Help on the farm in Central Victoria, Australia

Details

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  Description

  We (My partner Ruby and me (Ross) and our toddler Harriet) live on a little property in Central Victoria about 2 hours from Melbourne.
  We have been here for nearly 5 years and are slowly chipping away at different projects from house fix ups to garden projects. Ross's background is in horticulture and landscape design and construction so we will be putting in a lot of effort to the gardens. He also teaches three days a week online. Ruby is a social worker doing 3 days per week.
  We also have two gorgeous/ energetic dogs and chickens.
  
  We also currently have another person who lives in our bungalow, her name is Marie. You will likely see her around coming and going.
  
  Our place is set on the edge of a creek on about 4 acres of land at the bottom of a ridge. We have an old tavern from around 1860 (now a house), a fairly new studio and a bungalow, caravan and workshops on our property.
  
  Ruby and I are both vegetarians and really like food!
  
  We are a 5 minute drive the closest town Newstead where there is a general store and a cafe/pub. It is about a 20 minute drive to Castlemaine where you can get a train to Melbourne. We are also 25 minutes to Daylesford, 45 mins to Bendigo & Ballarat. We require all our guests to have a drivers license and be confident to drive in Australia. This allows you to get the most out of living regionally.
  
  We are happy to host solo travellers or couples. If you have any particular skills/interests we will try our best to utilise these. We are easy going and looking for like minded/easy going and enthusiastic people to share our home with and help us continue to develop our dream home.
  
  Current Projects we are working on:
  - - we are currently converting a garden shed into a work from home space - we are particularly in need of anyone with experience using power tools/ building experience.
  - Vegetable gardening
  - veg garden set up/ fencing to protect plans from rabbits
  
  Some of the tasks that are common:
  - Garden task such as: Weeding, potting up seedlings, planting out seedlings & mowing are some of the task.
  - household chores such as washing, cooking, cleaning for our family home.
  - Preserving - depending on season.
  
  All our tasks and projects are for our family/family home.
  You will be provided with accommodation and meals in exchange for 25 hours of work per week. We are flexible about how we spilt these hours for example you may prefer to do 5 hours per day or a full day etc. If we do have specific days you need off we are happy to accommodate.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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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

  I teach landscape design and horticulture and have a garden design and construction business with international awards so can pass on skills in gardening, woodwork, metalwork, irrigation etc.

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  Projects involving children

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

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  Help

  We have a lot of work in the garden. We have plants to be potted up propagated and planted out. Ross is always building something. At the moment he is working on converting a shed into a work from home space, fencing, gates, guttering, Garden edging, shingling a chicken coop and setting up sheds. Ruby is working in the vegetable garden and planting out our new garden beds. If you have any particular skills or interests though we would love to try to utilise them!

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  We have a cute little caravan we have fixed up for our workaway's to stay. It can only accommodate 1 single person or a couple, it has a double bed and a cute little sitting area. The bathroom/kitchen are in the main house which you can use as you please. The caravan has wifi set up and a heater if it's cold.
  
  We also have a bungalow which has a king size bed, tv, small sitting area/ place to make cups of tea, it has a beautiful outlook and has wifi.
  
  We also have a beautiful bnb that is not always booked out and can be used from time to time.
  We host anywhere from 1 to 3 workaways at a time depending on our projects/people's skills.

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  What else ...

  We are in between Castlemaine (small town in the goldfields) and Daylesford (in the foothills of the great dividing range) which are two fairly popular rural holiday spots in Victoria. There are plenty of hikes/walks, swimming holes, antique/vintage bazaars, cute towns, great cafes, pubs, wineries, weekend markets and local events to explore. We require all guests to have an international drivers license/ or Australian drivers license and be confident to drive in Australia. If you have a car that is a bonus but if not that is ok.

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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 good working internet and happy for work-aways to work online if they need to. We do however have poor phone reception. If you have a newer model of phone you can utilise WIFI calling which means your messages and phone calls work through the internet rather than on the phone reception. Happy to answer any questions if you need to know more.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 4-5 days a week

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