Help aroud horses, kids and household in Hredle, Czech Republic

Detalles

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  Descripción

  We are a family of 4 boys, 8 horses and ponies and a big dog. We are a very active and sometimes chaotic family, we play with horses, we do art projects, play board games or larps, we organize a lot of events during the year…
  
  Matej (10) loves strategic board games, aircraft models, airsoft and mathematics. He understands some English, but refuses to speak it.
  Kfyštof (8) loves orienteering, party board games, crafting, learning and providing first aid, airsoft and everything related to the army. He understands some English and talks sometimes surprisingly well, sometimes not at all.
  Vitek (5) loves when people are happy, board and computer games of any kind, mathematics, teaching workawayers Czech, giving massages and any activities that keep his brain and senses fully occupied (which is quite hard to find). He is very verbal, knows only a little English, but likes to communicate.
  Prokop (3) loves when things are fun and he sees fun in almost anything. He loves crafting, taking walks, riding, caring for animals, dancing and book reading. He can speak about five English words, but he can use them in a very creative way and communicates really well 😀
  Bagr, the father, is a very smart and skilled inventor and craftsman. He is an amazing organizer and problem solver. He works at home, in Prague and on our second house. He seems sometimes grumpy, but is a very nice and helpful person. Surprisingly, he is the more extroverted one :) He can understand German and English, speaks usually English, but not very fluently and very reluctantly.
  Hana, the mother, is very a practical, open minded and artistic soul. She loves to meet people from around the world. But surprisingly, she is the more introverted one :) She loves working with horses and children, she loves to teach things and organize events. She loves to draw, paint and read, when she can find some free time. She works from home right now. She knows German quite well, she understands (normal:) English and speaks it with a terrible accent that she can't do anything about. She still understands Schwyzerdütsch quite well and maybe she could speak it, who knows. Last year she learned to read Korean on Duolingo, just out of curiosity, but she probably forgot it again :)
  
  We welcome people who are interested in horses and playing with the kids, so that they have a natural possibility to improve their English. We also welcome help with the common household chores and cooking.

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  Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Proyectos artísticos

  Práctica de idiomas

  Enseñanza

  Construcción y bricolaje

  Cuidado de animales

  Ayuda en una granja

  Cuidado de niños y juegos creativos

  Cocinar para toda la familia

  Ayuda doméstica

  Mantenimiento general
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  Objetivos de sostenibilidad de las NU que intenta conseguir este anfitrión

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  ¿Que es esto?
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  Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  We are a very atypical family with a very broad range of activities and interests. If you read through the info above, you will get the picture. But I will try to make it short.
  You can learn better riding or training horses, you can learn to understand and use body language. You can learn to feel and understand your body better. The horses may teach you something about your personality.
  We have small workshops for different projects - in art, sewing, leather carving or woodworking.
  We like to share cooking and baking recipes.
  It's impossible to experience “typical Czech” culture with us :) But for many it’s quite interesting to experience life in our family, visit the larp or other events with us etc.
  We can teach you new board games! :D
  
  I love to speak (when I find a peaceful moment) about books, movies, politics, God, education and school systems, art, traveling cultures, training, religion, psychology… I just don’t really enjoy small talk.

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  Proyectos con niños

  En este proyecto podría haber niños. Para obtener más información, consulta nuestras directrices y consejos aquí.

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  Ayuda

  WHEN WE JOINED WORKAWAY
  we were a small family stable and riding school for children with about 6-10 horses and ponies. We had a small team competing in pony games (mounted games). (Well, it was before we closed during covid :) ) Occasionally we were starting young horses or provided therapy for "problem" horses or ponies. We worked (and still do) according to principles of natural horsemanship, positive reinforcement and academic dressage. Hana has experience with training stunt and show horses. We teach our ponies and children circus tricks, basic stunt work and all sorts of fun stuff like that. In pony school we work according to french Galops and Kali Kiger PonyPros program.
  
  Four years we homeschooled our kids and we always looked for opportunities for them to train their English or other skills with foreigners.
  
