Help a family with gardening and DIY tasks at their homestead in Wildwood, AB, Canada

Details

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  Description

  We are a young family of 4. Husband and wife and our two young daughters. We are all about Regenerative farming, soil health, nutrient dense food and self-sustainability! The summer of 2021 we moved out to our homestead. It was a fixer upper to say the least. 3 years later here we are though the fencing is 80% complete, a new well was drilled, and a geo thermal stock watering system was just installed. This year we also took cover cropping to new heights using the pigs to massage the soil. This allowed us to grow some nice crops to finish the beef on in the fall. We are building, fixing and creating new systems all the time. In the 2025 season we will be working hard towards building a no-dig market garden! We are very excited for this addition. Right now the spot has been prepped with the breeder pigs tearing it up, then a tillage pass to smooth it out and this allowed us to establish cover crops for nitrogen fixation and soil armour. For 2 years, Scott has been building compost and the pile is looking good! This is where we are looking for help next year. We want to build a team of workaways to see if we can pull off a market garden. As much as we think we can do it all ourselves at times, we realized this year that with moving 220 cows daily, 30ish feeder pigs every second day, 10ish breeder pigs every 14 days, stopping the fox from eating our 50ish laying hens and trying to keep 50ish goats out of the yard, a market garden is out of the question. We have a small camper, an old shack that could be fixed up just how you like it and a 12x12 outfitter tent. You are more than welcome to bring your own accommodations which we could hook up to water and power. We prefer that you have your own transportation as we are boring and don't leave the farm much. For now, all we can offer is all the good food you can eat, you are welcome to anything we produce on the farm. In the future we will be possibly looking to offer the market garden as a theifdom to the right people as your own business. We apologize to those who have tried to contact us this summer and did not get a reply. We are going to work very hard to improve our workaway response rate this winter and look forward to chatting The dream is that one day the farm will be able to sustain our family and many more like us. Until then we embrace the work, the hours outside and the food we are able to grow.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  This would be a great hands on learning experience for anyone looking to learn about regenerative agriculture and building a homestead. We are a motivated growing homestead and farm and this would be a great opportunity for anyone looking to expand their knowledge of regenerative farming practices such as adaptive grazing with electric fence, butchery, cover cropping, no till gardening, wildlife management, and so on. We have 160 acres, lakes and rivers near by that we float in the summer. We work hard but we also love to take advantage of nice days and sit by the campfire in the evenings. If you are interested in carbon sequestration and learning about farming practices that go beyond sustainability, if you love to learn and build, we would love to get to know you.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  The work on our homestead never ends. Most of our buildings and fences need some love, gardens want to be seeded, weeded and watered; pigs, chickens, cows and goats love fresh pasture on a regular basis. If you know how to handle tools, enjoy cooking or even have some knowledge in building an online presence, if you can handle two little wildlings and aren't scared to get muddy and enjoy filling up your vitamin D tank with tons of outside work, we might be the place for you. While the summers are filled with growing gardens, animals and kids, the fall is all about food preservation. Harvesting, butchering and canning. It sure doesn't get boring around here.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  While English is the main language spoken in our household, our children and I (Alena) are bilingual (Swiss-German and English). I studied English in Switzerland, so languages have always been my passion. Both Scott and I have travelled a bit and would love to learn new languages.
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  Accommodation

  We have a little camper ready for you. You will have your own little kitchen. As the water is currently not working, you are free to use the bathroom in the main house.
  If you are ambitious, we have an old school bus that we are planning to turn into a tiny home.

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  What else ...

  Jasper national park is 2 hours away, Edmonton is 1.5hrs away. We would prefer if you would have you own vehicle as we are a little out in the boonies and it is nice to be able to go places in your free time. We have a small boat and fishing rods, and kayaks that you are welcome to use. During the summer there is loads of farmers markets and rodeos in the area that are fun to visit. This is a great place to come and immerse yourself in the country lifestyle.

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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

  The wifi on our property is unlimited and fairly consistent, unless there is extreme weather conditions when it might glitch.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  Our homestead/farm is on 160 acres where you are more than welcome to find your perfect spot. There is only power at the yard site.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

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

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