Come and experience finnish culture and help out on our fruit farm in lovely surroundings in Kiila, Finland.

Finland

Favourited 189 times

Host rating
Feedback
11
Last activity
19/08/2019
Nº of Facebook friends
327
Reply rate
82.8 %
Average reply time:
within 10 days
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Availability

2019

Min stay requested: at least a week

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Details

Description
We have a half a hectare (ca. 1 acres) of organic apple trees next to our house. We need help mostly with apples in August and September. In addition to the apples we keep bees and chickens and grow vegetables and berries for our own use.

In 2019 we would also need help for scraping and painting our house (outside walls) in the spring and starting a small nursery.

We prefer a bit older volunteers. You should be at least 21 years old and have previous farming or other physical work experience. You should enjoy working independently. Tasks can be physically demanding.

Volunteers can stay in a tent or in our house. We can take one volunteer at the time or two if you're a couple.

About us: Tuija (43) is a mother of Uula (9) and Tilda (12). Juha (40) is Tuija's partner. Tuija is a part-time gardener, a massage therapist whose interests include singing, dancing, nature religions. Juha is a horticulturist. His hobbies include yin yoga, cycling, playing guitar and gardening.
Type of help
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Farmstay
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are more than happy to teach you about finnish culture and teach you some finnish language if you are interested. And of course we will take you to a finnish sauna!
Help
At the moment we would need people to help with painting the house walls (including scraping the old paint away) Work is hard so we prefer people who are used to do hard physical tasks.

Autumn work includes picking, sorting out and processing apples.
We also have a vegetable garden and a greenhouse / polytunnel, where there is a lot to do outside the apple season. We're also aiming to start a small nursery in our place.

Sorry but we can not take people who need to be granted working visas, because this takes too much time at the moment.
Languages spoken
finnish, english, swedish (Juha is eager to learn spanish)
Accommodation
Volunteers can stay in a tent or a large bell tent (provided by us) or upstairs in our house. We can take one (or two if a couple) volunteers at the time.
What else ...
We are located in Kemiönsaari (Kimito Island) in the southwestern archipelago. Nearest towns are Salo (27 km) and Turku (70 km). Our surroundings are very nice with plenty of forest, fields and a beach near by. On the other side of the road there is an organic garden & summer cafe with an art gallery. Nearest town with shops is 13 km away. On your free time you are very welcome to go cycling, pick blueberries, lingonberries and mushrooms from the surrounding forests and take our dog for a long walk.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Photos

Feedback left by and about host (11)

31/01/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Fatima Zahra)

Fatima, Thank you so much! You being here made our summer just perfect. It was exactly what workaway is all about: getting to know new people from other cultures and sharing your own culture with them. It can be so much more than just volunteering work.
Sometimes, like now, you end up finding new friends !
We enjoyed Fatima's company and help at… read more

(Excellent )

