Work with our family on our farm in Amish country, Wisconsin, USA

Details

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  Description

  Our home and farm have been in our family for four generations. It is located near Elroy, Wisconsin and is in the heart of the Driftless Region, where the hills, rivers, and rock formations in this area are famous for predating the last Ice Age. It is a region of small family dairies, and local farmers raising crops, cattle, horses, bison, sheep, goats and poultry.
  
  We have been working for the past ten years on rebuilding our farm house, barn, stables, garage, wood shed, library, and art/performance space. We also have been working on our organic kitchen garden, and a small fruit orchard with plans for expanding. The surrounding 600 acre property has been farmed by an Amish family since 1998, and as such, has not had any fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides used in over 25 years. Beautiful walks in the pastures, forests and agricultural land, swimming and fishing in local lakes and ponds are a treat in this part of the country. We also have two lovely Amish horses with saddlery for riding.
  
  We are a family of five: Tamur (age 62) is a local emergency room physician; Lauren (age 61) is a specialist in maternal and child health and has been working with the UN, and other international NGOs in global health. Kailen (age 26) graduated from the University of Wisconsin in South Asian Studies and Art and studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Pars; Liam (age 21) is studying environmental science at the University of British Columbia, Canada; Nyal (age 29) is a documentary film maker telling stories about human resilience in the face of climate change.
  
  We are a traveling family and lived almost 20 years outside of the US — in Pakistan, Benin, Madagascar and France.
  
  In the past year, everyone except Tamur has begun traveling again: Nyal is making documentary films, Kailen is establishing a family business overseas, Liam is at university in Canada, and Lauren is back and forth, traveling for consultancies in international development.
  
  Tamur continues to live and work as a physician in Wisconsin, and is ow managing the homestead mostly alone, and looking for help.
  
  We love international students and travelers and would happy to welcome you in our home!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  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 have close connections with many Amish neighbors, who are engaged in farming, gardening, baking, cabinet-making, carpentry, and the raising and training of horses. A WorkAway guest would have many opportunities to interact, learn from, and work with this community while staying with us.
  
  Madison, Wisconsin, the capitol of the state, is a 90 minute drive from the farm. Madison is a small, pretty, college town, home to the University of Wisconsin, located on the isthmus between Lake Monona and Lake Mendota.
  
  Madison has many interesting restaurants and bars, a lively year-round sports scene (cross-country skiing, biking, sailing, rock climbing) and a good local music. There are farmers’ markets. The Overture Center and the Chazen Museum in downtown Madison have many interesting musical, theatrical and art events throughout the year.
  
  There is world-class experimental theatre in Spring Green, a hour from here.
  
  The city of Chicago is a three-hour drive from our farm which is home to the Art Institute of Chicago, many blues and jazz venues and a rich architectural heritage.

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  Help

  Types of work: house and property maintenance, including restoring woodwork and painting; cutting firewood, by clearing of brush and fallen trees from forest; maintaining the lawns, kitchen garden, and flower beds; tree planting and expansion of the orchard; establishment of a greenhouse; and refinishing the outlying buildings.
  
  We have an extensive set of tools and shops for for wood-working, painting, gardening and farming

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Urdu: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  We are a multi-lingual family and would love to help anyone who comes to improve their English, French, or Hindi/Urdu 🤗
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  Accommodation

  We have a fully-functioning two-bedroom guest house next to the main house for WorkAway guests - with a bathroom, kitchen, living room, dining room, wood-stove, and central heating.
  
  The property has fast internet access, an outdoor sauna, a stable, and access to our 3000-book library.
  
  The home is situated on our ancestral farm of 600 acres of pastures, ponds, and forests. The farm uses no fertilizer or pesticides, and almost no modern machinery.

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  What else ...

  Occasional outings for guests could also include canoeing on the Wisconsin, Baraboo and Kickapoo Rivers, biking on the 400 mile Elroy-Sparta bike trail through Amish country, visit to the Mississippi River, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The American Players Theatre is about 1 hour away in the town of Spring Green, near the home town of the renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.
  
  In winter months one can go cross-country skiing, ice skating, tobogganing, etc.
  
  We often have bonfires in the field.

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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 internet is fast, between 20 and 100 kbps.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  A dog would be welcome.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  5 hours a day, 5 days a week