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Host rating
100 %
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Last replied
13 Oct 2026
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Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 2 days
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Min stay requested: at least a week
Details
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Description
Extra hands wanted now! Help with gardening, weeding, tree planting and our new community gathering space. Enjoy shared meals, deep conversations, community, sauna, eco pool and so much more.
We're Lisa and James. We grew up in the UK, travelled widely and met in Sydney. Now we're custodians of a 2.5 acre sanctuary on the Mid North Coast of NSW, alive with birdlife, marsupials and 400+ mature trees and shrubs.
We coach, consult and host workshops, retreats and fire circle gatherings on our land. Our work draws on the inside out understanding, rapport based relating and the Hendricks Institute for Conscious Living. Your help keeps the gardens pumping and the land cared for, so this place can keep nourishing everyone who comes.
What's in it for you
Real skills - Bio dynamics, Permaculture, soil building and food growing. Learn what it’s like to live on land, aligning to her rhythms.
Good food - Shared dinners 5 nights a week, often from the garden.
Real conversation - Deep talks over dinner about how we each tick, how life is shaped from the inside out and what we're here to do.
Community - Join our workshops, retreats and fire circle gatherings if they’re happening during your stay.
Inner practices - Yoga, qi gong, tai chi, breathwork and tea ceremonies depending on commitments.
Rest and reset - Hammocks, chill spaces, a library of educational resources you can borrow. Wood fired Sauna, eco pool and ice bath also onsite.
Freedom to explore - Flexible hours and the Mid North Coast on your doorstep.
Past helpers have built hugelkultur beds, swales, terraces, paths, a rock wall, planted natives, edibles, put electricity supply to the ice bath, fixed a collapsed gutter, processed wood, re oiled or varnished decks, re organised our fire wood pile. The list continues and we are so incredibly grateful for all the amazing humans that have helped us so far. Many have said that this is no ordinary farm stay, and we love that.
The land has a wood-fired sauna, natural eco pool, summer ice bath, fire circle, meditation pyramid, sit spots, hammocks and a chill-out space with table tennis.
The exchange
22 hours of help a week, spread how it suits you. Some helpers do 3 hours a day across 7 days. Others do longer mornings over 5 days and take 2 days off. The final hour is cleaning your space before you leave: sheets, breakfast dishes, vacuuming.
In return, you get your accommodation, breakfast ingredients and tea to help yourself to every day, and shared home cooked dinners 5 nights a week.
Stay in our converted bus, a room in the house, a tent we set up for you or your own van. No experience needed, just willing hands. See the Help section for current projects.
We can't wait to hear from you! -
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Light gardening
Creative DIY projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Light maintenance
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Interests
Astronomy
Water sports
Outdoor activities
Hiking
Camping
Music
Plant care
Sustainability
Self development
Events & social
Gardening
Cooking & food
Yoga / Wellness
Nature
Dancing -
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We're on our own learning journey with eco living, biodynamics, permaculture and regenerative agriculture, and we love sharing what we know. We also share practices for those on a spiritual path, and deep conversations over meals.
It feels far from the hustle, yet we're 10 minutes from the coast, shops, cafes, river walks, gentle swimming beaches and surfing beaches. Dolphins often surf close to shore. Inland are some of the world's oldest rainforests, with waterfalls and ancient trees. And there's plenty of Australian wildlife to meet right here on the land. -
Help
We'd love help with gardening and land care as soon as possible. That means weeding, mulching, digging big holes for new trees and grass plugging our new community gathering space. If you have experience amazing but if not, we can guide your learning. A willingness to learn and get stuck in is all you really need .
