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Host rating
80 %
Last replied
31 Mar 2024
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9
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Details
Description
Help needed to our little farm in southern Norway: animals, vegetables, forestry, landscaping, carpentry and more. Foodies highly welcome! Skills no disadvantage.. We offer nice living quarters, pick-up at the airport, and a nice stay living together with our family. We can accomodate singles or a couple!
A family of four (Lilly 13, Ebba 16, Gry 54, Erik 58), living on a little farm in south of Norway (80 km west of Oslo) seeks farm-hands and cultural exchange.
Eco/organic/permacultural/holistic/sustainable operation with sheep, poultry, free range pigs (only in summertime) and bee-keeping, in addition to a 1 hectare Market Garden-project . Landscaping, fence-work, normal farm routines and a lot more. This is quite far from an industrial farm, we do a diversified range of small-scale farm operations, and a lot of it will be manual tasks.
In 2020 we finally got our production kitchen up and running, and we’ve started small-scale production of high-class food products from the farm’s own produce, under the label «Herfra gårdsmat» («Farm food from here»). We’ll make and bring to the market a wide range of products, from meats, veggies, fruits and berries. There will be a lot to learn from a WA experience here!
Gardening skills and experience with animal care is a good thing. Foodies very welcome, for exchange and cooperation at meal preparation. The farm is situated in a nice area for walking, running or hiking in forest and mountain, biking and canoeing, plus fishing.
The farm is old, and need a lot of work, so if you want to participate for a while, you´re welcome!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Learn about bee-keeping (only in summer-time) , gardering and other of our farm chores. Get to know the animal on the farm, and join us in making all kind of food. The surroundings also offer great opportunities for biking, canoeing, fishing, mountain hiking.
There are a lot of exiting possibilities for cultural events and exhibitions in our area, including internationally acclaimed art-exhibitions.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Work aside us or alone, in the daily routine and special projects, according to skills and interests and from what the farm needs. Carpentry or forestry skills will be very welcome, because we need a lot of landscaping done here (cutting trees, making a dam, design the garden further etc.) Gardening experience would be cherished, and if you are interested in a permaculture approach, it would be an extra bonus. We are still in the process of "getting the farm working" after many years without anyone living here, so there is plenty of work to do in connection to painting, fixing, renovating and building.
All work-awayers will be enganged in animal care, and we will expect all work-awayers to participate in the daily housholding chores; preparing meals, cleaning an tidying and so on.
For the winter months the farm work is not overly intensive, but hens and sherp must still be tendens every day, in addition to preparing what’s to be sent to the marker. From March preparations for the growing season starts, and also in April and May there will be lambing season. We have only 6 sheep during the winter of 2020, and hopefully they will all be having lambs this spring. From May until early autumn the sheep basically feed themselves on the pasture.
In the spring and early summer months there’s plenty to do in the Market garden - preparing beds, planting and maintainance. Gardening experience will be highly apreciated! Bee-keeping will be a chore from May until September, along with harvesting and preparing of the honey. We will most probably have some small chickens and ducklings around, along with the grown-up poultry..
Every summer we have free-range pigs. They will need a lot of food and water, and a good chat from time to time.
High summer means tending for the animals, gathering, watering, weeding, and maybe also tend to the farm if we find an opportunity to take a day or two off with our family. We have several carpentry and "landscaping" projects which will run all season, according to available time and skills.
Late summer and autumn will be the harvesting, foraging and slaughtering months at our farm, with lots of help with handling and preservation.
As a work-awayer in our family, you must like to be around kids. Our two girls would love to practice english speaking with you, and do different kind of activities, like painting, hiking, baking, cooking, dancing, biking, river bathing and so on. They love to be a part of the work-away experience!
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Norwegian: Fluent
German: Intermediate
French: Intermediate
Accommodation
From May to October: We preferably accomodate in our large camper van, perfect for friends or a couple. Workawayers have a private WC/bathroom, with entrance from outside the house.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Following the farm and family routines (max 25 hours)
Feedback (5)
Ata is one workawayer that we… read more
They are excellent cooks, I really liked living with them. The work I did revolved around the eggs: collecting… read more
Photos
Feedback
Ata is one workawayer that we… read more
They are excellent cooks, I really liked living with them. The work I did revolved around the eggs: collecting… read more
I stayed one month during February 2018 and learned a lot about independent natural farming. This is not a regular farm that makes profit on animals. It is a special place that respects life and looks for more sustainable ways of operating.
Erik and Gry… read more
