Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Reply rate
85.2 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
54
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Details
Description
Hi everybody -
We are developing a permaculture garden and orchard.
At the moment we are terracing the large part of the section with brick walls and steps built with whatever recycled materials come to hand - a very long term project which needs constant help from our wonderful helpers.
Another job that we are hoping to get help with is building a small shed out of pallets - so any of you crafty carpenter types out there would be especially welcome.
We are also developing a fernery and planting out native hedges - so there are fantails and keruru in abundance.
Though the development is sometimes hard work, it`s creative and fun. We are getting there but we could do with a bit of help from strong fit people whose knees can handle walking up and down a steep garden.
We also have work repairing and painting garden furniture and deck etc.
We prefer hosting a couple or 2 friends who are keen gardeners to help with garden maintenance. We also have a couple of hard-landscaping projects involving path construction and maintenance. We would like people who are able to work with minimal supervision, who take pride in their work and want to do a job well, who are self-motivated, have initiative and don’t mind getting their hands dirty.
We ask for approximately 20 hours work per week (4 hours per day for 5 days - two days free) - sometimes less if the work is a bit harder - in return for comfortable accommodation and good vegan food.
Just a note on winter help - It gets very cold in Dunedin in winter - but the garden projects must go on - so only hardy people who don't mind warming up with some garden labour should apply. Only the rain and snow stop us! And we are of the opinion that there is no such thing as bad weather but only bad clothing. We find working in the garden in the winter invigorating so if you do too - this is the place for you.
We DON`T take smokers sorry. Also I have to add that we prefer people who love gardens and nature - Our place is not really a drinking, partying sort of place.Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We have travelled as a volunteers and enjoy every cultural exchange and know what to offer travellers who come to help us
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We need healthy, fit, active people to help with the projects in a steep , beautiful, garden.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
Comfortable accommodation - one double bedroom (with a beautiful view) and a single bedroom. Healthy, nutritious , mostly organic, vegetarian food 3 meals a day in exchange for approximately 20 hours a week.
What else ...
There are lots of great walks around the area, and buses to town are regular.
There are plenty of places to explore in gorgeous Dunedin and its environs.
St. Clair is a beautiful surf beach - there are always surfers in the sea from dawn till dusk - all weathers and seasons.
(there is a surf board and a wetsuit available to helpers)
Just walking on the beach is wonderfully relaxing.
Also within easy walking distance is wonderful Tunnel Beach.
The city is a 10 minute bus ride away.A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (24)
He carried many heavy concrete blocks down my very steep garden, dug out many steps, and generally helped with all the earthmoving action that was going on during his time here.
He was very independent - spending most of the time when he wasn't working,… read more
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(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
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He carried many heavy concrete blocks down my very steep garden, dug out many steps, and generally helped with all the earthmoving action that was going on during his time here.
He was very independent - spending most of the time when he wasn't working,… read more
Sarndra is the… read more
It was such a pleasure to get to know this wonderful young woman. She is not only great company - interesting and interested in everything around her - but a keen and hardworking workawayer. She was always ready, willing and able fro every job that I gave here - and also, thankfully, flexible, as… read more
Your garden and your house are beautiful. We had a great time together even though you won us all at scrabble!!
You are an amazing person and of course I will come back to visit you in the spring!!! See you soon
Her house in Dunedin has such a nice view and her garden is so amazing! We learned a lot and had so much fun together!
Also, Sarndra is a very good cook - the meals are so fresh and good!!
We stayed for a week but we would have loved… read more
Sarndra was an amazing host and fantastic woman! She is such an inspiration and has an amazing property with glowing reviews all around.
I stayed for just under a week and had the… read more
She did plenty of the each while she was here - wielding a spade or a pick axe with the rest of the team or hauling heavy loads up or down the garden - or organising the other… read more
The view is breathtaking, the food is amazing and Sarndra's stories are great to listen to. We stayed there for about a week, but we wish we stayes longer!
We cannot thank Sarndra enough for her hospitality!
I'm so glad they requested a place here - and could put up with sleeping on `put-away-beds' in the living room because I was hosting such an unusually large team of helpers.
They are friendly, positive, creative and hardworking. It was so lovely having them around and having Ville turn… read more
He was with me for just under a week - braving a leaky tent for most of it - and in that time was a great help in the house and garden.
With other helpers he stripped wall paper from a wall - and scraped and sanded the woodwork in the same room.
He also helped with digging out a patio area. He was a great… read more
She cleared and weeded and planted out my spring bulbs. She was very stoic - staying in a small (leaky) tent and saw the positives in everything and everyone. She got on well with the rest of the helper team and was very… read more
Sarndra herself is such an amazing woman, who's kind, funny and has countless interesting stories. We left with a new found interest in herbal medicine and enjoyed beautiful… read more
They were with me for just over a week and in that time, not only were they a joy to have around, but they worked hard and did everything I asked them to do to the highest standard.
They dug a large tent site area out of a hard clay bank, set up a great tent from lots of odds and ends I had.
They… read more
We called her the queen of upcyvling because she used old… read more
They were only with me for a week but they made a wonderful large, oval, brick wall for my pizza oven to be set on. Ali is a very experienced brick layer and I learned a lot of very helpful tips from him.
They are so… read more
She painted out a long box hedge, transplanted many other plants, cleared and weeded a difficult part of the hillside garden, cleaned my back steps of weeds and helped move and stack many bricks - all to… read more
She has a wealth of knowledge on plant medicine, literature, movies, even a bit politics, and all things esoteric.… read more
I could leave her alone with a patch of garden and come back to find it expertly weeded - with all the `good' plants looking as though… read more
Everyday you get a wonderful ocean view, interesting and funny chats with Sarndra and we're already missing her delicious healthy meals. In the morning we helped out in her beautiful garden and afterwards was plenty of time to explore Dunedin and the… read more
Partly because they did so much great work in the garden but also because they were such lovely people they felt like family by the end of the week.
Ayla is an expert gardener - a sensitive weeder who got rid of all the grass, convolvulus, comfrey, etc. with the garden… read more
She is friendly, respectful, interesting and interested in all that is going on around her - and best of all she's a fantastic gardener.
Laura and another workawayer were my lady gardeners, and they transformed my garden in the time they were here, from an overgrown jungle to a… read more
With a couple of other helpers they did a monumental shed clearance and restored order to all my neglected building project collections. They also did great clearing in… read more
She did a lot of weeding and clearing of my very overgrown garden, Covered the cherry trees with net curtains - showing great sewing… read more
She also worked hard at making a… read more
While they were here they did lots of hard core weeding, concrete mixing, hauling and… read more
We worked 4 hours a day, mostly in the garden and 1 day when the temperature outside was cold we did… read more
She is very open and welcoming and a great conversation partner! She is also quite caring and considerate and creates a homely atmosphere around the house!
We worked mostly in her garden which was a lot of fun. She is really passionate about her garden which brings in a lot of… read more
It really felt like family staying with Sarndra. She cared for us (me and two other helpers) when we… read more