Josee

Canada
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Profile information

Travel information
I am currently
At home
Activities i am interested in:
I enjoyed being outside and most of my recreational activities take place in the outdoors. I enjoy hiking, and white water canoeing in the summer, and skiing in the winter. I love playing cards too!
My next destination:
Newfoundland, Canada - from May 2024 until Oct 2024
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Description
I am an active person who enjoys meeting and being around others. I enjoy learning new skills and working outdoors. I also have a passion for animals. I believe that "travel with a purpose" is the best way to get to know people and cultures, whether at home or abroad.
Interests
Sustainability
Charity work
Culture
Plant care
Van life
Carpentry
DIY & crafts
Winter sports
Water sports
Pets
Nature
Outdoor activities
Mountain
Languages
Gardening
Hiking
Farming
Adventure sports
Camping
Animals
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: Fluent
Italian: Intermediate
Portuguese: Intermediate
German: Beginner
Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn
I'm interested in:
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Charity Work
Some knowledge of:
Animal Care
Life at a Farmstay
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Helping around the house
Able to teach about:
Hospitality/Tourism
More details about your skills
I owned and ran a home B&B for 25 years and have enjoyed meeting people from all over the world.

I am very social, self-motivated and task oriented! I speak French (native tongue), English, and Spanish fluently, and can converse in Italian and Portuguese. I can also struggle through very basic German!

As I mentioned, I have a passion for animals, and I volunteered at my local animal shelter for 8 years, working mainly with dogs. I have owned a dog pretty much all of my adult life, but I am currently "dogless".

I have recently discovered farm life, helping a friend during seeding seasons and during harvest seasons. Tasks included refuelling vehicles, moving and setting up augers using tractors, driving grain trucks, general maintenance around the farm yard, cooking and bringing meals to workers in the field, gardening, running errands to get parts, and the list goes on! I have also spent time helping out on another friend's hobby farm where there are many garden beds and vegetable crops to attend to, and a variety of animals such as donkeys, llamas, dogs and chickens. I really enjoyed learning about animal husbandry, especially working with the donkeys!

My first Workaway experience was on a fibre producing ranch where I worked daily with the herding dog. My duties involved daily feeding and watering of all the animals, taking the sheep and goats out to pasture, caring for the young sheep, lambs and puppies, as well as some general maintenance.

I have also travelled to Ecuador, during which time I did another Workaway experience. For a couple of weeks, I gave a hand to a local tradesman with the construction of a bamboo house. I had heard about an animal rescue shelter run by a local woman, Fabiola. There was no accommodation available onsite but I dropped by a number of times to lend a hand with the dogs and horses. I helped out with dog walking and bathing, food preparation, spraying horses with an anti-parasite formula, trimming manes and caring for a hoof injury. It was quite an eye-opening experience to see the dedication of Fabiola taking care of so many animals on her own.

My most recent volunteering experience was a 2 months stay, last spring, at My Lovely Pig Rescue, a pig rescue farm in Ireland. It was an interesting opportunity to learn about pigs in general, their personalities and needs for care. The place was run "hostel style", with about a dozen volunteers from all over the world. We worked as teams looking after the feeding and watering, mucking out and any other tasks related to animal care. It was also a chance to visit the country and get a taste of the Irish culture.
Age
57
What else ...
I am probably older than the average "workawayer" but I come with work and life experience! LOL. I have lost someone dear to me to cancer just before Covid and it made me realize that life can be unpredictable and short. So "now" became the time to tick off items on that bucket list rather than just looking at it . I am fit and healthy and have been looking for new life adventures!
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
  quinoa (grain)
- Special dietary requirements
  no quinoa

Feedback

23 Jun 2023

Left by Workawayer (Josee) for host (Help out on our quaint rescue ...)

I was contacted last fall by the Pig Rescue who was seeking volunteers with some animal care experience to join their team during the winter season.

I had the chance to come by for a brief tour and I was certainly taken by the vibe of purposefulness at the farm. And yes, the few pigs I met won my heart!

After reviewing a document outlining in… read more more details the work and communal living routine at the pig rescue, I decided to go back for most of March and April. Here is my assessment of my experience at the rescue farm, which includes the good, the bad and the ugly!

"The good"
Overall, it was a once in a lifetime experience working with pigs of all sizes, ages and states of health. Caring for such underrated animals was an eye opener: pigs are funny, curious, affectionate and very endearing! I learned a lot, not only from my mentors/trainers but also from the animals themselves. Cathy (owner), Tara, Sarah and Jan, who are the backbone of the organization, were an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience. Their dedication to this non-profit organization is pretty amazing and inspiring.

The rescue farm is run very much hostel style: the "crew" was quite young (19-26 years old) and very international, with most people interested in meeting other like-minded folks. We had lots of interesting conversations and many a fun game nights. I was incredibly fortunate to be assigned the only single room on site, probably out of courtesy for the age difference with the rest of the crew! I was impressed by the delicious meals that were prepared and learned a lot about vegan cuisine.

"The bad"
I will fault the rescue farm here for not being transparent with their expectations: the work hours both on this website, and in the volunteer handout I got in advance, are stated as 5hr/day. However, the daily routine is set as a 6 hour workday (8:30-12:30 & 4-6)...that is if nothing goes sideways and there are enough volunteers. Also, I was told that the preparation of meals (lunch and dinner) and dishes duties would be considered part of the volunteering hours, but they were in addition of the work hours. This is quite different to what I was told before arriving and it has nothing to do with the unforeseen nature of a farm environment that can lead to longer days than expected.

