Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
26 Jan 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
14
Email verified
Badges (2)



Find your perfect host
Details
Description
UPDATE as of Winter 2025:
- Maple Syrup Preparation and Season (Approx mid February to Mid/End of March)
- Farm chores (barn cleaning, animal care, field tidy up, etc).
- Wood Cutting, Chopping and Bush Clearing
- Garden planning and indoor seed starting
- General home maintenance/cleaning (keeping home tidy, cleaning rooms/spaces)
- Land clearing (bushes and trees)
- Food prep and preservation - meals, snacks, canning/preserving, etc.
- Home maintenance projects - bathroom renovations, bunkie building, etc.
***Be prepared to put in a hard day's work. We work hard and have lots to do and there can be jobs that require heavy lifting.
*** You will be working on your own at least half of the time, as Jamin has a part time job and Natalie works full time during the school year. You must be able to follow instructions easily and as such have an intermediate level of English or French.
We would love someone that could stay a minimum 4 weeks to maintain consistency for chores/support. We also welcome workaways who want to stay longer and become part of our family (ex: 2-4 months, providing we all get along).
Accommodation is in our home. We can only accommodate 1 workaway (if you are couple please let us know and we can discuss).
Welcome to our beautiful piece of land just 20 mins from downtown Kingston, Ontario. With close to 40 acres of land, we have built a sustainable family home. Kingston is located just 1.5 hours from Ottawa (the capital of Canada) and 2.5 hours from Toronto. Our property is located in a gorgeous geographical region - the Canadian Shield. It features calm lakes, large maple trees and solid climbing rocks. Our property is 40 acres of mixed woods and fields along with trails and also runs parallel to a 90 acre Nature Conservancy park with trails.
Our family has 4 school aged children ranging in age from 10-17 years of age. Our children attend a local community school in Kingston. They are active, lively and have a love of nature. We spend a significant amount of time together as a family enjoying outdoor activities - swimming, kayaking, hiking, walking, running, skiing, skating and much more! Our weekends are spent together as a family enjoying our property, working on the farm, playing outside, exploring surrounding nature trails or having fun with board games!
Jamin is a retired veteran and stays at home (and has a part time job) and Natalie is a school teacher working in Kingston. You will be spending the majority of your time with Jamin helping on and around the farm (or sometimes working alone). Jamin is easy to get along with and loves meeting new people.
We are open to workaways that are interested in working on our homestead and enjoy spending time with children. We have four, so it can get noisy!
Our home is just 5 mins from two beautiful lakes that are perfect for swimming, kayaking and other water sports. We head into town on a regular basis so there are opportunities for you to visit downtown Kingston and explore the city.
We eat a heavy meat based diet, as we grow and raise on our own animals - organic and pasture raised. We strongly believe in the importance of animal meats and fats . We do welcome vegetarians; however, accommodations are often not available when we prepare the main dishes (aka. you will need to make your own meals in these cases). We provide 3 meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Dinner is shared with all family members. Breakfast and lunch are on your own, especially during the work week when kids are at school. Special treats, snacks and alcohol are to be purchased on your own. We can take you grocery shopping if there are any treats or specialty foods you would like (you are also more than welcome to bake using our supplies and make a batch for all of us if you prefer!). Food is a priority for family and as such we eat relatively healthy. We cook most of our own foods from scratch. We welcome guests who have a passion for cooking as well since our kids enjoy trying to new meals (they are bored of the ones we offer!).
We currently have 8 cows and a flock of chickens, ducks (about 30). We raise meat birds and laying hens. Our cows are both dairy and beef. We milk our cow regularly and have access to fresh milk - which often gets turned into butter, ice cream and other delicious foods. We are still trying to figure out cheesemaking - if you have experience with that we welcome you to our farm to teach us :)
We have some large gardens that need caring for (weeding, watering, etc) along with many chores around the home (carpentry, painting, washing/cleaning).
In the Winter, we will require primarily maintenance and assistance of our home, cow milking and wood chopping. As winter comes to end we will require assistance with Maple Syrup (usually the end February to early March). We have 3 large groves of maple trees and in previous years have put out up to 80 taps but we can do much more if we have more help!
Please be prepared for the following:
-Kingston spring and fall weather is mixed. It could be warm (20 degrees celcius) or cooler (10 degrees celcius). It can be rainy and cool or hot and humid.
-Kingston winter weather is cold (usually between minus 10 to minus 40 from December through March).
-Kingston summer weather is typically hot (20-35 degrees celcius) and humid.
