Building and gardening help with our family in the Blue mountains, Australia

Details

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  Description

  Hi, we are Keely and Daniel and our two daughters are Milena (8) & Nisha (5).
  
  We live in the Blue Mountains and are looking for help in the garden and in particular with constructing a retaining wall in our back garden, as well as other projects which could include building a fence and other landscaping. Knowledge of building, landscaping or construction would be useful but anybody keen to get stuck in is welcome.
  
  Our lovely family home has a very overgrown garden and we're working hard to turn it into a wonderful, beautiful, fun space for us to enjoy and our kids to grow up in. Gardening with 2 young kids isn't always as productive as we'd like, so we're looking for some help to get the garden transformed.
  
  We grow as much food as we can manage, keep quails and have a very lovely pet bunny.
  
  Keely works part time as a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Daniel is working (partly from home) in community housing full time.
  
  The Blue Mountains is a beautiful place. We live about 15 minutes walk from a train station which can take you anywhere in the mountains, there's so many beautiful places to visit.
  
  No smokers, and whilst we enjoy a drink sometimes we will not have intoxicated people around our children.
  
  We are an LGBTIQ friendly home.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  The Blue mountains is a beautiful place to visit, and offers countless bushwalking/hiking opportunities as well as some of the most stunning scenery in the country.
  We have a strong history in both hosting couchsurfers and couchsurfng during our various travels, and we did so because we love meeting people from different cultures and learning about all ways of life. We love our kids to meet people from different cultures and hear your stories.

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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

  We're mostly looking for help building a replacement retaining wall in our back garden which collapsed in flooding rains. This will involve some carrying supplies, and since we are not experienced builders we will be happy to have somebody knowledgeable to guide us. Also several sections of the garden need clearing out and redesigning the space and there is always a lot of weeding to do. There may also be other odd jobs like some painting to be done on fences etc. We'd be looking for a single person or couple to do about 3-4 hours a day, 5 days a week but times and days can be flexible (especially since gardening is weather dependent). This might mean sometimes working longer days when needed and then taking extra days off. If you're not comfortable with building work, then maybe you can give the house a deep clean instead 🙂
  
  We'd also really like someone who will cook for us once or twice a week so we can experience some new dishes, as we love trying new food from different cultures. We eat gluten free dinners because our daughter is a Coeliac.
  
  We do have two young kids, so the right volunteer(s) will need to be good with kids, kind and friendly. Your attitude towards kids is very important, as we expect them to be treated with kindness and respect.
  
  We expect that you will tidy up after yourself, help out with communal tasks such as cleaning up after meals and generally treat the house with care. We would greatly appreciate hosting people who can pitch in with general tasks rather than waiting to be asked.
  
  If you have other skills or interests we'd love to hear about them, it's always great to have people teaching our kids new things.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Chinese (Mandarin): Beginner

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  Accommodation

  We have a large private room with a double bed, and you will have a separate shower and toilet. Your living area is downstairs and we mostly live upstairs so you will have plenty of your own space. We have a shared hammock area that you can relax in and your room opens directly to the back deck.
  
  Amenities:
  Heating in room
  Use of our washing machine
  Internet
  
  We live close to a railway line and road so you will hear the occasional train go past and trucks. Otherwise it's a very quiet residential area. As we have kids, we ask that evening noise be kept to "moderate" levels. We eat early around 5:30-6pm and after dinner we are busy getting our kids to bed so once the cleaning is done you'll have the evening to yourself to relax.
  
  We will provide a cooked dinner with our family every night, we'd love you to cook once or twice a week so we can try new things. You are welcome to use the kitchen to prepare food for your own breakfasts, lunches/snacks. We can provide basics like bread, oats, fruit, vegetables, pasta, rice etc. Please let us know any dietary requirements when applying. We eat mostly vegetarian and fairly healthy, a lot of veggies and only have meat 1-2 times a week, we can easily accommodate vegetarian, vegan and gluten free guests. Our daughter is strictly gluten free, but the rest of the family aren't.

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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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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  3-4 hours a day, 5 days a week

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