Welcoming volunteers to help with projects in Cockatoo, close to Melbourne, Vic., Australia

Infos

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  Description

  Hi!
  
  We live on a large hobby farm in the middle of the bush- about an hour from Melbourne CBD. We have dogs, horses, and chickens, and a veg garden/ orchard.
  We mainly do a lot of maintenance, and always have new plans for things to build. We eat together, ( all meals, we love coffee) and chat a lot. Help in the kitchen is not work, but part of life.
  We work hard, and make long days- which you can join in or not. (most do)
  We like to have a phone call before committing.
  
  The coming weeks we will need lots of weeding, stick picking, and wippersnipping- making the bush fire safe- and general maintenance.
  We CAN sign off on working holiday visa, you need to tell us so we can adjust work.
  
  Then;
  We are building a helper hub (wwoof town) :-)
  We have a caravan that we are doing up- only thing it needs is finishing a kitchenette, and finish building a roof over it :-)
  The second caravan needs a bit of refining- And the area needs making nice and fun. (landscaping/ creating a fence)
  Finishing the bathroom and the toilet in the cubby house (mainly decorating)
  This could be a very cool project for some handy people ! and- it will be where you sleep.
  
  For most jobs we are hoping for Tool handling experience or interest/ aptitude. . We don't have time to teach from scratch- but if you are handy, you will learn a lot of skills- depending on length of stay :-) .
  
  There is also animal care ( we have 3 -8 dogs, 3 horses, no pigs, lots of chickens ,guinea fowl, indoor birds, .and we are currently fostering rescue puppies that need love and training to learn about life, so they can go to a home . .. I think that is it, but it varies from week to week) This will NOT take up a large part of the day.
  
  in general there is always FENCING, CONSTRUCTION ,PLUMBING, LANDSCAPING, cutting and splitting wood, shovelling and gardening, etc etc. (and as always, joint cooking, chatting,, swimming in nice weather, etc etc)
  We don't want you to do the same for days on end- it gets very boring... This is why we vary jobs.
  
  ABOUT US:
  We are Dutchies, We both work at home; outside, and we both have a workshop- Arthur ( mechanical design engineer) works with wood, Aukje (sculptor) with clay , both with metal, and of course; we ride our horses. There will be plenty of time to work together, or learn things, there will also be lots of work on your own time. . We are both very practical people. - But also busy with a million things!
  We like to share stories, jokes, and thoughts about the deeper meaning of life- accompanied by a glass of beer or wine, or not- and also sometimes need some family time. We like to talk about what works well for you and us.
  LGBTI+ welcome, as is neurodivergence.
  
  We both are visual and creative thinkers, but also very practical. We work hard. We think out of the box, We have lots of life experience, and are happy to share our thoughts.
  Many walk away here with a better idea on what they want to do after, in the long term. so, if you are confused on what you want , with study, or life- we somehow seem to help people. Now sure how- but we get that as messages a lot from our former helpers :-)
  
  
  ***********************************************************************
  BEFORE CONTACTING US:
  Because of our personal approach -
  NO AI GENERATED MESSAGES.
  ***********************************************************************
  Reasonable ENGLISH is NECESSARY to improve your and our experience .
  We expect you to have appropriate insurance.
  If you email us; tell us about your skills. Its nice to know what you want, BUT its easier for us to know what you can do around here :-)
  Always include a PHONE NUMBER, as this makes contact so much easier and faster. Whatsapp is fine.
  Diets;
  Gluten intolerance is manageable here.
  We eat meat, and like very good food.
  Vegetarians can try to convince us that it is a good life style ( but it won’t be easy!!) , cooking vegan is just not practical and causes too much thinking after long days. Sorry- our kitchen contents are not geared towards vegans. We will not accept vegans for this reason.
  
  Hope to see you soon!!!

