Help inspire others to sustainable living and share your knowledge of gardening and self-sufficient practices in Västerbotten, Sweden

Details

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  Description

  We´re a family of five (Maria, Niklas, Love 13 y, Toril 8 y and Eine 7 y) living in an old house in the beautiful countryside in Västerbotten, northern Sweden. Here we´re trying to create a sustainable living with a high degree of self-sufficency concerning food. Me, Maria, is partly studying and partly working on the family "enterprise" - producing and fermenting vegetables. Niklas is working in the local town on a day job basis.
  
  The "farm" (our place) consists of a vegetable garden of about 450 square meters (and constantly expanding), a hen house with hens, rosters and chickens, three bee-hives and way to much lawn. Living in the far north means a short and very intense growing season, starting in May and ending in September. During this time there's a lot of work to be done in the garden, but luckily the daylight is present for many hours. In June, it never goes dark! It's during the growing season that we need the most help.
  
  Since our goal is to become as much self-sufficient as possible on food, our daily life is very much about food. It's about growing food, storing food, preserve food, cook jam, ferment vegetables, hunt wild animals, bake sourdough bred, bake sourdough croissants, make dairy products such as butter, creme fraiche, cheese, and sourmilk. And of course, we enjoy eating and sharing our good food!
  
  We do work a lot and are "early birds", however we also appreciate frequent breaks for coffee and fika. We also give priority to going to the nearby lake to take a swim or heat the bathtub in the garden for a late night "spa".

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We want to inspire others to a sustainable living at the countryside and to share our knowledge of gardening and self-sufficient practices. But equally important for us is to learn from those who are visiting us. 
  
  To host voulutneers is also way for us to "travel without travelling", learn new laungages, dishes from other cultures, and so on.
  
  To work togehter is always better then working alone. And of course we always need a helping hand in our work.

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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

  Our intention is that you as a volunteer work together with us on the daily tasks in our self-sufficing farm. Depending on season this could mean preparing the garden for planting, weeding, harvesting, working with the bee-hives, going to the forest for berry and/or mushroom picking, preserving food, taking care of meat from hunt etc. We also have some construction projects that you could jump in on. The meals are eaten together with us, and we take turns in preparing and cleaning up around the meals. As a volunteer you will be working with us at weekdays and gets the weekends off.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Swedish: 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 one guest room in the second floor in our house where you can stay (maximum 4 beds). In the summer, if the temperature outside isn't to cold and the whether is good, you can also sleep in a big tent we have in the garden. We have all the sleeping equipment, so you don't need to bring anything yourself. The meals are eaten together with us, and we take turns in preparing and cleaning up around the meals. You are always welcome to hang out with us in our big kitchen or in the garden!

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  What else ...

  This is truly a rural area. If you go outside and hold your breathe, for most of the time you only hear sounds of nature. There are several small farms nearby and tractors frequent the road by the house, but there are no stores or buses in the village. The closest supermarket is found some 15 km away. This is most of the time a place of tranquility and peace. Close to the village is a lake for bathing, and forests to walk in. The Baltic sea isn't far. The Swedish right of public access gives you the right to move around quite freely. If you want to go for a longer trip there's a possibility to borrow a car or get a ride to the bus/train.

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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 internet connection and if you want we can arrange a table for work in our guestroom.

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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?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

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

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