Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
18 Apr 2024
Reply rate
96.3 %
Usually responds within 3 days
Feedback
42
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
About us:
Me and my wife own a tea shop in town, but we are currently building an organic farm with some wood houses around nearby Mountain Ali in Chiayi County in order to develop a sightseeing place and a camping site where people can relax, socialise and enjoy the view of Chiayi city with a good attitude, it is a great chance to improve mental & physical health, and to socialise, engage in a cultural exchange and share farming knowledge. We are open-mind, welcoming, and ambitious to create and exchange Taiwanese culture with you. I am always happy to introduce foreigners to Taiwan. Every morning, I have a cup of tea with my friends and you are welcome to join us, you can learn how to recognize and distinguish tea and do tea ceremony by yourself. Lastly, I am a music lover and amateur drum player, and welcome any volunteers that share a passion for music! I have drum kits, guitar and a piano all at your disposal to use.
Our Location:
We live in the central of Chiayi city, which is about 5 minutes away from the main train and coach station by foot and helpers will stay at my tea shop which is also near these stations. However, the farm is 40 mins away from the city, but don’t worry about getting there, I will take helpers with me to the farm by my car.
Help description:
1. We need helpers to help us to build fences, plumbing, gardening, weeding and art painting for the farm and the wood houses.
2. Sometimes general housing maintenance to help my wife, such as watering flowers, gardening and preparing/helping breakfast/lunch/dinner as now we have more and more helpers come, so it is a good chance you can show your cooking skills (i.e. making local food from your country and share with other volunteers), also it would be very kind of you if you help to clean up afterward by yourself or with other helpers, because me and my wife have to get back to work immediately after having meals, and we have no time to clean it up.
3. Help me to design or give some suggestions for decorating my farm and wood houses, so if you have a great sense of this area, you are very welcome!
What we offer??
1. Accommodation conditions: A double bed in two rooms, with a shared bathroom.
2. Meal: We only provide ONE meal if helpers have to work that day. If helpers have a day off, then you can cook by yourselves or get food from the supermarket which is located across from our tea shop.
3. Culture exchange: languages, Taiwanese culture, religion (If you are interested in knowing Taiwanese religion, there is a Buddhism temple next to our farm you can visit).
4. Others: WI-FI, Bikes, kitchen.
Working Hour:
Working days are flexible, usually 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. But if you have any plans, please inform me in advance, so I can reschedule the timetable of helping hours.
But I have to tell you in advance that my project is a little far from accomplishment. I start in 2015. I cut most of betel nut trees, installed irrigation water system, plumbing, planted fruit trees, and bonsai trees, build 3 huts .....etc. There are still a lot of works need to be done, so be ready!
ps: if you have questions, please don't hesitate! just write me a message and will respond as soon as I can.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The day-off or spare time, we can teach you basic herbs knowledge, and language exchange. Mountain Ali is famous for its tea, so you can learn how to recognize and distinguish tea and do by yourself on tea ceremony. You can have a trip to the tea farms and visit farmers and drop by the Tsou tribe Dabang village. I am also an amateur calligrapher, so if you are interested in Chinese, this is a good way to learn how to write Chinese words. Moreover, the Southern Branch of National Palace Museum is located in Chiayi County, which you can take direct bus from coach station (near train station ), only takes about 30-40 mins to reach there. Lastly, if you enjoy listening to, or playing music, we can share songs, music knowledge, and instrumental skill with each other.
Help
We need helpers to help us to build fence, plumbing, gardening, weeding and art painting on the farm, and sometimes general housing maintenance to help my wife, such as watering flowers, gardening and preparing/helping breakfast or lunch or dinner as now we have more and more volunteers come, so it is a good chance you can show your cooking skills (i.e. making local food from your country and share with other volunteers), also it would be very kind of you if you help to clean up afterwards by yourself or with other volunteers, because me and my wife have to get back to work immediately after having meals, and we have no time to clean it up.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Chinese (Mandarin): Fluent
Chinese (Cantonese): Fluent
Accommodation
We provide double bed in 2 rooms and a shared bathroom, WiFi, 2 bicycles, and a kitchen for helpers. If the you have to work on that day we provide one meal. If it's a day off, you can either go to supermarket (2 mins away by foot), or you can cook by yourself.
