Join our family on 10 acres of land, located just out of the small town of Geraldine, New Zealand

Details

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  Description

  Hi, Our property is located just out of the small town of Geraldine. We have been living on our 10 acre block for about 3 years.With a collection of animals to attend to - sheep, lambs, chickens, bees and fallow deer (and 2 young children) - there is always something to be done around here. We have about 3 acres of woodlot, a small stream and pond and a small orchard.Our property is totally off grid with only solar power and rain water. This means if you like to shower a lot then our place might not be for you :-) in 2021 we finished building our strawbale home. We have a sleepout on site which has a queen size bed to offer. We don't have wifi here but the local library does have free wifi to use (about 10 min drive away). The sleepout has limited solar power to run some LED lights and if its sunny enough to charge phones/tablets etc.Our toilet is a composting toilet. Our shower is also outside although enclosed. Our kids are young, Tilly is 10 and Jascha is 7 so it means we eat dinner around 5pm and then get them into bed around 7pm - after a day with the kids/at work we often head to bed early as well.We eat our own animals and are establishing a good size veggie patch. Jobs on the property range from playing with the kids, fixing fences, cutting down trees/cutting up firewood, tending to the veggie patch, feeding the animals and collecting pinecones - plus heaps more. Matt is at working during the week and I'm at home with the kids, (we homeschool) pottering and doing jobs around the place. We dont expect a full days work from those that come to stay, about 5 hours a day in return for food and accommodation. But we do work hard and hope that helpers that come will be hard workers as well. Sundays are pancake breakfasts so its always good to come for a sunday :-) Cheers Rachel, Matt, Tilly and Jascha

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We love to share what we are doing with others so they can pursue their own sustainable goal. We also love to learn from those that stay with us, be it about their culture, language or skills they may have. Matt study horticulture and is happy to share his skills. Learn about composting, fruit tree pruning, grafting, veggie planting/harvesting/preserving and cooking. Learn about how strawbale houses are built and natural building materials. See how we homeschool and what its like for us to homeschool. Learn about how to keep chickens, bees, fellow deer and sheep. And depending on when you come you may be able to learn how to process a homekill animal. And just generally learn how to run a very small farm/lifestyle block.

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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

  If you have an interest in sustainable/off grid living/strawbale builds you'd be welcome at ours :-) Tasks will depend on the weather, time of year and each persons skill set. Some of the jobs are tending to the chickens and sheep, collecting pine cones, weeding, helping in the veggie garden, helping with the kids, cooking dinner, mowing the lawns, stacking wood plus many other different types of jobs.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent

  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

  We built our own straw bale house, completed in 2021. We have a shed house for use for helpers. It has a small kitchen area and a queen size bed. There is a composting toilet for the shed house.

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  What else ...

  Our property is about 10km south of geraldine. There is no public transport, we do have a push bike otherwise I head into town a couple of times a week.

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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?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  5 hours a day, 5 days a week (max 25/hours/week)