  During the year you could meet some very interesting and inspiring people, some came just for a short visit, some stayed for several days or weeks. We had a workshop for producing bows, arrows, and LARP weapons. We sewed costumes for LARPs and living history. We had a leather workshop. So there were a lot of things you could try or learn, if somebody was able to find time to show you…
  
  Some things are still the same BUT 🙂
  A lot changed in September 2023… so I have to renew the info a little bit:
  
  The 3 older kids go to school now, because a school in a nearby village opened a Montessori class. The youngest goes from Tuesday to Thursday to a forest kindergarten.
  We started a new project in Prague and in those three days when the kids aren’t at home I work. I usually work from home, but if you come to talk to people, you might get lonely :) If you can find something to do and/or like spending a lot of time with the animals, you will be ok.
  For the regular help with horses and house maintenance we have a permanent helper - something like an au-pair :)
  Thanks to the experience we got in the past few years we prepared something like “basic workawayers characters” that come to us. If you want to come to meet us, it would be very helpful if you read through it and tell us, which one (or ones) you are and/or if you would like to participate in any of the projects in 2024. Also tell us please why you chose our family - if we are just a random pick because you want to come to the Czech republic, please find a better, more comfortable place :)
  During last year we had really many workaway applications and I only rarely say no. But we find that it was a little bit too much for our family, we also need some quiet time together in an empty house (which is never really quiet and empty with 4 kids :) ). So we would like to invite really just those volunteers, where we think they might be a perfect match with the whole family and we could enrich each other, not only survive together.
  
  PROJECTS
  In 2024 we will be part of several interesting projects:
  
  - From September 2023 we are building a larp base in Prague. We rented a big house, our larp shop will move there, but we also plan to build a big “larp fab lab” - shared workshops for lareps, cosplayers or gamers of any sort. If you are from the larp community, you might find it interesting. Right now we need help with wall painting, furniture moving, building shelves and stuff like that :)
  
  - In May we will be part of the team that organizes the festival Midsummer Tunes. We welcome volunteers who would like to help with the program for kids, music and rythmic workshops for kids, historical street games, original ideas welcomed :)
  
  - In June we will be part of the team that makes the biggest larp battle event in Czech republic - Bitva pod Horou. (We don’t really need help there, but it’s an interesting event to experience. And you could help our kids to “survive” the event :) or with building some historical tents etc. The problem is that most help needs my husband, who does not like to speak English while working, it’s too slow for him, because he is not 100% fluent.)
  
  - In July we will organize two summer camps inspired by Ranger’s Apprentice - one for new kids, one for kids that have visited our camp already many times. (We welcome one volunteer there, who has experience with horses. But be prepared to sleep in a historical tent in the middle of the forest, without modern bathroom and with food cooked on fire :) )
  
  - And in August we are with a team of storytellers preparing a big, four days long larp event from Middle-earth called Rhovanion. (We would really appreciate and pay a nanny for the kids. Czech language might be handy, but adventurous extroverts good with children might try it just with English :) Other than that we might use somebody to help to prepare the houses and tent and someone with a driver license and experience in off-road driving.)
  
  We welcome people, who want to be part of one of those projects and at the same time we have to warn you, that’s it’s not really vacation :D Ok, maybe the summer camps and the festival a little bit…
  
  CHARACTERS
  TRAVELER
  You are here mainly because it’s an affordable way of traveling, you want to see the country and work for your accommodation.
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  - There is really nothing that interesting nearby.
  - If you come without a car, you depend on public transport, which is not that great in our village.
  - The accommodation is not at all as comfortable as in a hostel or on a renovated farm.
  If you are interested in history, cities, museums, art galleries, theaters etc., you will probably find it quite boring here.
  
  +
  + If you are interested in the countryside, nature, hiking or camping in the wilderness, you might like it here. Especially if you come during July or August.
  + Public transport is quite cheap.
  + We might occasionally lend you a car or make plans together to make an interesting trip. (We don’t have a car with an AT.)
  
