Come and create sustainable gardening, music and food with us in Torquay, Australia

Availability

  2025 

 Min stay requested: at least a week

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    We are a couple with a big garden living on an acre on the outskirts of the coastal surfing town of Torquay. We are into recycling, music, sustainable gardening and cooking.

    We grow much of our own food using organic methods , and we provide opportunities for people to experience a sustainable lifestyle. We have one bee hive no pets but because we are in the bush we get lots of visiting native birds - Superb Blue Wrens, Kookaburras, Parrots, Ravens and Currawongs all are regular visitors.

    We are inspired by Permaculture and organic gardening principles and David Holmgren’s ‘Retrosuburbia’ book.

    We aim to be
    - peaceful and calm.
    - compassionate, loving and empathetic.
    - happy, fun-loving and always laughing.
    - as sustainable as we can be.
    - creative, working on projects of many kinds.
    - socially and environmentally connected.

    We are looking for people to volunteer with us that are committed, inquisitive, enthusiastic and reliable. We particularly welcome those who can happily be shown a task and be set onto it for a few hours and not get bored.

    We need you to ask questions – "Where can I find..?” “Would you like me to..?” Is this ok?"
    It’s also important to us that you share what you’re feeling - “I hope..” “Is it possible..” "I've been noticing that..."

    Please only consider volunteering with us if you are genuinely interested in learning new skills in a ‘doing’ context, not just thinking about it. You will know if you are that kind of person if you feel excited, or apprehensive, as you read this.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Farmstay help
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Learn about applying permaculture to a small property and living a sustainable lifestyle with organic food and cooking.

    I'm a landscape architect so I have an interest in a range of environmental and social issues. Leanne's interests are in healthy diets, organic growing and social welfare. We are both gardeners - we met a horticultural college!

    During the footy season you can join us for a game of AFL football (if you go for the Geelong Cats!).. see attached photo.

    We are into music (I play mandolin & guitar mainly) and play with local community music groups (old-timey, bluegrass, folk, celtic) and other music jams and regular dinner parties with family and friends.

    Language-wise I love to practice my high-school French, and am surprised sometimes with what I recall, but its a work in progress.

    We have family in the area, including two who have properties that host Workaways, and we have often swapped workawayers between us for a bit of variety.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

    This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

  • Help

    Help

    Tasks will often be projects that we working on as we retrofit the property to be more sustainable and resilient. These will be jobs listed on the whiteboard, and we will discuss them over meals.

    In between these ‘big’ jobs on the whiteboard other tasks that you may find time to do (that are always helpful whenever the season) may include:
    • Weeding the veggie garden or other garden areas
    • Raking up leaf litter from the paths, lawn and driveway
    • Washing dishes and sweep/mop the kitchen floor after meals
    • Sweeping and mopping the floor
    • Bringing in wood for the fire (in winter)
    • Watering the pots on the deck (in summer)
    • Gardening and looking after the orchard,
    • Keeping the roadside stall stocked with excess garden produce and kitchen products.

    We are always doing house renovations, so building skills would be specially valuable!

    We are keen to work out what special talents that you bring to us – your super-powers! So feel free to suggest something that you would like to do!

    Previous Workawayers have built fences, gates, art projects, paving, small constructions, gardens, made apple cider, jams, passata and so on. We are keen to get people involved in whatever projects we are doing, including the skills and passions of our visitors. So we welcome your ideas and experience as a key part of the creation adventure!

    On top of the 4-5 hours work, we would expect that Workawayers would participate in the general chores of running a busy household and would contribute to preparing shared meals, cleaning up after ourselves and so on. We invite you to join in with us as part of our family, which also means contributing towards the daily chores of cooking and cleaning. We cook together or take turns sharing food ideas. We really enjoy food and grow much of our produce from the big organic garden.

    Help hours are flexible because my practice is based in the home office, and as a starting arrangement suggest doing 4-5 hours work in the morning starting around 8am so you have the afternoons free. If you want to take advantage of the beautiful still mornings on the beach (afternoons in summer can be a bit windy) then we can accomodate that too.

