Meditation, cats, chickens, garden and nature in the countryside of Skåne, Sweden

  • Favourited 137 times
  • Last activity: 25 Jan 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least a week

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Short and current version:

    I'm looking for one short-term volunteer, 1-2 weeks, who is especially interested in helping me stock up on healthy vegetarian dishes (I love pasta, but need more balanced food to lower my blood sugar levels and weight, having recently been diagnosed with diabetes).

    You have a driver's license and are an experienced driver, also winter-time, and would use my car to go to the shop and buy groceries. I have some recipes as well as a cupboard partly stocked with some interesting grains and lentils for some creative cooking, but you are also able to plan, prepare and cook independently.

    There is some physical work to do outside in and around garden, mainly taking care of leaves, cutting down hedge and brush, clearing the gutters and bringing in firewood. The weather is fairly mild at the moment, with temperatures ranging between 1 and 8 degrees Celsius daytime, with a slight chance for snow on Christmas Eve.

    Current indoor temperature is 18-19 degrees, which for most people means wearing warmer clothes also indoors. There are two fireplaces that you are welcome to use. I practice energy conservation/solidarity with shorter showers, and use the washing machine and dishing machine on weekends or night-time.

    My personal energy levels are not consistent at this time, so you would be prepared to mostly take care of the tasks by yourself and meals may also be on your own, perhaps with exception for lunches. You can make up your own schedule with 4 hours per day Monday-Friday. At times if you want you can join me in meditation, or use the meditation room when you want.

    There may be some renovation going on when you are here; a couple of days of roof work is in the pipeline at the moment.

    For more details around the place, read on. If this sounds like your volunteering interests, please send a message and include why it's a good fit as from what you've read here, and between what dates you would be available.

    Thank you!

    ________________________________________

    In 2018 I moved into a former guest house built in 1911 with quite a bit of local history, with the intention of creating a community living together with the common interest of meditation. Several twists and turns later, the house is now going through the last renovation before opening up to more people. Currently the house family consists of 1 56-year-old female human (me), 5 cats (mom, 3 siblings and an "uncle"), 1 hen and 1 rooster. The amount of cats means living in this house needs some cat consciousness as to areas where cats can and cannot go, and for example making sure some of them go outside only when they're supposed to. In practice it means a closed door should be closed again, and being cautious when entering and exiting the house. One of the cats (mom) is allowed up on the 3rd floor where the bedrooms are, so it might involve keeping the door closed to the bedroom if her company is unwanted there.

    We're based in Stockamöllan, in the middle of the province Skåne, with 300 inhabitants and a village known for its beauty and history. The house is located between Rönne å river and road 13, a major throughroad. When outside you have the waterfall close by as a constant soundtrack, and depending on where you are in the garden and what time of day/night it is, you may be aware of traffic sound. For me personally the traffic sound fades into the background and I only notice it if someone's driving unusually fast, or if it's heavy farming equipment passing by. I've also noticed the sound can actually be a meditation help rather than hindrance, when opening up my attention wider.

    It being an old house, you can expect to hear sounds in the house somewhat more than in a modern house, but because it's a larger building than usual, it's also easy to spread out. I'm a person who can thoroughly enjoy tinkering with my own thing knowing there are other people in the house and needing my own time to process things, and also enjoy company during for example walks, dancing, excursions, sharing, meditation, chanting, or working together.

    This is an area of Skåne that has quite a few alternative people, creatives, yoga instructors, musicians, permaculturists etc, which is why I was drawn here. A bonus I discovered having moved here is the unusually active village association that arranges about one social activity per month, everything from Midsummer gathering, to Christmas market, October Fest and a popular Halloween event, that drew more than 500 visitors this year. The local hiking and biking treks start right outside the gate and the national park Söderåsen is only 15 minutes away with beautiful and mystical Oden Lake.

    Other interests of mine are photography, gardening, community, world improvement. I have my own experiences volunteering at different retreat centres in Sweden, and of cultural exchange being an exchange student in the US in the 80's (great year!). That led to travelling to countries of my fellow exchangers, and I used to travel quite a bit in the past with some favorites like Brazil (especially Salvador), southern Africa (especially Mocambique and "former" Zimbabwe) and Arillas in Corfu.

    After a trip to Bali in '17 I came to the conclusion that I wanted to find and live my Bali here at home, locally, with beauty, spirituality and connection. This is the aspiration, reality is a bit more complex with what comes with a big house, garden, animals and renovation. My background is as a librarian who changed tracks to meditation and therapy some 15 years ago.

