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Help us around our home & garden with animals in the Okanagan Shuswap region of BC, Canada

Availability

  2025 

 Min stay requested: at least a week

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Hi 👋 Welcome to our profile. Thanks for dropping in. We've been hosting since May 2022 and it's been a lot of fun 🤩

    Please L@@K at our calendar before sending us a message requesting a date to stay with us. If it is red, we don't have availability.

    FYI- Just want to share this near the top, so we can save some people the effort of messaging us. We don't host couples or two workawayers at once. 🚫👥

    Now, onto the good stuff or just a little about us :-) We live on 5 acres in a log home. We own 6 horses, 1 rats & 1 dog. We are located between Enderby and Salmon Arm in the North Okanagan Shuswap region of British Columbia. My husband Mike works for the federal government and I work for a local financial institution. Our two children are ages 14 and 17, so our helpers must like sassy, funny teenagers.

    We are a very active family with a small property, large but not too large of a home. We always have plenty of work we need help with. I ride our horses competitively in barrel racing and our daughter also rides too. We love our home, our location and our lifestyle and would love to share our experiences with someone else.

    So what type of workawayer are we looking for? Workawayers who enjoy their time here the most, usually have these qualities:

    - is good with horses & wants to take care of them 🐴
    - is a dog lover 🐶 ♥️
    - outgoing and adventurous 🤩
    - has a good sense of humour 😂
    - enjoys being outside with nature 🌲
    - likes the lakes and water (we swim and go boating in the warmer months) 🚤 🏊‍♀️
    - independent and comfortable on their own from morning until around 4:00pm most days .
    - a morning person or at least willing to get up by 8am (we have coffee and tea for those who need the caffeine boost, like me) ☕️
    - wants to experience country living and be away from large cities and night life
    - cleans up after themselves 🧼
    - is self-sufficient when it comes to meals, as you will be making your own breakfast and lunches 🥪
    - enjoys quiet time perhaps reading, watching Netflix's, playing with our dog, hanging out with horses, baking or creating in the kitchen.
    - is a team player & willing to help 👏🏻
    - has attention to detail, and wants to learn. There can be very specific instructions for our animals.
    -will ask questions if they are unsure or need more information
    - in the winter we try to go downhill skiing every weekend 🎿 ❄️
    -if you don't have experience with horses, but feel like you're still a good fit, please feel free to message us.


    A few things to mention:

    -There is no public transit (please be sure you understand what this means) from our home to larger centres. 🚫 🚌
    - We don't host couples or two workawayers at once. 🚫👥
    -We can accommodate a camper van or a rental car. 🚙
    - We are unable to accommodate pets 🚫🐶
    - We don't host those who smoke or are vegan. No offence to the vegans, it's just too difficult for me when it comes to meal planning and cooking. Smoking is just gross 🤢 & not safe in our fire prone area 🚭
    - We can totally accept vegetarian but we do eat a lot of meat 🥩 😄

    Availability: I try and keep our calendar updated. We also don't host over Christmas. We also don't accept long term stays, as we like to allow an opportunity for other workawyers to experience our place too. Plus, Canada is huge and beautiful and we think you should be exploring as much as possible too! 😊

    As your hosts we do our best to help you explore the area! During the summer if you want to paddle board on a beautiful lake, or hike a trail, we will do our best to drop you off and pick you up or we will join you if possible :-) Being a host is rewarding and I enjoy sharing what our beautiful area has to offer. We will also invite you to join us on adventures, such as boating or hiking, maybe even camping too.

    Let me know if you have any questions. I am happy to answer them for you 💜

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Language practice
    Teaching
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Farmstay help
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    House sitting
  • Interests

    Interests

    Team sports
    Sailing / Boating
    Music
    Culture
    Pets
    Farming
    Cooking & food
    Animals
    Water sports
    Winter sports
    Outdoor activities
    Nature
    Mountain
    Hiking
    Fitness
    Camping
    Beach
    Adventure sports
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    We really enjoy the cultural exchange the occurs while hosting. Not only is it rewarding to host and teach our guests about our way of life, it is just as rewarding for us to learn about different ways of living. We can share what we know about Canadian education, government, law, politics, food, religions & pretty much any else that interests you. If interested we also help you try some of Canada's culinary/beverage delicacies such as Poutine, Nanaimo Bars, S'moores & a cold Caesar.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

    This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

  • Help

    Help

    So what type of help do we need?
    Spring, summer & fall consists of mostly outdoor help.

    This can include but is not limited to:

    -feeding horses
    -cleaning pens
    - picking rocks
    -cleaning stalls
    -fence maintenance
    -organizing tack room
    -packing and unpacking the horse trailer, polishing tack
    -grooming horses.
    -gardening & weeding
    -lawn care & plant care
    -painting projects
    -splitting fire wood with an automatic wood splitter
    -grooming riding arena

    Other duties anytime of year include housekeeping duties with multiple tasks and a variety of tasks such as:

    -House cleaning
    -baking cookies/treats
    -organizing
    -cooking meals or meal prep
    -general light duty maintenance.

    During the winter, there are some additional winter specific chores:
    -snow blowing
    -shovelling snow
    -salting the walkway
    -bringing firewood to the house
    -keeping the fireplaces burning so the house stays warm.

    We do our best to serve good food and we try our best to make our home warm and inviting. Our kids are both in French immersion school, so any bit of French is always great too!

    We will do our best to provide you with an opportunity to ride one of our horses. Her name is Mouse because she's small.

    In the winter I do ride but it's cold and not always easy to do or enjoyable, as it's cold. I ride in the winter not because it's fun or nice, but because I need to exercise my horses.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    French: Fluent

    This host offers a language exchange
    Only our children are fluent in French. Although a little shy to speak it to someone who is French. I am always interested in learning about other languages and we would be willing to help you learn English. Mike and I only know very few words of any other languages but we will have fun trying to learn.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We live in a large log home. It is approximately 3600 sq or 335 square meters. Welcome to Canada where we use metric and imperial at the same time to confuse us all 😂 You will have your own bedroom with a queen sized bed, a large closet, dresser and views of the mountain. There is a large outside deck and a hot tub for your enjoyment.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Visit SilverStar Mountain Resort
    Cross country ski at Larch Hills Cross Country
    Hike the Enderby Cliffs
    Enjoy the shores of Shuswap Lake
    Visit Margaret Falls
    Go ice fishing on Gardom Lake
    Check out Shuswap Trail Alliance (hiking and mountain biking trail maps)
    Visit wineries
    Enjoy the many lakes
    Float the Shuswap River
    Shop at a local farmers market

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    We have fibre optic high speed internet so you’re welcome to work on your own projects on your own time.

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    This host can provide space for campervans.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    One

Host ref number: 315527933474

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The image depicts a young man and woman standing beside a Christmas tree, with a dog sitting in front of them. The scene is set in a cozy living room.
The image depicts a scenic landscape with rolling hills, fields, and mountains, featuring a rocky cliff with people standing on it, set against a blue sky with white clouds.

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