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Projets artistiques

  Pratique d’une langue

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide dans une ferme

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général

  Home sitting
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  Centres d’intérêt

  

  Vie en van

  

  Technologie

  

  Dev. durable

  

  Films et télé

  

  Politique/justice sociale

  

  Animaux de compagnie

  

  LGBT+

  

  Ferme

  

  Événements/vie sociale

  

  Culture

  

  Écriture

  

  Soin des plantes

  

  Photographie

  

  Musique

  

  Langues

  

  Histoire

  

  Jardinage

  

  Dessin et peinture

  

  Bricolage / artisanat

  

  Cuisine et alimentation

  

  Menuiserie

  

  Livres

  

  Art et design

  

  Animaux

  

  Yoga / bien-être

  

  Randonnée

  

  Nature

  

  Fitness

  

  Plage

  

  Camping
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  We have dinner together 5 nights a week, and most helpers feel they become are part of our family. As immigrants we have our own view on Australia, and have learnt a lot through the years.
  Because we come from Europe, we also understand more about the culture you (often) come from- and for example, don't think french backpackers are rude. (apparently this myth is going around) We have also traveled all of Australia- so know a lot of areas.
  You can learn plenty of skills here, depending on how busy we are, but a lot of our helpers go away with something they take to a paid job- and I am writing plenty of references for people after they have left when they apply to paid jobs !
  
  We seem to have a knack to give life advice, and help figure out what it is people are looking for :-)

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  Aide

  Help required varies, as our project are always varying- we can't plan very well, as things come up, change, are re-thought, influenced by weather, etc. In general there is weeding, brush cutting, horse, dog, chicken and/or duck care, building, tree chopping, planting, fencing,, swimming, trampoline jumping, bushwalking, cooking and baking etc etc.
  
  *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️We love people who are interested and/or take initiative - we are open to a lot- if you talk about your plans first :-)
  *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️We love good food- if you can cook or bake, we love to give you a chance to show us!
  *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️We generally work 5 ( or more if you want) days a week- depending on what comes up. Sunday is always off, and we will often take you somewhere that is cool - depending on our schedule as well. (horseriding is fun, but takes up a lot of time :-) )
  *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️ this place is in a beautiful area, with national parks, and tiny towns close by. We have a few bicycles to use- or can bring you to the bus if needed. You can also walk out straight from our property.
  *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️ we will try to show you the area in the weekend or after work! sometimes life gets too busy though :-(
  
  *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️If you don't like animals- there is NO reason to be here.

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Hollandais: Courant
  Allemand: Intermédiaire
  Français: Débutant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  spanish :-) any language really...
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  Hébergement

  *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️ phone reception its very good here. Internet is at our house, guesthouse and caravan. (starlink)
  *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️We provide 1-2 beers or glasses of wine after work/ during dinner. If you like more, you are welcome to bring your own. within reason.
  *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️ Most people rave about the food, we like to cook! we like to eat food that is cooked for me too :-) (cleaning not so much- so we do that together)

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  Autres infos...

  Our place (in Cockatoo) is in Victoria's most beautiful area's, with main attractions like large national state park (s!) close by, old steam train (puffing billy) , Yarra valley wineries very close (by car) and many other attractions. so a bit of everything. Most people hang around our house though as it is so tranquil here, and go for a walk in our own bush. _ or go for a bike ride :-) (bikes provided)
  
  We have had 160 helpers so far- so we're quite experienced in having people here, and explaining work etc etc. it means we can be reasonably clear to you, but if there would be questions, we are happy to answer them. We try to go out in the weekends, if we can, and show you some of the surrounds. We do have lots of activities in the weekends so this is not always possible. Happy to transport you to bus though!
  
  We do drink alcohol, and love sharing a beer after work, and a glass of wine at dinner. After that its up to you!
  we don't love smoke nor cigarette butts anywhere- except for in our bin.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  We have good internet connection (STARLINK) - in both caravans and in the house- We ARE pretty busy generally, so still won't be able to answer same days at all times. Sorry!

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  Plenty of space! This makes it possible to host more people.

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  Dogs- no cats- they need to be socialised, play well, fully vacced, because we get rescue pups who are not... Your dog could die if not vaccinated.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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