Help with gardening, woodworking and outdoor projects in Courtenay, BC, Canada

Details

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  Description

  We are a woman couple in our 60’s, who find ourselves long on skills and ideas, but short on the umph and energy that we had in our youth. We share a comfortable house with a large, well-equipped kitchen and pantry, and a Creekside garden full of overgrown, mostly native plants. We garden for the birds and pollinators first, people second. We have a new puppy this spring who will grow into a lovely Golden Retriever.
  
  We are committed to living as sustainably as is possible without leaving the grid or becoming hermits. LGBTQ+ welcoming. Serena has a passion for LGBTQ history and may distract workers with her stories and musings on that topic.
  
  Monika is originally from Germany, and is fluent in German and English. Serena is originally from the US, is sadly monolingual, but has many fine qualities nonetheless. We enjoy good conversation with a sense of humour. We'll talk social history, nature and science stuff, food, psychology (our profession), and just about anything that is interesting, expands our knowledge about something cool, or gives us hope for the world. Monika is currently teaching herself to sew, and Serena is brushing up on her old piano skills and learning the Ukulele with the philosophy that "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly." We are still employed, but life goes at a slower pace than it used to. We've been in the Comox Valley almost long enough to be locals, love it here very much, and can give good advice on things to do and see.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Things a helper might learn about:
  1. Mason Bees. We educate about and propagate this little wild pollinator. We have written a book about Mason Bees that we distribute throughout the year. Btw, they are not honey-bees—they don’t sting, hive, or make honey. They are a wild and local bee. They make cocoons, naturalize if they get the chance, and have not already and pollinate early bloomers (fruit trees especially) like crazy. Organic farmers, gardeners, and naturalists love them. In addition to our book, we build and sell housing and supplies, and cocoons in the late winter to early spring.
  2. Gardening. Pruning, planting, repairing raised beds, composting, weeding. No vegetable beds—this is a woodland garden with limited sun.
  3. Nature-watching. We have at least a dozen species of bird that frequent our yard, along with too many beautiful pollinators to count, four species of salmon in the creek, the occasional deer and the rare but dramatic bear (come to eat salmon, not visitors). It’s a postage-stamp size bit of the natural world in the city, and we are devoted to keeping it as healthy as possible.
  4. Food. In late summer and early fall, we preserve the fruits and veggies that are in season. We make sourdough bread, lacto-fermented pickles, and we are genuine West-Coast granola lesbians.
  
  We hope for about 25 hours per week of help in exchange for room and food, including contributing to house chores. We endeavor to have a shared meal every evening, though this sometimes doe not happen before 8 pm. We have many options available for people to prepare their own breakfasts and lunches. We are maily lacto-ovo vegetarians.
  
  We work from Tuesday through Friday, so we prefer that people take much of their independent off-time exploring the Comox Valley during the week. We are most available to work with helpers on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We value helpers who can work somewhat independently, but who are willing to check in frequently for direction and to ask, “is this the way you want it?” A helper who is comfortable in the kitchen may be asked to prepare some meals for sharing.

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  Help

  Help we need:
  1. The garden (all year except winter.)
  2. The bees. In the fall we collect and clean bee houses and prepare for winter, and get ready for spring. This means building and painting /staining nesting boxes, collecting, cleaning and preparing cocoons for overwintering etc. We may update our website, fill book orders and liaising with bookshops, Seedy Saturday and Apple Festival events. From February to April we go to Seedy Saturday events (where gardeners trade, sell and buy seeds and other supplies), and from March through May we set up at our local Farmer’s Market. Apple Festival season is in the fall.
  3. Our house. This fall we need help in catching up with house organization, paint touch-ups, cleaning and organizing supplies.
  
  What to expect:
  We hope for about 25 hours per week of help in exchange for room and food, not including general shared living chores and meal preparation. We endeavor to have a shared meal every evening, though this sometimes does not happen before 8 pm. We have many options available for people to prepare their own breakfasts and lunches. We expect that helpers contribute to our communal household tasks such chores and general clean-up.
  We eat mainly vegetarian and locally grown food, we like to cook, bake, and prepare food. We gladly share our knowledge of food preservation, fermentation and sourdough baking with you.
  
  We work from Tuesday through Friday, so we prefer that people take much of their independent off-time exploring the Comox Valley or Vancouver Island during the week. We are most available to work with helpers on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We value helpers who can work somewhat independently, but who are willing to check in frequently for direction and to ask, “is this the way you want it?” We value quality and thoroughness over quantity, so speed isn;t as important as a job well done. A helper who likes cooking may be asked to prepare some meals for sharing as part of their work exchange.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  Monika speaks English and German fluently; Serena appreciates very slow German with lots of pantomime to improve her skills. Lots of "Denglish" spoken when German visitors come! Monika has a basic knowledge of French.
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  Accommodation

  Helpers have a private guest bedroom, but the bathroom gets shared in the morning because it’s the only one (of 3!) with a shower. Helpers share living room and kitchen with us. Yes to internet; sufficient for streaming. Cellular service is mediocre to good, depending on weather?
  
  At present we have one guest room available with a double bed and a second room that can accommodate 1 person, two in a pinch.
  Must like dogs!

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  What else ...

  The Comox Valley
  
  This is truly one of the world’s most wonderful places. There are mountains to hike, ski or snowboard. There is the Salish Sea, separating Vancouver Island from the mountainous and wild mainland North of Vancouver. People kayak, SUP, fish, beach-walk, and even “wild swim” this body of water. There are golf courses and parks, concerts and festivals, and many, many local artists and artisans. We sometimes lend out tent-camping supplies for folks who want to go out to explore for a few days.
  
  Having your own transportation is not necessary but it does make it easier for you to get out and enjoy Comox Valley life. Because we work during the week, couples travelling tend to be glad to have one another’s company. A single person without independent transportation could get lonely at times, though a bus does go by (infrequently) and we have a bicycle. We are about a 20 minute walk from “downtown” Courtenay and the main bus-hub by the museum.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Yes. Wifi connection is good; internet is high speed, room is private with a table/desk.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  street parking for small rv; cosy room in the house.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  medium to large dog might be possible, on condition that the helper take good care of, exercise and have trained them. -Please tell us about it.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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