We love to cook and share wholesome meals with local products, we are omnivores (with local meat) but have both been vegetarians in the past and have a celiac family member so it's easy to adapt to different diet needs/preferences. We are fluent in French and English and have some basics in Spanish. We look forward to meeting you! :)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Although the village we live in is very small (300 people in Saint-Thuribe) it is a very dynamic region that is close to two larger cities (Québec and Trois-Rivières, 1h away each). This year is also the village's 125th anniversary, so there is a art exposition in the local church as well as brunches and events every Sunday. The next village over (Saint-Casimir) has a lovely microbrewery that hosts an outdoor farmer's market and family-friendly live music every Friday until mid-September. There are many wonderful small businesses in the general area that produce high quality, delicious and products (vegetables, fruits, bakery, chocolaterie, coffee roast house, milk farms (fresh milk, cheeses, yogurt, etc.), beer...). For the outdoors, we are lucky to be situated close to the wonderful Regional Parc of Portneuf in Saint-Alban. This is a wonderful spot for hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, and discover the amazing fall colours in Québec. We will be happy to lend you a bicycle and drive you to different locations in the region!
Help
As with all older houses and buildings, there is always something to be fixed somewhere! And with a little homestead set-up there are always set-up improvements to be made. We would like help to fix some of these things, based on your skill set of course!
They include : building an outhouse for our little cabin (and maybe a solar shower); installing a metal roof and changing the woodstove chimney exit location on that cabin; Fixing the wooden frame of the exterior chicken run (changing wood pieces and re-installing new chicken wire); Tying up raspberry plants on their new trellis; Helping with installing new siding on a side of the house; Installing geotextile below the fruit and nut trees; Weeding the garden; maybe moving a fence... There is also a large timberframe greenhouse project underway, but we understand this may not fit most skillsets! We eventually dream of setting up a nice outdoor kitchen, but we'll get that going after getting the current priorities done. So basically, all around very hands-on stuff, we have good tools and we would need someone with good knowledge on how to use them and the ability to work independently (since we do have day jobs) ;)
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
Accommodation
We have a lovely little rustic cabin on our lot that can serve as a guest private space (with electricity and wifi, but washroom is in the house for now) and we also have a guest bedroom in our big house, whichever you prefer! There is a laundry room in the house. In exchange for your work on the different projects, we will provide all the meals during your stay.
What else ...
We have had woofers in the past for our beekeeping business and generally had a really wonderful time! We have learnt that we appreciate a good balance between time spent sharing together and quiet times alone. We appreciate our workawayers helping us with very basic housekeeping chores (i.e. post-meal cleanup and sweeping your own room...).
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
Can possibly accept pets
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
