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31 Jan 2025
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Details
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
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
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
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: FluentAccommodation
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 ...
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
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
Can possibly accept pets
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (15)
A lot of other international… read more
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Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(5.0)
A lot of other international… read more
The people are nice, the food is good and the work brings pleasure. Atte trys to give everyone the task that fits to the person.
It was such a nice experience to live there and spend time together. And the Finnish sauna is really great too. I hope I can come back someday :)
David worked on our farm for 5 weeks and did a wonderful job clearing up our forest pastures and re-organizing some of our old sheds along with a bit of field work. This man has unsurpassed work ethics and keeps on pushing until the job is done. He can… read more
I was there in the summer, between sauna and swimming the staying was all the more pleasant.
But I think the most important is the host of this place Atte and his partner in crime Osmo, simply put they are men with golden hearts.
I was supposed to stay 1 month I… read more
Peaceful farm, lovely people, open space, where the interactions based on freedom, trust, respected privacy and… read more
Atte was a perfect host, always in a good mood, with a great sense of humor. He was concerned about our comfort and did his… read more