Help us building a small sustainable homestead in Houston, BC, Canada

Details

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  Description

  We are building a small sustainable homestead and farm. We bought an run-down and unkempt property and are working to rebuild the land to create an oasis of peace in a complex world. Our goal is to create an environment of safety and peace where visitors and volunteers have the space to discover themselves and ask the hard questions. We strive to produce the majority of our own food, and buy little at the supermarket, choosing instead to eat what is local to us, which can be a challenge as we live in the north of BC, Canada. We use livestock to help us regenerate the land and have already seen changes in our property in one short year.
  
  We have dreams of planting an orchard and growing large gardens. There are always projects on the go and every visitor and volunteer has a chance to leave their mark in their own way. We can be quiet people, but we value connecting with others and enjoy the exchange of ideas and cultures as each new person enters our home. We live in the mountains surrounded by public forest so there are many opportunities to explore the surrounding country. There are activities to participate in all year long!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Visitors will learn about life in rural Canada. They will experience a more rugged side of life, how we live in and with nature, the weather and wild animals (bears, moose, cougars, deer, coyotes, etc, are all plentiful around here). Several visitors have told us that they were happy to experience the 'stereotypical' Canadian life during there stay with us (wild nature, cutting firewood, logging, milling trees, etc).

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  Help

  Most of the volunteers help with the day to day tasks of caring for the animals, which vary depending on the time of year. The rest of the time is spent working on building projects, fencing, gardening, cheese-making, cutting firewood or otherwise cleaning up the land, depending on the season we are in. We also are working on projects in the house to fix it up more. Occasionally there are volunteer projects in the wider community that we have the opportunity to participate in and we invite whoever is at the house to join us.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  French: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  we are willing to help workawayers with their English and are happy to practice our other languages
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  Accommodation

  Visitors will stay in the visitor wing of the house, they will have a private bedroom, access to wifi, if needed. There is a private bath for workawayers. The common areas of the house are shared with us. Typically we share all meals and take turns cooking and cleaning up after a meal. If you have some extreme dietary restrictions you may have to prepare some of your own meals.

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  What else ...

  We are surrounded by nature and forests, there are trails for hiking and mountain biking out the back door and more in the area. There are bikes available for workawayers to use. There are several lakes in the area, which are lovely for swimming (some of them) or canoeing. In the winter workawayers can cross-country ski, snowshoe, downhill ski, or enjoy any number of other outdoor winter sports. We are 20 minutes from the nearest village, and 45 minutes from the airport. Public transportation is limited here, you can arrive by train (Via rail) or plane, or a very long bus ride.
  We like to live simply and to be conscious of the resources we are using, we try not to waste water, we conserve electricity and are generally respectful of the environment and those around us. We appreciate it when workawayers take initiative during their stay with us. Ask questions and get involved, communication is key, we will always respect you and who you are and we do our best to make sure that you have a good experience during your stay with us.

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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

  There is no separate office space, the Internet is decent but not super fast. you are welcome to work at the dining room table

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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