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Help in the sustainable community next to the Helsinki, capital of Finland

Availability

  2025 

 Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Commercial
    Communal Living Group, Community farm, Farm, Mixed Farm, Woodlot
    Area of my property: 20.00 hectares

    Certified Organic: yes

    Methodologies:
    Bio-Dynamic, Composting, Crop rotation, Ecological farming, Grazing Management, Green manure, Low Stress Cattle Handling, Pasture Management, Without chemicals or pesticides

    This is a versatile biodynamic farm community in Sipoo right next to Helsinki. We cultivate vegetables (potatoes, carrots, parsnip, onions, beetroot, cabbages etc.), berries, apples, flowers, herbs and cereals on our fields the size of 20ha. We have a DIY greenhouse for tomatoes and cucumbers. We have lovely Finnish Eastern Finncattle cows (Kyyttö) as well as chickens, dogs and cats. In summer cows graze freely on the pastures. There is a self-service organic shop at the farm. This place has a long history with biodynamic farming. The previous farmers cultivated the land for 30 years and were pioneers of Finnish biodynamic farming. The current farmer, Atte has now cultivated here for 12 years and he follows the same principles.

    Life here is peaceful and communal. There are always customers, friends, schools and green-care groups stopping by.


    Job description:
    Everything here is produced biodynamically, which means organic farming with close attention paid to the cycles of the surrounding nature. We use biodynamic preparations and follow the biodynamic sowing calendar. It’s also of great importance that our farming is self-sufficient, for example, we produce our own fertilizers. Most of our work is done by hand but we do use some old machinery. For volunteers we offer garden work (sowing, planting, weeding, harvesting, etc.) and some work with construction and animals. We offer versatile learning possibilities on biodynamic farming and we prefer volunteers who have genuine interest in biodynamic farming. As we don't speak other world languages, we expect good english skills from our volunteers.
    We work Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm and we have an hour long lunch break at 12:30.
    We accommodate from April to November and the minimum stay is 2 weeks. However we prioritize applicants who can stay a month or longer. Please, note that our community is very lively. We host up to 15 volunteers at same time, depending on the season.

    Meals:
    Meals are offered by the host. We eat lunch all together on working days, at 12:30. Food is mostly vegetarian, and we try to use our own vegetables and roots. Chickens give us eggs. Lunches are prepared by volunteers as well as by members of the community.
    Volunteers cook their own breakfast, dinner and all meals during weekend independently. Atte goes buy grocery every week. There is possibility to add wishes to the grocery list. However we do not provide meat, fish, junk food or other expensive food on a regular basis.

    Certifications: Demeter

    Current projects: We have many ongoing projects but our main concern during the growing season is the production of vegetables, which we sell in our farm shop, to kindergartens and to restaurants in the Helsinki region. There are various other tasks which are added as and when they arise, such as bailing hay, working with the pastures, organizing cellars, animal maintenance, grain sorting, chopping firewood, making lunch, etc.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    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

    You will get to experience Finland in a unique way. The traditional farm lifestyle (farm, animals & sauna, etc) combined with international working atmosphere in a very beautiful environment, just a 20 min bus ride from the tourist friendly capital Helsinki. You get to enjoy the peacefulness of the Finnish nature surrounding the farm. There is the Baltic Sea just few minute walk away with beautiful cliffs and fishing possibilities with our rowing boat. The biodiversity in the area is very high, there are many butterflies and birds and also bigger wildlife such as deer, moose, rabbits and such.. In the summer time the forests are full of berries and in the autumn there is plenty of edible mushrooms.

  • Help

    Help

    Our expectation for a workaway volunteer is to be helping around general tasks in the farm. The days will start at 9am in the morning. The lunch is at 12:30 and the day ends at 16:00. We eat mainly our own products, which taste good like no other. Previous experience on farm working is not important as we teach everything. We expect fluent English speaking, hands on approach to volunteering and a certain level of independence (taking care of your own dishes, laundry and free-time activities). Minimum age of volunteers is 20 years.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    Finnish: Fluent
    Swedish: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    The accommodation is in small wooden cabins, a room in the main building, a caravan. All rooms and cabins are shared with one or two volunteers. The main kitchen and indoor shower are shared. Our toilets are outhouses.
    For working you will need old clothes that can get dirty. We have some rain-jackets and work gloves that we can borrow, as well as some rubber boots. However, if you want to be sure to have the right fit, please bring your own. We offer bed sheets and towels. Please bring your own hygiene products. We recommend organic shower gel and shampoo, as we try to keep our soil clean.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    For free-time there is swimming and fishing possibilities nearby and we also have an old wooden sauna, which is normally warmed once a week. If you like to do stuff with our hands, there is good premises for that also and always something to work on, if interested. There is a bus stop from where it’s a 20 min ride to Helsinki. We have a tepee tent where we gather for special evenings, frisbee golf and table tennis equipment. Sipoonkorpi national park is nearby. Porvoo is the second oldest city in Finland and is best known for its Old Wooden Town.

  • 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

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    This host can provide space for campervans.

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

Host ref number: 665675624697

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