Setting up an off grid block and permaculture garden in West Beach, Western Australia
Last activity
: 3 Jul 2025
Profile information
Usually responds within 1 day
Min stay requested: at least a week
Workawayers needed
Possibility that workawayers are needed
No availability
Details
Host ref number: 622543317492
Website Safety
Feedback (5)
Left by Workawayer (Rebecca) for host
Both life circumstances and bureaucracy prevented me from actually being able to assist Merrilee and Pamela, however Merrilee was still gracious enough to open up her property for one evening as I was passing through.
Merrilee welcomed me with open arms, and we worked together to gather some supplies/construct a make-shift site for my brief stay
… read more before the sun set. Merrilee is a solutions-based problem solver, who is super creative and environmentally conscious of the footprint she and her mother leave behind. Merrilee has a lot of interesting life stories to share, and she is also willing to teach her knowledge onto you. We spent many hours chatting over dinner and a cup of tea, and I instantly felt at home.
It is a bummer that I was not able to assist Merrilee and Pamela with the projects, however I wish you both the best of luck in getting everything sorted. If I am in the area again, I would love to come back and check out the progress that has been made (and maybe even get involved a bit for real this time).
All of the best!
-Rebecca
Left by Workawayer (Laura) for host
I enjoyed my stay with Merrilee and Pamela in July, they were very hospitable. The room was cosy and comfy and meals were lovely. I learnt how to cook some meals from scratch and how to store, dispose and reuse food in an economical and environmentally friendly way. I could use the van to go explore surrounding areas which was great too. I enjoyed
… read more playing scrabble, colouring, talking through photo albums and going for coffee at the beach with Pamela. It was also great getting involved with the chickens and helping clear out an old caravan! Thank you for having me 😊Left by host for Workawayer (Laura)
It was a joy to have Laura stay and help with caring for my mother and helping out around the house. The dishes were always washed and spotless and the house clean. Being mid-winter it rained most days but Laura managed to find activities such as Scrabble to distract my mother when she was getting restless around 4 pm. There were a few maintenance
… read more issues with the house (due to heavy rain) whilst I was away for a few days but Laura handled them confidently.
I wish Laura all the best navigating systems to find the place and employment she wishes for.
Left by host for Workawayer (Emilie)
It was a pleasure to host Emillie who was competent, flexible and compassionate. There were a few last minute changes as well as variations in my mother's health and Emillie adapted well to them. I am really grateful for the care Emillie demonstrated towards my mother and her attempts to befriend my non-social Chihuahua. Unfortunately I didn't get
… read more to show Emillie much of the surrounding environment partly due to the weather, a contagious bug that got us all and time challenges but we enjoyed chatting about places to discover in WA. I would warmly welcome Emillie back into our home or to my next home in Esperance.Photos
Previous house in Falcon (Mandurah)
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Left by Workawayer (Rebecca) for host
Both life circumstances and bureaucracy prevented me from actually being able to assist Merrilee and Pamela, however Merrilee was still gracious enough to open up her property for one evening as I was passing through.
Merrilee welcomed me with open arms, and we worked together to gather some supplies/construct a make-shift site for my brief stay
… read more before the sun set. Merrilee is a solutions-based problem solver, who is super creative and environmentally conscious of the footprint she and her mother leave behind. Merrilee has a lot of interesting life stories to share, and she is also willing to teach her knowledge onto you. We spent many hours chatting over dinner and a cup of tea, and I instantly felt at home.
It is a bummer that I was not able to assist Merrilee and Pamela with the projects, however I wish you both the best of luck in getting everything sorted. If I am in the area again, I would love to come back and check out the progress that has been made (and maybe even get involved a bit for real this time).
All of the best!
-Rebecca
Left by Workawayer (Laura) for host
I enjoyed my stay with Merrilee and Pamela in July, they were very hospitable. The room was cosy and comfy and meals were lovely. I learnt how to cook some meals from scratch and how to store, dispose and reuse food in an economical and environmentally friendly way. I could use the van to go explore surrounding areas which was great too. I enjoyed
… read more playing scrabble, colouring, talking through photo albums and going for coffee at the beach with Pamela. It was also great getting involved with the chickens and helping clear out an old caravan! Thank you for having me 😊Left by host for Workawayer (Laura)
It was a joy to have Laura stay and help with caring for my mother and helping out around the house. The dishes were always washed and spotless and the house clean. Being mid-winter it rained most days but Laura managed to find activities such as Scrabble to distract my mother when she was getting restless around 4 pm. There were a few maintenance
… read more issues with the house (due to heavy rain) whilst I was away for a few days but Laura handled them confidently.
I wish Laura all the best navigating systems to find the place and employment she wishes for.
Left by host for Workawayer (Emilie)
It was a pleasure to host Emillie who was competent, flexible and compassionate. There were a few last minute changes as well as variations in my mother's health and Emillie adapted well to them. I am really grateful for the care Emillie demonstrated towards my mother and her attempts to befriend my non-social Chihuahua. Unfortunately I didn't get
… read more to show Emillie much of the surrounding environment partly due to the weather, a contagious bug that got us all and time challenges but we enjoyed chatting about places to discover in WA. I would warmly welcome Emillie back into our home or to my next home in Esperance.
Left by host for Workawayer (Lisa)
It was a pleasure to host Lisa. Lisa quickly adapted to being a companion for my mother and I am sure would have managed our 7 to 10 day plan if both of our plans hadn't changed. Unfortunately Lisa needed to return to her homeland sooner than expected so we only got to know each other for three days. Although it rained those three days we did
… read more manage to see one of the Giants, some surf and kangaroos. In exchange Lisa helped me blitz the house by dusting and wiping all those forgotten places and generally helped clean the place. I wish Lisa well for future travels.
