Profile information
Host rating
65 %
Last replied
11 Mar 2024
Reply rate
72.7 %
Usually responds within 70 days
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Details
Description
We are couple living in a nice old stone farmhouse that we have recently been modernising. We are quite deep in the countryside with no near neighbours, although are only a few kilometres from the pleasant and interesting town of Kenmare. The house is in 17 hectares of woodlands on the banks of the Roughty river, including several hundred metres of river frontage.
The woodland is diverse with quite extensive areas of semi-ancient forest and areas of recent planting, nearly all of native broadleaves. We have oak, ash, birch, alder, Scots Pine, larch, spruce, Douglas Fir, sycamore, hazel, holly, willows and goodness knows what else.
We are managing the woods for the benefit of wildlife and will be taking some timber out, but production of timber isn’t the primary goal. It is already a rich area for wildlife, with resident pine martens, badgers, deer and hares. Bird life includes ravens, buzzards, sparrowhawks, jays, any number of tits and finches, thrushes, wrens, jays, treecreepers, pheasants, woodpigeons, kingfishers, herons, mallards and cormorants.
We have established a small sawmill for producing our own timber, at the moment just for our own use and also lathes for woodturning and a small pottery studio. There is a bungalow on site that we use for holiday letting.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Although we have only been here for three years we are a sociable couple and are gradually getting embedded into the fabric of this interesting area of small farms, forestry, and a substantial smattering of blowins like us, many of whom have interesting cultural lives.
Help
We particularly need help with our woodlands, specifically in vegetation control. We had to remove young Ash trees from three areas, where they had become fatally infected with Ash Dieback disease.
These areas have now been replanted with oaks, birch and other species. The new areas are well protected from deer by fences, but in the first two or three years of establishment the trees (especially the oaks) need protection from other vegetation, particular blackberry bushes (usually known as briars). The normal forestry treatment is to apply glyphosate weedkiller but we see no point in beginning a project intended to aid diversity and richness with the application of lots of poison.
We both still have “day jobs” and need help in manually cutting back and trampling the vegetation around the trees. This is done with hand tools and feet. We also have a modest problem of invasive species in the woods themselves which needs some manual removing.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
German: Intermediate
French: Beginner
Accommodation
You will live in our house - or possibly in the holiday accommodation. This depends on whether we have visitors. We enjoy cooking and eating and would expect to all eat together - we are omnivores and are adaptable to the diets of guests.
What else ...
We also like to play around with boats and the sea and this is not far from the coast. It’s a famously picturesque part of the world and there is great walking and cycling.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We've got pretty good wi-fi, and there's usually a quiet area of the house to work in.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
