Come and experience sustainable living and be part of our homestead with us in British Columbia, Canada

Details

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  Description

  Hi everyone,
  
  Thanks for taking some time to look through our profile! We currently have some Winter space available, as well as space for our 2024 season. Feel free to take a look through our profile and message us if you're interested!
  
  A little bit about us
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  We are Latino/Swiss couple who enjoy meeting new people and are passionate about sustainable agriculture! We have are currently building our own homestead and have dogs, sheep, chickens, cattle, turkeys, and cats. During the summer, we have a very large self sustainable vegetable garden where we grow all of our own vegetables, as well as two greenhouses; a starter greenhouse and one for our warm season/winter crops. Experience is not required, as we love to meet and teach new people - especially those interested in growing vegetables/building a tiny home! We follow organic principles and have a passion for sustainable growing as well as raising our own grass fed beef and sheep, and free-range chickens.
  
  Current Season's Tasks - Winter
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  Winter tasks include:
  - Caring for our animals. This involves help with lambing, feeding, watering, bedding, and everything else that comes with caring for our animals!
  - Working on our tiny home! We're building a very small homestead from the ground up, and while building/carpentry skills are much appreciated we are happy to teach these skills.
  - Website/social media help. We always appreciate help with our website and social media, where we share our homesteading journey.
  
  
  Spring
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  Spring tasks include:
  - Animal care
  - Greenhouse planting and care
  -Garden preparation
  - Seeding and preparation for summer growing!
  - Help with the cabin
  
  Summer
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  Summer tasks include:
  -Weeding; we use a large assortment of hand tools for weeding. This is our most common task in the garden.
  -Compost spreading/bed preparation/natural fertilizer application
  -Tomato and Cucumber pruning
  -Seeding; this includes both seeding outside with a hand-operated seeder as well as seeding in trays in the greenhouse
  -Harvesting our vegetables! We are careful to plant successive crops so we always have food available, and share this food with our friends and neighbors as well.
  -Most of our vegetables are cleaned before going to the cooler or being prepped for canning, drying, etc.
  -Field/bed cleanup. This happens when a bed has been harvested, and also includes cleanup around the field such as trimming grass.
  -Laying tarp - a lot of our items are planted into tarps for weed control.
  -Transplanting - all of our lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, fennel, leeks, squash, brassicas, celery, chard and herbs are transplanted from our greenhouse.
  -General cleanup: we regularly clean our vegetable storage bins, cooler, greenhouses and tool shed.
  -General plant care; pest control (natural pest control such as sticky tape), watering, health monitoring, etc.
  -And more!
  
  Fall
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  Fall tasks include:
  - Working on the cabin
  - Cleaning up the fields
  - Planting garlic
  - Animal care
  
  Learning Opportunities
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  We are excited to share our experience of farming, tiny home building, gardening, sustainability and regenerative agriculture with others. We have many opportunities available for learning, including greenhouse production, planting, seeding, irrigation, natural fertilization, biological controls used for pest management, and everything else it takes to get our vegetables from seeds to a the table!
  
  House Rules/Overview
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  -Our biggest rule is that we ask that you are respectful to everyone, including our animals, the soil and environment. We have a lot of different volunteers and opinions; be kind, and be understanding of others. If there are any issues, please feel free to come and talk to us. We like to be open and discuss issues before they become bigger and don’t want anyone to feel frustrated or overwhelmed.
  -We will ask that you keep the camper/room clean and clean up after yourself.
  -All food is provided, and we will generally cook and eat together but you may be making your own breakfast and lunches with the food provided.
  -A good attitude makes all the difference in having a positive, healthy work environment. We totally understand everyone has their off days, but ask that you do your best to have a positive attitude and work hard. Farming/Homesteading is hard work and we need people who are committed and understand that it’s not always easy.
  -We will generally expect you to help 5 hours/day, 5 days a week. There may be longer/shorter days based on the day of week and what needs to be done, but you won’t work more than 25 hours per week.
  -We always take Sundays off, and other day off will be rotated depending on how many people we have. Sunday is our day off as well, so you will have to cook and care for yourself Sunday’s. We will also schedule in some time for day trips, etc. where possible.
  
  Please bring: Rubber boots, warm clothes for May/September, comfortable working shoes, bathing suit, summer outdoor clothing (shorts, t-shirts). Please remember that 99% of our work is outside! Bring appropriate clothing. Sunscreen, a hat, and a water bottle are also recommended. We do have camping gear for trips but if you have a sleeping bag bring that as well!
  
