Canada
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We have a small homestead (~40 acres) with many different animals (horses, cows, poultry, bees plus a dog and a cat). There are perennial gardens, as well as fruit trees and fields. There is always lots of work with the animals and the gardens, as well as processing wood for the furnace that heats the house in the winter.
We try to use organic and ecologically friendly practices whenever possible and to keep chemical usage to a minimum.
A lot of the food we eat is grown by ourselves.
The farm is very close to Ottawa (45 minutes) as well as to Quebec and the US border (approximately 2 hours), thus offering a lot of opportunities to explore and vacation as part of your volunteering visit.
We are always excited to get new volunteers, but would prefer someone 19 years or older.
Note also that we usually only commit to people approximately 4-6 weeks in advance, especially during the summer, since many of our projects are weather dependent and decided only shortly in advance.
Our minimum stay is 2 weeks, although we (and the animals) prefer 3 weeks.
IMPORTANT:
Please note that we are not set up to provide a strict vegetarian diet, although we do eat meatless meals occasionally. While we can fully understand that some people do not want factory-farmed meat (we don't want it either - that is why we farm), we believe that a healthy soil-food-web requires grazing animals and as such, some of our animals are raised for meat. If you come to us, we expect that you will eat whatever the farm has to offer.
SHORT TERM STAYS:
Sometimes people inquire about staying only for a few days. If you are someone with special skills (carpentry, masonry, expert gardener, chainsaw license or equivalent, etc.) that are relevant to one of our current projects, where you could really help us make a difference in a few days, we may make an exception to our regular minimum stay policy for you.
Other than that, we are really not setup for short term stays, as they represent quite a bit of work and upheaval for us.
If you think you may qualify for a short-term stay, please don't hesitate to contact us to discuss! :-)
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Other
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Animal care
Charity work
You will learn about living on a small homestead, using permaculture principles, in a multi-cultural family with backgrounds from Europe and South America, where we speak English, German and Spanish. You'll be close to Canada's capital, which offers many cultural attractions and also close to Quebec with its own unique culture in Canada.
In 2019, we will have many building related projects (building some shelters for the animals and complete a machine shed) so carpentry skills will be very valuable.
There is always ample opportunity to work outside in the gardens and with the animals.
If you are an experienced rider and are accustomed to working with horses, then there is also the opportunity to help with training our young mare.
Help with cooking and housekeeping is always appreciated as well!
English, German, Spanish
In a guest room in our house.
Our visitors are always treated like they are family - you'll be living with us and we'll usually have meals together.
If you have an international or Canadian Driver's license, have driven for 4 years or more and are over 21, then we can also lend you our car occasionally. Otherwise we can take you to the bus stop etc., so you can take public transportation for your outings.
Please note that we are not set up to provide a strict vegetarian diet, although we do eat meatless meals occasionally. While we can fully understand that some people do not want factory-farmed meat (we don't want it either), some of our animals are raised for meat and that's where most of our protein comes from.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
More than two
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
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Cultural exchange:
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