Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
12 Apr 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 9 days
Feedback
31
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Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
We have a family farm in Estonia on an island called Saaremaa. It's a busy household with lots of going on all the time. There is 6 of us: mother Mare (32), kids Joanna (6), Birgit (3), Otto (1) and grandparents Anne (55), Jaan (54). We grow a little bit of everything, mostly beef and dairy cattle, poultry and vegetables. We also have some fruit trees and berry bushes, sheep, a goat, a dog and cats. Our family is trying to be as self-sufficient as we can, so we preserve food for the winter and also forage (berries, mushrooms, herbs). Farm is located 4 km from the sea and 8 km from the nearest town.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
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
We have travelled around a fair bit ourselves and Mare has also volunteered in organic farms in Australia, so we have many stories to share. You can learn about many aspects of farming, like animal husbandry and growing vegetables. Also Estonian traditional cooking, preserving food for winter, herbal medicines. Anne is also interested in traditional healing methods like leech therapy. We would also love to learn your language.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
In spring and summer we need help with garden work (sowing, planting, weeding, mowing the lawn etc.), cooking, cleaning, doing dishes, playing with kids, picking eggs, etc. depends whats going on.
Work depends a lot of the time of the year. Spring to autumn there is more work in the garden and fields (digging, planting, seeding, weeding, picking berries etc.) Winter time mostly in the chicken shed (feeding, picking and packing eggs). If you have some skills like building it would be really handy but if not you're still welcome.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Estonian: Fluent
Russian: FluentThis 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
You will have your own room in the workers apartment, which is located at our dairy farm. There is a shower and a kitchen. Kitchen is freshly renovated. You can have your breakfast and dinner there (we provide the food of mostly what we grow in the farm), lunch is in the family house which is located 1 km from the apartment.
What else ...
The farm is located 8 km from the town and 4 km from the sea. So on your time off you can always go there. We have bicycles to lend, there are also buses a few times a day. We go to town sometimes by car and can drop you off and pick you up. Town has many historical buildings like 14th century castle that has a museum inside. There´s nice cafes and art galleries, also a lot of events going on the summer time. Summer is a busy time in our farm but we always try to find some time to relax ourselves. We like going to the beach with our dog often. There´s many nice beaches for swimming and sunbathing. Smoking is okay outdoors. Mixed diet. Vegetarians welcome.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have wifi connection at the apartment.
Space for parking camper vans
We have lots of space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Up to 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (16)
During my days off I was doing small trips,… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.4)
Communication:
(4.6)
During my days off I was doing small trips,… read more
We didn't stay more than one night there because the accomodation didn't have the basic we needed.
But we talked about that and she was very comprehensive, so I appreciate that a lot.
Thank you!
Thank you and good luck with your studies.
PS. Joanna is still asking sometimes what her French auntie is doing… read more
Maybe I just would preferred a bigger comunication (just to improve… read more
Mare
It was my first experience as a workawayer, and I couldn't be happier! Mare and her family are very kind, making sure I was comfortable and had enough food all the time. We shared lunches and Mare was always willing to chat with me about a lot of different topics. They have also Brianna, the… read more
Thank you so much for your help, wish you could've stayed longer :D I wish you the best in Spain!
Mare
I am sorry about the experience with the accommodation. For future reference to any interested volunteers we have a possibility to stay in a campervan now, which is really cozy and smoke free.
Mare and her family are very very kind people, we talked mostly with Mare, who has lots of stories about her travels, which are useful and also amusing to hear.
The work (even if we only worked one day in the garden) was reasonable and… read more
Justine is a very nice young woman and we had many interesting conversations.
All the best in your forthcoming projects.
Mare
Sarah was fun to have around and Joanna loved spending time with her.
Thank you and good luck with everything in Berlin!
She was very active on her free time and found ways to discover places on the island despite the lack of good bus… read more
We discovered once again how many similarities there is in Estonian and Latvian food and culture.
I would reccommend anyone to host Anete.
Thank you and good luck… read more
About work. We needed to pick and pack eggs. First, I was… read more
late but finally we can write you a comment as well :)
Me and my friend Sophie spent two weeks at the farm in March. Although it was quite a short stay, we were able to experience a lot. We saw famous Estonian musican and comedian in Kuressarre (capital of Saaremaa). A Spa is nearby if you decide to come during winter times and you… read more
There is a myth going around in Estonia that French are lazy but it's most definetly not true about… read more
I would suggest everyone to host her.
I wish I had more time to converse and show her around.
Thank you for beautiful woodwork for baby Joanna.
All the best,
Mare
Even though I couldn't converse really with the parents because I don't know any language properly they do they made me very welcome and even showed us some sights. The conversations with the daughter were very interesting. The work was easy… read more
Thank you and all the best!
Mare
The village situated quite convenient. It takes ten minutes to get to the town by bus… read more
We had many interesting conversations on various topics.
Thank you for everything. Good luck with your travels and future project! :)
Saaremaa is a beautiful island, and even with the snow we were still able to appreciate it.
After living above a dairy farm & working around hundreds of cows and chickens we now… read more
