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28 Dec 2024
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Description
Love to host people from all over the world! Come and enjoy our beautiful part of Canada
in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
We only accept volunteers that:
*. Are over 25 years in age
*. Have their own transportation
* Come on a Sunday
* Come for short stays up to 2 weeks
If you cannot meet this criteria then please do not contact us.
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Since my husband (Zsolt) and I are up in our mid 60's, a good fit for us is to take older more mature work-a-ways to come and help us.
We take volunteers who are 25 years old and older!
You must have your own transportation we are in the country and it is easier for you to get here and for you to explore the area on your own. We are NOT able to pick you up.
We take volunteers for SHORT STAYS ONLY, "UP TO TWO WEEKS" (Sunday to Sunday)
thus giving volunteers a chance to visit and travel to many places as they can experience,
to learn and explore as many hosts as possible while they are here in Canada,
giving a true taste of our land and our people.
We schedule arrivals of work-a-ways on Sunday nights,
thus starting your helping week on a Monday till Friday,
in order for you to have the weekend off and then leaving on a Sunday.
We are breeders of the Hovawart dog breed.
Right now we have 4 female Hovawarts in our breeding program.
Also have a grooming business in our home.
Our house gets neglected because we are on the go all the time
and therefore always needs organizing and cleaning.
There are many projects on the go that we need help with and are willing to teach you how.
We are foodies and love to cook, we mostly have our own meat, vegetables, fruit, eggs,
and produce our own Kefir and Kefir Cheese.
We love to learn cooking from our guests from around the world.
If you love dogs, then our dogs love to play and go for walks.
We live in the country surrounded by trees on a 6-acre Organic homestead, we have 2 houses on our property
with our son, Julian (45), his wife, and 18-year-old son live in the other house.
We have 4 dogs and 2 cats that live in our house.
Our younger son (37) and his Japanese wife live in a separate apartment in our house, with their Hovawart dog, they both speak Japanese. My husband is Hungarian and I am Slovenian.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are allergic to dogs and cats this is NOT a good placement for you!
Located in the beautiful Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island between Victoria and Duncan, B.C., we are 2 km from the historic Kinsol Trestle, great walking, biking, and hiking trails,
near many provincial parks & beaches.
Shawnigan Lake is great for swimming, canoeing, fishing, and water skiing.
Close to the ocean, great hiking trails, pubs, crabbing & shrimping, biking.
There are many festivals going on in the area all year long.
In the fall watch the Salmon run and bear watching.
We are 50 minutes north of Victoria, 20 minutes east of Mill Bay, 20 minutes south of Duncan,
50 minutes south of Nanaimo.
There are ferries that come from Vancouver to both Nanaimo & Victoria, and there is a ferry from Victoria to Mill Bay,
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
*Teach you how to make their own organic Mayonnaise,
*Teach you how kefir is produced and made into cheese,
*My husband is a handyman and can teach you about building skills.
*We have helped many work-a-ways who have needed to retro-fit their mini-van into a camper,
we love helping in this and we are starting to become quite good at it!
*You can learn how to make a fire.
*Learn how to garden
* Improve your English skills
Help
We are constantly upgrading our homestead.
From helping around the house to computer tasks to cooking.
When we have a litter of puppies, we will need help with them and walking the dogs.
We especially need help in our house to be more organized.
At the moment our house is really upside down and in need of help getting everything in order!
A good cleaning inside and out is always needed, for help with the outside, this includes gardening,landscaping, tree removal, wood-cutting, and stacking.
Please note, we are NOT a big farm that needs a lot of weeding.
We are renovating our RV (motorhome) and boat.
For 7 days of room = 5 days of help, 5 hours a day with meals. 12.00 - 5.00
On your 2 days off you provide your own food and prepare your own meals so that we get 2 days off cooking as well.
We like to schedule arrivals of work-a-ways on a Sunday, thus starting your helping-week on a Monday till Friday, leaving on a Sunday morning, again for only for up to 2 weeks.
