Help us with Permaculture garden, woodland projects & DIY in NE Scotland

United Kingdom

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Feedback
30
Last activity
14/05/2022
Nº of Facebook friends
853
Reply rate
90.0 %
Average reply time:
within 10 days
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Availability

2022

Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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Description
Hi Workawayers!

We are Ben & Jane in the process of realising our dream of creating an eco-wellness centre in rural Scotland. We are easy going and flexible, we love meeting new people and hearing about your travels and experiences / aspirations and are happy to provide advice and support wherever we can but equally happy to learn from you too.

We are looking for awake & free people who are interested in helping us out with the following roles:

Land and Gardening
Weeding / planting / mowing / trimming trees / hedges etc / use of strimmer and possible chainsaw depending on experience. Help with clearing the ponds and developing paths, herb garden and permaculture forest garden.
Looking after chickens and other animals.

General DIY (Do it Yourself)
Helping repair and restore windows and other aspects of the house, painting and decorating, general support for DIY projects.

Accommodation is in our separate self contained Annex which has its own entrance , 3 bedrooms and a shared living room and kitchen . We ask for 3 hours a day help and you would provide your own meals, with 2 days off per week or alternatively 5 hours a day for 5 days with meals provided. We are flexible on start / end time if you want to fit your hours into less days and have more time off.

At the moment this workaway experience will suit people who are self sufficient and able to look after themselves. We are in the countryside but there are buses every hour to Inverness and Aberdeen and also to our local town which is 5mins away by car, we also have a local garage you can walk to for basics.

Please do get in touch if you have any questions thanks Jane and Ben
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We hope people visiting the House will make new friends and learn about the local culture. They will have a chance to improve their English as well as enjoy staying in a beautiful part of the world and getting time to visit the Scottish Highlands and North East Coast. There is good public transport and you can get around easily using a combination of local buses and trains which are within easy walking distance. We have bikes available to borrow.
You will have the chance to take part in any health & wellbeing activities taking place at the house while we are there as well as learn about sustainable living, permaculture, organic gardening and living toxic free. We are also happy to share our other interests as mentioned above including mountain biking, dance, circus skills, music, foraging and art - just ask!

We are on the main number 10 Stagecoach bus route from Inverness to Aberdeen (we are 10 minutes from the bus stop) so its easy to get to our local towns of Keith or Huntly or further afield.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Help in the Garden - pruning / clearing land / clearing the ponds / vegetable gardening / strimming / weeding / mowing / chopping and stacking wood / clearing the drive and loads more outdoor help!

Looking after the dogs (giving them loads of playing, love and attention) when they are at the house.

DIY - helping mainly Ben (but sometimes Jane) with painting, decorating, restoring windows, creating a new kitchen and much more.
Help in the House - occasional cleaning / cooking / laundry etcHouse sitting - looking after the house & garden while we are away (dogs will be with us).
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
German: Beginner
French: Beginner
Accommodation
Accommodation will be in the annex of the main house. Usually workaways will have their own room but sharing may be required. We can accommodate groups of friends or couples no problem. The bedrooms will have beds, bedding, electricity, heating and access to full bathroom, with shower etc. You will also have access to shared living room space with TV and also to a communal kitchen. You will need to cook all meals for yourself - our agreement is that you will provide your own food and help 3 hours a day for 5 days a week.
What else ...
Beaches, mountains, forests are the main attractions. There is a beautiful castle in Huntly 5mins drive away . We are close to the famous Spey river along which there are many whisky distilleries which you can visit.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have fast broadband and run our own business from the house using wifi emails internet etc most days
Space for parking camper vans
Would welcome people in their own campervans and have space to park up in your own wild space
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 3 hours a day, 5 days a week or 5 hours a day 5 x week

Photos

View from the house out to Bin Forest with a majestic giant Sycamore tree

Our first three workaways enjoying meal time together who have been brilliant

Show all photos

Heike & Marleen just finished painting one of the bedrooms, they were very happy as they were allowed to keep the colour a bit green and not just white :)

This is Jane & Otis on top of one of the mountains in the nearby Cairngorm National Park

This is the house and front garden

This is me, Ben

Feedback left by and about host (30)

