Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
17 Apr 2024
Reply rate
82.6 %
Usually responds within 5 days
Feedback
39
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Badges (3)
Details
Description
We are a couple living in a rural area in the centre of the Netherlands. Our names are Mark and Marie Antoinette, aged 57 and 68 years. Mark works full-time (ICT project management) and Marie Antoinette is retired and looks after the property and the animals. In the weekends Mark will be helping too. We have a property of about 2 ha natural reserve with a food-forest, garden under construction, vegetable and herb garden under construction. Everything is meant to be organically grown.
We have chickens and a young, enthousiastic, playfull border collie dog and two cats. Furthermore a growing hobby of Mark is landscape photography, putting his past experience as studio and architecture photographer into good and creative use.
We have 6 grandchildren who sometimes will stay with us.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You can learn us new things. And we may give volunteers problems they can solve and by doing so, you learn you can do more than you thought you could.
Gardening skills are welcome and we're willing to share our knowledge with you. So are skills in building and maintenance work and woodwork.
This all will be very useful in our place.
But when you have only a good mood and you like physical work you are very welcome anyway. There's a lot to learn.
Besides all that: Let's get acquainted with the Dutch way of life and thinking
And: Because we're in the centre of the country, it's easy to visit other places.
Help
Because there is a lot to do on our property and we haven't enough hands to do all the work, we are looking for happy volunteers! Currently we need people who can help with a great variety of tasks. We can use people who are handy and willing to do the work that needs to be done.
The work consists of various tasks including weeding, harvesting (we have apple trees, pear trees, nuts and lots of other fruit) processing fruit or vegetables, trimming or chopping trees, cutting wood, clean the accommodation and work areas, prepare the meals, cooking food, maintenance work, like painting and woodwork, help with small building projects, repairing fences or making new ones, cleaning the stable or chicken coop, and lots of other tasks. Most of the work is outside, so bring warm and practical clothes. We will provide work clothes, boots and gloves.
The work that has to be done often depends on the season.
You may work 4-5 hours a day, three days a week and a full 7 hr. Day on Saturday in the weekends.
Or you can make more hours one day, up to 7 hours, to be able to visit other parts of the Netherlands some other days, all in concert.
We only host for a maximum stay of 2 weeks.
A copy of your passport is required, as well as a copy of your own health insurance.
No smoking inside, no drugs.
To be able to stay with us, you have to be vaccinated for COVID
We like to host two workaway-ers together, so they wil have company while at work or on the days off.
That may be a couple but ofcourse two friends are as welcome!
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
Accommodation
The accommodation is an upstairs appartment in the working shed. There's a kitchen area downstairs in the same shed. If you wish, there are also tents available, in which case you need your own mattress and sleeping bag. And of course you can bring your own tent. We've plenty of space to choose a nice private spot for your tent. In the camping area is a water-pomp and a composting toilet. And we have a nice campfire place.
There is communal living space in the kitchen in our house. We share kitchen and bathroom there!
We will have meals together, but ofcourse you are free to buy your own food wherever you wish on your moments or days off. Ofcourse all depending on your own schedule. We hope you will help out with cleaning up afterwards etc., but we also like our privacy in the evenings.
What else ...
The property is located in the centre part of the Netherlands.The area around is a real dutch landscape. Canals, rivers, small villages, farmland, nature and above all pretty quiet (don't expect a disco nearby).
We provide two bicycles so you can explore the direct surroundings, do your own shoppings and travel to the bus- or trainstations to explore more of the Netherlands. Leerdam has a trainstation at 4 km. Another trainstation is in Culemborg 8km.
The nearest busstop is 2 km. away, connecting you to the City of Utrecht and via Utrecht to the rest of the Netherlands
In Leerdam you can rent a canoe an there are lots of biking and hiking routes in the surroundings
Utrecht is half an hour by train or bus. Amsterdam an hour by train.
It's recommended to buy an OV-card at your arrival in the Netherlands, so you can travel by bus and train. You can buy such a card at the big stations. Another advantage of the card is, that you can easily rent a bike at the stations, so you can visit the cities and surroundings by bike.
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.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
One 7 hrs day and three 4/5 hrs days or three 7 hrs. days
Feedback (21)
It felt like having two friends around us, communication was very easy and apart from our working moments we had a lot of fun together.
Kellie… read more
She is a pleasant person to have around, always cheerful and curieus about all things around here. She is pro active and because of that a very fine workawayer.
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
It felt like having two friends around us, communication was very easy and apart from our working moments we had a lot of fun together.
Kellie… read more
She is a pleasant person to have around, always cheerful and curieus about all things around here. She is pro active and because of that a very fine workawayer.
She is always positive and likes to help you wherever she can. Curieus and open minded as she is, she was a joy to have here.
They did all their jobs with care, accuracy and with joy. Even when they had no experience in a certain task, they just went for it and were eager to learn.
They took care of their surroundings and showed a lot of responsibility. Our animals (Dog, kitten, chickens and… read more
The work was mainly tending to the herb garden, weeding and harvesting. Sometimes Mark and Marie-Antoinette worked with us too, which was a lovely way to spend the working hours. We learned a lot about different uses for plants and herbal medicine… read more
They are really nice, warm and friendly people who help you know a lot more about a lot of topics! Dutch culture, history, making furniture out of things you won't expect (rope from nettles ...). The food was amazing, the work was… read more
Marie and Mark gave a homely feeling to my stay and I enjoyed any minute of it thanks to that.
The work wasn't too hard but very satisfying, me and the other workawayer Vincenzo helped building "living domes" who are supposed to grow… read more
They can work independent en are nice company...We were very glad with their help and their inputt....A nice friendly, easy going couple who can do a good job!
We… read more
Emmy has good contactual skills, is easy going and has a good sense of responsability.
She’s a hard working person and she fullfills her tasks very well. We were glad to have her with us and hope she’ll come back one day....
It was really a nice stay, Mark and Marie-Antoinette give us a lot of autonomy: we were allowed to choose the repartition of our period of work in order to have time to visits the beautiful countryside surrounding their… read more
They managed to do a lot during their stay and our to-do list definitely increased.
In no time they learned about tasks they never did before.
They are a lovely caring couple with a good feeling for both privacy and duty.
We also learned a lot about their homeland… read more