    I ask that the person coming to stay here not be into smoking of any kind or into mind-altering ways generally, except for meditation/prayer and being high on life and nature. For scents, I ask that there is no use of synthetic perfumes. The scents used in the house for detergents, incense etc are natural or neutral.

    Covid is steadily becoming more active. I have been immunized in the past, and is now immune due to having it in early December.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Living in this house with its history and a village that has a good community sense I have found quite enjoyable. Located by the local "Square", it has a bit of a village pulse as people park to go hiking or canoeing or visiting the few quaint shops. Going to the cities is quite doable, and yet living here encourages taking more initiatives and being part of initiatives in the village. All the closest neighbors are involved with some or other creative pursuits, like design, music and photography, most of them have an interest in organic gardening and some in meditation, and the atmosphere is friendly and helpful.

    From what I've been told, it's unusual to have so much wildlife central in a village, this thanks to Rönne å with birds, bats, fish, and insects. Heron is a common sight. I've spent quite a bit of time creating an insect-friendly and sustainable garden, adding edibles and nectar plants, an herb section, hügelbeds, and keyhole compost, using biochar and bokashi. My neighbor keeps some of her bees in this garden.

  • Help

    Help

    After hosting my first Workawayer November of '21, I've had some essential help with looking after the cats and chicks. Both practically like feeding, cleaning, and especially with the cats, also have them become more social and used to people other than me. Having a driver's license is a big plus, since you would be free to help out if an animal needs to see a veterinarian if I'm away.

    It's also been very enjoyable where the needs of the place meet the gifts of the volunteer, for example creating beautiful signage or carpentry projects.

    Other things to do would involve generally preparing the house to have more people live here, which could mean clearing or cleaning an area, moving things, putting up curtains, going to the recycling center to leave or pick up.

    The garden is quite big and varied and there are things you can do pretty much year round, such as lawn-mowing, harvesting, weeding, planting, clearing.

    The volunteers have helped me with carrying heavier things like cat sand, chicken feed, bringing in fire wood etc, so that a shoulder that is out of order since some months have gotten better.

    I eat vegetarian with eggs, with a slant towards vegan, for example little dairy. When I'm here we eat lunch together on workdays, while breakfast and dinner, and meals on days off, are eaten at the times where it suits us individually. All food is included and I will bring you to the store so you can pick out what you like to eat. (For energy mindfulness we may be sharing also vegetarian dinners during this period.)

    The volunteer hours are normally continuous in blocks, starting with meditation, sharing and going over the day. Summer time has shown a good time to start is 7, to be able to get going before the heat. During fall the day starts at 7.30, with an optional silent sitting from 7.

    I have a second house in a forest area 45 minutes away, where outside work removing shrub, mowing grass etc is always needed. Then it would involve going there over the day.

    If there is a taste for it, it might also be fun to join some of the village projects, which usually involves taking loving care of communal areas, adding improvements or helping out at an event. In the past some neighbors have appreciated extra help and allowed for the volunteer to connect socially with the village.

    My hosting experience so far has shown that being able to give and take direction, and being willing to have an open and regular communication, are essential parts for a good experience for both parties. There will be opportunities as part of the daily schedule to check in and talk about how it's going.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    Swedish: Fluent
    English: Intermediate
    Portuguese: Beginner

    This host offers a language exchange
    I enjoy languages and supporting others in learning Swedish, and I appreciate the effort of anyone coming to the country willing to learn, if even simpler phrases.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    There are a few options for rooms at the moment. Any room will have a 90x200 bed, nightstand, space for clothes in the room or right outside, and a wash-basin. Located on the 2nd or 3rd floor, according to the Swedish way of denoting floors. (1st floor=ground floor) Toilet may be for only you or shared with one more person, same with shower. All rooms are newly renovated with painting, wallpaper, and wooden floor. Towels and bedlinens are provided. Shared smallish kitchen, lots of storage space. Perks of the house: tea room, meditation room, small library, fireplaces, 2700 squaremeter garden, outside eating areas.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    The local bus stop is 300 meters away and takes you north to the national park Söderåsen and south to Stehag, where you can take the train to Malmö and Lund, about 20-30 minutes away. Personally I enjoy excursions and enjoy company, especially to local gems that are off the beaten track, like beautiful hill top Natthall, White guide-listed café Fricks and pizza-place-in-the-bush Ekoforia. For reasonably local trips we can both make use of my car, paying for gas.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    There is a reliable fiber connection with one access point on every floor through cable, meaning there is no wi-fi. Cable is provided, to attach to your own laptop. There is an extra attachment for Macs. There is no printer here, for that I visit local libraries.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    One

  • ...

    Hours expected

    4 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 459255431269

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