03/05/2022

Left by Workawayer (Patryk) for host

I got lucky on my first day, not only because Ben turned out to be a wonderful host but also because I found him in his garden with his sheep were we both took birth of two twin rams. As the beginning of our exchange taken off nicely, from then on it just got better. He gave me the perfect introduction to Scotland. He cooked traditional haggis for… read more

(Excellent )

14/04/2021

Left by host for Workawayer (Emily)

Emily was a wonderful workawayer who we really enjoyed having stay with us, so much so we extended her stay and in the end she became more of a friend than a workawayer. She was hard working, always up for a challenge and much stronger than her size would make you think. She helped us with building a garden path, moving and stacking wood, clearing… read more

(Excellent )

04/04/2021

Left by Workawayer (Emily) for host

I had a wonderful time staying with Ben and Jane! What was originally meant to be 1 month became 4! They have a beautiful house with surrounding land and they made it feel like home. I made some wonderful friends from my time here and felt very welcome. It was lovely to feed their 4 sheep, cuddle up with their 3 dogs and cat (though I do have cat… read more

(Excellent )

13/12/2020

Left by host for Workawayer (Dan)

When your workawayer turns up with his own chainsaw, axe and hard hat you know that this is going to work out just fine. Dan has been great to have around, very knowledgeable about wide range of things and very experienced at working outdoors. He has helped cut down large trees, moved and stacked a large amount of wood, helped with stock fencing,… read more

(Excellent )

13/12/2020

Left by host for Workawayer (Paola)

Paola was the perfect workawayer, friendly, postive attitude,extremley helpful and a lovely person who was great to have around. She is very fit and strong and was capable of doing everything that we asked of her and lots more. She made foot paths, put up stock fencing, cut and stacked wood, cleaned two ponds, painted rooms, wallpapering as well… read more

(Excellent )

25/10/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Jeanne)

Jeanne has been an incredible workawayer who has helped us so much over the last month with such a wide variety of jobs from painting, decorating, gardening, cleaning, cooking and more. She is well organised, picks things up quickly, she is very considerate, careful and always does a great job on whatever she is doing. Jeanne has a lovely warm… read more

(Excellent )

24/10/2018

Left by Workawayer (Jeanne) for host

I spent one month at here. It was my first Workaway experience and I loved every minute of it! Jane was very welcoming and made me feel at home as soon as I stepped into the house. There was another workawayer the same time I was there and we had one week alone, which went very well as we were prepared. The big variety of jobs to be done at the… read more

(Excellent )

17/10/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Teemu)

Teemu was a brilliant workawayer who we really enjoyed having stay with us. He was a very hard worker who did all jobs with great care and attention. He helped us mainly with decorating, (painting, wallpapering, sanding), in the garden (looking after chickens, weeding, clearing land, woodchopping and some chainsaw work). He was very clean,… read more

(Excellent )

16/10/2018

Left by Workawayer (Teemu) for host

I spent 6 weeks at Kirktonhouse and that time was very good and I will remember it always.
Jane and Ben are wonderful hosts who took me to see nice places.
We did get along very good and work what I did were mostly wallpapering and painting.
Food were always good.
I wish best luck to you guys to start your business at Kirktonhouse.
Best… read more

(Excellent )

18/09/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (leonard)

Leo was a real pleasure to have stay with us. He is a very talented young man who is hard working, conscientious with great attention to detail. He helped us with preparing rooms, cleaning, painting, wallpapering, gardening and was a big help. He also has a great sense of humour and is interesting to talk to about a wide range of subjects. We will… read more

(Excellent )

18/09/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Raul & Anabella)

Raul & Anabella are a lovely couple who became good friends while they stayed with us. They are very conscientious and hardworking. They are smart, tidy, use their initiative and are great problem solvers, as well as being just great people who can get on with anybody. They have a wide variety of skills and helped us with gardening, strimming,… read more

(Excellent )

17/09/2018

Left by Workawayer (Raul & Anabella) for host

Here we found not only a beautiful place where to work and learn new skills (like how to wallpaper :), but also a place to have fun, relax, heal and meet amazing people. Both Ben and Jane are really nice people, with a wonderful sense of humour and a profound philosophy of life. They always cared for our wellbeing and we felt welcomed since the… read more