  You spend three hours with work, you bring hay and water to the paddock, clean the paddock and prepare the feeding for evening. The rest of the day is free for you to travel. We provide food, when you are here, but it’s not in our power to prepare meal for you travels. We are not a restaurant :)
  
  HORSEMAN
  Your main motivation is to be with horses or to learn something new.
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  - It’s hard for me to find time for training right now. If you want to learn, you have to do it also without me. I can give you a lesson twice a week and some “homework”, that means ideas, what to do. In my experience it works well with people that are a little bit experienced or have their own horse at home. Beginners are usually too insecure to train without me even if I give really easy homework. But there have been exceptions!
  +
  + If you are a good, sensitive rider (max 70kg), you can spend a lot of time trail riding.
  + I have an enormous amount of theoretical materials to study, books and videos, usually in English, Czech or German, I like to share.
  + There are great horses to learn from, different ages, different backgrounds and different levels of schooling.
  
  You will feed the horses, bring hay and water to the paddock, clean the paddock and if you have some time left do things like cut the nettles on the riding arena, clean the saddle room or treat the leather equipment and stuff like that. If summer it’s easy and relaxing, in winter hard and challenging 🙂 Usually it’s takes about 3 hours a day, 5 if you are in vacation mode and really slow or cuddle with horses while working :D (Both is absolutely ok, it’s just that the job takes longer.)
  
  TEACHER
  You are a teacher or studying pedagogy or you just know you are spontaneous and enjoy your time with kids.
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  - You have to be native speaker or speak English very well.
  - It would be very helpful if you have a driving license. (Not necessarily a car, we can usually provide one.)
  - You might get bored, if you don’t think of an activity for the not-teaching part of the week.
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  + Might be an inspiration for teachers.
  + A lot of free time - you spend 3-4 days a week at school, the rest of the week is free.
  
  You spend a day in the forest with kindergarten kids and try to play really easy games with them. It’s up to you if you want to try to prepare something or if you just want to be with them and see what they are currently interested in.
  Twice a week you spend mornings at school in Knezeves, where you volunteer in English projects with the kids. There are two traditional classes and one Montessori. It’s up to you if you want to ask the teachers what to do or come up with some ideas of your own.
  This kind of volunteering is a very new project and you will be gathering experience with us. We are still figuring out what works and what doesn’t :)
  
  CULTURAL CURIOUS
  You are not really that interested in the country, but mainly in people. You like to share recipes, traditions, customs, you like to talk about religion, school systems, education, politics, art, psychology… or whatever :D
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  - Although I really enjoy talking to visitors from around the world, right now it’s very hard for me to find time for it.
  - You might feel lonely, or even bored if you really want to talk a lot. It might help to come in winter or around a holiday.
  - We are not at all a typical sample of Czech culture!
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  + I am really interested in a lot of topics and like to talk and hear experiences and different views on all kind of topics from around the world.
  + I love to learn and gather original recipes from our visitors. (But that's a + form me, isn't it?)
  
  Right now we are at a season of life, where we have limited time for cultural exchange like that. But if your “character” is also a little bit of a teacher, horseman or craftsman/artist, you mind find something interesting to do here and sure we will find some time to talk!
  
  CRAFTSMAN / ARTIST
  You would like to get some inspiration for your own projects at home or you would like to learn new skills. Or you have ideas but no workshop.
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  - Although you can do a lot of stuff here, our workshops at home are very small and improvised.
  - Right now we are moving part of our workshops to a bigger place in Prague. We are building a shared workshop for larpers there. That’s why it might get a little chaotic here and it will be hard to find time to teach people.
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  + If you are good at learning by looking and bad at unintentionally destroying things, we can show you how it’s done and you might try it.
  + We have a workshop with basic equipment for working with wood.
  + You can make your own target or larp arrows here, if you buy mateiral.
  + You can learn leather carving or pyrography.
  + There are a lot of small pieces of leftover leather you can use for free for learning, or you can buy some bigger nicer pieces for your projects.
  + There is a room with a huge table for sewing, an enormous amount of free small pieces of fabric for patchwork or anything you can think of. You can also buy some of the fabrics in stock or bring your own.
  + We have a great library (in English or Czech) of art books and I like to share all the art supplies I have - charcoals, crayons, aquarelle, acrylics, tempera…
  
  You help around the house around 4 hours a day, usually it’s feeding the horses and bringing water, because it’s easy to explain. But if it would be too hard for you, you can help with the usual house chores, cooking and stuff like that. The rest of the day you can spend with your projects. It’s almost impossible for us to find time to teach you something right now. We can provide some quick ideas, Domestika courses or Youtube videos :D If you need a teacher or if you know that machines don’t like you and you have problems with them, please find a different place to learn, although we would like to teach people, right now it’s beyond our power.
  
