United Kingdom
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We are Jamie and Martha, with two young children. We're working to make our patch of land more sustainable for the future. We live in a log cabin in rural Kent - nearest train stations Appledore (Kent), or Rye (Sussex) - along with our hens. Seeking help with very physical tasks: building maintenance, gardening etc, as well as the occasional household chore. Accommodation is simple and eco friendly in a renovated horse-box or caravan. You very much have your own space, separate from the main house so lots of freedom.
Not looking for childcare help.
--- November - March we can only host people with their own transport (car, or bicycle if you are used to cycling long distances!)
--- Nov - March accommodation is a refurbished caravan with a heater (see pictures), best suited to two sharing as there is not much communal time outdoors in the Winter months
--- Builders / carpenters especially welcome!
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Help around the house
General Maintenance
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Jamie is a tree surgeon and very knowledgable about British trees. Martha is an anthropologist and qualified English teacher, so is happy to help with practicing English.
We particularly welcome Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French speakers so we can practice with you and the children can pick something up. All nationalities, including British, are of course welcome!
We have friends and family nearby so you're welcome to join us for events we go to if there's space in the car :)
We are happy to give you lifts to local towns most days of the week. Your own car is extremely useful, but not essential - we have space in the car for TWO spare passengers max! No local public transport, 25m cycle to nearest station.
COVID-19: We are accepting Workaways, as long as you are happy to self-isolate for 1-2 weeks on arrival. This will mean disinfecting the shower/bathroom after use. Shared meals will be outside during this time in warm weather with social distancing maintained. A car of your own is essential if you are coming in a group of 3 or more, we have space in our car for two workaway passengers !
We're looking for help with:
- taking care of the 12 hens (feeding / collecting eggs).
- The garden - Weeding, planting, watering
- Building a covered perch for the hens
- Painting our log cabin
- Outdoor eco shower (for workaways and friends to use)
- Ideas for an eco hot tub / eco shower / outdoor pizza oven using our clay
- Chopping wood
- Hanging out washing and household chores
- Seasonal foraging, e.g. elderflower / blackberries / sloes etc.
Life at the cabin:
- We have a quiet life at the cabin, living behind Martha's elderly grandparents. Workaways are expected to respect the evening peace, especially as we start calming down for the children's' bedtimes around 6pm. There is plenty of outdoor space for Workaways to do their own thing in the evening and we have relatively good wifi.
MUST HAVE GOOD ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COME WITH A SMILE :)
We like good food, good people, music, and looking after our planet <3
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
French: Beginner
Portuguese: Beginner
This host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
Please contact them directly for more information.
Renovated caravan. There is a double bed and a separate room with just enough space for a single bed. In the summer beds there may also be use of the horsebox which has two small doubles inside.
Workaways have private use of outdoor compost loos - currently no showers (you're welcome to use our shower).
Peaceful area (chickens start clucking by 7 and the farm starts up around then, but there are no early morning cockerels!).
There is space for a van/caravan, if you have one.
Food:
- Please join us for vegetarian lunches on helping days. Occasionally, we might have locally caught fish. We like baking too :)
- We're happy to cook for vegan / gluten free diets, just let us know in advance. (Meat eaters are also welcome but we rarely cook it).
- Workaways fix themselves breakfast / supper as they like. On days off Workaways are expected to arrange their own food. We will leave some supplies in your kitchen and we're happy to give you lifts to the shops or you can borrow bicycles.
DAYS OFF:
- GETTING TO LOCAL TOWNS
The cabin is situated between two pretty towns: Tenterden and Rye, about 10 minutes drive from each. There is also a bus to both towns and Hastings (the bus stop is a 20 minute walk away from the cabin). We also live a 10 minute cycle from the small, pretty village of Appledore which has a village shop. We can lend you bicycles (note that Appledore station is a further 15 minute cycle). There's an excellent pub 10-15 minutes walk across the fields.
- WALKS / VISTING THE SEA
There are many good walks to take in the area, which we're happy to direct you to. We also live 20 minutes from Camber Sands beach and Winchelsea (pebble) beach - and many other quieter beaches that we can drive you to on days off. These beaches are all good for swimming.
- OTHER PLACES TO VISIT We live on Romney Marsh, which is a unique habitat close to Dunganess nature reserve. Other interesting visits nearby include Great Dixter gardens and the sea town of Hastings (20- 40 minutes drive). From Ashford (a 25 minute drive), there are fast trains straight into London which take about 30 minutes.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
We have decent wifi in the caravan and can park the horsebox near it where it can also pick wifi. Some networks have good to very good 3G here, others have none! Generally, phone reception is quite poor so wifi calling is what we tend to use. Happy to be flexible with work hours for digital nomads.
Plenty of parking space, including shady and private areas. Use of compost loo / outdoor tap. No hook up for electricity.
Some pets may be ok...but we are not fully fenced in so not suitable for most dogs...
More than two
About 25 hours a week (5h 5 days a week or 6h 4 days a week)
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