(Excellent )

17/09/2018

Left by Workawayer (Erika) for host

Ben and Jane were my 7th hosts. I like to tell in my feedbacks the truth and I give stars accordingly. I give Ben and Jane only 3 stars because, I felt that this was far from the best experiences that I have had during my Workaway journey. Every experience is different, as a are we all. We can’t all like same things and be happy all the time.
My… read more original plan was to travel in French speaking countries, but when a friend suggested we go to Scotland together, I thought it would be nice to travel with somebody for a while and share the experience… well, close to the date to travel my friend had to cancel. I had already made my plans and invested in tickets and bookings going and leaving Scotland, so I went alone. Before arriving to Cairnie I had travelled a lot during one month, I felt tired from moving around so much and a little disappointed about my friend cancelling. I tell this to explain my situation and feelings when arriving.

Having worked with 6 other hosts, this was the least organised and that troubled me a lot. Even though every Monday we made a chart of things to do and about guests arriving here, every day was a mystery. I like to/and I am used to be given clear instructions and proper tools for the tasks that I am expected to do.
Then there were numerous incidents that made me feel like a was living in a bad comedy: the sewage next to the front door was overflowing two times (not nice welcome to paying clients), then Jane stepped a foot through the ceiling while clearing the attic – while a guest was in the room, the renovation of one of the guest bathrooms was taking for ever to finish (it was said on the Friday that I arrived that it would be nice to have that bathroom done before Monday, because we will have almost a full house with all the guests arriving at the same time… and three weeks later when I left, the bathroom was still not finished).
The tip of the iceberg for me was when the plumbers came to install the new radiators, Ben told me that the plumbers would need to go to my room. Ok, I had my shoes, backpack and a pile of clothes put neatly in the corner of the room opposite of the place where the new radiator would go… The thing that was not said or understood by any of us, was that the plumbers would cut the floorboards open from three different places in the room, and that there would be sawdust all over the place, including the bed.

I can laugh about these things now, but then and there at times I felt pretty awful. All this been said, Ben and Jane are really generous, kind and loving persons. They just have a lot on their plate and renovating a big old house like that, while running a business and having another house further South and been a part for family members is a huge job. I wish them all the best and hope that they get to finish the renovations and achieve their goal of making the house as a calm and relaxing place to welcome guests and organise health and yoga retreats.

(Good )

16/08/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Alisabeth & Chad)

It was great having Alise, Chad & Gabi stay with us for just under two months. They are a multi-talented family who contributed to our project and lives in so many ways. Alise helped us to develop our website and fine tune our marketing messages while also keeping the house running smoothly through cleaning, making up rooms for guests and some… read more

(Excellent )

13/08/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Iida-Leena & Marek)

These guys have left a lasting impression on me and Jane and I will never forget having them stay with us even though it was quite short. A beautiful family who have a lovely manner which is calm, confident thoughtful and relaxed and which helps to rub off on others. Both Iida & Marek are extremely talented with wide-ranging skills from whom could… read more

(Excellent )

12/08/2018

Left by Workawayer (Iida-Leena & Marek) for host

Ben and Jane were deeply inspirational, helpful and caring people! The place is wild and beautiful and their ideas and lifestyle is active...proactive even, everything is flexible and communication is clear, open and friendly. We deeply recommend this workawaying experience! Love to you and all the doggies! Hope to meet you once again!
Marek, Iida… read more

(Excellent )

26/06/2018

Left by Workawayer (Emalyse & Michael ) for host

I had such an amazing time living and working here, right from the start it felt like home. The owners Ben and Jane are so lovely, warm and accomodating -they really want everyone to feel at ease and enjoy their experience here. Working was great, there was quite a variety of jobs to be done both indoor and outdoor so we were able to mix it… read more

(Excellent )

20/06/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Emalyse & Michael )

It was wonderful having Emalyse stay with us. She is a truly beautiful soul who is kind and caring. she got involved in all kinds of jobs from gardening, painting, decorating, cleaning and did all that was asked with a smile. she also helped us with social media and marketing. She is also an incredible naturopath and she shared with us her love of… read more

