Come help me build a natural house in a forest not far from Vilnius, Lithuania

Details

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  Description

  About The Land:
  This land is wild. It is not for everyone There's no electricity except for a battery to charge devices. There's no running water, only a well with a hand pump. The closest village with a small store is almost 4km away. As of yet, the only building is a small greenhouse, and the only place to chill is in the outdoor kitchen or wherever it is you'll be sleeping. Depending on how hot it is, there may be lots of mosquitoes, and because sustainability is so important to me, we are against any chemicals. This land to us is sacred, and we demand anyone who comes to visit treats it and the neighbors with respect. We ask you try to avoid bringing any single-use disposables as we do not have a trash can around (it's a forest). There is no shower, however, there's a clean river ~400 meters away, where we often go when it's hot and sometimes wash our clothes in it. There is absolutely no tobacco smoking on the land. If you are a smoker, we ask you to walk two minutes off of the property to do so. Aside from the exception of a bit of red wine for health, there is no alcohol consumption on the land.
  
  Furthermore, this land for us is a school where we've returned to our childhood to build a closer connection with nature and to disconnect from the chaos of society a little. If you're curious, creative, respectful, and open-minded then this might be a good fit for you. As we live without a car, the closest village, Musninkai is accessible from Vilnius by bus. Depending if our neighbor is around, he could likely pick you up from there, otherwise, by bike, it's an enjoyable several-hour ride.
  
  About Us:
  We are Ieva and Marius. Marius moved here in 2019 to start a livable permaculture food forest and to live more in tune with nature and Ieva came along. After a few more years of building, planting, and tending, we hope to extensively travel once again and volunteer ourselves. For now, we're building a house with our own hands, so we can better tend to the land. Marius traveled and volunteered a bit and enjoyed the exchange so much that we want to vicariously travel through you while we're grounded. We're into everything nature, natural medicine, arts, self-sustainability, community, and spirituality/religions.
  
  If you feel you meet and are drawn to the criteria, then we'd love for you to visit. Even more so if you have experience in construction, woodworking, creativity, speak a foreign language, or have an eagerness to learn. We're interested in foreign languages. Marius and Ieva speak English, Lithuanian, Spanish, and Russian. Marius also speaks some German, French, and Polish although all cultures are interesting, as they all offer a unique perspective.
  
  In terms of food, throughout the season there's plenty of food to forage as well non-chemically grown food from some nearby farmers, who offer staple foods. We have a large tent for you to sleep in with a comfy mattress. We offer three meals a day in exchange for your help. We're looking for people who share our values towards self-sustainability and are drawn to sometimes work more than 5 hours because the projects are fun and meaningful. Otherwise, we hope you make the most of your free time exploring the surroundings, observing nature, and, enjoying the nearby river. We don't have a car, so you can either come by bike (~3 hours from Vilnius) or by bus to the closest village Musninkai, which is about 3.5km away, where I could meet you or likely arrange a ride for you here.
  
  Please let us know in advance if you have your own accomodation

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  People staying here will get an authentic experience in nature, cooking meals in an outdoor kitchen over a fire, swimming in the nearby river, meeting interesting neighbors. Marius can teach what he knows about roundwood timber construction, permaculture. Ieva can share her knowledge of Traditional Chinese medicine and herbs.

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  Help

  Construction:
  Depending on the stage we're at, we may need help with building. Unless you're specialized in working with chisels crafting tenons & mortises, Marius may put you to work debarking and schlepping wood, possibly digging, covering the roof or later on mixing clay over the straw bale walls. It's a roundwood timber frame house with clay/straw walls.
  
  Living & Maintenance:
  We could use a hand preparing meals, keeping the place tidy or making it more beautiful with art projects, pumping water, watering the garden, cutting paths with a scythe, planting fruit tree seeds, weeding, and depending on what's in season, harvesting things like tea, berries, and going mushroom foraging.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  Lithuanian: Fluent
  French: Intermediate
  Polish: Intermediate
  Russian: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  Interested in improving my French, Russian, Polish, and bits and pieces of your language
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  Accommodation

  We have a large tent with a comfy mattress, or if we're staying in it.

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  What else ...

  Our land is a 2.5Ha plot of woodland 50km from Vilnius. There's a nearby river, a castle hill (no castle though), and Kernavė, Lithuania's first capital is just 10 km away. Depending on the season there's various things going on, summer is berry season, fall is mushroom foraging season and there are cultural events in Kernavė. We may have a bike or two with us, if so one could borrow it for short trips. The phone's internet may be weak, we have a wireless router, but it's not on all day, only when needed.

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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

  We can find a place for the camper van, just let me know of your requirements

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  Can possibly accept pets

  If the pet is not one to wander all over the garden beds, I'd be open to try

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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