What else ...
We located in the central of the city in Taiwan Chiayi. If volunteers willing to stay longer and want to explore in Taiwan, our house is near the main train and coach stations, so it's easy and convenient for you to travel around.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
3 hours a day 5 days a week
Feedback (38)
I think my experience volunteering with him was unique because I was the only volunteer for most of time I was there. (I enjoyed our time one on one, I got to ask him lots of questions.) Steve is very fair, I never went hungry working or felt overworked - I loved eating fruit from his farm and talking on the drives… read more
Outside of helping I enjoyed talking to him about cultural exchange, Kei always wants to learn, try… read more
They have volunteer spirits and make a good team. They try to help you with every task, no matter how hard. Kalina is a good painter, she helped me a lot with painting. Sander is a good drummer, I wish had more time to learn from him!
Wish all the best for them!
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.7)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(4.4)
I think my experience volunteering with him was unique because I was the only volunteer for most of time I was there. (I enjoyed our time one on one, I got to ask him lots of questions.) Steve is very fair, I never went hungry working or felt overworked - I loved eating fruit from his farm and talking on the drives… read more
Outside of helping I enjoyed talking to him about cultural exchange, Kei always wants to learn, try… read more
They have volunteer spirits and make a good team. They try to help you with every task, no matter how hard. Kalina is a good painter, she helped me a lot with painting. Sander is a good drummer, I wish had more time to learn from him!
Wish all the best for them!
We were lucky enough to meet his wonderful family, his friends and his lovely parents.
What we liked about this volunteering was that apart from helping him with the farm he has also taught us part of his culture which for us has been very enriching, we… read more
The cultural… read more
Located in beautiful alishan mountains is his dream farm we help him to establish, each helps with what he can do, Steve won't urge you to do tiring work if you can't do that (I specifically asked for that - and there sure is much labour to… read more
I was lucky enough to be there during the Moon Cake Festival. I especially liked the Soy Milk, eating the pamello and moon cakes which is a tradition during… read more
Steve is flexible and wanted me to have the best expirience, so you can really… read more
I was there together with another… read more
I would not describe the “farm” as
a farm but rather as a home stay in the works. Steve has big dreams for the place but at the moment, the construction is a bit disorganized and he did not need much of my help.… read more
On the farm I was able to try many different tropical fruits, that of which I have to… read more
スティーブは明るく、エネルギッシュで素晴らしいホストでした。
またスティーブの山に行きたいです。
ありがとうスティーブ！
The great thing about the experience is that Steve allowed us to experience an authentic taiwanese life, from visiting the Aboriginal village to passing the Lunar New Year with his family, learning how to pick bananas and providing us with delicious fruit.… read more
We helped with weeding mainly on his farm. He does… read more
About the volunteering part : We worked from 1PM to 6PM therefore it was neither too tiring nor overwhelming. At the farm, I mostly help by painting walls using my artistic… read more
He has big plans for his farm and I'm really happy that I got the chance to be part of this project.
The first four nights I camped at his farm with two other workawayers and it was so amazing! The other… read more
The work itself honestly isn't too demanding. Yes it's… read more
Full of ideas and projects !
A very original Taiwan Chinese.
Being with him gets you acquainted with some genuine cultural enterprise like typical health treatments.
He has got a Herb Tea Store in the house working in synergy with his wife’ s Tuina or Chinese massage Center in the next house.
In fact… read more
Steve was very busy, but always found the time to talk with me, and share a cup of tea. He likes learning languages 🙂
Thank you to have hosted me 😉
Steve and Helen are great, open-minded and welcoming people.
Steve made me feel comfortable the minute we met, due to his open and welcoming attitude. And he loves cultural exchanges! He seems to be one of the socially best connected people in Chiayi. Sometimes he would just… read more
The host Steve is a very interesting person with a crazy background. He made my stay really enjoyable. I'd describe him as social, active, talkative, straightforward, honest and true to himself. He has a good command of… read more