22/09/2018

Left by Workawayer (Fatima Zahra) for host

If my feedback is a little bit late, Maybe because I needed more time to assimilate such an exotic experience with many first times of many wonderful things.
I met up first Juha since he was very nice to offer to pick me up from my first host s place.Then it was a pleasure to meet Tuija , Tilda and Uula when they were back home.
Vevey was excited… read more when she met me the first time, she had to smell me to become quiet and very freindly .
I had the opportunity to enjoy the nice countryside, the forest and the beach in Tuija and Juha s place. The house is a typical finn building. It is very nice inside with the nice kitchen , « moroccan » bathroom, the room they gave me upstairs with nice view, and marvellous outside with its beautiful garden and a lovely finn sauna of course.
Such a magical place. Indeed, even a local radio was interested in Tuija and Juha s nice farm, where a journalist came for a reportage with Tuija about organic planting. It was in swedish language and it was very interesting.
So I was so lucky to be in that nice place and to discover the farm every day more during my stay with my nice hosts. I spent very nice moment there with them, picking apples, making juice , cutting appels for jam during my work time. And cooking slow foods , having dinner and enjoying the weather when it was nice outside in the evening.
The work is not physically diffficult and I like it even it was sometimes warm or sometimes raining. And I have a very nice video of me in trees while picking apples .
I was lucky also to meet up my hosts s other guests and share the experience of cooking slow food together : a real muticultural exchange (north europeen- north and south american- and north africain).
My nice hosts gave me the opportunity to use their kitchen and try a « moroccan » apple s cake. I was happy that the kids liked it, and I made it one more time half of it without raisin for them.
In fact, I was proud of myself , and it was a real pleasure to share something local with my hosts.
Tuija gave me also the chance to try the wooden finn sauna after a very nice dinner in wich we tryed apple cider and had very funny discussions . I still remember that we laughed a lot that evening. It was amasing.
I was also very excited to try organic foods at my nice host s place ; apples, apple s juice, honey vegetables, fruits, and also vinegar.
And, as a person coming from a city like me, digging out potatoes from the ground to cook them will be really an unforgettable experience. And they were really very tasty.
In my free time, we went to the Westers restaurant next to us where we had organic ice cream , sweet cakes, and drinks . We coocked also there tasty pizza. And we met many people with whom we had very nice moments that evening : the neighbours , Tuija’ s freind with whom she is playing music and her family, Juha s nice cousin, and also a freind of mine who tried coocking fish .
In my free time we walked also to the beatch with Vivey. She likes to swim and play when there s no people there. I should apologize to her because it happens to me once to let her wait for me a lot while walking through the forest . But, I think it was not my fault, the berries were just delicious, and I spent a lot of time picking and eating them while the poor was waiting, then she started moaning. She was my best companion and I took her with me to take fotos of her and to say goodbye to the beatch before I left.
The last day of my stay we went Tuija and me to Helsinki market. I was sure she will sell all the apples and the juice we brought with us and I was right. She sells them all because they re good organic tasty foods from her nice apple s farm.
Then she managed a place for me to stay the time to move to my next host s place. In fact I stayed at her freind s place in Helsinki . She was very nice, she showed me arround and we spent nice moment together with her cute daughter . She also helped with my next trip to Lapland and with my flight back home.
Juha was also very helpful and It was very kind from him to write a reference my next host had asked for and to send it to her. I really appreciate it.
I can say that I was really very lucky to stay in such a nice place with such very nice hosts .
I stayed in their place about two weeks . And I hope to come back there one day.
Because it was just a fabulous wonderfull experience with them.
And I can easily recommend Tuija and Juha as hosts . They re just great, and have the chance to stay at their nice place for help is a fabulous experience that should be tried not oly once but more, because it is just magical.

(Excellent )

10/09/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Froger)

We could not have found a better volunteer than Chloé. Working and talking with her was so easy and nice that we would have liked her to stay for much longer time. Loved to spend time with her. You are welcome back any time.

(Excellent )

10/09/2018

Left by Workawayer (Froger) for host

I spent two and a half week with Juha & Tuija, and it was amazing! I helped wih the apples, to pick them in the trees and making juice, jam and omenasose. I also helped around in the garden and cooked some cakes :) I loved taking Viivi (the dog) for a walk, bicycling with Juha and speak about life with Tuija. I could go to the cider festival in… read more

(Excellent )

04/03/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Leonie & Sarah)

Thank you so much Leonie & Sarah!
We enjoyed your company a lot and are really grateful for all your help at the farm!
We can wholeheartedly recommend everyone to host Leonie and Sarah.

(Excellent )

30/09/2017

Left by Workawayer (Leonie & Sarah) for host

We spent one week with Juha, Tuija and the kids on their farm and had a really great time! They are wonderful people, very friendly and helpful and they gave us a good insight into Finnish culture :) We picked apples and made juice and also helped a little in the greenhouse. It was a wonderful time and we would definitely recommend going there!… read more

(Excellent )

24/07/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Jack & Peta)

Jack and Peta were excellent helpers and great company to have around. We can recommend them for everyone!

(Excellent )

16/07/2017

Left by Workawayer (Jack & Peta) for host

The few weeks we spent with Juha and Tuija were absolutely amazing. We could have easily stayed longer if we had the time. Living and working here was such a wonderful experience. We are eager to start our own permaculture garden when we go home after learning all about it from Juha. We always felt very welcome in their home, we were invited to… read more

(Excellent )

04/04/2017

Left by Workawayer (RAFAŁ & MAŁGORZATA) for host

We couldn't have imagined a better and more rewarding stay than at Juha and Tuija's place.
They are so hospitable, outgoing and trustworthy.
Both in terms of the work itself and contact with Finnish culture, they gave us helpful instruction and advice, so me and my wife can call it ultimately fulfiling experience.
On top of that, they spent great… read more

(Excellent )

25/02/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (RAFAŁ & MAŁGORZATA)

Rafał and Gosia volunteered with us last autumn. They were a great help to us. Both are very hard-working and reliable. They are good in both garden and maintenance work. They also cook delicious food and are really nice people to spend time with. Would love to have them back anytime!

Juha & Tuija

(Excellent )

25/02/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Karl)

Karl was helping us out last autumn. We can wholeheartedly recommend him to everyone. He's hard-working, reliable and great company to have around. He also has a great sense of humour. We would happily have him back anytime!

Juha & Tuija

(Excellent )

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Host ref number: 983766483786

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