Help us with gardening in Breukelen, Netherlands

Details

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  Description

  Help wanted with our beautiful paradise garden in the countryside of Breukelen, close to Amsterdam.
  
  Hello, we are Pauline and Robert. We live in a small, completely restored farmhouse in the center of the Netherlands. This part of the country is known as the ‘Green Heart’ of the Netherlands, so there is a lot of nature around us.
  
  Our farmhouse is more than 200 years old. Over the past several years, we completed a total and fully sustainable restoration of the house. It was a huge job that took approximately 6 years. We have done a lot to make our home climate neutral; we stopped using gas in 2014 and, since 2023 we even generate a surplus of solar energy.
  During the renovation we lived in the guesthouse that we had built in 2012.
  
  The farmhouse is located in Breukelen, a village between Amsterdam and Utrecht. The farmhouse is close to a train station. By train you can reach Amsterdam in 20-30 minutes, Utrecht in 15 minutes, or The Hague and Rotterdam within 1 hour.
  
  Pauline works as a flight cabin-manager for the airline KLM and Robert is a part-time consultant who advises people looking to make their old house or monument more sustainable. He loves to show and explain what we did and inspire others to take the steps towards their own sustainable transition. So, if you are to learn more about sustainably renovating an old house too, this is the place to be. Robert would be happy to tell you more about it.
  
  We have 3 kids who have grown up and “left the nest’’.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We like to have interaction with volunteers from different countries and backgrounds. We would also like to spend time working together, even if it is a tough job.
  
  During your stay, we would like to see you as a member of the family, so we can also cook or play games together, if you like. We can learn from each other.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  We need your help! We have a large garden of 5.700 m2 with fruit-trees and walnut-trees. There is also a part of the garden where we let nature take its course. The garden is situated on a small river named ‘de Aa’. As you can imagine there are always a lot of things to do, and we could use some help with the workload. There are both small and large jobs to do, for example: mowing, sawing wood, weeding, pruning, building a wall of branches, setting up a small garden shed, and other small activities around the house.
  
  Expected help hours 4 to 5 per day, 5 days a week. We can discuss the options if you wish differently. We are flexible. We would love to work together with you.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  German: Beginner
  French: Beginner
  Norwegian: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  Dutch is our mother tongue. We learned English, German and French at school, but we only use English regularly. We often go to Norway and speak a little Norwegian. If you would like to learn Dutch, we can help you with that.
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  Accommodation

  In the garden there is guesthouse with a living-room, toilet and shower facilities. There you will have some privacy. In the guesthouse, there is an open attic/loft with a queen bed (1.60m wide). We have the possibility to create an extra bed if you wish. It is a comfortable place, warm, cozy, and with good internet.
  
  If you don’t mind cold water, you can also take a swim in the small river which is adjacent to our garden.
  
  There is parking space on the site if you come with a campervan, car, or motorbike. We can also arrange that we pick you up at the train station in Breukelen, if you wish to come by public transport.

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  What else ...

  We live in a rural area. Some of our neighbours are farming (dairy) cows and sheep.
  
  There are plenty of opportunities to walk or cycle close to the farmhouse and in the surrounding area.
  
  Traveling around in the Netherlands is very easy. You can go almost everywhere with public transport, car or bicycle. The village of Breukelen is 5 minutes away from the farmhouse by car or 15 minutes away by bicycle. We have bicycles which can be used, or we can drop you off at the train station.
  
  We don’t smoke. Smoking is allowed outside the house and the guesthouse.
  
  Please contact us directly if you have any questions. We look forward to meeting you!

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  In our guesthouse there are a number of tables that can be worked on. The internet connection (wired or WiFi) in the buildings is stable. WiFi works in part of our garden.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There is parking space on the site if you come with a campervan, car or motorbike. A 230 volt connection is available. There is also a charging station for electric cars on our site.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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