  SEEKER
  You are trying to find out who you are or what you want to do in your life. Somehow I find people like that find the way to us quite often, not only over workaway.
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  - Again - I have horses, family, work… I cannot spend the whole day talking. Some evenings maybe.
  - You will have to spend some days in solitude, which may not be entirely a bad thing 🙂
  - The house tends to be a quite busy place, where people come and go, hurry, shout and stress about something, speak Czech and forget you don’t… and if you need your quiet time to think, you will have to find it in the forest or somewhere else :)
  +
  + I like to listen to people.
  + If interested, I am very open about my experience with looking for such answers and my life in general. It might help you or not at all :)
  
  You help around the house around 4 hours a day, usually it’s feeding the horses and bringing water, because it’s easy to explain. But if it would be too hard for you, you can help with the usual house chores, cooking and stuff like that. The rest of the day you can spend with yourself, books or walks... or maybe kids, they can also be very enriching in their honesty and spontaneity.

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  Idiomas

  Idiomas hablados
  Czech: Fluido
  Alemán: Fluido
  Inglés: Fluido

  Este anfitrión ofrece intercambio de idiomas
  Este anfitrión ha indicado que está interesado en compartir su idioma o aprender otro.
  Ponte en contacto con él para obtener más información.
  
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  Alojamiento

  From SEPTEMBER to JUNE
  You have a small room at our farm - our farm is still under construction, but we have warm water, good food and wi-fi :)
  The Bathroom is shared with other helpers, if there are any.
  We sometimes cook and eat together, it's very random right now :) Special diets like vegetarian or gluten free are a little bit challenging, but we will find a way. Vegan is a little complicated, since milk, cheese and eggs are a really common part of our food. But we buy stuff from local farmers and neighbors, and products from welfare treated animals as much as possible.
  If you prefer to cook for yourself, it's absolutely ok. There are two little grocery shops in our village and big supermarkets in Rakovnik (11km).
  
  During JULY and AUGUST
  For summer holidays we move the household and animals to Divocina (Wilderness), a 7ha forest we own in a very beautiful part of Czech republic with deep forests, wild animals, lakes and rocks, called Kokorinsko. There is even a badger living on our property :) It’s located near Duba (district Ceska Lipa). We organize larp events and summer camps there.
  We live in tents and shelters, we cook on a fire or gas stove, there is only cold water from barrels and dry toilets, no bathroom. To take a shower we go about once a week to Vrchovany, a nearby village, where we are trying to repair an old travel inn from 19th century. It’s a ruin, but there is a small shower with warm water in postapo style.

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  Un poco más de información

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    Acceso a Internet

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    Acceso a Internet limitado

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    Tenemos animales

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    Somos fumadores

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    Puede alojar familias

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  Puede acoger a nómadas digitales

  We have wi-fi in the whole house and part of our backyard. Connection speed is cca 30 Mb/s download and cca 3 Mb/s upload.

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  Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas

  There is plenty of space to park campervans or motorhomes. It should be possible to connect to electricity, 220V (Maybe even 380V? I would have to check with my husband :) ). Water would be complicated, but it is no problem to use one of the two bathrooms in our house.

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  Podría aceptar mascotas

  Small pets are no problem, place for horses and ponies can be arranged. Dogs only small or female - we have a big dog and he sometimes stars fights with other big male dogs in his terrirory.

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  ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

  Más de dos

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  Horas esperadas

  cca 4 hours a day x 5 days a week, but we don't really count :)

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