    If you would like to swap some half-days for full days so you can get out and have full days at the beach or wherever, we can probably make that work too. Weekends are sometimes a busy time for projects, so occasionally we might suggest swapping your weekend rest days to midweek, so that we can work together on a big weekend project.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    Spanish: Beginner
    French: 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.
    You can contact them directly for more information.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    While we are doing some renovations your accommodation will be a large caravan in the garden.

    Until recently this was a popular rental place - but we're not operating it at the moment as we had to move it. So its quite nice, but one task will be to get it tidied up, perhaps create a new outdoor space next to it and a path to the bathroom.

    There is a double bed, and a single bed/daybed, kitchen with fridge and microwave, eating area, and lounge. It has air con heating/cooling and the daybed converts to a big desk.

    Nearby is the freestanding bathroom with hot water, toilet, shower, a pink clawfoot bath and windows that open out overlooking a pond!

    A special space at our place is the balinese-inspired day-bed on the deck, a very nice place for a night under the stars or to hang out during the afternoons. You've very welcome to enjoy it while relaxing.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    The weekends are your own to explore, and we encourage you to get out and find your adventure! On weekends we will most likely still be very active, and we would welcome your assistance then too if you are still staying here, but equally we encourage you to get away and explore and do some travelling!

    The beach and town is only 30 minutes walk by foot, and we have bikes you can borrow to get there quicker, starting from the concrete shared public pathway that starts out the back of our garden and takes you to Torquay and Fishermans Beach along Deep Creek. The iconic Torquay back beach is just around the headland, and is world famous for surfing. Bells Beach is a short bike ride away.

    If you want to go for longer walks along the coast (eg Great Ocean Walk) we can drop you off by car, and we can show you some of the local sights.

    There is a bus to Geelong, Melbourne and west along the coast, 20 minutes walk.

    In winter the whales come along the coast and can be seen from the cliffs locally. We have a Chocolaterie chocolate factory nearby too! Over winter we enjoy the wood fire and mulled apple cider, and we regularly go to the pool for a saunas and spa and you could join us for a small fee, and of course there is the beach!

    Basically this is a tourist town and is full of exciting things to do with your time off. We really want you to have a great time and take away some special memories of your holiday in Australia.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    We have optical fibre conection to the property and can provide ethernet connection - 100bps speed!

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    Theres plenty of room to park a campervan

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    We probably cannot welcome cats to the property, given the wildlife here.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    Two

Host ref number: 643849941544

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Photos

The image shows a woman pointing to a magazine page with a travel article featuring an Airstream trailer, set against a wall covered in various magazine pages.
The image depicts three individuals standing in front of a fence, with a metal gate featuring a deer silhouette, set against a backdrop of trees and a house.
The image depicts two loaves of dark brown bread on a countertop, with a kitchen setting visible in the background. The bread appears to be freshly baked.
A woman stands in a lush garden, surrounded by trees and bushes, holding apples and standing next to a large pile of green apples on the grass.
A man stands behind a table with green buckets of apples, smiling at the camera, in a backyard setting with trees and a white chair in the background.
The image shows a selfie of a man and woman standing in front of a scenic landscape with mountains and a large body of water in the background.
The image features a white sign with black text, suspended from a tree branch, displaying an inspirational message about travel and self-discovery against a blurred outdoor background.
The image shows two people standing in a kitchen, smiling at the camera, with one holding a jar and the other a toothbrush.
The image shows a man and woman sitting at a table with coffee and cookies, posing for a photo in a sunny outdoor setting with plants and trees in the background.
The image depicts a charming house with a gray roof and green siding, surrounded by lush trees and a vibrant garden, exuding a sense of serenity and natural beauty.
The image depicts a woman sitting on a wooden bench, surrounded by lush green plants, with a subtle watermark featuring the text \"arkaway\" in the center.
The image features a serene outdoor setting with a quote on a sign, surrounded by lush greenery and a fence, set against a bright blue sky with white clouds.
The image depicts a man holding a large basket of strawberries in front of a garden, with a serene background of trees and bushes.
The image shows four people posing for a selfie at a stadium, with a large screen displaying the Ford logo and a crowd of people in the background.

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