Left by Workawayer (Rosie ) for host
My Workaway stay in Falcon with Pamela and Merrilee was a truly memorable highlight of my Australia trip. Pamela made my time special, whether we were sitting by the fish or enjoying coffee at the beach in the van. Merrilee was an incredible host, and I cherished our conversations over lunch and dinner, soaking in her fascinating stories and
… read more extensive knowledge of permaculture. Their warmth and hospitality made me feel at home, and I am deeply grateful for the unforgettable experiences and the meaningful connections I made. Many thanks for having me and for creating such a wonderful environment to learn and grow.You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Rosie )
Having Rosie stay as a guest has been a real cultural/lifestyle sharing experience. We shared our many similarities and differences in navigating our life journeys. Hopefully we will meet again as there are many more stories to share. Rosie demonstrated she was more than competent in caring for my 94 year old mother, the chooks and goldfish whilst
… read more I had a weeks respite. Life was a breeze for the other couple of weeks where we shared entertaining my mother (drives to the beach and coffee), walks along the beach, cooking and cleaning and individual quiet time.
Left by host for Workawayer (Megan)
“Angel in steel caps”
Megan has been a joy to host showing she was more than competent in caring for my 94 year old mother whilst I had nearly a weeks respite. (The angel I needed). Not only did she keep my mother entertained, fed and happy, the house was clean, chooks fed and happy and even the goldfish seemed unaware of my absence. Megan swept
… read more garden paths and pulled weeds without been requested. After I returned I asked Megan to stay on whilst another Workaway ‘job’ became available. Megan is a ‘master of the drill and weed slasher’ (wearing steel cap boots) and helped me build a chook shelter and used her photography/technology skills to create a photographic family tree to assist my mother remembering her family.
I would definitely have Megan help again and wish her the best in using her many skills in her travels around Australia.
Thank you Megan.
Left by Workawayer (Megan) for host
This was my first work away and couldn’t have wished for a better one! I was really well looked after and felt at ease with Merrilee and her mother straight away.
Merrilee couldn’t have done enough for me, I loved my time here and definitely loved seeing the chooks everyday! Such characters!
I enjoyed the work looking after the house so
… read more Merillee could have time away, garden is beautiful and really enjoyed helping build a new chook house!
Merillee helped me find places to see and explore on my time off. She was kind enough to give me lifts to different places and we went to the beach too!
I particularly enjoyed talking about each others lives and sharing experiences, as well as chatting about so many different subjects, Merillee is very knowledgeable and happy to chat but also I felt very comfortable having my own space in my room too.
Food was delicious and plentiful! I learned so much about nutrition and cooking. I will be using all the new recipes I’ve learnt!
I can’t say enough how welcomed and great my time was here,
Hope to stay in contact and feel I’ve made a friend! Thank you again for everything!
Left by host for Workawayer (Liam)
Although I was uncertain how my mother would cope with hosting a guest I accepted Liam's request. He arrived as discussed and helped clean the area he was staying in. I had an appointment the first morning so left Liam with some tasks which he completed. Over the next couple of days we completed some tidying up of the demolition/rebuild of the
… read more chook pen and repair of reticulation. Liam was courteous and helpful. Unfortunately my mother's cognitive state has deteriorated since our last guest (12 months ago) and she is unable to cope with the change of having someone stay with us. I will be deleting my host posting but want to leave it here for now so Liam get's a review. I wish Liam all the best for his travels.
Left by host for Workawayer (Sabrina & Nicolas)
Sabrina and Nicholas were quiet and respectful of my mothers requests. My mother found it hard to adapt to having guests but they tried hard and engaged her in playing Scrabble a few times. The best help was to achieve several tasks in the garden. The weather was hot so they rose early and we managed 2 to 3 hours before 10 am. They were quick to
… read more learn - often we were learning together and it was great to have other thoughts on how to fix something. I could leave them with tasks to start if I was not there at the beginning. I now have lovely bamboo screening (picked up off verge throw out), reticulation and the compost is still breaking down. Thank you.
Left by Workawayer (Sabrina & Nicolas) for host
Thanks to Merrilee and her mother Pamela for welcoming us these 3 weeks, it has been a beautiful experience !
We improved our manual skills and capacity to anticipate by helping to set up the reticultation network. We learned how to make compost and also had to build a bamboo fence. We worked mostly during the morning before it becomes too hot
… read more for working outside, so we had very good working conditions!
Merrilee is cheerful and very pleasant, easy talking so we could also improve our english by talking with her. She is very interesting and has a lot of knowledge to give about her way of life, the environment, recycling, energy saving etc... Her mother Pamela and her inseparable poodle dog were a really enjoyable company too.
The accomodation was perfect, very clean, we had our own bedroom downstairs with ensuite, our own fridge and microwave. We also shared some great meals sometimes. The house is nice with a lovely permaculture garden at the back, with veggies and fruits we could eat. The beach is 10 minutes walk away and is very quiet as it is a residential area. You can access shops in 5 minutes by bike and bus stop to Mandurah is located 100 meters from the house.
Thanks again Merrilee, we had a lovely stay and would recommend !
Sabrina & NicolasYou can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Help needed organising and cleaning my house and garden near Narrabeen Beach, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Join us at our home in our ecovillage in Narara, NSW, Australia
We've noticed that there's less than 3 photos uploaded to your profile. With the new host profile layout this we would highly recommend having more than 3 photos so your profile stands out visually.
Please take a few moments to choose some images that show off your place or area:
Please log in to your Workawayer account to contact this host, or
sign up here!
Australia
IF you are not an Australian or NZ citizen and planning to visit to work, volunteer or study, YOU WILL NEED THE CORRECT VISA. To find out more information you need to contact the embassy in your home country BEFORE travelling.
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Elderly Companionship
Gardening
DIY and building projects