-Bring rain boots, winter boots, work boots, working clothes, work gloves and layers. Merino wool makes a great base layer.
-We have 4 children in our home so it is not quiet during the day. If you are looking for a quiet retreat this is not the spot for you. If you are looking for fun, adventure and excitement, we are a fabulous bunch!
-We have internet and cell service, though at times (rain, snow) it can be slow. Downloading movies can be a drain on our bandwidth so we ask guests to limit these activities. Luckily we play a lot of board games and spend time as a family together.
-You are asked to help with meals (preparation and clean up of meals).
-You are responsible for helping with chores in the home and keeping up with your own laundry. We will show you how to use the laundry machine. We typically hang our clothes to dry in the house or outside (to save energy costs).
-Be expected to work 4-5 hours per day for 5 days per week. Work starts at 8am in the morning.
-Smoking is prohibited in the house and around the children. This can be done outside with discretion.
-Ensure that you have travel insurance.
-We can offer rides into town on weekdays when the kids are in school or as we head in for errands/activities. Gas is expensive right now so we will do our best to line up rides into town with our own activities, which happen quite often.
We look forward to hearing from you and discussing opportunities further :)
Natalie, Jamin and familyTypes of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Workaways will benefit tremendously from our eco friendly lifestyle and experiences of owning a 40 acre hobby farm with 4 kids. Learn about entrepreneurship from Natalie and Jamin and have fun with the children at the same time.
You will learn about:
- Gardening
- Carpentry
- Animal husbandry
- Caring for children
- Maple Syrup
- Sustainable farming
- Sustainable living
You will also have the opportunity to meet a community of like minded individuals. Kingston is a fabulous city to learn about sustainable farming and lifestyles. The landscape in Kingston gorgeous!Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We are looking for assistance with the following tasks in no particular order. Tasks can be discussed based on the skills you have to offer
Late Summer/Fall
- Chopping Wood *** HIGH PRIORITY
- Tidying up gardens and getting them ready for winter/spring
- Clean out barn and chicken coop
- Preparing small greenhouse for greens and sprouts for fall/winter
- Cutting back brush and trimming apple trees
- Building a cold frame
- Building a deck
- Creating wood storage along side of home
- Creating more walking and skiing trails
- Creating mountain biking trails & outdoor play area for kids
Winter
- Maple syrup (March)
- Chopping Wood
- House renovations and tidy up
- Barn work
- Milking cows
- Cooking, meal prep
Spring
- Getting fences ready for animals
- Building shelters for animals (moveable chicken coops, lean to's for pigs/cows, etc)
- Seed planting, garden preparation
- Weeding gardens and building new garden beds
- Trimming back bushes
- Food harvesting, preparation, storage, etc
Summer
- Chopping wood* High priority
- Garden maintenance and weeding
- Cutting back brush and trimming trees
- Building a cold frame
- Creating wood storage along side of home
- Food harvesting, preparation, storage, etcLanguages spoken
English: Fluent
French: FluentAccommodation
Currently, accommodation is in a bedroom in our home. We have a twin bed available for workaways. Washroom facilities are close by. Since there are many of us in the family, we ask that showers be kept short (no more than 10 mins) to ensure everyone has access to hot water!
What else ...
We live about 20 minutes away from downtown Kingston in a small village. There is a local restaurant and convenience store located close to our home. Otherwise we are surrounded by lakes, walking/hiking trails and beautiful scenery.
Kingston is 1.5 hours to Ottawa, 2 hours to Montreal and 2.5 hours to Toronto. There is a train station and bus station in Kingston which can take you to larger cities if you would like to visit.
Kingston has delicious restaurants, lots of arts, music and theatres and a vibrant community.A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
Space for parking camper vans
We have tons of space to park your van. Come on by :)
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Feedback (5)
They took me in as a temporary part of the family, and I had the opportunity to… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.8)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(4.8)
They took me in as a temporary part of the family, and I had the opportunity to… read more
This is my first Workaway and I have very good memories of it. I was very quickly integrated with the whole family. Natalie is very caring, attentive and there was no shortage of things to talk about. Jamin was a bit like my second dad, he taught me so much ! I… read more
They have a small farm, which allows you to enjoy natural and delicious food. Jamin is a great cook, all his preparations were very good. We enjoy bike… read more
He has many interesting stories to share and has lots of life experiences. He has background knowledge in a variety of subjects and current events which made… read more
The work was interesting and rewarding; I did painting and garden work, watered plants, helped a bit… read more