  What we are looking for
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  We are looking for reliable, like-minded people who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty and work hard. Enthusiasm about growing your own food/sustainability/building always makes the project fun! Please come prepared, we try to schedule in time for adventure and fun as possible but this is hard work! We really need people who understand this and are able to put their best foot forward. This is a fantastic learning opportunity and we love to teach/show you what we’ve learned.
  
  Opportunities in the Area
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  We also have fun outside of working on the farm and are close to Wells Gray park and Sun Peaks resort. Hiking and exploring are definitely options, and there are horses on the property for those interested in riding. Sun Peaks is incredible during summer months, with many wildflowers and beautiful mountain scenes. There may be some opportunity for skiing at Sun Peaks resort during November/March for those who come during the winter season. We also have some incredible lakes in the area and canoes and kayaks, a boating/camping trip may be an option depending on when you come. We sometimes go to the lake after a hot day of working in the field, with a close swimming lake roughly 15 minutes from the property. There are lots of opportunities for hiking on the property as well! We enjoy sharing our culture and way of life with people who come and stay with us and enjoy chatting and getting to know new people but also appreciate/respect alone time. Balance is key!
  
  We’re looking forward to meeting you! Send us a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

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

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We’re both Canadian and are from Swiss + Latino families - our home is a bit of a combo of both! We speak Spanish, some Swiss German, and cook Central American, Swiss, and Canadian meals. We love learning about new cultures and countries. Both of us were raised on Canadian farms and have a lot to offer when it comes to learning about farm life and the Canadian lifestyle. We live in a beautiful area with lots of land and animals and are very close to Wells Gray Park and Sunpeaks.

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  Help

  For those interested in volunteering in the garden, tasks include:
  
  -Weeding; we use a large assortment of hand tools for weeding. This is our most common task in the garden.
  -Compost spreading/bed preparation/natural fertilizer application
  -Tomato and Cucumber pruning
  -Seeding; this includes both seeding outside with a hand-operated seeder as well as seeding in trays in the greenhouse
  -Harvesting our vegetables! We are careful to plant successive crops so we always have food available, and share this food with our friends and neighbours as well!
  -Most of our vegetables are cleaned in our wash & pack station before going to the cooler or being packed into bins.
  -Field/bed cleanup. This happens when a bed has been harvested, and also includes cleanup around the field such as trimming grass.
  -Laying tarp - a lot of our items are planted into tarps for weed control.
  -Transplanting - all of our lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, fennel, leeks, squash, brassicas, celery, chard and herbs are transplanted from our greenhouse.
  -General cleanup: we regularly clean our vegetable storage bins, cooler, greenhouses and tool shed.
  -General plant care; pest control (natural pest control such as sticky tape), watering, health monitoring, etc.
  -And more!
  
  For those interested in helping with our homestead, tasks include:
  
  -framing and building walls
  - landscaping
  -drywall installation
  -siding installation
  -and everything else involved with getting our home finished!
  
  Please note that these projects are not set, we are happy to have you help with both!

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  German: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  Accommodation will be in a camper. Our diet (especially during summer) consists very heavily of food produced on our farm including grass fed beef, home baked breads, eggs, and of course all of our vegetables. Food is included! Bedding, towels, and homemade soap is provided as well. Let us know if you have any dietary restrictions and we will do our best to accommodate, but please do let us know before arriving so we can prepare. Unfortunately we are unable to host vegans at this time, but can host vegetarians. During our busiest times of year (April-September)the campter will be shared with other workawayers.

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  What else ...

  You will always get two days a week off. Sunday’s you will always have off, as well as another day of the week that may change based on what needs to be done. Sunpeaks Resort is beautiful this time of year and is only a 45 minute drive away and has a host of biking, hiking, and other outdoor activities. We are also central to many lakes, with some as close as 15 mins away that are perfect for swimming. Wells Gray Park is also about an hour away. Horseback riding is another option, as we have many horses on the farm and lots of land to explore.
  
  No experience is required, all we are looking for is someone who’s interested in learning new things, is hardworking, cleans up after themselves, can take instruction, and is easygoing. You will be spending a lot of time with the two of us but there are often other workawayers on the ranch as well as the rest of the family. We have been workawayers ourselves so we certainly know what it’s like to be on the other side of the spectrum.

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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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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