*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️Please note that if you have any special dietary requirements,
We will expect you to bring your own supplies, we do however always have lots of vegetables at our meals.
I am just not good at preparing for special diets.
****** We accept volunteers over the age of 25
**** if you are allergic to dogs, cats or chickens, this is not a good placement for you.
Internet access available, however, you cannot use our computers sorry, you must bring your own device!
Moderate drinking is fine, however, we do not tolerate drugs! Smoking outside only (my husband is a smoker and smokes outside).
Please do not use your phones while working, there is plenty of time before and after.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Japanese: Fluent
Slovenian: Intermediate
French: Beginner
Hungarian: BeginnerThis 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.
Accommodation
The bedroom has comfortable beds ( either 2 singles or the singles can be pushed together for couples and a topper installed.
or you can experience the outdoors you can always pitch a tent or stay in our caravan.
What else ...
We are on Vancouver Island near Shawnigan Lake, the lake is wonderful for swimming, canoeing, boating, water skiing, windsurfing and fishing.
On the other side of our road runs a river wonderful for a swim and getting your feet wet or do some gold mining!
There are many hiking trails in the area and we are close to the Trans. Canada Trail near the Kinsol Trestle.
We are close to the ocean, great whale watching tours in the area or go crabbing or shrimping!
We are 45 minutes from Victoria, the Capital city of British Columbia, a must to visit with all of its museums, Art galleries, shopping and sightseeing.
Within a 2 hour drive is Tofino the surfing capital of Canada and
Mt Washington is the closest skiing mountain.
Many hiking trails on the island including the famous West Coast Trail.
Go further up island and explore Desolation Sound with all of its amazing wildlife.
Come and explore this amazing island!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
We highly recommend having your own vehicle, we cannot pick up volunteers
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (35)
always looking for things to do and not having to be told.
Highly recommended
Welcome back anytime.
I wish you all… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.6)
Cultural exchange:
(4.6)
Communication:
(4.7)
always looking for things to do and not having to be told.
Highly recommended
Welcome back anytime.
I wish you all… read more
I ended up staying much longer than planned due to a car disaster, but they were very understanding and even… read more
I had to go out of the province on business leaving my husband to fend for himself.
Thankfully Denis came, the two of them played bachelor and had to figure out all the meals.
Denis was extremely helpful and lots got done around the house.
Especially with all of the firewood that had to be started for… read more
We loved to spend time on their gorgeous property and miss our morning walks… read more
They are easy-going and a joy to host. The perfect volunteers!!!!
They were easy to cook for because they ate everything and also always asked me if I needed help with the cooking and they always helped with the clean-up afterward.
We were happy to take them where ever we went, they learned card games… read more
I… read more
Both are very welcoming and servicial people (we arrived two hours later because of the snow at the road and they were waiting for us during this time to pick us up “thank you again”),… read more
She had amazing energy and knowledge for my gardens which was very appreciated!!!
Great timing right in the beginning of planting season,
We had fun going to ALL of the different nurseries to pick out my large array of different
plants, it was nice to get the support with… read more
They helped us out so much and we really enjoyed having their happy smiles!!!!
It was wonderful that they had their own vehicle ( a truck with a camper)
which they were nicely renovating for their exploration of North America.
It was so nice to hear my mother tongue of Slovenian and I… read more
and was very good in organizing my kitchen and closets.
We had a very pleasant time with her although it was too short.
She is recommended to any host!
I helped in their household, learned a lot of new things, enjoyed excellent food and hiking together.
Thank you very much :)
Anna
Although a very short stay, and It is too bad that I was away
at the time and you only had Zsolt there with you.
If you are back this way again, you are most welcome
Louis, Zora, Hannah
It was great that they had their own vehicle so that they could explore our area better.
They took our dog Dyla on some great hikes.
Elodie loved to sew and she helped me with some long overdue projects.