(Excellent )

21/06/2018

Left by Workawayer (Gabriel) for host

I stayed a little more than one month here. This house is magic and this people who live inside also! It's amazing place just lost in middle of nature. I've discover a news things as carpentry, name of plants, gardening... There is so much lives in this huge house with the others volunteer, dogs, short rental guest and of course the wonderful… read more

(Excellent )

20/06/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Gabriel)

Gaby was a brilliant workawayer who was a very welcome addition to the house. He is kind, caring and hard working and everyone enjoyed having him around. He helped with gardening, painting, restoring windows, basic decoration and did everything with a smile. His English improved lots in the short time he stayed with us and he worked hard to… read more

(Excellent )

22/05/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (simon)

It was great to have Simon stay with us for nearly a month. He is a real craftsman who is excellent with a range of materials. He helped us to lay a kitchen floor, restore old windows, build a garden gate and also lay fablon for kitchen worktops. All jobs were done to very high standard. He was also really nice to have around. He spent a lot of… read more

(Excellent )

20/05/2018

Left by Workawayer (simon) for host

I spent about a month here, in this small village, Cairnie. It was amazing, and just what I needed after being too a couple of busy cities. Ben was there most of the time, along with a few other workawayers, we spent a lot of the work days together, and also did weekend activities, it was like becoming part of a family for just a short while. I… read more

(Excellent )

20/04/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Alina)

Such a beautiful, kind and wonderful person who we consider ourselves very lucky to have met. Alina has a lovely character which gave the whole house a wonderful energy. We thoroughly enjoyed having Alina stay with us. She was very hardworking, clean, committed, considerate but above all a lovely person to get to know. She was involved in… read more

(Excellent )

17/04/2018

Left by Workawayer (Alina) for host

Dear Jane and Ben,
I feel very lucky to have shared three weeks in your house. It is inspiring to see how following your heart with confidence opens the door to magical experiences, this is what I learned at this place, dreams come true when collaborating together. Thank you for teaching me with your example of openness, trust,… read more

(Excellent )

20/04/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Maude)

Maude was a super workaway. Totally committed, hardworking, fun, intelligent and able to throw herself into all sorts of jobs. We really enjoyed having Maude stay with us, she helped with various tasks, cleaning, decorating, some gardening but also we were able to use her wonderful writing skills to help us with developing the words for our… read more

(Excellent )

16/04/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Jesús Ottmaro)

I really enjoyed having Ottmaro stay with us. He has a great personality, kind, funny, sincere and is very hard working. He helped us with so many different tasks, sanding floors, plastering, woodwork, cleaning up the garage, putting shelves up and lots more. He also helped to teach me some Spanish and is a great language teacher. He is missed and… read more

(Excellent )

15/04/2018

Left by Workawayer (Jesús Ottmaro) for host

When at some point in your life an opportunity shows itself in front of you, you go for it!
This opportunity here, after spending only 2 months with this wonderful people, at this amazing location I can only say: it was a life changing experience, super fun, always improving and learning lots of skills. Also doggies.
This is good stuff, see you… read more

(Excellent )

27/03/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Marleen)

Marleen was our 2nd workawayer and came to us right at the beginning of our project of restoring our house. She spoke excellent English and was really interested in all things Scottish. She was very hard working, clean and tidy and lovely to have around. She did lots of painting, cleaning, sorting,and was very helpful. I would highly recommend her.

(Excellent )

05/03/2018

Left by Workawayer (Heike) for host

It's always something special to be the first workawayer for a new host. I`ve got a very warm welcome. From the first moment I saw the house until the moment it disappeared in my rearview mirror, I felt at home. It was so much fun to make the house pretty. And the common evenings in front of the fireplace with a glass of "wellness" whisky, music… read more

(Excellent )

28/02/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Heike)

Heike was our very first workaway. She was fantastic, smiley, helpful, fun, hardworking, supportive and much more. She was lovely to have around and helped to create a wonderful atmosphere. We made a lovely friend who we hope to stay in touch with and see lots more in the future.

(Excellent )

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