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100 %
Last replied
14 Apr 2024
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Update February 31st, 2024:
First, the good news! We had a little baby! He was born in a tent, in our garden, near to the actual Cabbage patch (which we turned into sauerkraut later!). We are very proud, tired and busy!
Against all odds, we planted 2000 garlic bulbs, a crop that will guarantee our farm status. Our lease states that we must attain farm status yearly, so we have been endeavouring and succeeded to make that happen. In fact, we got farm status in the first year, a difficult task!
We have accomplished so much in the last 21 months here, and have had so much fun doing it. Part of the fun is hosting you fine folks. Last summer we had 5 people stay at our farm. So many good memories, and so many awesome projects finished! Thank you, Workaways!
So the bad news: it has become apparent that our land lords have parted ways and intend to sell this property. We have a 5 year lease with them, but it doesn't really say they can't sell. So now you get to see the dark side of farming and the precarious balance of renting farm land...
That said, we are still working, and there's more to do now that Jenn is doing baby things every day. We have some clean up and tear down projects to accomplish. Likewise, if we get evicted and cannot access our crops, our landlord is beholden to buy our vegetables from us. So we are planning on planting!
In conclusion of this early spring update, we are coming out of our hibernation and activated on farm activities. We are welcoming folks to join us for 1 week to a month to experience the world waking up and to get a real off grid experience!
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Do you Dream to live an Off-Grid life??
Do you envision a Sustainable future for our childrens children?
Do you desire the skills to make it happen??
We are Kale and Jenn. In the Spring of 2022 we arrived on this fairly Raw Land in Black Creek, on so called Vancouver Island, British Columbia. We acquired a lease with the help of an organization called the Young Agrarians, who matched us up with our land holders, and we are building a working model of permaculture-ish farming.
Though we are not organic certified, we use local, natural, chemical free biomass to build our gardens with an eye to the future.
We don't just work all the time. We love to swim in the ocean, look for waterfalls and explore our spectacular Island of old trees and ancient caves. Kale and Jenn have 3 young children who love the outdoor life and add play and down time to the day. We eat great food, and love our big homegrown salads.
We are pretty much always looking to share our lives and lifestyle, lots of garden food to eat! If we reach out to you, consider it a reflection of our first impression. As an avid traveler and volunteer on many farms myself (Kale), I really look forward to bringing the world to my house, to share our cultures, languages and skills. WWOOFing for 5 or more years, I have gained much knowledge of farming, but also about hosting and sharing if fair and fun ways. Also, what a great platform, this Workaway community is! You Rock!
What we guarantee:
You will learn things you didn't know.
You will build muscles and get a tan.
You will gain a real experience of off grid life with its joys and hardships.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are True Canadian bush family, well versed in outdoor activities with a speciality in primitive skills. No doubt we lead a North American life to a certain extent but it is a rustic, wholesome and slightly different style here.
The area I live in has a long history of people (pre- and post-colonialism), a rich biodiversity of plants and animals and an ancient, explorable geology. There is a lot to learn here, and lots of opportunities!
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
An ongoing list of our mutifacted projects:
- Planting starts
- Chicken barn cleanup and compost accumulation
- Firewood and beach missions
- Managing waterflow in our various trench networks with rake and shovel.
- Renovating an old trailer into a mobile blacksmithing shop/Sauna!
- Yard cleanup and Bonfires!
- Witnessing and assisting a Wild Momma with a super cute 2 month old baby boy!
- Firewood and rockhounding missions.
- Breaking dirt, sifting soil, and creating "instant" fertile garden beds.
- Enjoying our home brewed and home grown fermentation projects!!
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
We love geeking out on words, and sharing language, yours and ours!
Accommodation
We live in a 10 meter trailer parked in a pole barn (complete with kitchen, wood stove, all of which we will use and share during your visit!) to keep it out of the weather. A loft has been built in the pole barn for guests. Plenty of tent sites abound (lots of flat places for vans, too) and we have 1 large 6 person tent that can be set up if needed. Again, our land is off grid and short on modern amenities (although said amenities exist close by), so expect a mostly outdoors lifestyle and creating of our comforts as we need them! Rustic is part of the Experience!
Food on the other hand is high quality, including ferments, wild food, and fresh garden vegetables. Berries drip off the bushes at various times in the year, and meat is eaten here regularly. We love food, that's why we do what we do!
What else ...
There is a metric ton of activities to check out nearby! Located 30 minutes from the communities of Courtenay and Campbell River, 10 minutes to groceries, gasoline, wifi and pizza. It is an 11 minute drive to the beautiful beaches and wild coastal parks. Locally we have caving, climbing,
hiking trails, mountain biking, zip lining, every water sport imaginable, restaurants, clubs, events and party places, wildlife viewing, ocean fishing, and the list could go on for a while.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
Vans are very welcome, lots of space to park up!
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (6)
We spend a wonderful week with Kale, Jen, Ben and the kids. Thanks to you we know now what a real bushfamily is and did our best to become one ourselves for a week.
Picking dinner right from the beach (always keep an eye on your buckets!), cooking and eating together,… read more
Hosting this family made our daily life easier and we feel enriched by the experience.
This awesome, travelling family spent a week with us this spring. We shared a lot of great food, languages and fun times. Highlights include moving the big table in so we could seat 10 people for… read more
The weather was still chilly, but Jason finished off a lot of projects for us, and great timing, just as winter was settling in.
Glad we got out for some adventure time, to Horne Lake cave and Memekay Caves. With the baby about to arrive, it was uncertain if we… read more
Jeremy was invited by another work awayer he met while traveling. She was intending to come here, but ran out of time, so we got Jeremy instead...and lucky us, we was awesome.
Great work ethic, lots of energy, interested in the concepts we employed and fun with the kids! We were sorry to see… read more
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We spend a wonderful week with Kale, Jen, Ben and the kids. Thanks to you we know now what a real bushfamily is and did our best to become one ourselves for a week.
Picking dinner right from the beach (always keep an eye on your buckets!), cooking and eating together,… read more
Hosting this family made our daily life easier and we feel enriched by the experience.
This awesome, travelling family spent a week with us this spring. We shared a lot of great food, languages and fun times. Highlights include moving the big table in so we could seat 10 people for… read more
The weather was still chilly, but Jason finished off a lot of projects for us, and great timing, just as winter was settling in.
Glad we got out for some adventure time, to Horne Lake cave and Memekay Caves. With the baby about to arrive, it was uncertain if we… read more
Jeremy was invited by another work awayer he met while traveling. She was intending to come here, but ran out of time, so we got Jeremy instead...and lucky us, we was awesome.
Great work ethic, lots of energy, interested in the concepts we employed and fun with the kids! We were sorry to see… read more
I really enjoyed the experience of sharing your place and contributing towards the vision your building.
I learnt a lot about garden care, carpentry, my spiritual side and loved the opportunity to escape the constant distractions of the modern word and slip into a… read more
Claire is very self motivated, a dedicated doer and obviously unafraid to tackle big jobs. We accomplished a lot of rigorous tasks during their stay, most of which revolved around… read more
Ewan and Guillaume stayed with me in March 2020 during the early moments of spring. These guys were very helpful, and I estimate they pushed my plans almost two months ahead in the two weeks they stayed!
We had good fun breaking down language and I'm thankful for them exposing different languages to my young kids. Likewise they… read more
While here, Joe and Claire worked with me to create a fence around my new garden. In total I estimate it enclosed a… read more
