Profile information
Host rating
85 %
Last replied
24 Oct 2023
Feedback
2
Email verified
Details
Description
**Please note, that we are only interested in hosting international workawayers (not Canadian workawayers) and we will only consider workawayers registered with this program. Also, if you are a vegetarian, vegan, have food allergies or are simply a picky eater, you aren't a good fit for us.
We are a family of 7, (grandparents, parents and 3 children ages 7-9-13. The mother and children were born in Venezuela and the grandparents and father was born in Canada ). We will include you in our activities, but are also fine giving you space to do your own thing as well.
We can accommodate a couple or 1 person. Your duties could be anything help with building a new dock, helping with replacing pilings on a historic building which is built on the water, painting, roof repair, or slashing out trails in the community that have become overgrown for everyone to enjoy, getting firewood or working on the playground that we are building. We prefer hardy individuals - those who are willing to learn and do whatever jobs there are to do. If you can't get out of bed in the morning, need to be on your phone constantly or can't make it on time for meals, you probably will not be a good fit for us. Ideally, we'd like to feed you breakfast at 8 am, have you work from 8 - 1:00, feed you lunch and then the rest of your days is yours (with supper normally around 6 pm) We like to take time off to do family things provided that our work is caught up, so your efforts make a difference in how much we will be able to do with you. We are located on the Ocean in a remote part of BC with a huge 17 mile long lake above us. We have kayaks and fishing gear for you to use, there are also a multitude of hiking opportunities.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
This is of the most beautiful places in Canada. For those who love the remote and rugged coastline, and its abundance of wildlife and sea creatures, a plethora of berries and vegetation, hiking and fishing opportunities, this is paradise. There are many boaters from the US and Canada who make their way into our inlet to spend a night or two at the dock on their way to Alaska or other coastal destinations. Life is casual and unhurried, but never dull! The days go by very quickly.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Ocean Falls is very remote and located on one of the protected channels of the Central BC coast. This is the remains of a once-thriving community of nearly 5000 inhabitants over 40 years ago. With the remaining aging population of approximately 50 full-time residents, it is difficult to keep up with the challenges of living in the Great Bear Rain Forest. Duties could be anything from painting to building, to vegetation control. We are an intergenerational family of 7. Les & Toni (Grampa and Gramma) speak English. Marc, Genesis, (Parents), children Angela (13, Sebastian (10) and Zachary (8) (immigrated from Venezuela) speak English and Spanish. We all live in the original townsite of Ocean Falls. We have the Old Bank Inn (Bed & Board), the original fire house (turned into a residence for Marc and family) and the Marine Ways building. We also take care of the Company House.
There are no stores or cell phones although we do have limited satellite internet and a landline.
It is not easy to get to Ocean Falls due to its remote location.
To get here, you can either fly from Vancouver South Terminal to Bella Bella via Pacific Coastal and we can pick you pick you up from there and it is a one hour boat ride to Ocean Falls, or you can fly directly from Port Hardy to Ocean Falls on Tuesdays or Fridays.
A cheaper option would be to take the ferry from Port Hardy or Bella Coola directly to Ocean Falls (This is not a daily ferry - Winter schedule ferries leave Bella Coola every Friday going to Ocean Fall and leaving Ocean Falls back to Bella Coola on Sundays. (If you were coming from Port Hardy, Winter schedule ferry arrives in Ocean Falls on Sunday mornings and leaves Ocean Falls back to Port Hardy on Friday evenings)
Summer schedule ferries only arrive twice within 2 weeks, first on a Wednesday and then the following Sunday, skips a week and starts again.
Summer schedule dates leaving Ocean Falls by ferry are one day after each arrival day.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Accommodation
You will be staying right on the ocean either in a houseboat at the dock or in a room in our marine way, a huge heritage building situated on pilings on the water. You will be provided with bed and bedding as well as meals. We cannot accommodate vegetarians or vegans or any other specialized diets due to the difficulty in accessing groceries.
What else ...
There is never enough time to do all the things there is to do.... hiking, ocean fishing, lake fishing, crabbing, exploring. We always have on-going maintenance on our buildings but we also like to make time to put back into this community when we can, like brushing and trail clearing, etc, and you would be helping us with those projects too. You MUST be a non-smoker and once again, we do not wish to work around specialized diets. If you can't or won't eat nearly everything, we're probably not a good choice for you.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
We can set you up with water and electricity and have an outdoor flush toilet and sink to access. You would be parked on a paved service road beside our park/playground. If you are staying in your own van / motorhome, your dog is welcome.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
5 hours , 5 days a week