"The ugly"
Unfortunately, during the 2 months of my stay, the communal living conditions really deteriorated at the farm. Living with a group of very young adults seemed to come at the cost of cleanliness and adequate standards of hygiene. There seemed to be a general disregard for tidying up after oneself and there were often leftover snacks left on tables and counters overnight. The compost bins and food supplies storage were inadequate and not surprisingly, we ended up with mice and rats getting into our food. Storage containers were acquired eventually for some of the goods, but by then it was a losing battle agains the little critters.

In summary, the pig rescue is a rescue farm that takes animal care and love to “the next” level. It offers a unique opportunity to work closely with animals. The potential to meet and learn from likeminded people is very attractive. However, I think that volunteers should be aware that the reality of the place doesn’t fully match the description when it comes to the workload. Also, a busy work place can get messy but in my opinion, the communal living conditions were approaching an un-sanitary state.

(Very good )

11 Mar 2022

Left by host (Come and help me with my ...) for Workawayer (Josee)

Josee and her friend were really great volunteers and I can highly recommand them to any host. They're smart, hard working and efficient. When I had to leave to Quito for an emergency, I felt very confident in leaving my house in their hands.
Thanks for all your help.
Best wishes,
Sirena

(Excellent )

3 Mar 2022

Left by Workawayer (Josee) for host (Come and help me with my ...)

I spent 2 weeks at the house in January and it was definitely a unique experience! Sirena is very passionate about her house building project, which has been a life long journey. The house is set amongst huge trees that provide shade and keep the house cool and comfortable on sunny days. It is an open-air house and I really enjoyed the sounds of… read more

(Very good )

8 Mar 2022

Left by Workawayer (Josee) for host (Shelter of Animals and ...)

I got in touch with Fabiola who runs this animal rescue center while I was staying in Mompiche. It was confusing a little bit at first because her website is not quite up to date with her new location. Essentially, due to a big weather/tidal event in 2018 that destroyed the shelter along the beach, she was forced to move with her animals to… read more

(Excellent )

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23 Jun 2023

Left by Workawayer (Josee) for host (Help out on our quaint rescue ...)

(Very good )

11 Mar 2022

Left by host (Come and help me with my ...) for Workawayer (Josee)

(Excellent )

3 Mar 2022

Left by Workawayer (Josee) for host (Come and help me with my ...)

(Very good )

8 Mar 2022

Left by Workawayer (Josee) for host (Shelter of Animals and ...)

(Excellent )

10 Nov 2021

Left by Workawayer (Josee) for host (Learn about ranch life in in ...)

It is difficult to rate my experience as I stayed at the ranch during what was a very challenging transition time for Laurie, the owner. She had just moved from her small farm back to the ranch, and was facing some unexpected difficulties dealing with a tenant and his animals.

My experience should be rated into 2 parts as I had to interrupt my 3… read more weeks stay due to this undesirable tenant living on the premises. I was told that he was not a good housekeeper, and was given the choice to arrive at a later date, but I did not think it would be an issue. However, the description of "not being a good housekeeper" was a gross understatement, so I elected to leave and come back once that situation was resolved. It was a very stressful time for Laurie as well. Luckily, I had my own transportation and was not too far from my home town. I was able to wait it out and come back a week later once he was moved out and the place was cleaned up and in better shape.

The fact that I came back speaks for itself: I had gotten a taste of ranch life and wanted more! I really enjoyed learning about ranch life, animal welfare and animal care...it is a lot of work, but it is rewarding work. I absolutely loved working with the animals and had lots of opportunities with the sheep, goats, alpacas, llama, chickens and dogs.

I learned to lead herds into pastures and to round them up at the end of the day with the help of Shilo, the Border Collie. I was shown how to wrangle sheep and goats in order to weigh them and sort them. Laurie also taught me how to handle sheep and goats in order to give de-worming medication orally via syringe. Working with livestock often requires a subtle approach, and I am grateful that she imparted that knowledge right from the start. Her teaching style is pretty direct, but it works: you will be told if you are doing right or wrong! She is passionate about her animals and their welfare, and has a very interesting breeding program to produce some very unique and beautiful blends of fibres.

My daily chores included morning and evening feeding/watering of all the animals. A very unique side of this was tending to the "orphans": a mixed group of 19 goats and sheep that were bottle fed as babies and that act more like pets than livestock...very endearing!

There were a lot of dogs to look after as well: 3 Great Pyrenees that were about 8 months old and a litter of 7 Border Collie/Great Pyrenees puppies that were 8 weeks old by the time I left. These pups were in addition to 5 other adult dogs part of the ranch, all very nice with their unique personalities. It was also fun to tend to the chickens and look around for eggs that the hens seemed to lay in the most obscured places sometimes! I also helped out Roger, the handyman, with a few projects. That was more by choice than obligation as I tend to like to keep busy...and there is always something to do on a ranch!

I was flattered that Laurie entrusted the ranch to me for 3 days as she needed to go and deliver wool to various processing locations. She was always easily reachable to answer any questions and provide support with any situation that came up during her absence, such as a little ewe lamb becoming quite ill.

The accommodation is simple and comfortable...Be ready to share your living space with some dogs! Evenings were quiet, with some chats at times, but we were most often quite tired from our day's work and retired early to our respective rooms. I think this is a good place for people who are comfortable working independently and who follow instructions well. It is physical work, and you can get quite dirty at times, but that is all part of living on a ranch and working with animals!

Thank you Laurie for your patience sharing your knowledge with me. I enjoyed getting to know you and your four legged family! This was my first Workaway experience and it was quite unique!

(Very good )

5 Nov 2021

Left by host for Workawayer (Josee)

Having Josee help out was a complete pleasure. If you get the opportunity to host her you can't go wrong.
She dug right in here to help with daily farm chores, herd Heath, caring for the dogs and help in the kitchen. She is a very fast learner and when it comes to handling livestock she is a natural! Her skills with handling dogs are also… read more

(Excellent )

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