Experience permaculture and sustainable living in Deloraine, Tasmania

Details

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  Description

  We're Patrick and Rhianna and we're currently owner-building a strawbale house on our 6.5 acre property in Deloraine, Tasmania. We've recently moved from Melbourne in anticipation of worsening climate change and we have plans to set our property up using permaculture principles to live sustainably off the land and be as self-sufficient as we can. During Covid lockdowns we went and worked on several Workaway projects and now it's our turn to host. Deloraine is a beautiful, bustling little town with a very artistic vibe to it and lots of stunning natural attractions nearby. At dusk our property becomes home to countless wallabies, pademelons, and many other wonderful animals. During the day you'll see Wedge-tailed eagles, Goshawks, Sea Eagles and other majestic birds circling above. If you're lucky you'll see the spotted quoll that resides nearby, and we've also seen echidnas and wombats nearby. The river in Deloraine has a resident platypus as well, so if you're looking for native wildlife you'll definitely find it here.
  
  Patrick (UK) is bilingual English/French and Rhianna (Australian) can understand and speak some basic French and is TEFL qualified so French speakers with limited English are welcome. We both have Permaculture Design Certificates, Rhianna has a Diploma in Sustainable Living and we've spent many years learning about and gaining practical experience in permaculture, natural building, climate science, etc. We're both well travelled and enjoy connecting with people from other cultures.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  DIY and building projects
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We're a mixed cultures household, with Rhianna being Australian and Patrick being raised in the UK but with half his family in France. We're both well-travelled and enjoy discussing and learning about different cultures, preparing food from different cultures, etc. We're still quite new to the area but we have already made friends in the community so you'll have the opportunity to connect with us but also other like-minded people in our community. We're keen to pass on our knowledge of all things permaculture, sustainability, natural building and low-impact living.

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  Help

  Our property is currently a blank slate but will over time become a beautiful little permaculture paradise. Currently we're living in the shed while we focus on building our strawbale house. Once the house is built we will start focusing on developing the broader landscape.
  
  The specific help we require will depend on what stage the house is up to when you apply, as things are currently moving pretty quickly. Please reach out to discuss specifics with us. None of the help will require specific skills - we'll be doing tasks alongside you and will share skills along the way. The major construction elements have been completed and now we're moving onto the fun stuff - the natural-building side of things, which anyone can do. We've got strawbale walls to go in, as well as light earth walls, rendering, installing an earthen floor, etc. We learned all these skills ourselves during our own time as Workawayers, and we'd love to pass these skills onto others and inspire people to undertake their own natural building projects.
  
  Current tasks are focused on the house, however there is also some land management needed - specifically gorse removal with the brush cutter if that's more your thing. Let us know your skills and preferences and we can do tasks together to find the most suitable task for you.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  Accommodation is camping - we have swags for singles and a tent for couples. Pillows, sheets, doonas, hot water bottles, towels provided. If you have a van there is space to park it and power available.
  We are currently living in the shed ourselves. We've set up a little kitchen in the corner of the shed with induction stove top and a fridge. We're vegetarian so meals are all vegetarian and we like to keep pretty healthy.
  We've got a flushing toilet and a there's a hot shower set up under the carport in a cubicle.
  We're on rainwater which is safe for cooking, drinking, etc.
  As we're still building our house, our property is ultimately a construction site so we've made it as comfortable as we can - but if you're not a happy camper then our accommodation won't suit you, particularly keeping in mind that Tassie does get cold and we are heading into winter.

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  What else ...

  Deloraine is a bustling, artsy little town. We're an 8 minute drive from town, or about 25 mins by bicycle. There's a couple buses a day into Launceston, we definitely recommend checking out Cataract Gorge while you're there. Nearby there is Liffey Falls , and Cradle Mountain is around 1.5 hours drive. As we are semi-rural you'll ideally need a car to get around.

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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

  We have wi-fi available for anyone who needs to work remotely. We'll require help during daylight hours, preferably in the mornings - early afternoons so that we can work alongside you.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  Campers/Motorhomes can park next to the carport and run an extension lead for power.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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