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Help with creative projects at our family homestead in Olalla, Washington, USA

United States
Last activity : 13 Jan 2025

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80 %
Last replied
27 Aug 2024
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3
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Availability

2025

Min stay requested: 1 week or less

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What's this?

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Description
We are a small friend farmstead across the water from Seattle: Joel (39), Kira (40), Liv (30), Dorothy and Roscoe the cats, chickens, ducks, and Bessie the cow-dog.

Us:
We are young-ish, energetic, musical, silly, group of people in the most beautiful spot in the USA. We have ~5 acres of land that we are growing into a homestead just outside of Seattle.

The place:
We are 12 (16km) miles from the city of Seattle by boat, a few miles from Port Orchard and Gig Harbor, where there are all the standard amenities you would want from a small city. Plenty of restaurants, bars, shops, etc. There are plenty of outdoors things to do around here, including kayaking, paddleboarding, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and all sorts of fun things very close to the house.

The help:
We are looking for helpers to do tasks in the garden and new orchard, help with planting, weeding, pruning, mowing, harvesting, home maintenance, building, making art, and all sorts of other things to be done. Much of it will require at least some manual labor, but we are definitely not expecting everyone to perform long, hard hours of heavy lifting. In fact, we are very interested in having travelers that are just as interested in sharing culture, language, cooking, music, and anything else. We like to tailor the stay based on all sorts of different factors. Feel free to ask!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are an extroverted, very active group of people that hangs out and relaxes together many nights. We love to show people around, and there are plenty of things to do within 15 minutes from the house. We are a very well travelled group with a diverse background and we love to share what we have to offer.
Help
We're looking for help with cooking, gardening, general upkeep, dog sitting, arts and crafts, music playing, general learning experiences, language practice and most importantly- INTERACTING WITH YOU.

We prefer only travelers who wish to share their experience and bring something fun and different into our fun and chill home dynamic.

As stated before, most of the projects will require at least some manual tasks, but there are tons of creative projects as well.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Intermediate
Spanish: Beginner
This host offers a language exchange
I would be very interested in hosting native French and Spanish speakers to practice with. This is a passion of some that live here and would be wonderful to host!
Accommodation
We can provide a few different sleeping arrangements, depending on your preferences. We offer plenty of fresh food if you would like to cook for yourself and/or the house, and will provide a cooked meal 2-3 times per week, but depends on work and social schedules. We love trying new food, and if you like to cook or want to learn, that's awesome too! We'll provide a place to stay, access to transportation, and access to a little meat, fruit, grains, and veggies (for big meat eaters, you can eat all you like, but we just stay concious of our consumption) We have laundry onsite, a large open communal area and a lot of space for relaxing.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have the ability to host digital nomads, have very good internet and easy access to local towns, Seattle (~30 min by ferry), coffee shops, etc. happy to discuss what that would look like.
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two

Host ref number: 522848536937

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Feedback (2)

15 Apr 2020

Left by Workawayer (Roisin) for host

If you like to create, to learn, to experiment, to put in the work; if you generally say 'yes' to opportunities then count your lucky stars you've found yourself reading this Host page! The area, Hood River, is without a doubt a heaven for activity-loving folk but the Farm is hand's down the true gem. Jess and Joel are two of the most motivated,… read more

(Excellent )

30 Mar 2020

Left by host for Workawayer (Roisin)

Roisin is an amazing person, worker, and contributed to one of the loveliest workaway experiences we have ever had as host or traveller. She spent her few weeks here learning, contributing to the work, food prep, conversations, positive energy, laughter, music, and even a full moon celebration ceremony.
Jess and I each had personal, beautiful… read more

(Excellent )

25 Nov 2019

Left by Workawayer (Alaina) for host

Hello from one of their first workawayers! I stayed at the farm with Joel, Jess, and Annie for nearly 2 months, after working on an orchard nearby for 2 months previously. The transition was pretty spontaneous but super smooth! My friend and I had already volunteered a few times here training grapevines while we were living on the nearby orchard… read more when there wasn't too much work to be done. We had a blast working and learning with them about their "new" vineyard. Hood River is such a beautiful community with many opportunities and inspiring people. We were ready for a change of pace after harvesting peaches, and I had previous experience doing a workaway on a sustainable vineyard in Texas during the winter and was excited to watch the grapes ripen in the summer. We also were excited to help out with their farm stands on Wednesdays. They grew the biggest and tastiest vegetables around and made delicious jams from all the blackberries surrounding the property, salsas from the thriving tons of tomatillos, and sourdough breads started from the wild yeasts of the atmosphere.
I can't begin to describe how happy I was during my time living in their flawlessly converted blue bus on their beautiful land, waking up next to the chicken coop and bee boxes, playing with Moose and Dorothy, and watching everything grow and change with the seasons. There were endless interesting and important tasks to help with, and their company was just as interesting and important. They were so much fun to be around and made me always feel appreciated.
Joel always had some cool ideas cooking up, and taught me how to make a natural tomato wine with honey and yerba mate! We bottled it right before I headed back to Texas for harvest season. I shared it during a meal of curried vegetables and it paired perfectly! I am so grateful and excited to make more wine in the future. He always had such a positive energy and shared enthusiastic conversations. Whatever I expressed interest in he would make plenty of time to explain, whether it be about bees, growing tomatoes, making sourdough, changing my oil, radiator fluid and tires, or humanely slaughtering a chicken for food. He did all of this while advancing his career in chemistry.
Jess was always warm and encouraging, and enjoyed sharing her art, music, and healing touch skills. She made a beautiful environment and was always down to get dirty and teach me about soil health and the stages of composting. We collected manure from neighboring horses, and she showed me the pile for humanure from the barns compost toilet. With a background in civil engineering, she created beautiful and functional plans for the garden following cycle supported agriculture and shared her plans for a medicinal herb garden in the view of the barns beautiful upstairs healing space. I helped plant seeds in the garden before leaving. Jess has an enormous heart that gives so much. She invited me to an event for a nonprofit in the community that gave support for those most in need, that was a very emotional experience for me.
Annie also is a civil engineer and worked in the community during the week while being a farmer on the weekends. Her brother also has a vineyard and pear trees that we went to pick drive-through style. She is very hardworking and organized all while being so fun to hang out with and having an infectious laugh. She knows a thing or two about cars and took us for a ride in a convertible for a classic car drive in The Dalles. September had a lot of love in the air and Annie was a part of several weddings out of town. She asked me to watch her dog Moose and recommended some hikes for us to go on. Moose and I became really good companions. Annie also was an instant friend. Annie, Moose and I went to yappy hour and we drank beers while Moose socialized with all of the other dogs despite her social anxiety.
I helped with their first harvest of red and white grapes that we took to process with their winemaker. I don't think I've ever had as much fun as stomping on grapes. I can go on and on about all of the amazing things I was lucky to be a part of and learn about with all of their projects that were beneficial to the community and environment. But I'm missing them while writing about it. They helped me realize my dreams and I'm excited to see them again soon.

(Excellent )

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15 Apr 2020

Left by Workawayer (Roisin) for host

(Excellent)

30 Mar 2020

Left by host for Workawayer (Roisin)

(Excellent)

25 Nov 2019

Left by Workawayer (Alaina) for host

(Excellent)

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Help with creative projects at our family homestead in Olalla, Washington, USA

Profile information

Host rating

Last replied

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Find your perfect host

Availability

Details

Description

Types of help and learning opportunities

Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

Help

Languages

Accommodation

A little more information

Can host digital nomads

Space for parking camper vans

How many Workawayers can stay?

Feedback (2)

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