Current projects
Grass plugging: a therapeutic activity where you jump on a pogo-stick style tool, to move lush grass to our new gathering pads
Dig and prepare ground for two avocado trees and a dwarf coconut tree
Build new frames and an entry for the netted raised beds
Process a tree and clear shrubs for our new amenity block
Other projects
Lay foundations for a metal shed by the potting shed
Prepare ground for making biochar
Build a hot compost
Build a base for a beehive
Build the front corner fence and plant passionfruit to climb it
Repair and revarnish the outdoor table, sauna and benches
Ongoing
Weeding and mulching around the pool, pyramid and garden beds
Succession planting in the veggie gardens
Spreading biodynamic preparations
Collecting wood and pine cones
Processing firewood for the wood-fired burners -
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
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Accommodation
Couples: a cosy converted bus with a comfy double bed, gas burner, shower, composting toilet and a corner nook with table and bench seat.
Solo travellers: a comfy room in the main house with a king single bed and its own access.
Campers: a large tent we set up for you on one of our newly shaped spots.
Vans: park up and make yourself at home.
House, tent and van guests share one of our two house bathrooms. An outdoor amenity block is coming soon, and your help may be part of building it.
Everyone shares a covered outdoor space with a double gas hob, sink, table, chairs and table tennis, plus an outdoor rain shower and plunge pool. -
What else ...
Please do share in your application what is drawing you to apply to spend some time with us at our workaway and your experience if you have any, as it is helpful to learn which of the projects listed, you are most keen to be a part of.
Nambucca Heads has river walks and a gentle bay, with an open surf beach 5 minutes up the coast. Nambucca Heads and Macksville both have good cafes, 10 minutes away.
Most Fridays we dance 5 Rhythms, a freestyle conscious dance, in Bellingen, a hip country town 40 minutes away. Then the dance community head to the pub. Join us at your own expense. Bellingen's monthly markets are worth a visit too.
Dorrigo rainforest has a waterfall you can walk underneath, an easy day trip. You'll need a car to get there and explore.
The Bundageree Rainforest Walk (Bongil Bongil National Park) is also a short drive away where you can walk through the rainforest and back along the beach or vice versa.
Sharing space with nature
Ours is a bush property. Ants and spiders of all sizes are part of daily life, and you may meet snakes, lizards, wallabies, possums, frogs and plenty of birds. We take sensible precautions and brief everyone on arrival. This place suits people who feel at peace in nature. If bush creatures genuinely unsettle you, another placement may suit you better. -
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
There is a table in the bus and the chill space to work in there.
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Space for parking camper vans
Small vans only can be accommodated on our driveway. It is also quite a steep entry.
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How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
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My animals / pets
Shanti & Sundara
Ragdoil cross brothers
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (16)
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Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
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Accuracy of profile:
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Cultural exchange:
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The bed … read more
The work was varied — whipper snipping, fixing the deck, weeding, planting, and organising the shed — and I always felt appreciated. The food was great, always fresh and high-quality.
I also learned a lot … read more
During my stay together with my partner Eleanor I was introduced to tea ceremonies, qigong and yoga accompanied with beautiful meals, plunge pool , sauna and occasional visits out and about in either Bellingen or Nambucca … read more
They clearly communicated what they wanted to get done, trusted us with the work and always appreciated the help.
We also learned a lot about a different way of living.
They taught us how to create our own soil and different permaculture tricks and really invited us to the world of spiritualism and … read more
They live in a wonderful place in the middle of nature, among beautiful trees and flowers. In the morning a little wallaby passed by to say good morning while we were having breakfast and in the evening the trees filled with colorful birds.🌿
Lisa and James have always been available to us and also … read more
Beyond the work in the garden and maintaining the land, Lisa and James were generous in sharing their knowledge and passions, from yoga and breath work to tea ceremonies and great conversations. … read more
We can only describe our time with Lisa & James on their beautiful land as truly special and magical. We learned so much, not only how to make fertile soil, build a garden bed, take care of veggies and all sorts of practical things. Lisa and James shared their wisdom with us and we loved our … read more
We've been landscaping and learning a lot about permaculture and the work was complete worth the Exchange!
We lived in their beloved van so we had our privacy but could still enjoy the … read more