Jan helped getting our woodpile larger.
We had a project… read more
They live in a beautiful surrounding and it s a lot of fun to go on walks with their dog Daila.
They also have 2 cute cats who likes to come visit… read more
and then putting them on my computer.
Jo is a very pleasant person and very easy to get along with her.
Honest and Trustworthy!
I also liked that they had bycles for guest use (not personally having a car) as there is nice… read more
We loved having Fabby here, she was more than any host can ask for,
never had to tell Fabby what to do, she went over and beyond and on top of that she has a
wonderful personality, someone that we will never forget, my children loved her, my grandson loved her and my friends loved her.
I am so happy that… read more
They helped us in renovation work, installing laminate flooring, installation of baseboards and
door trim. And preparing for painting.
We enjoyed hosting them, loved hearing about their adventures, and their future.
And we are now enjoying following them on their adventures on Facebook.
It was a joy… read more
he was a wonderful hard working volunteer.
Thank-you so much for all of our carpentry expertise, it was much appreciated!
We got so much done around the house!
Nick fit in very well with us and our other work-a-way volunteer.
We are so happy that Nick was in our lives.
We highly… read more
Positive Energy Plus+++++ Highly recommended!!!
We were so happy to have had the opportunity to have hosted Haico!
He was an eager student at our homestead. We throughly enjoyed having him here
he was an excellent team player, with our our work-a-way volunteer.
We were glad that we were able to give… read more
The nice thing about the jobs is that they are fun to do, they are diverse and not boring. To sum up a few of them: Working on the roof in the sun, building a fire pit or doing a bit of chainsaw work to bring some big trees… read more
Eager to jump right into any task, and more. I am so happy that they put in new flower beds along one side of my long driveway and transplanted ground cover plants into the new beds.
It was fabulous hosting this couple they had such great positive energy! … read more
We've had our own apartment, super delicious and healthy meals and we've learned a lot of interesting things while working and talking with them.
Thank you so much for the wonderful experience in your home.
Uschi & Flo
He helped with a lot of spring cleaning around the house and our vehicles,
planting and general maintenance.
He is very social, it was so nice to have him here.
Thank you Gustavo !! You have been extremely helpful during our busy spring.
Wish you all the best in… read more
They made us feel welcome from the first day on. They were great company even on off time, we had lots of good laughs and good conversations. They gave us a lot of advices, taught us and were very supportive.
Animals here… read more
Paul knew just what to do and he did not need guidance.
During his stay we had to leave to go to a funeral and look after my mother-in-laws estate for over a month and a half. While… read more
Nensi & Zsolt are great hosts and made me feel right at home. Their warmth and… read more
The ever cheerful Jure was an amazing help, and took on all tasks that needed to be done around our homestead, he is not afraid of work. And took on the feeding and fencing of our pigs and chickens. Helped us with some renovations in our home and RV.
I am grateful for his… read more
We were privileged to have hosted this high energy guy and truly appreciated his output of help.
You put a project in front of Martin, he will not disappoint you with the outcome.
He… read more
Both were such an incredible help!!!! Zuzka with her amazing organizational talents put things in order here, she worked on her own without direction and also with our other work-a-way Susan.
I thank Ben for all his hard work with my husband and also to help me set up my mini photo… read more
The… read more
Rosie & Ginger our sows are much happier with their new space to root and getting ready for Mr. Boar coming tomorrow.
Thank-you Aine for your help in the garages it… read more
I was grateful for your determination on teaching me Slovenian, (my mother tongue)
Kristy was with us for a month, she was an extreme help while I was going through Chemo,
She is a fast learner and very hard worker.
I hope that you will be able to come back to Canada,… read more
She will have you smiling immediately!
She was with us just a few days, but it was like having a daughter coming home for the weekend.
She was a willing worker that was difficult to stop, she took initiative with things that had to be done.
She was terrific in feeding our pigs and chickens and great with our guests, I would highly recommend her to any… read more
