Gardening and other activities in Ballycullane, New Ross, Ireland

Details

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  Description

  We are a couple living in the 'sunny South East' of Ireland. We have a 2 acre organic garden which includes vegetables, flowers, trees and ponds. We garden using a no-dig system and make a lot of our own compost. We also do a fair amount of bottling, freezing and other preserving for the winter months. We haave a polytunnel and a newly erected dome that we haven't really purposed yet but have great plans for!
  I work 2 days a week but am otherwise retired. Martin is retired but is pretty busy with community development projects. We have 2 lovable and active dogs, 2 cats and 2 hens. We used to have a mixed organic farm but moved a few years ago as we got older. We love to travel and have a camper van which we like to go away in when we can.
  We live rurally and fairly quietly so it would be good to have someone or a couple who are happy to take the opportunity for some peace and quiet. We live quite near beaches, woodland and lovely countryside and have two e-bikes which we are happy to lend out.
  We are mainly vegetarian although do eat meat occasionally. But we are happy to cater for vegetarians although would struggle to manage a very varied vegan diet for any length of time. If someone was vegan we would be happy to get the food that they needed but might ask that they cook for themselves or at least supply me with ideas.
  i am learning to play the cello so would need some tolerance around that!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  we are happy to involve you in our lives and take you out with us when you want to. We have an extensive knowledge of vegetable growing, particularly using the no-dig method and are happy to share our expertise in this although it is important to say that we are still learning and always happy to learn new things.
  We are really interested in other cultures, ways of living and political thinking and enjoy exploring these differences and learning more about the world.
  We are both interested in Buddhism and meditation.

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  Help

  It depends to some extent on the time of year but there is usually a lot of gardening to be done, weeding, watering the polytunnel, mulching and turning compost. There may be times when we have particular house/landscaping/maintainence projects on the go like painting and decorating but we would try to match this with people who were interested in doing other tasks. We may well ask you to walk the dogs on occasion and we also hope that people will muck in with household chores. We might also occasionally want to go away for a few days in which case the task would be just keeping things ticking over and the animals fed and cared for.
  In general we are set up for shorter stays; weeks rather than months. We would like someone, or a couple, to help for about 20 hours a week. This could be fairly flexible and we would try to accommodate having a few days off in a row if you wanted to travel to other parts of Ireland. We have buses and trains to Dublin and Cork and are happy to transport people to the station. We are happy for someone to use our home as a base if they wanted to travel away for a longer period subject to us discussing and agreeing how this would work.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Beginner

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  Accommodation

  We have a comfortable bedroom available upstairs with a double bed and TV which has Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube, but not terrestrial TV. You would have your own adjoining bathroom. We sleep downstairs so there is a good sense of privacy in the guest bedroom and it has a good view over the garden and surrounding fields. Our cottage is not very big but is cosy and warm and you are welcome to feel at home in all areas of the house.
  We would of course provide all your food but we tend to be quite casual about breakfast and lunch and would hope that you would just get your own and let us know what you need us to have in stock for you. Dinner is a more communal meal and we would provide this although if someone likes to cook we are quite happy for that to happen as well!

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  What else ...

  We do need people who are fairly self sufficient and happy with their own company and being out in the countryside as it is quiet where we live. In recognising that we always try to accommodate assisting people with lifts to somewhere they might want to visit. This situation may be better for a slightly older person although we are not fixed about that - it's just that we are not young ourselves!! We are fairly close to Waterford and Wexford and are at the top of the Hook Peninsula which has some lovely beaches.

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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

  Our internet is reasonable and due to be upgraded in the coming months. I work a couple of days a week from home but would happily share my work space on other days. Alternatively we could fix up a table in your bedroom.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We can offer EHU, fresh water and chemical toilet disposal as long as eco-friendly product is used.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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